Re: is_superuser is not documented

On Sat, Apr 8, 2023 at 10:54 AM Joseph Koshakow <koshy44(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
> is_superuser feels a little out of place in this file. All of
> the options here apply to the entire PostgreSQL server, while
> is_superuser only applies to the current session. The description of
> this file says :
>
> > These options report various aspects of PostgreSQL behavior that
> > might be of interest to certain applications, particularly
> > administrative front-ends. Most of them are determined when
> > PostgreSQL is compiled or when it is installed.
>
> Which doesn't seem to apply to is_superuser. It doesn't affect
> the behavior of PostgreSQL, only what the current session is allowed to
> do.

I'm not sure I agree with that. I mean, maybe the phrasing could be
improved somehow, but "PostgreSQL behavior" as a category seems to
include whether or not it lets you do certain things. And, for
example, psql will show a > or # in the prompt based on whether you're
a superuser. I find "administrative front-end" to be a somewhat odd
turn of phrase, but I guess it means general purpose frontends like
pgsql or pgAdmin or whatever that you might use to administer the
system, as opposed to applications.

--
Robert Haas
EDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com