Re: Psql meta-command conninfo+

On Thursday, October 3, 2024, Hunaid Sohail <hunaidpgml(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>
>
> Authenticated User: The name of the user returned by PQuser(), indicating
> the user who initiated or authenticated the current database connection.
> Session User: The session user's name, which is initially the same as the
> authenticated user but can be changed with SET SESSION AUTHORIZATION. See
> the session_user() function in <xref linkend="functions-info-session-table"/>
> for more details.
>
>
It seems to me a more useful definition for what this command should print
out is basically the entire contents of:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-status.html

That page has three sections:
Connection Invariants
Current Status
Encryption (TLS)

I would suggest that we thus produce three tables - one for each. In the
case of SSL, a message saying “not used” instead of a table full of blanks
probably suffices, though I’d lean to print all of what is available at all
times.

Within that framework having \conninfo[+[CSE][…]] be the command - printing
out only the table specified would be the behavior (specifying no suffix
letters prints all three) - would be an option.

We could add a fourth table - Parameters (P) - for the various outputs of
PQparameterStatus; thus making the Current Status section a bit more
manageable

There are obviously some things psql wouldn’t expose (like password) - we
should probably list them explicitly in an exception list, and maybe note
as much on the libpq page.

Separately, I don’t see a reason to even show “Authenticated User” unless
it is different than Session User - which means only in the rare case of a
superuser invoking set session authorization. It also isn’t guaranteed to
be authenticated, which the docs do try to make a point of, so “Client
User” would be more appropriate.

David J.