> I need to port pgsql onto a controller which doesn't have a framework of > creating multiple users for administrative purposes. The entire controller > is managed by a single root user and that is the reason I am trying to > change the pgsql initdb behavior. Do you think of any other better > alternative?
The reason you didn't see initdb completed is that it execs postgres on the way.
As you know, it is strongly discourged on ordinary environment, but that framework sounds to be a single-user environment like what MS-DOS was, where any security risk comes from the characterisc is acceptable.
I could see initdb and postgres operating as root for the moment (which means any possible side-effect is not checked) by making changes at four point in the whole postgresql source tree. Perhaps only two of them are needed for your wish.
postgresql $ find . -type f -print | xargs grep -nH 'geteuid() == 0' ./src/backend/main/main.c:377: if (geteuid() == 0) ./src/bin/pg_ctl/pg_ctl.c:2121: if (geteuid() == 0) ./src/bin/initdb/initdb.c:778: if (geteuid() == 0) /* 0 is root's uid */ ./src/bin/pg_resetxlog/pg_resetxlog.c:250: if (geteuid() == 0)
Try replacing these conditions with "(0 && geteuid() == 0)" and you would see it run as root.
Maybe a compile option like '--enable-run-as-root' could be added to allow it without the need of change the source code.
Regards,
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Fabrízio de Royes Mello Consultoria/Coaching PostgreSQL
