Re: What are exactly bootstrap processes, auxiliary processes, standalone backends, normal backends(user sessions)? - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Bharath Rupireddy
Subject Re: What are exactly bootstrap processes, auxiliary processes, standalone backends, normal backends(user sessions)?
Date
Msg-id CALj2ACUtWWWLKAU_R3pryw7JvF1kS+EnBZq1XYSVsJ7ehKkRCQ@mail.gmail.com
Whole thread Raw
In response to Re: What are exactly bootstrap processes, auxiliary processes, standalone backends, normal backends(user sessions)?  (Justin Pryzby <pryzby@telsasoft.com>)
Responses Re: What are exactly bootstrap processes, auxiliary processes, standalone backends, normal backends(user sessions)?  (Alvaro Herrera <alvherre@alvh.no-ip.org>)
List pgsql-hackers
On Thu, Jul 15, 2021 at 8:17 PM Justin Pryzby <pryzby@telsasoft.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Jul 09, 2021 at 09:24:19PM +0530, Bharath Rupireddy wrote:
> > I've always had a hard time distinguishing various types of
> > processes/terms used in postgres. I look at the source code every time
> > to understand them, yet I don't feel satisfied with my understanding.
> > I request any hacker (having a better idea than me) to help me with
> > what each different process does and how they are different from each
> > other? Of course, I'm clear with normal backends (user sessions), bg
> > workers, but the others need a bit more understanding.
>
> It sounds like something that should be in the glossary, which currently refers
> to but doesn't define "auxiliary processes".

Thanks. I strongly feel that it should be documented somewhere. I will
be happy if someone with a clear idea about these various processes
does it.

>  * Background writer, checkpointer, WAL writer and archiver run during normal
>  * operation.  Startup process and WAL receiver also consume 2 slots, but WAL
>  * writer is launched only after startup has exited, so we only need 5 slots.
>  */
> #define NUM_AUXILIARY_PROCS             5
>
> Bootstrap is run by initdb:
> src/bin/initdb/initdb.c:                                 "\"%s\" --boot -x0 %s %s "
>
> Standalone backend is run by --single, right ?

Maybe(?). I found another snippet below:

    if (argc > 1 && strcmp(argv[1], "--boot") == 0)
        AuxiliaryProcessMain(argc, argv);   /* does not return */
    else if (argc > 1 && strcmp(argv[1], "--describe-config") == 0)
        GucInfoMain();          /* does not return */
    else if (argc > 1 && strcmp(argv[1], "--single") == 0)
        PostgresMain(argc, argv,
                     NULL,      /* no dbname */
                     strdup(get_user_name_or_exit(progname)));  /*
does not return */
    else
        PostmasterMain(argc, argv); /* does not return */

Regards,
Bharath Rupireddy.



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