Problem with search_path and creating objects - Mailing list pgsql-novice

Hello:

Brand new postgresql user.  Long time Oracle user.  Looking to migrate... ;-)

I have created a user (sbowner) and a database (pas) owned by that user.  I have created a schema sbowner with the same name as the user.  I have created it with:

create schema authorization sbowner;

When I connect as the user, my search_path looks like this:

$ psql -U sbowner -d pas -h postgres
Password for user sbowner: 
psql (9.4.4)
Type "help" for help.

pas=> show search_path;   search_path    
-------------------"sbowner, public"
(1 row)

pas=> \dn             List of schemas    Name     |  Owner   
--------------+----------dbms_alert   | postgresdbms_assert  | postgresdbms_output  | postgresdbms_pipe    | postgresdbms_random  | postgresdbms_utility | postgresoracle       | postgresplunit       | postgresplvchr       | postgresplvdate      | postgresplvlex       | postgresplvstr       | postgresplvsubst     | postgrespublic       | postgressbowner      | sbownerutl_file     | postgres
(16 rows)

pas=> create table test(a1 char);
ERROR:  no schema has been selected to create in

So, it says the schema does not exist or it doesn't know where to create the table.  It clearly does exist, according to the \dn listing, so the search_path must be wrong somehow.

When I do this, it works:

pas=> set search_path to sbowner, public;
SET
pas=> show search_path;  search_path   
-----------------sbowner, public
(1 row)

pas=> create table test (a1 char);
CREATE TABLE
pas=> \dt       List of relationsSchema  | Name | Type  |  Owner  
---------+------+-------+---------sbowner | test | table | sbowner
(1 row)

So, the difference I see is that the default search_path when I start the database has quotes around it, and when I reset it the quotes are gone. 

Note:  I have tried:

pas=# alter database pas set search_path = "$user", public;

That did not help.  My postgresql.conf has:

#------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# CLIENT CONNECTION DEFAULTS
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# - Statement Behavior -

#search_path = '"$user",public'         # schema names
#default_tablespace = ''                # a tablespace name, '' uses the default
#temp_tablespaces = ''                  # a list of tablespace names, '' uses                                       # only default tablespace

As you can see, the default setting is in use (the line is commented out).  I see that the default setting has quotes around it.  I tried setting it like this:

search_path = "$user",public         # schema names

When I did that, postgresql wouldn't start.  Clearly it was a syntax error of some kind.

Why is this happening?  How do I fix the system search_path so that it just "works"?

Thanks in advance...

   Eric Raskin
   eraskin at paslists dot com