Thread: Comand line or postgresql.conf?

Comand line or postgresql.conf?

From
"Raymond O'Donnell"
Date:
Hi all,

If I want to get dates in the European format, what's the difference
between (a) including -o -e on the postmaster command line and (b)
uncommenting datestyle='iso,dmy' in postgresql.conf?

If there's no difference, which is the preferred/recommended method?

--Ray.

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Raymond O'Donnell     http://www.galwaycathedral.org/recitals
rod@iol.ie                          Galway Cathedral Recitals
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Re: Comand line or postgresql.conf?

From
Tom Lane
Date:
"Raymond O'Donnell" <rod@iol.ie> writes:
> If I want to get dates in the European format, what's the difference
> between (a) including -o -e on the postmaster command line and (b)
> uncommenting datestyle='iso,dmy' in postgresql.conf?

> If there's no difference, which is the preferred/recommended method?

Command-line switches are mostly useful for quick-and-dirty manual
starts of the postmaster; which is something people do for testing
purposes, but certainly not in production environments.  In a production
environment you should almost always edit postgresql.conf, for these
reasons:

1. The postgresql.conf file allows better documentation of what
you did.

2. To insert a command-line switch, you probably have to modify the
postmaster-launching script, which means you risk losing the change
during software updates.

3. Command-line switches override postgresql.conf entries, which means
it'll be impossible to change your mind later by editing postgresql.conf
and SIGHUP'ing; only a postmaster shutdown and restart can fix it if
you change your mind about something specified on the command line.
(Of course, this doesn't carry any weight for stuff that requires a
restart to change anyway, such as shared_buffers; but for stuff that
can be changed without a restart, such as the default datestyle,
I think it's foolish to foreclose the option.)

            regards, tom lane