Re: A smaller default postgresql.conf

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>> Well, there seems to be a very substantial body of opinion that says
>> we *do* need to hide "uninteresting" options.

> more to the point... not just "uninteresting" but "dangerous for the
> uninformed" ones...
> i have seen to many people turning off fsync in OLTP systems 'cause
> someone tolds them that will improve speed...
> and work_mem setted at 256Mb because that improves a bad query that
> should be rewritten as something more sanely...

It's a conf file - we shouldn't be hiding anything. If someone does
not understand a setting, they should not be changing it. It's not
our responsibility to "child-proof" the conf file, and there are so
many potential foot guns and "dangerous" settings it would be futile
to try anyway.

To clarify my earlier point, I'm strongly in favor of explanations and links
for each setting, but will concede the 'recommended settings' per Josh's
example, as much as I think it is a good idea. So above each (uncommented!)
setting, we'd have:

# foobar: Adjusts the foobariness of the database
#
# This uses units of baz from 1-10, with 10 being the strongest
#
# Changing this setting requires a reload
# This setting may also be changed per session
# The default value is 5
#
# For more information, please see:
# http://postgres.org/doc/foobar.html

foobar: 7

- --
Greg Sabino Mullane greg(at)turnstep(dot)com
End Point Corporation
PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 200808200923
http://biglumber.com/x/web?pk=2529DF6AB8F79407E94445B4BC9B906714964AC8
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