Re: doc: alter table references bogus table-specific planner parameters

Simon Riggs <simon@2ndquadrant.com>

From: Simon Riggs <simon@2ndquadrant.com>
To: Justin Pryzby <pryzby@telsasoft.com>
Cc: PostgreSQL Hackers <pgsql-hackers@lists.postgresql.org>
Date: 2020-01-06T04:33:46Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers, pgsql-performance
On Mon, 6 Jan 2020 at 04:13, Justin Pryzby <pryzby@telsasoft.com> wrote:

>
> > I agree with the sentiment of the third doc change, but your patch
> removes
> > the mention of n_distinct, which isn't appropriate.
>
> I think it's correct to remove n_distinct there, as it's documented
> previously,
> since e5550d5f.  That's a per-attribute option (not storage) and can't be
> specified there.
>

OK, then agreed.

> The second change in your patch alters the meaning of the sentence in a
> way
> > that is counter to the first change. The name of these parameters is
> > "Storage Parameters" (in various places); I might agree with describing
> > them in text as "storage or planner parameters", but if you do that you
> > can't then just refer to "storage parameters" later, because if you do it
> > implies that planner parameters operate differently to storage
> parameters,
> > which they don't.
>
> The 2nd change is:
>
>        for details on the available parameters.  Note that the table
> contents
> -      will not be modified immediately by this command; depending on the
> +      will not be modified immediately by setting its storage parameters;
> depending on the
>        parameter you might need to rewrite the table to get the desired
> effects.
>
> I deliberately qualified that as referring only to "storage params" rather
> than
> "this command", since planner params never "modify the table contents".
> Possibly other instances in the document (and createtable) should be
> changed
> for consistency.
>

Yes, but it's not a correction, just a different preference of wording.

-- 
Simon Riggs                http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/
<http://www.2ndquadrant.com/>
PostgreSQL Solutions for the Enterprise

Commits

  1. Doc: Fix list of storage parameters available for ALTER TABLE

  2. Enhance docs for ALTER TABLE lock levels of storage parms

  3. Reduce lock levels for table storage params related to planning

  4. Reduce lock levels for ALTER TABLE SET autovacuum storage options

  5. Reduce lock levels of some ALTER TABLE cmds

  6. Reduce lock levels of CREATE TRIGGER and some ALTER TABLE, CREATE RULE actions.

  7. Support ALTER TABLESPACE name SET/RESET ( tablespace_options ).