Thread: BUG #1053: Configuration should be in /etc/postgres

The following bug has been logged online:

Bug reference:      1053
Logged by:          Jari

Email address:      jari.aalto@poboxes.com

PostgreSQL version: 7.4

Operating system:   W2k/Cygwin

Description:        Configuration should be in /etc/postgres

Details:

It would be better if postgres kept the configurations
files in standard /etc location. Like under
/etc/postgres

Right now the files are under the DATA directory:

  postgresql.conf
  pg_hba.conf

Debian does this, so perhaps that could be used in
the core distribution as well?

"PostgreSQL Bugs List" <pgsql-bugs@postgresql.org> writes:
> It would be better if postgres kept the configurations
> files in standard /etc location.

This has been discussed and rejected previously.  The big strikes
against it are (1) it prevents having more than one PG installation
on the same machine, and (2) it assumes that the DBA and root are
the same person, since files in /etc should generally only be writable
by root.

See the pghackers archives for extensive discussions about config file
locations.  There have been several proposals on separating config files
from PGDATA, but none have achieved a consensus agreement as yet.

            regards, tom lane

pgsql-bugs@postgresql.org ("PostgreSQL Bugs List") writes:
> Description:        Configuration should be in /etc/postgres
>
> Details: 
>
> It would be better if postgres kept the configurations files in
> standard /etc location. Like under /etc/postgres

This "fix" would prevent people from having multiple database
instances, which can be quite a useful thing.

Nothing prevents you from doing what Debian does, which is to
establish a symbolic link between the /etc location and where
configuration "really" is.
-- 
let name="cbbrowne" and tld="libertyrms.info" in String.concat "@" [name;tld];;
<http://dev6.int.libertyrms.com/>
Christopher Browne
(416) 646 3304 x124 (land)