Re: Postgres server output log

Steve Crawford <scrawford(at)pinpointresearch(dot)com> writes:
> I think configuring PostgreSQL to write to syslog is the correct way to go.

syslog is a good alternative, but not perfect. I know of two strikes
against it:

1. It can't catch everything that could go to a stderr log. While I
think we've cleaned up all the backend code (there used to be lots of
random fprintf's), there are messages that are not under our control.
In particular, on most platforms any dynamic-linker error messages go
to stderr --- when you're trying to debug why the backend can't load
a .so file, this info is invaluable, but syslog can't capture it.

2. On some platforms, syslog is reputed to drop or truncate messages
under heavy load.

You have to figure out whether the many advantages of syslog outweigh
these problems for your use.

regards, tom lane