Re: [Patch] Create a new session in postmaster by calling setsid()

I wrote:
> Michael Paquier <michael(at)paquier(dot)xyz> writes:
>> Hmm. This patch breaks a feature of pg_ctl that I am really fond of for
>> development. When starting a node which enters in recovery, I sometimes
>> use Ctrl-C to stop pg_ctl, which automatically makes the started
>> Postgres instance to stop, and this saves more strokes. With your
>> patch, you don't get that anymore: when issuing Ctrl-C on pg_ctl then
>> the started instance still runs in the background. I would be ready to
>> accept a patch which does not change the default behavior, and makes the
>> deamonization behavior activated only if an option switch is given by
>> the user, like -d/--daemon. So I am -1 for what is proposed in its
>> current shape.

> Hmm, that seems like a pretty niche usage. I don't object to having
> a switch to control this, but it seems to me that dissociating from
> the terminal is by far the more commonly wanted behavior and so
> ought to be the default.

BTW, just thinking outside the box a bit --- perhaps the ideal behavior
to address Michael's use-case would be to have the postmaster itself
do setsid(), but not until it reaches the state of being ready to
accept client connections.

We'd likely need a switch to control that. If memory serves, there
used to be such a switch, but we got rid of the postmaster's setsid
call and the switch too. We probably should dig in the archives and
review the reasoning about that.

I'm still of the opinion that dissociating from the terminal ought to
be the default. On at least some platforms, that happens automatically
because the postmaster's stdin, stdout, and stderr have been redirected
away from the terminal. If we don't do it on platforms where setsid()
is necessary, then we have a cross-platform behavioral difference,
which generally doesn't seem like a good thing.

regards, tom lane