Doc: improve explanation of when custom GUCs appear in pg_settings.

Be more clear about when and how an extension-defined GUC comes to be
visible in pg_settings.  (Move the para to the bottom of the page, too;
whoever thought this point was more important than the para about the
view being updatable had odd priorities IMNSHO.)

Back-patch to v15 where archive modules were added, since that seems
to have made this more of a sore spot than it was before.

Benoit Lobréau, Nathan Bossart

Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/CAPE8EZ7KHaXMHKwT=HOim23tDVKYA1PruRuTfeYdCrYWwPGhag@mail.gmail.com
This commit is contained in:
Tom Lane 2022-09-10 16:42:24 -04:00
parent 6afcab6ac1
commit 857808a411
1 changed files with 15 additions and 5 deletions

View File

@ -3273,11 +3273,6 @@ SELECT * FROM pg_locks pl LEFT JOIN pg_prepared_xacts ppx
ways to change these parameters.
</para>
<para>
This view does not display <link linkend="runtime-config-custom">customized options</link>
until the extension module that defines them has been loaded.
</para>
<para>
This view cannot be inserted into or deleted from, but it can be updated. An
<command>UPDATE</command> applied to a row of <structname>pg_settings</structname>
@ -3291,6 +3286,21 @@ SELECT * FROM pg_locks pl LEFT JOIN pg_prepared_xacts ppx
<command>SET</command>.
</para>
<para>
This view does not
display <link linkend="runtime-config-custom">customized options</link>
unless the extension module that defines them has been loaded by the
backend process executing the query (e.g., via a mention in
<xref linkend="guc-shared-preload-libraries"/>,
a call to a C function in the extension, or the
<link linkend="sql-load"><command>LOAD</command></link> command).
For example, since <link linkend="archive-modules">archive modules</link>
are normally loaded only by the archiver process not regular sessions,
this view will not display any customized options defined by such modules
unless special action is taken to load them into the backend process
executing the query.
</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="view-pg-shadow">