PostgreSQL 7.2.1 Documentation
Prev | Preface | Next

# 4. Terminology and Notation

The terms "PostgreSQL" and "Postgres" will be used interchangeably to refer to the software that accompanies this documentation.

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 documentation set does not have fixed presumptions about system administration procedures.

We use `/usr/local/pgsql/` as the root directory of the installation and `/usr/local/pgsql/data` as the directory with the database files. These directories may vary on your site, details can be derived in the Administrator's Guide.

In a command synopsis, brackets (`[` and `]`) indicate an optional phrase or keyword. Anything in braces (`{` and `}`) and containing vertical bars (`|`) indicates that you must choose one alternative.

Examples will show commands executed from various accounts and programs. Commands executed from a Unix shell may be preceded with a dollar sign ("`$`"). Commands executed from particular user accounts such as root or postgres are specially flagged and explained. SQL commands may be preceded with "`=>`" or will have no leading prompt, depending on the context.

> Note: The notation for flagging commands is not universally consistent throughout the documentation set. Please report problems to the documentation mailing list `<pgsql-docs@postgresql.org>`.

Prev | Home | Next
Documentation Resources | Up | Bug Reporting Guidelines