Re: pg_checksums docs mentioning online functions

On Thu, Jun 4, 2026 at 09:18:34PM +0200, Daniel Gustafsson wrote:
> > On 4 Jun 2026, at 20:55, Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us> wrote:
> >
> > Looking at the pg_checksums docs, it says:
> >
> > pg_checksums checks, enables or disables data checksums in a
> > PostgreSQL cluster. The server must be shut down cleanly before
> > running pg_checksums.
> >
> > Do we want to mention the new functions here that can change the
> > checksum status without being shut down?
>
> Not sure, but perhaps a link back to the main data checksums section (which
> documents the online operation among other things) would be in order?
> Something like:
>
> --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_checksums.sgml
> +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_checksums.sgml
> @@ -57,6 +57,10 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
> rewritten in-place.
> Disabling checksums only updates the file <filename>pg_control</filename>.
> </para>
> +
> + <para>
> + For more information on data checksums, see <xref linkend="checksums"/>.
> + </para>
> </refsect1>

My big issue is that we explain the limitation of pg_checksums, but
don't point readers at the tool that doesn't have that offline
restriction. I think we need that explicitly mentioned, and at the top.

--
Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us> https://momjian.us
EDB https://enterprisedb.com

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