PostgreSQL 8.4.2 Documentation
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# 44.53. `pg_settings`

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 44-54. `pg_settings` Columns

Name | Type | Description
--- | --- | ---
`name` | `text` | Run-time configuration parameter name
`setting` | `text` | Current value of the parameter
`unit` | `text` | Implicit unit 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, description of the parameter
`context` | `text` | Context required to set the parameter's value
`vartype` | `text` | Parameter type (`bool`, `enum`, `integer`, `real`, or `string`)
`source` | `text` | Source of the current parameter value
`min_val` | `text` | Minimum allowed value of the parameter (NULL for non-numeric values)
`max_val` | `text` | Maximum allowed value of the parameter (NULL for non-numeric values)
`enumvals` | `text[]` | Allowed values of an enum parameter (NULL for non-enum values)
`boot_val` | `text` | Parameter value assumed at server startup if the parameter is not otherwise set
`reset_val` | `text` | Value that `RESET` would reset the parameter to in the current session
`sourcefile` | `text` | Configuration file the current value was set in (NULL for values set from sources other than configuration files, or when examined by a non-superuser). Helpful when using configuration include directives
`sourceline` | `integer` | Line number within the configuration file the current value was set at (NULL for values set from sources other than configuration files, or when examined by a non-superuser)

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`.

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