Re: [PATCHES] Documentation patch: change a name in a grammar rule

2006-04-17 Thread Peter Eisentraut
Nicolas Barbier wrote:
 In for example set.sgml, just name is used for the exact same
 concept. I changed the patch so that varname is used, because
 name was already in use by this specific grammar. Maybe the usage
 of var makes it less clear indeed, for people that know that those
 things are always referred to as parameters and never as
 variables.

A variable would be something that you store application data in, 
whereas a parameter is some nondata value that influences your 
calculations.  That's my recollection of how the terms are used in 
mathematics.  So parameter is decidedly the better term than variable.  
If that is confusing, make it config_param or something like that.

-- 
Peter Eisentraut
http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/

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Re: [PATCHES] Documentation patch: change a name in a grammar rule to prevent confusion

2006-04-15 Thread Nicolas Barbier
2006/4/15, Neil Conway [EMAIL PROTECTED]:

 On Sat, 2006-04-15 at 01:59 +0200, Nicolas Barbier wrote:

 the following patch changes parameter to gucname in the grammar
 (and later references) for the SET syntax in ALTER ROLE and ALTER
 USER.

 Wouldn't var_name, varname, or something similar be more clear?
 GUC is probably not an acronym we should be exposing prominently to
 the user.

Indeed, that is what people on IRC also told me (after I sent it :-)).
It now uses varname. Updated patch attached.

Nicolas

--
Nicolas Barbier
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
*** ./doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_role.sgml.orig	2006-04-15 01:15:51.0 +0200
--- ./doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_role.sgml	2006-04-15 16:24:49.0 +0200
***
*** 36,43 
  
  ALTER ROLE replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RENAME TO replaceablenewname/replaceable
  
! ALTER ROLE replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable SET replaceableparameter/replaceable { TO | = } { replaceablevalue/replaceable | DEFAULT }
! ALTER ROLE replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RESET replaceableparameter/replaceable
  /synopsis
   /refsynopsisdiv
  
--- 36,43 
  
  ALTER ROLE replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RENAME TO replaceablenewname/replaceable
  
! ALTER ROLE replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable SET replaceablevarname/replaceable { TO | = } { replaceablevalue/replaceable | DEFAULT }
! ALTER ROLE replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RESET replaceablevarname/replaceable
  /synopsis
   /refsynopsisdiv
  
***
*** 143,149 
   /varlistentry
  
   varlistentry
!   termreplaceableparameter/replaceable/term
termreplaceablevalue/replaceable/term
listitem
 para
--- 143,149 
   /varlistentry
  
   varlistentry
!   termreplaceablevarname/replaceable/term
termreplaceablevalue/replaceable/term
listitem
 para
*** ./doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_user.sgml.orig	2006-04-15 01:15:51.0 +0200
--- ./doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_user.sgml	2006-04-15 16:25:00.0 +0200
***
*** 36,43 
  
  ALTER USER replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RENAME TO replaceablenewname/replaceable
  
! ALTER USER replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable SET replaceableparameter/replaceable { TO | = } { replaceablevalue/replaceable | DEFAULT }
! ALTER USER replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RESET replaceableparameter/replaceable
  /synopsis
   /refsynopsisdiv
  
--- 36,43 
  
  ALTER USER replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RENAME TO replaceablenewname/replaceable
  
! ALTER USER replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable SET replaceablevarname/replaceable { TO | = } { replaceablevalue/replaceable | DEFAULT }
! ALTER USER replaceable class=PARAMETERname/replaceable RESET replaceablevarname/replaceable
  /synopsis
   /refsynopsisdiv
  




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Re: [PATCHES] Documentation patch: change a name in a grammar rule

2006-04-15 Thread Nicolas Barbier
2006/4/15, Tom Lane [EMAIL PROTECTED]:

 s/prominently/at all/ ... I don't think the proposed patch is an
 improvement, and in fact see nothing wrong with the use of parameter
 here.  If we want to abandon parameter as the official documentation
 term for GUC variables, then there are dozens or hundreds of changes
 to be made in config.sgml, to say nothing of other files.

In for example set.sgml, just name is used for the exact same
concept. I changed the patch so that varname is used, because name
was already in use by this specific grammar. Maybe the usage of var
makes it less clear indeed, for people that know that those things are
always referred to as parameters and never as variables. But then,
leaving it as-is doesn't solve the apparently occuring confusion
between parameter the GUC and parameter the parameter to the
statement, as we have had at least three people in #postgresql that
made that exact mistake.

Nicolas

--
Nicolas Barbier
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

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Re: [PATCHES] Documentation patch: change a name in a grammar rule

2006-04-14 Thread Neil Conway
On Sat, 2006-04-15 at 01:59 +0200, Nicolas Barbier wrote:
 the following patch changes parameter to gucname in the grammar
 (and later references) for the SET syntax in ALTER ROLE and ALTER
 USER.

Wouldn't var_name, varname, or something similar be more clear?
GUC is probably not an acronym we should be exposing prominently to
the user.

-Neil



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Re: [PATCHES] Documentation patch: change a name in a grammar rule

2006-04-14 Thread Tom Lane
Neil Conway [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
 On Sat, 2006-04-15 at 01:59 +0200, Nicolas Barbier wrote:
 the following patch changes parameter to gucname in the grammar
 (and later references) for the SET syntax in ALTER ROLE and ALTER
 USER.

 Wouldn't var_name, varname, or something similar be more clear?
 GUC is probably not an acronym we should be exposing prominently to
 the user.

s/prominently/at all/ ... I don't think the proposed patch is an
improvement, and in fact see nothing wrong with the use of parameter
here.  If we want to abandon parameter as the official documentation
term for GUC variables, then there are dozens or hundreds of changes
to be made in config.sgml, to say nothing of other files.

regards, tom lane

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