Horton

Re: ALTER SYSTEM SET command to change postgresql.conf parameters (RE: Proposal for Allow postgresql.conf values to be changed via SQL [review])

Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>

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From: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
To: Alvaro Herrera <alvherre@2ndquadrant.com>
Cc: Stephen Frost <sfrost@snowman.net>, Amit Kapila <amit.kapila16@gmail.com>, Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com>, Dimitri Fontaine <dimitri@2ndquadrant.fr>, Andres Freund <andres@2ndquadrant.com>, Josh Berkus <josh@agliodbs.com>, Fujii Masao <masao.fujii@gmail.com>, "pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org" <pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org>
Date: 2013-08-20T16:34:26Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers 
Alvaro Herrera <alvherre@2ndquadrant.com> writes:
> Stephen Frost escribi:
>> While I really like the 'include auto.conf' style, I'm starting to think
>> it may not be workable after all.  Another thing to consider is if the
>> user decides to change that include line..  What happens when the DBA
>> tries to do a 'ALTER SYSTEM'?  It'd still use the hard-coded auto.conf
>> file and happily update it, I imagine, but it won't actually get
>> included...

> Well, this whole line of discussion started because I objected to the
> whole code path that was trying to detect whether auto.conf had been
> parsed, and raised a warning if ALTER SYSTEM was executed and the file
> wasn't parsed.

I really, really don't think that we should be trying to detect or prevent
any such thing.  If the user breaks it like that, he gets to keep both
pieces --- and who's to say it's broken, anyway?  Disabling ALTER SYSTEM
might have been exactly his intent.

			regards, tom lane