Re: Terminology gaps around WAL

On Thu, 2026-06-11 at 15:14 -0700, Jeff Davis wrote:
> I sometimes struggle to come up with the right term for the following
> concepts, which come up a lot:
>
> * The abstract set of WAL records that all originate from a single
> initdb and share a system identifier; including all timelines, and
> including old records that may have been deleted a long time ago.
>
> * The "stuff" around that specific set of WAL records, such as running
> instances, warm standbys, PITR'd instances, inactive instances, base
> backups, and WAL archives.
>
>
> "Database cluster" doesn't fit either of these. The docs define it as
> "a collection of databases that is managed by a single instance of a
> running database server." [1]
>
> Do others already have good terms for these concepts? Is it worth
> trying to invent and document some?
>
> [1] https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/creating-cluster.html

"Multiverse" pops into my mind.

Yours,
Laurenz Albe