Andrew Sullivan <andrew@libertyrms.info> writes:
> On Fri, Jul 05, 2002 at 12:39:13PM -0400, Lamar Owen wrote:
>> One other usability note: why can't postmaster perform the steps of
>> an initdb if -D points to an empty directory?
> Rank newbies shouldn't be protected in this way, partly because if
> something goes wrong, _they won't know what to do_. Please, please,
> don't be putting automagic, database destroying functions like that
> into the postmaster.
I agree completely with Andrew, even though an auto-initdb on an empty
directory presumably won't destroy any data. What it *does* do is
effectively mask a DBA error. We'll be getting panic-stricken support
calls/emails saying "all my databases are gone! Postgres sucks!" when
the problem is just that PG was restarted with the wrong -D pointer.
The existing behavior points that out loud and clear, in a context
where the DBA shouldn't have too much trouble figuring out what he
did wrong.
regards, tom lane