Re: new Configuration patch, implements 'include'

Tom Lane wrote:
> mlw <pgsql@mohawksoft.com> writes:
> > If no hba_conf and/or ident_conf setting is specified, the default
> > $PGDATA/pg_hba.conf and/or $PGDATA/pg_ident.conf will be used.
> 
> Doesn't anybody see the (a) inconsistency and (b) uselessness of this?
> If you are trying to keep your config files out of the data directory,
> it's hardly sensible to default to finding two out of three there.
> 
> We should have a -C that specifies a *directory*, and all three config
> files should be sought therein.  The argument that that somehow forces
> people to use symlinks doesn't convince me at all.

I think the issue here is that symlinks are OK to implement unusual
configuration cases, and I think we can say having the three config
files in different directories is unusual.  I think you have to weigh
the downside of using symlinks for rare configurations compared to the
complexity of specifying the config file locations in three separate
cases.

I had thrown out the idea of putting the config files in their own
directory _under_ /data, like /data/etc, so you could just symlink that
directory to somewhere else.  Makes backups of config files easy, and
makes it initdb-safe, because only the symlink can be under /data. 
However, no one commented on it, so I assume they didn't like it.  It
seems like a nice middle ground to me.

--  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610)
359-1001+  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Newtown Square,
Pennsylvania19073