Re: GUC names in messages

On Sat, Dec 9, 2023 at 1:48 AM Peter Eisentraut <peter(at)eisentraut(dot)org> wrote:
>
> On 08.12.23 05:10, Peter Smith wrote:
> > Patch 0001 -- "datestyle" becomes DateStyle in messages
> > Rebased this again, which was part of an earlier patch set
> > - I think any GUC names documented as MixedCase should keep that same
> > case in messages; this also obeys the guidelines recently pushed [1].
> > - Some others agreed, expecting the exact GUC name (in the message)
> > can be found in pg_settings [2].
> > - OTOH, Michael didn't like the diff churn [3] caused by this patch.
>
> I'm fine with adjusting the mixed-case stuff, but intuitively, I don't
> think removing the quotes in this is an improvement:
>
> - GUC_check_errdetail("Conflicting \"datestyle\" specifications.");
> + GUC_check_errdetail("Conflicting DateStyle specifications.");
>

My original intention of this thread was only to document the GUC name
quoting guidelines and then apply those consistently in the code.

I'm happy either way for the MixedCase names to be quoted or not
quoted, whatever is the consensus.

If the rule is changed to quote those MixedCase GUCs then the docs
will require minor tweaking

CURRENT
<para>
In messages containing configuration variable names, do not include quotes
when the names are visibly not natural English words, such as when they
have underscores, are all-uppercase or have mixed case. Otherwise, quotes
must be added. Do include quotes in a message where an arbitrary variable
name is to be expanded.
</para>

"are all-uppercase or have mixed case." --> "or are all-uppercase."

======
Kind Regards,
Peter Smith.
Fujitsu Australia