Re: Why is lc_messages superuser only?

Magnus Hagander <magnus@hagander.net> writes:
> Is there a reason for this?

Two arguments I can recall:

(1) Having log messages emitted in a language that the DBA can't read
would be a useful tactic for a Bad Guy trying to cover his tracks.

(2) Setting lc_messages to a value incompatible with the database
encoding would be likely to result in PANIC or worse.

If we had more-robust locale support, I could see separating lc_messages
into one setting for messages bound to the client and one for messages
bound to the log, and making the latter superuser only (or, more likely,
PGC_SIGHUP, because surely you'd want DB-wide consistency).  But we
are nowhere near being able to do that.
        regards, tom lane