Re: location of the configuration files

mlw wrote:
> AFAIK it wasn't actually done. It was more of a, "we should do something
> different" argument. At one point it was talked about rewriting the
> configuration system to allow "include" and other things.

That seems like extreme overkill. The PostgreSQL configuration
mechanism doesn't seem to me to be anywhere near complicated enough to
justify an "include" mechanism.

I agree with you: you should be able to specify all of the base
configuration information (including the location of the data
directories) in one file, and it makes perfect sense to me for the
location of the data directory to be a GUC variable.

I'd say the only thing the postmaster needs to know prior to startup
is the directory containing the postgresql.conf file. An
administrator who wishes to set up multiple independent databases can
easily do so by using multiple config file directories. When
consistency is required, he can easily use symlinks to point to master
config files where appropriate.

I assume $PGDATA was around long before GUC?

--
Kevin Brown kevin(at)sysexperts(dot)com