Conventions
This book uses the following typographical conventions to mark
certain portions of text: new terms, foreign phrases, and other
important passages are emphasized in italics>.
Everything that represents input or output of the computer, in
particular commands, program code, and screen output, is shown in a
monospaced font (example). Within such
passages, italics (example) indicate
placeholders; you must insert an actual value instead of the placeholder.
On occasion, parts of program code are emphasized in bold face
(example>>), if they have been
added or changed since the preceding example.
The following conventions are used in the synopsis of a command:
brackets ([ and ]) indicate
optional parts. (In the synopsis of a Tcl command, question marks
(?>) are used instead, as is usual in Tcl.) Braces
({ and }) and vertical lines
(|) indicate that you must choose one
alternative. Dots (...>) mean that the preceding element
can be repeated.
Where it enhances the clarity, SQL commands are preceded by the
prompt =>>, and shell commands are preceded by the
prompt $>. Normally, prompts are not shown, though.
An administrator is generally a person who is
in charge of installing and running the server. A user
could be anyone who is using, or wants to use, any part of the
PostgreSQL system. These terms should not
be interpreted too narrowly; this book does not have fixed
presumptions about system administration procedures.