On Thu, Oct 13, 2005 at 08:59:51AM +0000, Andreas Pflug wrote: > David Fetter wrote: > > >>Dept of second thoughts: actually, perhaps see if you can generate > >>the pg_description entries from the C comments in the > >>include/catalog header files. There's already a strong motivation > >>to hold those to shorter-than-a-line length, whereas the column > >>descriptions in catalogs.sgml tend to run on a little longer, and > >>wouldn't format nicely in \dt+. > > > > > >My thought is that by the time somebody is doing \dt+ (or > >equivalent in other tools than psql) on a pg_catalog table or view, > >they need to see details and are at most slightly concerned about > >the formatting. > > And not all tools have this formatting issue... I like the long > comments I can take from pg_settings, enabling pgAdmin to deliver > precise information on each config option.
I agree that we shouldn't hobble ourselves with what may be a temporary weakness in psql's formatting, and Andreas brings up an excellent point. It should be fairly easy for admin tools of whatever kind to pull those descriptions from the catalog. I noticed that the other person who chimed in with enthusiasm was another developer of a different admin tool :) Here's what I've come up with so far in re: what this change should and should not do: * Move comments to one source. This may be easiest to push into the non-sgml sources. * Minimal intrusion for developers who touch pg_catalog.* I haven't touched pg_catalog, and would like some feedback from people who do on what might constitute "minimal intrusion." * No perl required for the server build. It's OK for the SGML doc build, though, as some is already required. * Some way to interleave the comments which now live in catalogs.sgml back into there. * The perennial Stuff Dave Hasn't Thought Of. What's next? Cheers, D -- David Fetter [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://fetter.org/ phone: +1 510 893 6100 mobile: +1 415 235 3778 Remember to vote! ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 5: don't forget to increase your free space map settings
