Horton

Re: Possibility to disable `ALTER SYSTEM`

Abhijit Menon-Sen <ams@toroid.org>

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From: Abhijit Menon-Sen <ams@toroid.org>
To: Robert Haas <robertmhaas@gmail.com>
Cc: Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us>, Jelte Fennema-Nio <postgres@jeltef.nl>, Heikki Linnakangas <hlinnaka@iki.fi>, PostgreSQL Hackers <pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org>, Daniel Gustafsson <daniel@yesql.se>, Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>, Joel Jacobson <joel@compiler.org>, Andrew Dunstan <andrew@dunslane.net>, Gabriele Bartolini <gabriele.bartolini@enterprisedb.com>, Magnus Hagander <magnus.hagander@redpill-linpro.com>, Maciek Sakrejda <m.sakrejda@gmail.com>
Date: 2024-03-26T12:55:04Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers

Commits

Same data as JSON: GET /api/v1/messages/:b64id/commits the thread's linked commits as JSON, with link sources. API reference →

  1. Add allow_alter_system GUC.

  2. Rename COMPAT_OPTIONS_CLIENT to COMPAT_OPTIONS_OTHER.

  3. Remove support for version-0 calling conventions.

At 2024-03-26 08:11:33 -0400, robertmhaas@gmail.com wrote:
>
> On Mon, Mar 25, 2024 at 5:04 PM Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us> wrote:
> > > > Isn't "configuration" too generic a term for disabling ALTER SYSTEM?
> > >
> > > maybe "externally_managed_auto_config"
> >
> > How many people associate "auto" with ALTER SYSTEM?  I assume not many.
> >
> > To me, externally_managed_configuration is promising a lot more than it
> > delivers because there is still a lot of ocnfiguration it doesn't
> > control.  I am also confused why the purpose of the feature, external
> > management of configuation, is part of the variable name.  We usually
> > name parameters for what they control.
> 
> I actually agree with this. I wasn't going to quibble with it because
> other people seemed to like it. But I think something like
> allow_alter_system would be better, as it would describe the exact
> thing that the parameter does, rather than how we think the parameter
> ought to be used.

Yes, "externally_managed_configuration" raises far more questions than
it answers. "enable_alter_system" is clearer in terms of what to expect
when you set it. "enable_alter_system_command" is rather long, but even
better in that it is specific enough to not promise anything about not
allowing superusers to change the configuration some other way.

-- Abhijit (as someone who could find a use for this feature)