Re: pgsql: Allow logical decoding on standbys

On Wed, Apr 12, 2023 at 1:43 PM Andres Freund <andres@anarazel.de> wrote:
> > And, a nearby commit addds the following message.
> >
> > +                     appendStringInfo(&err_detail, _("Logical decoding on standby requires wal_level to be at
leastlogical on the primary server")); 
> >
> > This is omitting the indefinite article before "standby". I'm not sure
> > what to do about it but feel like we don't need it here.
>
> I don't think we need it either, but I'm not a native speaker.

I am a native speaker of English and I think it is not required here.
If we were going to add an article, I think we would want an
indefinite one ("a standby") not a definite one ("the standby")
because we're talking about a general truism, not a situation that
pertains to one specific server. However, I don't think we should add
that because the current phrasing is more consistent with our general
practice. It's not the way you would actually talk, but it the way
that people often write error messages. For example, we say "file not
found" not "the file was not found," and nobody gets upset or confused
by that.

--
Robert Haas
EDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com