Richard J Kuhns <rjk@grauel.com> writes:
> Now for the question. What's the reason for using this method, as opposed
> to using, say, a system catalog to hold the valid locations? Historical?
> Having to stop and restart the backend so it can re-read its environment
> seems kind of archaic.
Well, there'd be a certain amount of circularity in consulting a table
to find out where you can find tables, no? ;-) But you're right, the
environment-variable mechanism is pretty grotty. There's been a great
deal of discussion already in pg-hackers about how to clean up this
and related issues; suggest you consult the archives if you want to get
involved with fixing it.
regards, tom lane