> I'm really not in favor of having comments in the conf file that try to
> tell you about stuff you might want to set, much less why. That task
> properly belongs to some kind of introductory chapter in the SGML docs.
> Novice DBAs are unlikely even to *find* the config file, let alone look
> inside it, if there's not an introductory chapter telling them about
> Things They Ought To Do.
+1. When I have a question about something PostgreSQL-related, the
first think I do is Read The Fine Manual. The PostgreSQL
documentation is excellent, and one of the highlights of the project
IMO.
I've read through the postgresql.conf file occasionally, but that's a
really difficult way to try to understand the subject. I'd much
rather read through that file in a web browser than a shell window -
but the real advantage of putting it in the documentation is that you
can not only document each specific setting, but also give a broad
overview of relevant topics. A section on "Performance Tuning" in
"Section III: Server Administration" would be really great.
...Robert