On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 11:14:03AM +0200, Álvaro Herrera wrote: > Maybe it should say "0 means do not wait, -1 means wait indefinitely." > This complements the short_desc, > > Sets the maximum time the server waits during shutdown for all WAL data > to be replicated to the receiver. > > I think the words "for the receiver to catch up" is somehow at odds with > the short_desc's "for all WAL data to be replicated". They should be > saying the same thing, but aren't.
WFM. v2 uses that wording, except -1 is listed first so that the special values stay in ascending order. I was considering back-patching this to v19. I'd rather not update the descriptions in released versions, although I'm not even sure anything in released versions need fixing. Any concerns about this? -- nathan
>From 2ea9715a91a3101641e2ff8e8271eb2a6236efb4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Nathan Bossart <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2026 10:27:16 -0500 Subject: [PATCH v2 1/1] Describe special values in more GUC descriptions. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Commit 977d865c36 established some rules for mentioning special values (e.g., -1, 0, an empty string) in GUC descriptions. A few parameters either neglect to mention their special values or describe them in a way that doesn't follow those rules. Most of these parameters were added after the aforementioned commit. This commit fixes them. Reviewed-by: Bharath Rupireddy <[email protected]> Reviewed-by: Fujii Masao <[email protected]> Reviewed-by: Chao Li <[email protected]> Reviewed-by: Álvaro Herrera <[email protected]> Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/aqMkIpRr62cVqtCZ%40nathan --- src/backend/utils/misc/guc_parameters.dat | 9 ++++++--- 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_parameters.dat b/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_parameters.dat index 93a434858bf..c57441f7d98 100644 --- a/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_parameters.dat +++ b/src/backend/utils/misc/guc_parameters.dat @@ -1303,6 +1303,7 @@ { name => 'idle_replication_slot_timeout', type => 'int', context => 'PGC_SIGHUP', group => 'REPLICATION_SENDING', short_desc => 'Sets the duration a replication slot can remain idle before it is invalidated.', + long_desc => '0 disables the timeout.', flags => 'GUC_UNIT_S', variable => 'idle_replication_slot_timeout_secs', boot_val => '0', @@ -1389,6 +1390,7 @@ { name => 'io_max_concurrency', type => 'int', context => 'PGC_POSTMASTER', group => 'RESOURCES_IO', short_desc => 'Max number of IOs that one process can execute simultaneously.', + long_desc => '-1 means use a value based on "shared_buffers" and the maximum number of processes.', variable => 'io_max_concurrency', boot_val => '-1', min => '-1', @@ -1876,7 +1878,7 @@ { name => 'log_statement_max_length', type => 'int', context => 'PGC_SUSET', group => 'LOGGING_WHAT', short_desc => 'Sets the maximum length in bytes of logged statement text.', - long_desc => '-1 means log statement in full; 0 means log only an ellipsis.', + long_desc => '-1 means log statements in full. 0 means log only an ellipsis.', flags => 'GUC_UNIT_BYTE', variable => 'log_statement_max_length', boot_val => '-1', @@ -2368,7 +2370,7 @@ { name => 'password_expiration_warning_threshold', type => 'int', context => 'PGC_SIGHUP', group => 'CONN_AUTH_AUTH', short_desc => 'Threshold for password expiration warnings.', - long_desc => '0 means not to emit these warnings.', + long_desc => '0 disables these warnings.', flags => 'GUC_UNIT_S', variable => 'password_expiration_warning_threshold', boot_val => '604800', @@ -3580,7 +3582,7 @@ { name => 'wal_sender_shutdown_timeout', type => 'int', context => 'PGC_USERSET', group => 'REPLICATION_SENDING', short_desc => 'Sets the maximum time the server waits during shutdown for all WAL data to be replicated to the receiver.', - long_desc => '-1 disables the timeout and waits for the receiver to catch up; 0 does not wait for the receiver to catch up.', + long_desc => '-1 means wait indefinitely. 0 means do not wait.', flags => 'GUC_UNIT_MS', variable => 'wal_sender_shutdown_timeout', boot_val => '-1', @@ -3590,6 +3592,7 @@ { name => 'wal_sender_timeout', type => 'int', context => 'PGC_USERSET', group => 'REPLICATION_SENDING', short_desc => 'Sets the maximum time to wait for WAL replication.', + long_desc => '0 disables the timeout.', flags => 'GUC_UNIT_MS', variable => 'wal_sender_timeout', boot_val => '60 * 1000', -- 2.55.0
