Re: timezones to own config file

On Tue, Jun 13, 2006 at 11:11:26PM +0200, Martijn van Oosterhout wrote:
> On Tue, Jun 13, 2006 at 11:51:25AM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> > Martijn van Oosterhout <kleptog@svana.org> writes:
> > > Any particular reason this can't be a normal table in pg_catalog which
> > > you can select/update.
> > 
> > That doesn't do anything to help with one of the main problems: that
> > we have at least two (maybe more) alternative sets of names that people
> > might want as default.
> 
> <snip>
> 
> I think my actual point was something else. We currently get calls from
> people trying to administer machines that it's annoying that various
> configuration information is stored in files, beyond the easy reach of
> SQL.
> 
> What I was thinking is why we couldn't just store the information in a
> global shared system table that is only read on config reload. You
> could have a few columns, maybe the first being a list name, which is
> referenced from a GUC.
> 
> If you issue a config reload during a VACUUM FULL, I guess that might
> be an issue, yes. I was just thinking people might appreciate being
> able to configure the timezones without opening a shell... Similarly,
> it would also give a way for user-interfaces to get a list of available
> valid timezones and their actual meanings, which is currently
> impossible.

ISTM that's an issue that affects all configuration stuff, not just the
timezones; if we're going to come up with a way to manage settings
without touching a file, it should work for everything.
-- 
Jim C. Nasby, Sr. Engineering Consultant      jnasby@pervasive.com
Pervasive Software      http://pervasive.com    work: 512-231-6117
vcard: http://jim.nasby.net/pervasive.vcf       cell: 512-569-9461