Re: Need help understanding pg_locks - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

Andrew Dunstan wrote:
>
>
> On 07/13/2011 12:31 PM, Tom Lane wrote:
> > Bruce Momjian<bruce@momjian.us>  writes:
> >> Tom Lane wrote:
> >>> I think you misunderstood the suggestion.  This is not an improvement,
> >>> it's just more confusion.
> >> Well, I thought the "lock on" wording helped avoid the confusion but
> >> obviously I didn't understand more than that.  We did have similar
> >> confusion when we clarified the locking C code.  For me, "object" was
> >> the stumbler.  Do you have any suggested wording?  Everyone seems to
> >> agree it needs improvement.
> > Well, first, "lock object" is completely useless, it does not convey
> > more than "lock" does; and second, you've added confusion because the
> > very same sentences also use "object" to refer to the thing being
> > locked.
> >
>
>
> Maybe "lock" for the lock itself and "lock target" for the thing locked,
> or some such, would work.
>
> I agree that "object" on its own is not a terribly helpful term. It's
> too often shorthand for "whatever-it-is".

Agreed.

OK, new wording based on the comments above; attached.

--
  Bruce Momjian  <bruce@momjian.us>        http://momjian.us
  EnterpriseDB                             http://enterprisedb.com

  + It's impossible for everything to be true. +
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/catalogs.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/catalogs.sgml
index c5851af..eae8a7c 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/catalogs.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/catalogs.sgml
@@ -6928,9 +6928,9 @@
       <entry><type>oid</type></entry>
       <entry><literal><link
linkend="catalog-pg-database"><structname>pg_database</structname></link>.oid</literal></entry>
       <entry>
-       OID of the database in which the object exists, or
-       zero if the object is a shared object, or
-       null if the lock object is on a transaction ID
+       OID of the database in which the lock target exists, or
+       zero if the lock is a shared object, or
+       null if the lock is on a transaction ID
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
@@ -6938,7 +6938,7 @@
       <entry><type>oid</type></entry>
       <entry><literal><link linkend="catalog-pg-class"><structname>pg_class</structname></link>.oid</literal></entry>
       <entry>
-       OID of the relation, or null if the lock object is not
+       OID of the relation lock target, or null if the lock is not
        on a relation or part of a relation
       </entry>
      </row>
@@ -6947,7 +6947,7 @@
       <entry><type>integer</type></entry>
       <entry></entry>
       <entry>
-       Page number within the relation, or null if the lock object
+       Page number within the relation, or null if the lock
        is not on a tuple or relation page
       </entry>
      </row>
@@ -6956,7 +6956,7 @@
       <entry><type>smallint</type></entry>
       <entry></entry>
       <entry>
-       Tuple number within the page, or null if the lock object is not
+       Tuple number within the page, or null if the lock is not
        on a tuple
       </entry>
      </row>
@@ -6965,7 +6965,7 @@
       <entry><type>text</type></entry>
       <entry></entry>
       <entry>
-       Virtual ID of a transaction lock, or null if the lock object is not
+       Virtual ID of a transaction lock target, or null if the lock is not
        on a virtual transaction ID
       </entry>
      </row>
@@ -6974,7 +6974,7 @@
       <entry><type>xid</type></entry>
       <entry></entry>
       <entry>
-       ID of a transaction lock, or null if the lock object is not on a transaction ID
+       ID of a transaction lock target, or null if the lock is not on a transaction ID
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
@@ -6982,8 +6982,8 @@
       <entry><type>oid</type></entry>
       <entry><literal><link linkend="catalog-pg-class"><structname>pg_class</structname></link>.oid</literal></entry>
       <entry>
-       OID of the system catalog containing the object, or null if the
-       lock object is not on a general database object.
+       OID of the system catalog containing the lock target, or null if the
+       lock is not on a general database object.
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>
@@ -6992,7 +6992,7 @@
       <entry>any OID column</entry>
       <entry>
        OID of the object within its system catalog, or null if the
-       lock object is not on a general database object.
+       lock is not on a general database object.
        For advisory locks it is used to distinguish the two key
        spaces (1 for an int8 key, 2 for two int4 keys).
       </entry>
@@ -7005,7 +7005,7 @@
        For a table column, this is the column number (the
        <structfield>classid</> and <structfield>objid</> refer to the
        table itself).  For all other object types, this column is
-       zero.  Null if the lock object is not on a general database object.
+       zero.  Null if the lock is not on a general database object.
       </entry>
      </row>
      <row>