Re: What are exactly bootstrap processes, auxiliary processes, standalone backends, normal backends(user sessions)?

On Fri, Jul 09, 2021 at 09:24:19PM +0530, Bharath Rupireddy wrote:
> I've always had a hard time distinguishing various types of
> processes/terms used in postgres. I look at the source code every time
> to understand them, yet I don't feel satisfied with my understanding.
> I request any hacker (having a better idea than me) to help me with
> what each different process does and how they are different from each
> other? Of course, I'm clear with normal backends (user sessions), bg
> workers, but the others need a bit more understanding.

It sounds like something that should be in the glossary, which currently refers
to but doesn't define "auxiliary processes".

* Background writer, checkpointer, WAL writer and archiver run during normal
* operation. Startup process and WAL receiver also consume 2 slots, but WAL
* writer is launched only after startup has exited, so we only need 5 slots.
*/
#define NUM_AUXILIARY_PROCS 5

Bootstrap is run by initdb:
src/bin/initdb/initdb.c: "\"%s\" --boot -x0 %s %s "

Standalone backend is run by --single, right ?

--
Justin