Re: postgres --help-config

Peter Eisentraut <peter_e(at)gmx(dot)net> writes:
> - When the set of GUC properties (when to set, how to set, etc.) change,
> what is the upgrade path? Remember that we change those a lot.

Well, when we add another PGC_ category, that will mean another possible
output value in the column representing same. That doesn't bother me
particularly. The other flag bits that we have aren't currently
reflected in the help-config output at all, so changing them doesn't
affect it.

> - Who is going to maintain the descriptions in this very special "GNU
> trick" format?

What's special about it? I now understand that I'd misdescribed it, and
that the fields ought to be named something like "desc" and "extra_desc"
rather than "short_desc" and "long_desc". But I don't see anything
wrong with the concept. The short description is also the first
sentence of the long description; what's unreasonable about that?

> I propose we rip out everything except --help-config -m that shows the
> information in the "machine-readable" tab separated format without
> headers. If someone can answer the two questions above.

Actually I think -M -G corresponds to that set of choices. Are we
converging on an agreement that we only need that functionality for now?
If so, what switch shall be used to get it?

regards, tom lane