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1 perry 1 POSTGRES
2 !!!POSTGRES
3 NAME
4 SYNOPSIS
5 DESCRIPTION
6 USAGE
7 SEE ALSO
8 ----
9 !!NAME
10
11
12 postgres - run a PostgreSQL server in single-user mode
13 !!SYNOPSIS
14
15
16 __postgres__ [[ __-A 0__ | __1__ ] [[ __-B__
17 ''nbuffers'' ] [[ __-c__
18 ''name''__=__''value'' ] [[ __-d__
19 ''debug-level'' ] [[ __-D__ ''datadir'' ] [[
20 __-e__ ] [[ __-E__ ] [[ __-f s__ | __i__ |
21 __t__ | __n__ | __m__ | __h__ ] [[ __-F__ ] [[
22 __-i__ ] [[ __-N__ ] [[ __-o__ ''filename'' ] [[
23 __-O__ ] [[ __-P__ ] [[ __-s__ | __-t pa__ |
24 __pl__ | __ex__ ] [[ __-S__ ''sort-mem'' ] [[
25 __-W__ ''seconds'' ] [[
26 __--__''name''__=__''value'' ]
27 ''database''
28
29
30 __postgres__ [[ __-A 0__ | __1__ ] [[ __-B__
31 ''nbuffers'' ] [[ __-c__
32 ''name''__=__''value'' ] [[ __-d__
33 ''debug-level'' ] [[ __-D__ ''datadir'' ] [[
34 __-e__ ] [[ __-f s__ | __i__ | __t__ | __n__ |
35 __m__ | __h__ ] [[ __-F__ ] [[ __-i__ ] [[
36 __-o__ ''filename'' ] [[ __-O__ ] [[ __-p__
37 ''database'' ] [[ __-P__ ] [[ __-s__ | __-t pa__ |
38 __pl__ | __ex__ ] [[ __-S__ ''sort-mem'' ] [[
39 __-v__ ''protocol-version'' ] [[ __-W__
40 ''seconds'' ] [[ __--__''name''__=__''value''
41 ]
42 !!DESCRIPTION
43
44
45 The ''postgres'' executable is the actual PostgreSQL
46 server process that processes queries. It is normally not
47 called directly; instead a postmaster(1) multi-user
48 server is started.
49
50
51 The second form above is how __postgres__ is invoked by
52 the postmaster(1) (only conceptually, since both
53 ''postmaster'' and ''postgres'' are in fact the same
54 program); it should not be invoked directly this way. The
55 first form invokes the server directly in interactive
56 single-user mode. The primary use for this mode is during
57 bootstrapping by initdb(1). Sometimes it is used for
58 debugging or disaster recovery.
59
60
61 When invoked in interactive mode from the shell, the user
62 can enter queries and the results will be printed to the
63 screen, but in a form that is more useful for developers
64 than end users. But note that running a single-user backend
65 is not truly suitable for debugging the server since no
66 realistic interprocess communication and locking will
67 happen.
68
69
70 When running a stand-alone backend, the session user will be
71 set to the user with id 1. This user does not actually have
72 to exist, so a stand-alone backend can be used to manually
73 recover from certain kinds of accidental damage to the
74 system catalogs. Implicit superuser powers are granted to
75 the user with id 1 in stand-alone mode.
76
77
78 __OPTIONS__
79
80
81 When __postgres__ is started by a postmaster(1)
82 then it inherits all options set by the latter.
83 Additionally, __postgres__-specific options can be passed
84 from the __postmaster__ with the __-o__
85 switch.
86
87
88 You can avoid having to type these options by setting up a
89 configuration file. See the ''Administrator's Guide'' for
90 details. Some (safe) options can also be set from the
91 connecting client in an application-dependent way. For
92 example, if the environment variable __PGOPTIONS__ is
93 set, then libpq-based clients will pass that string to the
94 server, which will interpret it as __postgres__
95 command-line options.
96
97
98 __GENERAL PURPOSE__
99
100
101 The options __-A__, __-B__, __-c__, __-d__,
102 __-D__, __-F__, and __--name__ have the same
103 meanings as for the postmaster(1).
104
105
106 __-e__
107
108
109 Sets the default date style to ``European'', which means
110 that the ``day before month'' (rather than month before day)
111 rule is used to interpret ambiguous date input, and that the
112 day is printed before the month in certain date output
113 formats. See the ''PostgreSQL User's Guide'' for more
114 information.
115
116
117 __-o__ ''filename''
118
119
120 Sends all debugging and error output to ''filename''. If
121 the backend is running under the __postmaster__, this
122 option is ignored, and the stderr inherited from the
123 __postmaster__ is used.
124
125
126 __-P__
127
128
129 Ignore system indexes while scanning/updating system tuples.
130 The __REINDEX__ command for system tables/indexes
131 requires this option to be used.
132
133
134 __-s__
135
136
137 Print time information and other statistics at the end of
138 each query. This is useful for benchmarking or for use in
139 tuning the number of buffers.
140
141
142 __-S__ ''sort-mem''
143
144
145 Specifies the amount of memory to be used by internal sorts
146 and hashes before resorting to temporary disk files. The
147 value is specified in kilobytes, and defaults to 512
148 kilobytes. Note that for a complex query, several sorts
149 and/or hashes might be running in parallel, and each one
150 will be allowed to use as much as ''sort-mem'' kilobytes
151 before it starts to put data into temporary
152 files.
153
154
155 __OPTIONS FOR STAND-ALONE MODE__
156
157
158 ''database''
159
160
161 Specifies the name of the database to be accessed. If it is
162 omitted it defaults to the user name.
163
164
165 __-E__
166
167
168 Echo all queries.
169
170
171 __-N__
172
173
174 Disables use of newline as a query delimiter.
175
176
177 __SEMI-INTERNAL OPTIONS__
178
179
180 There are several other options that may be specified, used
181 mainly for debugging purposes. These are listed here only
182 for the use by PostgreSQL system developers. __Use of any
183 of these options is highly discouraged.__ Furthermore, any
184 of these options may disappear or change in a future release
185 without notice.
186
187
188 __-f { s | i | m | n | h }__
189
190
191 Forbids the use of particular scan and join methods: s and i
192 disable sequential and index scans respectively, while n, m,
193 and h disable nested-loop, merge and hash joins
194 respectively.
195
196
197 __Note:__ Neither sequential scans nor nested-loop joins
198 can be disabled completely; the -fs and -fn options simply
199 discourage the optimizer from using those plan types if it
200 has any other alternative.
201
202
203 __-i__
204
205
206 Prevents query execution, but shows the plan
207 tree.
208
209
210 __-O__
211
212
213 Allows the structure of system tables to be modified. This
214 is used by __initdb__.
215
216
217 __-p__ ''database''
218
219
220 Indicates that this server has been started by a
221 __postmaster__ and makes different assumptions about
222 buffer pool management, file descriptors, etc.
223
224
225 __-t pa[[rser] | pl[[anner] | e[[xecutor]__
226
227
228 Print timing statistics for each query relating to each of
229 the major system modules. This option cannot be used
230 together with the __-s__ option.
231
232
233 __-v__ ''protocol''
234
235
236 Specifies the version number of the frontend/backend
237 protocol to be used for this particular
238 session.
239
240
241 __-W__ ''seconds''
242
243
244 As soon as this option is encountered, the process sleeps
245 for the specified amount of seconds. This gives developers
246 time to attach a debugger to the backend
247 process.
248 !!USAGE
249
250
251 Start a stand-alone backend with a command like
252
253
254 __postgres -D $PGDATA__ ''other-options'' __my_database
255 __Provide the correct path to the database area with __-D__, or make sure that the environment variable __PGDATA__ is set. Also specify the name of the particular database you want to work in.
256
257
258 Normally, the stand-alone backend treats newline as the
259 command entry terminator; there is no intelligence about
260 semicolons, as there is in __psql__. To continue a
261 command across multiple lines, you must type backslash just
262 before each newline except the last one.
263
264
265 But if you use the __-N__ command line switch, then
266 newline does not terminate command entry. The backend will
267 read the standard input until the end-of-file (EOF) marker,
268 then process the input as a single query string.
269 Backslash-newline is not treated specially in this
270 case.
271
272
273 To quit the session, type EOF (__Control__+__D__,
274 usually). If you've used __-N__, two consecutive EOFs are
275 needed to exit.
276
277
278 Note that the stand-alone backend does not provide
279 sophisticated line-editing features (no command history, for
280 example).
281 !!SEE ALSO
282
283
284 initdb(1), ipcclean(1),
285 postmaster(1)
286 ----
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