> -----Original Message-----
> From: Douglas McNaught [mailto:doug@mcnaught.org]
> Sent: 01 August 2005 15:16
> To: Dave Page
> Cc: Bruce Momjian; Tom Lane; Magnus Hagander; PostgreSQL-development
> Subject: Re: [HACKERS] Remote administration functionality
>
> "Dave Page" <dpage@vale-housing.co.uk> writes:
>
> >
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Bruce Momjian [mailtogman@candle.pha.pa.us]
>
> >> I am thinking we will need load_pg_hba() and
> write_pg_hba() that will
> >> load and write the table to pg_hba.conf.
> >
> > Yeah, that bit is straghtforward enough, but what about the
> situation
> > where dba #1 updates the pg_hba table, at the same time as dba #2 is
> > editting pg_hba.conf in vi?
>
> "Don't do that then."
>
> With this change, editing ph_hba.conf by hand should only be done when
> the database is down...

Don't tell me, tell all the users that log bugs when their changes get
lost because they didn't read that bit of the manual for whatever
version this might or might not end up in :-).

People are used to editting the file and hupping the server, and I would
guess few of us existing users re-read the pg_hba.conf manual pages when
setting up our shiny new version.

Regards, Dave.

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Dave Page wrote:
> > With this change, editing ph_hba.conf by hand should only be done when
> > the database is down...
>
> Don't tell me, tell all the users that log bugs when their changes get
> lost because they didn't read that bit of the manual for whatever
> version this might or might not end up in :-).
>
> People are used to editting the file and hupping the server, and I would
> guess few of us existing users re-read the pg_hba.conf manual pages when
> setting up our shiny new version.

A change like this would have to be mentioned prominently in the release
notes. I am afraid SET GLOBAL/postgresql.conf would have the same
issues.

One trick we could do is to warn if the loaded pg_hba.conf doesn't match
the file contents at the time we flush to disk, but I see no way to warn
cases where editing pg_hba.conf overwrites a change made by SQL.

I can't see how to offer SQL and file system editor capabilities to the
same file without such possible conflicts. I guess I then wonder if we
still want both capabilities.

--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
pgman@candle.pha.pa.us | (610) 359-1001
+ If your life is a hard drive, | 13 Roberts Road
+ Christ can be your backup. | Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073

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