Re: [PATCH] Cleanup of GUC units code

Simon Riggs <simon(at)2ndQuadrant(dot)com> writes:
> Peter's objection is reasonable, as far as most people have replied.
> Marko's proposal is also reasonable to most people, since they do not
> wish fat fingers to cause any amount of downtime. ISTM that if you've
> done this, you appreciate the feature, if not it seems less important.

I really think that the claim that this will "save downtime" is a
ridiculous argument. On that basis we should, for example, be looking
for a nearest match for any misspelled variable name. The fact of the
matter is that a configuration validator is a far better answer to any
such worries than trying to accept bad/questionable input.

> So my recommendation to everybody is
> * we allow case insensitive matches of units in postgresql.conf
> * Marko should change patch to put WARNINGs in place so people know they
> got it wrong
> * we make sure the case is always shown correctly in all other aspects
> of Postgres server and docs (no relaxation at all there)
> * in the longer term, we look for the solution to be a config checker

My vote is to reject the patch and work on a config checker.

regards, tom lane