Re: Explicit configuration file

On Tue, Dec 11, 2001 at 10:56:27PM -0500, Bruce Momjian wrote:
> 
> My issue is, should we add yet another configuration flag to an already
> flag-heavy command and let people use symlinks for special cases, or
> should we add the flag.  I guess the question is whether the option will
> be used by enough people that the extra flag is worth the added
> complexity.

I can tell you that the Debian (and probably RedHat) packaged binaries
would use this switch: It already installs  pg_ident.conf, pg_hba.conf,
and postgresql.conf in /etc/postgresql, and puts symlinks into the
PGDATA dor pointing _back_ there, to keep the server happy. I'd forsee
the symlinks just going away.

> 
> There is added complexity.  Every flag is evaluated by users to
> determine if the flag is of any use to them, even if they don't use it.

Most users never look at _any_ of the flags. Most users who _compile there
own_ read the man page and evaluate the flags, I agree.
> I wonder if we should go one step further.  Should we be specifying the
> config file on the command line _rather_ than the data directory. We
> could then specify the data directory location in the config file.  That
> seems like the direction we should be headed in, though I am not sure it
> is worth the added headache of the switch.

Seems that's what's actually ben proposed, but in a backwards compatible
way.

Ross