Re: Extended test coverage and docs for SSL passphrase commands

> On 22 Nov 2025, at 10:30, Chao Li <li.evan.chao@gmail.com> wrote:

> I just reviewed the patch and got a few comments.

Thanks! An updated version will come downthread.

> The GUC is added like a mirror of debug_assertions. However, I think a small difference is that, assertions will impact everything at runtime, while EXEC_BACKEND don’t really impact PG’s behavior, instead it only impacts how backend processes are spawned. Thus, I feel “running server is EXEC_BACKEND mode” is a little bit inaccurate, maybe just say “show whether the running server is built with EXEC_BACKEND”.

That's a good point, the docementation hunk had it right where this part got it
wrong.  Fixed.

> This is not a comment. I’m just thinking that, as EXEC_BACKEND is compile flag, when a server is started, it knows if EXEC_BACKEND is enabled or not. So that, if ssl_passphrase_command must be turned on, why cannot we automatically turn on it?

Technically we might be able to, but I don't want to override the administrator
when it comes to sensitive configuration settings.  Better to document what
needs to be done and have the user make informed decisions.

> Typo: passhprase -> passphrase

Fixed.

--
Daniel Gustafsson