Re: list append syntax for postgresql.conf

On Wed, Feb 20, 2019 at 10:15 AM Peter Eisentraut
<peter.eisentraut@2ndquadrant.com> wrote:
> Nowadays there are a number of methods for composing multiple
> postgresql.conf files for modularity.  But if you have a bunch of things
> you want to load via shared_preload_libraries, you have to put them all
> in one setting.  How about some kind of syntax for appending something
> to a list, like
>
>     shared_preload_libraries += 'pg_stat_statements'
>
> Thoughts?

I like the idea of solving this problem but I'm not sure it's a good
idea to add this sort of syntax to postgresql.conf.  I think it would
be more useful to provide a way to tell ALTER SYSTEM that you want to
append rather than replace, as I see Euler also proposes.

Another off-ball idea is to maybe allow something like
shared_preload_statements.pg_stat_statments = 1.  The server would
load all libraries X for which shared_preload_statements.X is set to a
value that is one of the ways we spell a true value for a Boolean GUC.

-- 
Robert Haas
EnterpriseDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
The Enterprise PostgreSQL Company