Re: GUC and postgresql.conf docs

Josh Berkus <josh(at)agliodbs(dot)com> writes:
> GUC Options with no documentation:
> The following options exist in postgresql.conf.sample and in guc.c but not in
> the online documenation anywhere the search box can find:

> trace_locks
> trace_userlocks
> trace_lwlocks
> debug_deadlocks
> trace_lock_oidmin
> trace_lock_table
> show_btree_build_stats

These are all debugging options that probably don't need to be in the
user documentation (ie, if you aren't familiar enough with the source
code to find out about 'em from there, you do not need them and should
probably not be messing with 'em --- in fact, many of them don't even
exist except in specially-hacked builds). I'd vote for taking them out
of postgresql.conf.sample, I think.

> The following four GUC variables are defined in guc.c, but are not included in
> postgresql.conf.sample, and do not show up in the online docs under anything
> I can search on. Do they do anything? If so, what?

> {"fixbtree", PGC_POSTMASTER}, &FixBTree,
> true, NULL, NULL

This one is gone anyway in CVS tip.

> {"pre_auth_delay", PGC_SIGHUP}, &PreAuthDelay,
> 0, 0, 60, NULL, NULL

This is another debugging option of rather questionable general
usefulness.

> {"server_encoding", PGC_USERSET}, &server_encoding_string,
> "SQL_ASCII", assign_server_encoding, show_server_encoding

I'm not sure why this one is marked PGC_USERSET --- seems like it should
not be possible to override it from SET. It should be documented as a
read-only option, I think. (Looks ... actually it is set up that way
in CVS tip.)

> {"session_authorization", PGC_USERSET, GUC_NO_SHOW_ALL | GUC_NO_RESET_ALL},
> &session_authorization_string,
> NULL, assign_session_authorization, show_session_authorization

This one makes no sense to set in postgresql.conf, certainly. Not sure
how the docs ought to describe it.

> These four related settings are defined guc's that somehow made it into the
> docs but not into postgresql.conf.sample:

> {"lc_messages", PGC_SUSET}, &locale_messages,
> "", locale_messages_assign, NULL
> {"lc_monetary", PGC_USERSET}, &locale_monetary,
> "C", locale_monetary_assign, NULL
> {"lc_numeric", PGC_USERSET}, &locale_numeric,
> "C", locale_numeric_assign, NULL
> {"lc_time", PGC_USERSET}, &locale_time,
> "C", locale_time_assign, NULL

These guys are added to postgresql.conf by initdb, so I think that's
okay. But perhaps that process could be documented better.

regards, tom lane