Ken Johanson <pg-user(at)kensystem(dot)com> writes:
> A first question: will the current server design easily allow some
> change that lets us set behaviors (like standard_conforming_strings) on
> a per-connection basis?
See the SET command. Or maybe you should read the overview here:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.3/static/config-setting.html
regards, tom lane