Re: Newbie Questions

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Redefined Horizons wrote:
> I'm running the latest stable version of PostgreSQL on a Debian Linux
> box running Gnome 2.0. I've just started setting up my first database
> with PostgreSQL and I've got a few newbie questions:
>
> [1] Is there a way to determine where all the parts of my defualt
> PostgreSQL installation are located?

Unless you told it otherwise, it should all be installed in
/usr/local/pgsql/bin. I don't run Debian, so I don't know if it changes
things around.

>
> [2] Can I use the "SU" command to log in as Postgres if I am logged
> in as a non-root user, or is this only possible as the root user?

That's not really a PostgreSQL question, but rather a Unix question.
The answer is yes, assuming you know the password for the Postgres
userid.

>
> [3] How do I find the Postgres user's home directory, and what is
> kept there? (This may be answered as a part of the response to
> #1....)

Again, a Unix question. Look in /etc/passwd, the home directory is
identified there.

>
> [4] How do I ensure that the Postmaster server process is started
> when I reboot my machine?

If you just want to see if it is running after the system is booted,
then use "ps -ef | grep postmaster". If you want to configure your
system to ensure that it will start up on reboot, then you need to add
it to the init tasks. How that is done depends on your particular
distribution, and again I don't know Debian. You may have a GUI to
assist with that, but typically it amounts to including a symlink in
/etc/rc3.d to /etc/init.d. I use Gentoo which is a whole different bowl
of fish.

>
> [5] When I'm in PgAdmin III, does it matter if I add a new server as
> a non-root user, as the root-user, or as the Postgres user? What is
> the difference between the 3?

You're not adding a new server to your PostgreSQL server, you are only
adding a new list item to PgAdmin, pointing to a hopefully existing
PostgreSQL server. This list will only be visible to the userid you
used to create it. In other words, standard Unix conventions apply:
each user has his/her own set of settings.

>
> [6] If I forgot the Postgres user password, do I have to reinstall
> PostgreSQL to reset it, or can I do this somewhere else?

If you leave everything installed via the defaults, you don't need any
password to log in locally. So if you forget the password, you can log
in locally with no password and reset it.

>
> Thanks for any help with these questions.
>
> Scott Huey

--
Guy Rouillier