Re: Doc patch on psql output formats - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Tom Lane
Subject Re: Doc patch on psql output formats
Date
Msg-id 4861.1543243190@sss.pgh.pa.us
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: Doc patch on psql output formats  ("Daniel Verite" <daniel@manitou-mail.org>)
List pgsql-hackers
"Daniel Verite" <daniel@manitou-mail.org> writes:
>     Tom Lane wrote:
>> As of HEAD, it's impossible to select latex output format
>> at all:
>> regression=# \pset format latex
>> \pset: ambiguous abbreviation "latex" matches both "latex" and
>> "latex-longtable"

> Oops!

>> We could fix that by adding a special case to accept an exact match
>> immediately.

> Personally I would favor that one, but to me the problem is that
> allowing abbreviations doesn't really work well in the long run,
> that is, if new format names are going to appear recurringly in the
> future.

Perhaps, but that ship sailed years ago.  I do not think we can or
should remove the ability to write abbreviations here.  People
writing scripts are obviously taking a risk of future breakage
if they abbreviate, but how is it an improvement in their lives
if we change the risk from "uncertain" to "100%"?

            regards, tom lane


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