Re: dropping a user causes pain (#2) - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Bruce Momjian
Subject Re: dropping a user causes pain (#2)
Date
Msg-id 200308112122.h7BLMEf01097@candle.pha.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: dropping a user causes pain (#2)  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
Responses Re: dropping a user causes pain (#2)
List pgsql-hackers
If people want to remove a user, I assume they don't want to keep
old objects around.

How about if we created a script that goes through all the databases and
reports items owned by a specific user, or orphaned items not owned by
anyone?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tom Lane wrote:
> Andreas Pflug <pgadmin@pse-consulting.de> writes:
> > Andrew Dunstan wrote:
> >> OTOH I'm not sure how much harm this causes, other than aesthetic.
> >> 
> > Dropping a user could merely set a "dropped" flag to disable login, and 
> > some VACUUM action could cleanup databases.
> 
> Not sure I care for the "vacuum" part of that, but how about this
> variant: DROP USER sets a flag in pg_shadow to disable login, and
> the pg_shadow entry isn't removed, ever.  (We could tweak the pg_user
> view to hide dropped users, but anything looking directly at pg_shadow
> would have to be taught about the flag, analogous to what happened with
> attisdropped in the last release.)
> 
> The advantage here is that the sysid assigned to the user would remain
> present in pg_shadow and couldn't accidentally be assigned to a new
> user.  This would prevent the problem of new users "inheriting"
> permissions and even object ownership from deleted users due to chance
> coincidence of sysid.
> 
> I suppose one could delete the pg_shadow row once one is darn certain
> there is no trace of the user's sysid anywhere, but it's not clear to me
> it's worth the trouble.
> 
>             regards, tom lane
> 
> ---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
> TIP 9: the planner will ignore your desire to choose an index scan if your
>       joining column's datatypes do not match
> 

--  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610)
359-1001+  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Newtown Square,
Pennsylvania19073
 


pgsql-hackers by date:

Previous
From: Rod Taylor
Date:
Subject: Oversight?
Next
From: Andrew Dunstan
Date:
Subject: Re: dropping a user causes pain (#2)