Currently, the standard boilerplate description of a SIGHUP parameter
is
This option can only be set at server start or in the
<filename>postgresql.conf</filename> file.
We've heard from more than one person who found this confusing ---
frequently it's misread as saying that the parameter cannot be changed
after postmaster start. Doubtless this is partly because the
boilerplate phrase for a POSTMASTER parameter is
This option can only be set at server start.
However, previous discussions have dried up without coming up with a
better phrase. It occurred to me today that this might work better:
This option can only be set in the <filename>postgresql.conf</>
file or on the server command line.
I think mentioning the config file first is important to focus attention
on that. The only other way to set these parameters is via command-line
switches, so we should just say that rather than emphasizing the "server
start time" aspect of it, which is exactly what not to emphasize.
Comments?
regards, tom lane