Re: archive_command failures report confusing exit status

Alvaro Herrera <alvherre(at)alvh(dot)no-ip(dot)org> writes:
> Simon Riggs wrote:
>> I think you should lose the "The", if nothing else. Most Postgres
>> messages I recall say "return code = xx" not "The return code ..."

> Right, that's because they are in errmessage() and not errdetail(). The
> guidelines are different.

Right --- errdetail is supposed to be a complete sentence. (The
rationale for that is explained in TFM.) I do find the current phrasing
a bit awkward, though; what's bugging me is putting quotes around the
command string. It seems highly likely that the command string will
itself contain quotes and thus that the added quotes will be confusing.
I wonder if it'd be OK to do

The failed archive command was: %s

which is stretching the style guidelines by omitting a trailing period,
but I think that might be justifiable in this context.

regards, tom lane