The view pg_settings provides access to
run-time parameters of the server. It is essentially an alternative
interface to the SHOW and SET commands.
It also provides access to some facts about each parameter that are
not directly available from SHOW, such as minimum and
maximum values.
Table 42-41. pg_settings Columns
| Name | Type | References | Description |
|---|
| name | text | | run-time configuration parameter name |
| setting | text | | current value of the parameter |
| category | text | | logical group of the parameter |
| short_desc | text | | a brief description of the parameter |
| extra_desc | text | | additional, more detailed, information about the parameter |
| context | text | | context required to set the parameter's value |
| vartype | text | | parameter type (bool, integer,
real, or string)
|
| source | text | | source of the current parameter value |
| min_val | text | | minimum allowed value of the parameter (NULL for nonnumeric
values) |
| max_val | text | | maximum allowed value of the parameter (NULL for nonnumeric
values) |
The pg_settings view cannot be inserted into or
deleted from, but it can be updated. An UPDATE applied
to a row of pg_settings is equivalent to executing
the SET command on that named
parameter. The change only affects the value used by the current
session. If an UPDATE is issued within a transaction
that is later aborted, the effects of the UPDATE command
disappear when the transaction is rolled back. Once the surrounding
transaction is committed, the effects will persist until the end of the
session, unless overridden by another UPDATE or
SET.