Re: initdb in C

Tom Lane wrote:
> Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net> writes:
> > Andrew Dunstan writes:
> >> recreating the datadir if we didn't create it initially should be OK in
> >> that case, and it makes the code simpler.
>
> > That should be avoided, because you'll have trouble recreating the
> > original directory with all its properties such as ownership, permissions,
> > etc., at least not without making the code anything but simpler.  There
> > might even be a situation were you are allowed to delete the directory but
> > cannot create a new one.
>
> Consider also the strong likelihood that the data directory's parent
> directory is owned by root, so that you do not have the ability to
> delete and recreate the data directory because you don't have write
> permission on its parent.  The main reason initdb is set up to be able
> to start with an existing-but-empty data dir is exactly because creating
> that directory may have required permissions that initdb itself hasn't
> got.

Again, this directory recreate happens only on Win32, an I thought it
would be OK there.

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