Re: Problem with tcp/ip connection, postgresql.conf

"Nick Fankhauser" <nickf(at)ontko(dot)com> writes:
> If he starts the postmaster with the -i flag, he can get a connection.
> If he sets tcpip_socket = 1 in postgresql.conf, but doesn't use the -i flag
> on startup, it doesn't work.

> So far, my suggestions have been to make sure the postgresql.conf file
> is in the data directory and is readable. Beyond this I can't think of
> anything,

A couple of simple mistakes we've seen recently are to forget to remove
the '#' comment leader from the line, or to be editing the wrong copy of
the file (not the one in $PGDATA).

While experimenting with this, I noted that the postmaster will not
complain if postgresql.conf is not found --- though it will complain if
it finds the file but can't read it (eg permission failures). It seems
to me this is a bug, or at any rate a bad idea. There should be at least
a warning message if the postgresql.conf file isn't found, and quite
possibly the postmaster should refuse to start at all, on the grounds
that you may have pointed it to a a bogus data directory.

Any opinions about this out there?

regards, tom lane