Re: Glossary and initdb definition work for "superuser" and database/cluster - Mailing list pgsql-hackers
| From | David G. Johnston |
|---|---|
| Subject | Re: Glossary and initdb definition work for "superuser" and database/cluster |
| Date | |
| Msg-id | CAKFQuwY-5R+zs1wZRnRVhabJDRcwZ4ikDE_7Qa5LWU9GFufZ5A@mail.gmail.com Whole thread Raw |
| In response to | Re: Glossary and initdb definition work for "superuser" and database/cluster (Justin Pryzby <pryzby@telsasoft.com>) |
| Responses |
Re: Glossary and initdb definition work for "superuser" and database/cluster
|
| List | pgsql-hackers |
On Tue, Nov 1, 2022 at 5:20 PM Justin Pryzby <pryzby@telsasoft.com> wrote:
On Tue, Nov 01, 2022 at 03:47:15PM -0700, David G. Johnston wrote:
I think this is wrong:
| https://www.postgresql.org/docs/devel/app-initdb.html
| -U username
| --username=username
|
| Selects the user name of the database superuser. This defaults to
| the name of the effective user running initdb [...]
It's true that the user who runs initdb is typically named "postgres",
but that's only by convention.
Thanks. I feel bad for missing this one given that I've been working on fixing up the default libpq user name wording.
>+ This user owns all system catalog tables in each database. It also is the role
>+ from which all granted permission originate. Because of these things this
>+ role may not be dropped.
plural permissions
+1
these comma
things comma actually (+0.5)
>+ While the <glossterm linkend="glossary-bootstrap-superuser">bootstrap superuser</glossterm> is
>+ a database superuser it has special obligations and restrictions that plain database superusers do not.
comma it
+ 0.5
> tables (tables that belong to the whole cluster rather than to any
>- particular database), and creating the <literal>postgres</literal>,
>- <literal>template1</literal>, and <literal>template0</literal> databases.
>+ particular database), creating the <literal>postgres</literal>,
>+ <literal>template1</literal>, and <literal>template0</literal> databases,
>+ and creating the
>+ <glossterm linkend="glossary-bootstrap-superuser">boostrap superuser</glossterm>
>+ (<literal>postgres</literal>, by default).
"postgres" is wrong
Yep, will give this another look to see if anywhere but the actual option description wants to cover how this really works (or maybe just point the reader there).
> For security reasons the new cluster created by <command>initdb</command>
>- will only be accessible by the cluster owner by default. The
>+ will only be accessible by the cluster user by default. The
I prefer "cluster owner"
I'll either need to change it back or fix the one in the next sentence...
I'm still leaning toward continuing to use cluster user like everywhere else on the page instead of adding a new term. The fact that this doesn't work on Windows makes having it in the description section at all arguable. I'd rather rewrite it something like:
"On POSIX systems, the resulting data directory, and all of its contents, will have permissions of 700, though you can use --allow-group-access to instead get 750. In either case, the effective user running initdb will become the owner and group for the files created within the data directory."
(I haven't tried to prove this owner:group dynamic, but having 700 or 750 and specifying the alternative does result in the directory having its permission bits changed during initdb)
Feel free to suggest something if similar wording should be added for non-POSIX systems.
I intend to try and integrate something like the above to replace the existing paragraph in the next version.
Thank you for the review!
David J.
P.S. I'm now looking at the very first paragraph to initdb more closely, not liking "single server instance" all that much and wondering how to fit in "cluster user" there - possibly by saying something like "...managed by a single server process, and physical data directory, whose effective user and owner respectively is called the cluster user. That user must exist and be used to execute this program."
Then the whole "initdb must be run as..." paragraph can probably just go away. Moving the commentary about "root", again a non-Windows thing, to the notes area.
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