From: Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us>
Message-Id: <201103091454.p29EsHG03787@momjian.us>
Subject: Re: Improve initdb and pg_controldata manual pages
In-Reply-To: <22950.1299681636@sss.pgh.pa.us>
To: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 2011 09:54:16 -0500 (EST)
CC: PostgreSQL-documentation <pgsql-docs@postgresql.org>
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Tom Lane wrote:
> Bruce Momjian <bruce@momjian.us> writes:
> > I have applied the attached patch to improve the initdb and
> > pg_controldata manual pages.  Patch from gabrielle <gorthx@gmail.com>.
> 
> This seems like the most bizarre choice you could have made.
> It now looks like the preferred spelling of initdb's switch,
> for instance, is
> 
> 	initdb --pgdata= /path/name
> 
> ie, *both* an equal sign and a space.  Please rethink this.

Well, it actually looks like this:

	initdb [option...] --pgdata= | -D directory 

and this gets back to whether we are going to show '=' for long
switches, which I am waiting on a reply about.  If we are, we probably
have to accept the above output --- if not, it will be removed along
with other cases.  I have now removed the '=' from initdb, but it is an
open issue.  

Also, keep in mind that the --help output often shows '=', e.g. from
pg_dump:

  -E, --encoding=ENCODING     dump the data in encoding ENCODING
  -n, --schema=SCHEMA         dump the named schema(s) only
  -N, --exclude-schema=SCHEMA do NOT dump the named schema(s)

-- 
  Bruce Momjian  <bruce@momjian.us>        http://momjian.us
  EnterpriseDB                             http://enterprisedb.com

  + It's impossible for everything to be true. +