Re: Parsing config files in a directory

Andrew Dunstan <andrew(at)dunslane(dot)net> writes:
> Anyway, it seems to me a whole lot better than inventing a new thing
> that makes "custom_variable_class" as something to append to
> "custom_variable_classes". If you're going to insist on using "append
> foo = 'x'" at least let it apply to the list that is actually being
> appended to, so we don't need to keep track of singular and plural
> forms. That's the part of your suggestion I really object to.

The scheme really really has to have a "set" and an "append" operation.
Otherwise, undesirable things happen whenever the conf file is re-read.

I would envision postgresql.conf containing
custom_variable_classes = ''
and then individual config files containing
custom_variable_classes += 'foo'
Exact syntax isn't that important, although I confess to liking +=
better than a keyword.

Another possibility is that the reset to empty is somehow implicit
at the start of reading the conf file. But I'd still think it's better
if the appending operations are visibly different from ordinary
assignment.

regards, tom lane