On Tue, Oct 24, 2023 at 02:05:53PM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> Bruce Momjian <br...@momjian.us> writes:
> > I have developed the attached patch to document this.
>
> This seems a little imprecise:
>
> + Values with non-alphanumeric characters must be quoted.
>
> I think accurate is more like "Values that are neither a number
> nor a valid identifier must be quoted."
>
> Also, that para already mentions that the input can be a
> comma-separated list when appropriate, so your add-on para seems
> partially repetitive. I think you could just drop the first
> sentence of it.
Agreed, updated patch attached.
--
Bruce Momjian <br...@momjian.us> https://momjian.us
EDB https://enterprisedb.com
Only you can decide what is important to you.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml
index 6f8bd39eaf..bea5714ba1 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
<refsynopsisdiv>
<synopsis>
-ALTER SYSTEM SET <replaceable class="parameter">configuration_parameter</replaceable> { TO | = } { <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> | '<replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable>' | DEFAULT }
+ALTER SYSTEM SET <replaceable class="parameter">configuration_parameter</replaceable> { TO | = } { <replaceable class="parameter">value</replaceable> [, ...] | DEFAULT }
ALTER SYSTEM RESET <replaceable class="parameter">configuration_parameter</replaceable>
ALTER SYSTEM RESET ALL
@@ -83,9 +83,17 @@ ALTER SYSTEM RESET ALL
New value of the parameter. Values can be specified as string
constants, identifiers, numbers, or comma-separated lists of
these, as appropriate for the particular parameter.
+ Values that are neither numbers nor valid identifiers must be quoted.
<literal>DEFAULT</literal> can be written to specify removing the
parameter and its value from <filename>postgresql.auto.conf</filename>.
</para>
+
+ <para>
+ For some list-accepting parameters, quoted values will produce
+ double-quoted output to preserve whitespace and commas; for others,
+ double-quotes must be used inside single-quoted strings to get
+ this effect.
+ </para>
</listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
