notation.sgml

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<sect1 id="notation">
 <title>Terminology and Notation</title>

 <para>
  The terms <quote>PostgreSQL</quote> and <quote>Postgres</quote> will be
  used interchangeably to refer to the software that accompanies this
  documentation.
 </para>

 <para>
  An <firstterm>administrator</firstterm> is generally a person who is
  in charge of installing and running the server.  A <firstterm>user</firstterm>
  could be anyone who is using, or wants to use, any part of the
  <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> system.  These terms should not
  be interpreted too narrowly; this documentation set does not have fixed
  presumptions about system administration procedures.
 </para>

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

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

 <para>
  Examples will show commands executed from various accounts and programs.
  Commands executed from a Unix shell may be preceded with a dollar sign
  (<quote><literal>$</literal></quote>).  Commands executed from particular user
  accounts such as <systemitem>root</> or <systemitem>postgres</> are specially flagged and explained.
  <acronym>SQL</acronym> commands may be preceded with
  <quote><literal>=&gt;</literal></quote>
  or will have no leading prompt, depending on the context.
 </para>

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

</sect1>

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