Thread: BUG #9251: default values for fatal error logging in service

The following bug has been logged on the website:

Bug reference:      9251
Logged by:          Karl Richter
Email address:      krichter722@aol.de
PostgreSQL version: 9.3.1
Operating system:   Ubuntu 13.10 on Linux 3.11
Description:

The logging of fatal errors when running postgresql as a service on debian
based systems, like Ubuntu, has a wrong default value. Without going into
details of the underlying error, I'll just give the following example:
invoking <code>sudo service postgresql start</code> gives the output
<output>Error: Invalid data directory</code>. The default value for such
fatal errors should be set to a higher verbosity so that detailed
information and instructions about the error in the data directory (I assume
that pgsql has such function) are logged to stdout (which should also become
the default setting for logging output when starting pgsql as service).
There's no advantage in letting the user search for log output in numerous
of files and going through pages and pages of logging docs. The potential
use for contradictory use case which is to provide no information at all
after a fatal error is fairly small :)

krichter722@aol.de writes:
> The logging of fatal errors when running postgresql as a service on debian
> based systems, like Ubuntu, has a wrong default value. Without going into
> details of the underlying error, I'll just give the following example:
> invoking <code>sudo service postgresql start</code> gives the output
> <output>Error: Invalid data directory</code>.

This is a packaging problem which you should take up with the Debian
folk.

            regards, tom lane

I will do that. Thanks for the hint :)

On 17.02.2014 05:19, Tom Lane wrote:
> krichter722@aol.de writes:
>> The logging of fatal errors when running postgresql as a service on de=
bian
>> based systems, like Ubuntu, has a wrong default value. Without going i=
nto
>> details of the underlying error, I'll just give the following example:=

>> invoking <code>sudo service postgresql start</code> gives the output
>> <output>Error: Invalid data directory</code>.
>=20
> This is a packaging problem which you should take up with the Debian
> folk.
>=20
>             regards, tom lane
>=20