Re: Problems invoking psql, was: Re: Troubles at Startup - Mailing list pgsql-admin

On Sun, 2002-11-24 at 16:18, Hugh Esco wrote:

> So it appears that instead of copying the symbolic link, it copied instead
> pg_wrapper, renaming it in the new directory as psql.
>
> >hesco@biko:~$ /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/psql -U hesco template1
>
> hangs, and spins the hard drive interminably.
> So I open a second shell and do:
> >hesco@biko:~$ su postgres
> >Password:
> >postgres@biko:/home/hesco$ /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/psql
> >No database specified
> >postgres@biko:/home/hesco$ /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/psql template1
>
>
> and that invocation also hangs, and spins the hard drive interminably.
>

Presumably it will try to call itself recursively.  Since it does an
exec, each successive process will replace the one before.
...
> >biko:/home/hesco# apt-get remove postgresql-client
> >Reading Package Lists... Done
> >Building Dependency Tree... Done
> >The following packages will be REMOVED:
> >   postgresql postgresql-client
> >0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 2 to remove and 0  not upgraded.
> >Need to get 0B of archives. After unpacking 4530kB will be freed.
> >Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y
> >dpkg: conflicting diversions involving `/Package: mysql-common' or
> >`/Status: ins
> >tall ok installed'
> >E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (2)

I don't know what that's about; you probably have some package installed
that depends on either mysql or postgresql in some way, but I don't know
of any file diversions involving postgresql packages.  What have you got
in /var/lib/dpkg/diversions?

> >biko:/home/hesco# apt-get install postgresql-client
> >Reading Package Lists... Done
> >Building Dependency Tree... Done
> >Sorry, postgresql-client is already the newest version.
> >0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0  not upgraded.

You need to use the --reinstall option if the package is up to date:

        apt-get --reinstall install postgresql-client

Then check the contents of /usr/lib/postgresql/bin.  You should have the
following real executable files, which are installed by
postgresql-client:

        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/readpgenv
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/psql
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/createuser
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/createdb
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/dropuser
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/dropdb
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/pg_dump
        /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/pg_restore

You should be able to do the following as user postgres:

        $ /usr/bin/psql -d template1

or

        $ /usr/lib/postgresql/bin/psql -d template1

and get a connection in both cases.
--
Oliver Elphick                                Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk
Isle of Wight, UK                             http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
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