Re: Postgres server output logfile

Mintoo Lall <tlqmail(at)yahoo(dot)com> writes:
> I am new to postgresql. I started my postgres using the command
> postmaster -D /usr/local/pgsql/data > logfile 2>&1 &

> Now after running it for some time I noticed that the size of this
> logfile has become very large. Is this logfile used to store any
> important information used by the database for recovery in case of
> crash?

No, it's only messages for human consumption.

> If no,is there any way I can specify a different log file
> withouting stopping the server ?

Unfortunately not. The recommended procedure for production servers is
not to send the postmaster's stdout/stderr directly to a disk file, but
to pipe it into some script that rotates the output. There's a usable
script in the Apache distribution, or you can roll your own with little
effort. See the PG admin guide for more discussion (in the routine-
maintenance chapter).

regards, tom lane