Allow external recovery_config_directory If required, recovery.conf can now be located outside of the data directory. Server needs read/write permissions on this directory.
This was a surprising commit. Does this get us any closer to merging postgresql.conf and recovery.conf?
At first glance, I am not sure this goes in the right direction. Why is it necessary to add a GUC parameter for that? In the patch I sent based on Masao's first version, if we merge of postgresql.conf and recovery.conf, users will be encouraged to migrate to the new system by including recovery.conf or a file containing recovery parameters using include_path or include_if_exists, so you shouldn't need a new parameter to include recovery.conf. I have the feeling that this complicates even more the settings. Also, based on Greg's spec (that Robert and I basically agreed on), if recovery.conf is found at the root of data folder an error is returned to user, recommending him to migrate correctly by referring to dedicated documentation.
