Re: Do we always need the socket file?

Michael Brusser <michael(at)synchronicity(dot)com> writes:

> We're trying to avoid creating any unnecessary files, especially outside
> of the product installation tree. Look at this as a policy.
> Experience shows that sooner or later some of your customers ask you:
> what is this /tmp/.s.PGSQL.xxx file is? What do I need it for?
> Also some admins known to periodically clean out /tmp, /var/run, etc.

Well if you clean out files programs are using you should expect those
programs to break. Other programs that create sockets in /tmp include screen
and X for example.

Unix domain sockets are sometimes more efficient and sometimes more secure
than TCP/IP connections. So preferring TCP/IP just to avoid /tmp pollution
might be a bit of a loss for aesthetic value.

--
greg