Aidan Van Dyk wrote:
* Andreas Pflug <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [080604 10:20]:
Hiding the storage of config parameters opaquely behind an API is
something I've been hating for a long time on win32.
;-)
When reading this thread, I'm wondering if anybody ever saw a config
file for a complex software product that was easily editable and
understandable. I don't know one. If there was one, it'd be nice to know
it so we can learn from it.
PostreSQL, Apache, X.org
They are all easily editable, and "understandable", in the sense that I
understand that I'm supposed to edit the line, changing the value
(following the comments list of accepted values)
They are "less understandable" if you mean that I know the implications
of any change I make. But guess what, having those values inputed
through some other mechanism (like a GUI config file editor, a SQL statement,
or a nice pgadmin-SQL-hiding-interface isn't going to change that part
of "understandable". That part of understandable only comes through
good documentation and reference material, which is universally
applicable to any config method.
Right. On the editing side, a column "link" in pg_settings that can be
used to construct an URL to postgresql.org/docs/xxx#yyy could help
creating editors that support the user. Whatever a text config file will
look like, you need to know exactly which parameter to use and where to
locate it; even structuring parameters won't help too much for the
typical starter task "I installed pgsql, what to do next".
IMHO the best compromise in machine and human readability is an XML
format. It's easily decorateable with comments, easily interpreted and a
pg_settings view could enhance it with even more comments, so an editor
using pgsql functions (to read and write postresql.conf.xml) could be
enabled to supply comprehensive help.
Well, In my past, I've generally not got around to installing and using
software that reqired me to edit some jumble of XML. Ya, maybe I'm
lucky. And since I've got a lot invested in PG, I'ld be forced to of PG
moved to an XML config, but I'ld be forced to kicking and screaming...
I just *know* that I'ld reload/restart postmaster some time, and the
config file wouldn't be quite correct, and I'ld search for 10 minutes
trying to find the extra (or lack) ", or missing closing /... But maybe
most people are better at parsing XML than me. And that also may be
because I've actively avoided it for so long ;-)
Well I'm an XML evangelist either. But the usual "commenting out a
parameter will reset it to default on reload, no?" caveat isn't funny
either, or duplicate parameter settings scattered throughout your file.
This may be avoided by *preferably* editing the parameters through pgsql
itself; the current postgresql.conf file format isn't too machine write
friendly (as I know since I wrote the pgadmin config file editor). But
having a config file that can't be used with simple editors at all is a
nightmare.
Regards,
Andreas
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