Re: location of the configuration files

Lamar Owen <lamar.owen@wgcr.org> writes:
> On Saturday 15 February 2003 20:19, Tom Lane wrote:
>> Lamar Owen <lamar.owen@wgcr.org> writes:
> Just exactly why does initdb need to drop any config files anywhere?

>> Because we'd like it to edit the correct datadir into the config file,
>> to take just the most obvious example.

> Shouldn't we be consistent and have initdb use the datadir set in the config 
> file, which could be supplied by a ./configure switch?

That'd mean there is no way to perform an initdb into a nonstandard
location without first hand-preparing a config file.  I don't much care
for that.

> I'm looking at a packager point of view here.  The initdb is done well after 
> the package is made, and installed.  It would be ideal from this point of 
> view to have things fully configured pre-initdb (and thus pre-packaging).

This point of view means that no post-configure knowledge can be
applied.  We might as well forget the separate initdb step altogether
and have "make install" do it.

I realize that from a packager's point of view, the separate initdb step
is not very useful.  But it is from my point of view.
        regards, tom lane