diff options
author | Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us> | 2005-04-23 18:59:17 +0000 |
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committer | Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us> | 2005-04-23 18:59:17 +0000 |
commit | 97a4dad35fcc00f530f35fe99ae9d3db74f5c8cc (patch) | |
tree | ac4d3536e6eebe26127145ee9bd7dc3659792899 /doc/src | |
parent | 9f1e864d02ed4ec57105e531815ac7c113963559 (diff) | |
download | postgresql-97a4dad35fcc00f530f35fe99ae9d3db74f5c8cc.tar.gz postgresql-97a4dad35fcc00f530f35fe99ae9d3db74f5c8cc.zip |
Update H4 tag to H3 to be consistent with heading levels.
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/src')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/src/FAQ/FAQ.html | 182 |
1 files changed, 91 insertions, 91 deletions
diff --git a/doc/src/FAQ/FAQ.html b/doc/src/FAQ/FAQ.html index 6c5ec076cb9..2ea68b4864a 100644 --- a/doc/src/FAQ/FAQ.html +++ b/doc/src/FAQ/FAQ.html @@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ alink="#0000ff"> <H1>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for PostgreSQL</H1> - <P>Last updated: Sat Apr 23 14:56:41 EDT 2005</P> + <P>Last updated: Sat Apr 23 14:59:01 EDT 2005</P> <P>Current maintainer: Bruce Momjian (<A href= "mailto:pgman@candle.pha.pa.us">pgman@candle.pha.pa.us</A>) @@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ <H2 align="center">General Questions</H2> - <H4><A name="1.1">1.1</A>) What is PostgreSQL? How is it pronounced?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.1">1.1</A>) What is PostgreSQL? How is it pronounced?</H3> <P>PostgreSQL is pronounced <I>Post-Gres-Q-L</I>, also called just <I>Postgres</I>.</P> @@ -152,8 +152,8 @@ http://www.postgresql.org/files/documentation/faqs/FAQ_DEV.html</A> </P> - <H4><A name="1.2">1.2</A>) What is the copyright of - PostgreSQL?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.2">1.2</A>) What is the copyright of + PostgreSQL?</H3> <P>PostgreSQL is distributed under the classic BSD license. It has no restrictions on how the source code can be used. We like it and @@ -185,7 +185,7 @@ UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.</P> - <H4><A name="1.3">1.3</A>) What platforms does PostgreSQL support?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.3">1.3</A>) What platforms does PostgreSQL support?</H3> <P>In general, any modern Unix-compatible platform should be able to run PostgreSQL. The platforms that had received explicit testing at @@ -204,14 +204,14 @@ "http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?sh=1&button=Search&key=postgreSQL&stype=all&sort=type&dir=%2F"> http://hobbes.nmsu.edu/cgi-bin/h-search?sh=1&button=Search&key=postgreSQL&stype=all&sort=type&dir=%2F</a>.</p> - <H4><A name="1.4">1.4</A>) Where can I get PostgreSQL?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.4">1.4</A>) Where can I get PostgreSQL?</H3> <P>Via web browser, use <a href="http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/"> http://www.postgresql.org/ftp/</a>, and via ftp, use <A href="ftp://ftp.PostgreSQL.org/pub/"> ftp://ftp.PostgreSQL.org/pub/</A>.</P> - <H4><A name="1.5">1.5</A>) Where can I get support?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.5">1.5</A>) Where can I get support?</H3> <P>The PostgreSQL community provides assistance to many of its users via email. The main web site to subscribe to the email lists is @@ -230,7 +230,7 @@ "http://techdocs.postgresql.org/companies.php"> http://techdocs.postgresql.org/companies.php</A>.</P> - <H4><A name="1.6">1.6</A>) How do I submit a bug report?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.6">1.6</A>) How do I submit a bug report?</H3> <P>Visit the PostgreSQL bug form at <A href= "http://www.postgresql.org/support/submitbug"> @@ -240,14 +240,14 @@ "ftp://ftp.PostgreSQL.org/pub/">ftp://ftp.PostgreSQL.org/pub/</A> to see if there is a more recent PostgreSQL version.</P> - <H4><A name="1.7">1.7</A>) What is the latest release?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.7">1.7</A>) What is the latest release?</H3> <P>The latest release of PostgreSQL is version 8.0.2.</P> <P>We plan to have a major release every year, with minor releases every few months.</P> - <H4><A name="1.8">1.8</A>) What documentation is available?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.8">1.8</A>) What documentation is available?</H3> <P>PostgreSQL includes extensive documentation, including a large manual, manual pages, and some test examples. See the <I>/doc</I> @@ -272,15 +272,15 @@ <P>Our web site contains even more documentation.</P> - <H4><A name="1.9">1.9</A>) How do I find out about known bugs or - missing features?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.9">1.9</A>) How do I find out about known bugs or + missing features?</H3> <P>PostgreSQL supports an extended subset of <SMALL>SQL</SMALL>-92. See our <A href="http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs.TODO.html">TODO</A> list for known bugs, missing features, and future plans.</P> - <H4><A name="1.10">1.10</A>) How can I learn - <SMALL>SQL</SMALL>?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.10">1.10</A>) How can I learn + <SMALL>SQL</SMALL>?</H3> <P>First, consider the PostgreSQL-specific books mentioned above. Another one is "Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, Second Edition" @@ -298,14 +298,14 @@ and at <A href= "http://sqlcourse.com/">http://sqlcourse.com.</A></P> - <H4><A name="1.11">1.11</A>) How do I join the development - team?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.11">1.11</A>) How do I join the development + team?</H3> <P>See the <a href="http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs.FAQ_DEV.html"> Developer's FAQ</A>. - <H4><A name="1.12">1.12</A>) How does PostgreSQL compare to other - <SMALL>DBMS</SMALL>s?</H4> + <H3><A name="1.12">1.12</A>) How does PostgreSQL compare to other + <SMALL>DBMS</SMALL>s?</H3> <P>There are several ways of measuring software: features, performance, reliability, support, and price.</P> @@ -368,8 +368,8 @@ <H2 align="center">User Client Questions</H2> - <H4><A name="2.1">2.1</A>) What interfaces are available for - PostgreSQL?</H4> + <H3><A name="2.1">2.1</A>) What interfaces are available for + PostgreSQL?</H3> <P>The PostgreSQL install includes only the <SMALL>C</SMALL> and embedded <SMALL>C</SMALL> interfaces. All other interfaces are independent projects @@ -383,8 +383,8 @@ in the <I>Drivers/Interfaces</I> section and via Internet search. </P> - <H4><A name="2.2">2.2</A>) What tools are available for using - PostgreSQL with Web pages?</H4> + <H3><A name="2.2">2.2</A>) What tools are available for using + PostgreSQL with Web pages?</H3> <P>A nice introduction to Database-backed Web pages can be seen at: <A href="http://www.webreview.com">http://www.webreview.com</A></P> @@ -396,8 +396,8 @@ <P>For complex cases, many use the Perl and DBD::Pg with CGI.pm or mod_perl.</P> - <H4><A name="2.3">2.3</A>) Does PostgreSQL have a graphical user - interface?</H4> + <H3><A name="2.3">2.3</A>) Does PostgreSQL have a graphical user + interface?</H3> <P>Yes, see <a href="http://techdocs.postgresql.org/guides/GUITools"> http://techdocs.postgresql.org/guides/GUITools</a> for a @@ -408,14 +408,14 @@ <H2 align="center">Administrative Questions</H2> - <H4><A name="3.1">3.1</A>) How do I install PostgreSQL somewhere - other than <I>/usr/local/pgsql</I>?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.1">3.1</A>) How do I install PostgreSQL somewhere + other than <I>/usr/local/pgsql</I>?</H3> <P>Specify the <I>--prefix</I> option when running <I>configure</I>.</P> - <H4><A name="3.2">3.2</A>) How do I control connections from other - hosts?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.2">3.2</A>) How do I control connections from other + hosts?</H3> <P>By default, PostgreSQL only allows connections from the local machine using Unix domain sockets or TCP/IP connections. Other @@ -424,8 +424,8 @@ host-based authentication by modifying the <I>$PGDATA/pg_hba.conf</I> file, and restart the server.</P> - <H4><A name="3.3">3.3</A>) How do I tune the database engine for - better performance?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.3">3.3</A>) How do I tune the database engine for + better performance?</H3> <P>There are three major areas for potential performance improvement:</P> @@ -481,15 +481,15 @@ </DD> </DL> - <H4><A name="3.4">3.4</A>) What debugging features are - available?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.4">3.4</A>) What debugging features are + available?</H3> <P>There are many <CODE>log_*</CODE> server configuration variables that enable printing of query and process statistics which can be very useful for debugging and performance measurements.</P> - <H4><A name="3.5">3.5</A>) Why do I get <I>"Sorry, too many - clients"</I> when trying to connect?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.5">3.5</A>) Why do I get <I>"Sorry, too many + clients"</I> when trying to connect?</H3> <P>You have reached the default limit is 100 database sessions. You need to increase the <I>postmaster</I>'s limit on how many @@ -497,8 +497,8 @@ <I>max_connections</I> value in <I>postgresql.conf</I> and restarting the <I>postmaster</I>.</P> - <H4><A name="3.6">3.6</A>) Why do I need to do a dump and restore - to upgrade between major PostgreSQL releases?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.6">3.6</A>) Why do I need to do a dump and restore + to upgrade between major PostgreSQL releases?</H3> <P>The PostgreSQL team makes only small changes between minor releases, so upgrading from 7.4.0 to 7.4.1 does not require a dump and restore. @@ -508,7 +508,7 @@ data in a generic format that can then be loaded in using the new internal format.</P> - <H4><A name="3.7">3.7</A>) What computer hardware should I use?</H4> + <H3><A name="3.7">3.7</A>) What computer hardware should I use?</H3> <P>Because PC hardware is mostly compatible, people tend to believe that all PC hardware is of equal quality. It is not. ECC RAM, SCSI, and @@ -522,8 +522,8 @@ <H2 align="center">Operational Questions</H2> - <H4><A name="4.1">4.1</A>) How do I <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> only the - first few rows of a query? A random row?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.1">4.1</A>) How do I <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> only the + first few rows of a query? A random row?</H3> <P>To retrieve only a few rows, if you know at the number of rows needed at the time of the <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL> use @@ -541,9 +541,9 @@ LIMIT 1; </PRE> - <H4><A name="4.2">4.2</A>) How do I find out what tables, indexes, + <H3><A name="4.2">4.2</A>) How do I find out what tables, indexes, databases, and users are defined? How do I see the queries used - by <I>psql</I> to display them?</H4> + by <I>psql</I> to display them?</H3> <P>Use the \dt command to see tables in <I>psql</I>. For a complete list of commands inside psql you can use \?. Alternatively you can read the source @@ -564,7 +564,7 @@ illustrates many of the <SMALL>SELECT</SMALL>s needed to get information from the database system tables.</P> - <H4><A name="4.3">4.3</A>) How do you change a column's data type?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.3">4.3</A>) How do you change a column's data type?</H3> <P>Changing the data type of a column can be done easily in 8.0 and later with <SMALL>ALTER TABLE ALTER COLUMN TYPE</SMALL>.</P> @@ -580,8 +580,8 @@ <P>You might then want to do <I>VACUUM FULL tab</I> to reclaim the disk space used by the expired rows.</P> - <H4><A name="4.4">4.4</A>) What is the maximum size for a row, a - table, and a database?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.4">4.4</A>) What is the maximum size for a row, a + table, and a database?</H3> <P>These are the limits:</P> <BLOCKQUOTE> @@ -611,8 +611,8 @@ table?</TD><TD>unlimited</TD></TR> <P>The maximum table size and maximum number of columns can be quadrupled by increasing the default block size to 32k.</P> - <H4><A name="4.5">4.5</A>) How much database disk space is required - to store data from a typical text file?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.5">4.5</A>) How much database disk space is required + to store data from a typical text file?</H3> <P>A PostgreSQL database may require up to five times the disk space to store data from a text file.</P> @@ -648,8 +648,8 @@ table?</TD><TD>unlimited</TD></TR> <P><SMALL>NULL</SMALL>s are stored as bitmaps, so they use very little space.</P> - <H4><A name="4.6">4.6</A>) Why are my queries slow? Why don't they - use my indexes?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.6">4.6</A>) Why are my queries slow? Why don't they + use my indexes?</H3> <P>Indexes are not used by every query. Indexes are used only if the table is larger than a minimum size, and the query selects only a @@ -712,14 +712,14 @@ table?</TD><TD>unlimited</TD></TR> types exactly match the index's column types. This was particularly true of int2, int8, and numeric column indexes.</P> - <H4><A name="4.7">4.7</A>) How do I see how the query optimizer is - evaluating my query?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.7">4.7</A>) How do I see how the query optimizer is + evaluating my query?</H3> <P>See the <SMALL>EXPLAIN</SMALL> manual page.</P> - <H4><A name="4.8">4.8</A>) How do I perform regular expression + <H3><A name="4.8">4.8</A>) How do I perform regular expression searches and case-insensitive regular expression searches? How do I - use an index for case-insensitive searches?</H4> + use an index for case-insensitive searches?</H3> <P>The <I>~</I> operator does regular expression matching, and <I>~*</I> does case-insensitive regular expression matching. The @@ -740,9 +740,9 @@ table?</TD><TD>unlimited</TD></TR> CREATE INDEX tabindex ON tab (lower(col)); </PRE> - <H4><A name="4.9">4.9</A>) In a query, how do I detect if a field + <H3><A name="4.9">4.9</A>) In a query, how do I detect if a field is <SMALL>NULL</SMALL>? How can I sort on whether a field is <SMALL> - NULL</SMALL> or not?</H4> + NULL</SMALL> or not?</H3> <P>You test the column with <SMALL>IS NULL</SMALL> and <SMALL>IS NOT NULL</SMALL>.</P> @@ -764,8 +764,8 @@ table?</TD><TD>unlimited</TD></TR> ORDER BY (col IS NOT NULL) </PRE> - <H4><A name="4.10">4.10</A>) What is the difference between the - various character types?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.10">4.10</A>) What is the difference between the + various character types?</H3> <BLOCKQUOTE> <TABLE > <TR><TH>Type</TH><TH>Internal Name</TH><TH>Notes</TH></TR> @@ -801,8 +801,8 @@ length</TD></TR> particularly values that include <SMALL>NULL</SMALL> bytes. All the types described here have similar performance characteristics.</P> - <H4><A name="4.11.1">4.11.1</A>) How do I create a - serial/auto-incrementing field?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.11.1">4.11.1</A>) How do I create a + serial/auto-incrementing field?</H3> <P>PostgreSQL supports a <SMALL>SERIAL</SMALL> data type. It auto-creates a sequence. For example, @@ -826,8 +826,8 @@ length</TD></TR> See the <I>create_sequence</I> manual page for more information about sequences. - <H4><A name="4.11.2">4.11.2</A>) How do I get the value of a - <SMALL>SERIAL</SMALL> insert?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.11.2">4.11.2</A>) How do I get the value of a + <SMALL>SERIAL</SMALL> insert?</H3> <P>One approach is to retrieve the next <SMALL>SERIAL</SMALL> value from the sequence object with the <I>nextval()</I> function @@ -855,23 +855,23 @@ length</TD></TR> new_id = execute("SELECT currval('person_id_seq')"); </PRE> - <H4><A name="4.11.3">4.11.3</A>) Doesn't <I>currval()</I> - lead to a race condition with other users?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.11.3">4.11.3</A>) Doesn't <I>currval()</I> + lead to a race condition with other users?</H3> <P>No. <I>currval()</I> returns the current value assigned by your session, not by all sessions.</P> - <H4><A name="4.11.4">4.11.4</A>) Why aren't my sequence numbers + <H3><A name="4.11.4">4.11.4</A>) Why aren't my sequence numbers reused on transaction abort? Why are there gaps in the numbering of - my sequence/SERIAL column?</H4> + my sequence/SERIAL column?</H3> <P>To improve concurrency, sequence values are given out to running transactions as needed and are not locked until the transaction completes. This causes gaps in numbering from aborted transactions.</P> - <H4><A name="4.12">4.12</A>) What is an <SMALL>OID</SMALL>? What is - a <SMALL>TID</SMALL>?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.12">4.12</A>) What is an <SMALL>OID</SMALL>? What is + a <SMALL>TID</SMALL>?</H3> <P>Every row that is created in PostgreSQL gets a unique <SMALL>OID</SMALL> unless created <SMALL>WITHOUT OIDS</SMALL>. @@ -893,8 +893,8 @@ length</TD></TR> are modified or reloaded. They are used by index entries to point to physical rows.</P> - <H4><A name="4.13">4.13</A>) Why do I get the error <I>"ERROR: - Memory exhausted in AllocSetAlloc()"</I>?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.13">4.13</A>) Why do I get the error <I>"ERROR: + Memory exhausted in AllocSetAlloc()"</I>?</H3> <P>You probably have run out of virtual memory on your system, or your kernel has a low limit for certain resources. Try this @@ -912,13 +912,13 @@ length</TD></TR> backend is returning too much data, try it before starting the client. - <H4><A name="4.14">4.14</A>) How do I tell what PostgreSQL version - I am running?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.14">4.14</A>) How do I tell what PostgreSQL version + I am running?</H3> <P>From <I>psql</I>, type <CODE>SELECT version();</CODE></P> - <H4><A name="4.15">4.15</A>) Why does my large-object operations - get <I>"invalid large obj descriptor"</I>?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.15">4.15</A>) Why does my large-object operations + get <I>"invalid large obj descriptor"</I>?</H3> <P>You need to put <CODE>BEGIN WORK</CODE> and <CODE>COMMIT</CODE> around any use of a large object handle, that is, surrounding @@ -933,15 +933,15 @@ length</TD></TR> <P>If you are using a client interface like <SMALL>ODBC</SMALL> you may need to set <CODE>auto-commit off.</CODE></P> - <H4><A name="4.16">4.16</A>) How do I create a column that will - default to the current time?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.16">4.16</A>) How do I create a column that will + default to the current time?</H3> <P>Use <I>CURRENT_TIMESTAMP</I>:</P> <PRE> CREATE TABLE test (x int, modtime TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP ); </PRE> - <H4><A name="4.17">4.17</A>) How do I perform an outer join?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.17">4.17</A>) How do I perform an outer join?</H3> <P>PostgreSQL supports outer joins using the SQL standard syntax. Here are two examples:</P> @@ -964,8 +964,8 @@ length</TD></TR> <SMALL>RIGHT</SMALL>, and <SMALL>FULL</SMALL> joins. Ordinary joins are called <SMALL>INNER</SMALL> joins.</P> - <H4><A name="4.18">4.18</A>) How do I perform queries using - multiple databases?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.18">4.18</A>) How do I perform queries using + multiple databases?</H3> <P>There is no way to query a database other than the current one. Because PostgreSQL loads database-specific system catalogs, it is @@ -976,16 +976,16 @@ length</TD></TR> connections to different databases and merge the results on the client side.</P> - <H4><A name="4.19">4.19</A>) How do I return multiple rows or - columns from a function?</H4> + <H3><A name="4.19">4.19</A>) How do I return multiple rows or + columns from a function?</H3> <P>It is easy using set-returning functions, <a href="http://techdocs.postgresql.org/guides/SetReturningFunctions"> http://techdocs.postgresql.org/guides/SetReturningFunctions</a></P>. - <H4><A name="4.20">4.20</A>) Why do I get "relation with OID ##### + <H3><A name="4.20">4.20</A>) Why do I get "relation with OID ##### does not exist" errors when accessing temporary tables in PL/PgSQL - functions?</H4> + functions?</H3> <P>PL/PgSQL caches function scripts, and an unfortunate side effect is that if a PL/PgSQL function accesses a temporary table, and that @@ -995,8 +995,8 @@ length</TD></TR> <SMALL>EXECUTE</SMALL> for temporary table access in PL/PgSQL. This will cause the query to be reparsed every time.</P> - <H4><A name="4.21">4.21</A>) What encryption options are available? - </H4> + <H3><A name="4.21">4.21</A>) What encryption options are available? + </H3> <UL> <LI><I>contrib/pgcrypto</I> contains many encryption functions for use in <SMALL>SQL</SMALL> queries.</LI> @@ -1016,21 +1016,21 @@ length</TD></TR> <H2 align="center">Extending PostgreSQL</H2> - <H4><A name="5.1">5.1</A>) I wrote a user-defined function. When I - run it in <I>psql</I>, why does it dump core?</H4> + <H3><A name="5.1">5.1</A>) I wrote a user-defined function. When I + run it in <I>psql</I>, why does it dump core?</H3> <P>The problem could be a number of things. Try testing your user-defined function in a stand-alone test program first.</P> - <H4><A name="5.2">5.2</A>) How can I contribute some nifty new - types and functions to PostgreSQL?</H4> + <H3><A name="5.2">5.2</A>) How can I contribute some nifty new + types and functions to PostgreSQL?</H3> <P>Send your extensions to the <I>pgsql-hackers</I> mailing list, and they will eventually end up in the <I>contrib/</I> subdirectory.</P> - <H4><A name="5.3">5.3</A>) How do I write a C function to return a - tuple?</H4> + <H3><A name="5.3">5.3</A>) How do I write a C function to return a + tuple?</H3> <P>In versions of PostgreSQL beginning with 7.3, table-returning functions are fully supported in C, PL/PgSQL, and SQL. See the @@ -1038,8 +1038,8 @@ length</TD></TR> table-returning function defined in C can be found in <I>contrib/tablefunc</I>.</P> - <H4><A name="5.4">5.4</A>) I have changed a source file. Why does - the recompile not see the change?</H4> + <H3><A name="5.4">5.4</A>) I have changed a source file. Why does + the recompile not see the change?</H3> <P>The <I>Makefiles</I> do not have the proper dependencies for include files. You have to do a <I>make clean</I> and then another |