Re: HOST variable in psql

Hi Tom,

> On 27. Apr, 2020, at 14:20, Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us> wrote:
> AFAICS, psql is behaving as documented. Why are you trying to override
> HOST like that, instead of just using some other variable?

I could but

a) HOST is HOST and should not point to a socket directory. A socket directory is not a HOST. This makes no sense, especially since I see no use for using a socket directory in any psql script. There are tons of use cases for the hostname, though.

b) it would require changing some scripts.

c) the docs are IMHO not 100% clear on this. I think the psqlrc should be executed on EVERY new connect, hence including \c, and this is how I interpret the docs too. But it doesn't...

also (slightly related) d) PostgreSQL unfortunately does not provide any functionality to determine the server hostname it runs on. There is an extension but I still don't see why PostgreSQL does not include this natively.

Cheers,
Paul