I have the file location discussion in my 7.4 hold mailbox: http:/momjian.postgresql.org/cgi-bin/pgpatches2
I am going to revisit it the next month and see if I can get all the opinions merged into a plan everyone can agree on. I think it can be done. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tom Lane wrote: > Dennis Bjorklund <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > On Thu, 8 Apr 2004 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> more flexable configuration based on the idea that configuration and data > >> are in SEPARATE locations is important. > > > Why is it important and wouldn't it just make it harder to have several > > database clusters (for example with different locale) or several versions > > of pg installed at the same time? > > My recollection of the arguments against were first that and second > reliability --- there was concern about getting config and data of > multiple installations mixed up if they weren't kept together. In the > worst case you could conceivably bollix an installation unrecoverably > that way. (Right now I do not think there is anything quite that > critical in postgresql.conf, but someday there might be. My very vague > recollection is that the proposed patch changed things so that WAL and > DATA directories would be separately specified in the config file; if > correct, mismatching them definitely would be a great chance to shoot > oneself in the foot.) > > I've recently had some very unpleasant experiences trying to install > test versions of MySQL on machines that already had older versions > installed normally. It seems that MySQL *will* read /etc/my.cnf if it > exists, whether it's appropriate or not, and so it's impossible to have > a truly independent test installation, even though you can configure it > to build/install into nonstandard directories. Let's not emulate that > bit of brain damage. > > regards, tom lane > > ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- > TIP 8: explain analyze is your friend > -- Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us [EMAIL PROTECTED] | (610) 359-1001 + If your life is a hard drive, | 13 Roberts Road + Christ can be your backup. | Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073 ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster