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2 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>19.13. Version and Platform Compatibility</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="runtime-config-locks.html" title="19.12. Lock Management" /><link rel="next" href="runtime-config-error-handling.html" title="19.14. Error Handling" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">19.13. Version and Platform Compatibility</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="runtime-config-locks.html" title="19.12. Lock Management">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 19. Server Configuration">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 19. Server Configuration</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 18.0 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="runtime-config-error-handling.html" title="19.14. Error Handling">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="sect1" id="RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">19.13. Version and Platform Compatibility <a href="#RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE" class="id_link">#</a></h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="runtime-config-compatible.html#RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE-VERSION">19.13.1. Previous PostgreSQL Versions</a></span></dt><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="runtime-config-compatible.html#RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE-CLIENTS">19.13.2. Platform and Client Compatibility</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect2" id="RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE-VERSION"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">19.13.1. Previous PostgreSQL Versions <a href="#RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE-VERSION" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="GUC-ARRAY-NULLS"><span class="term"><code class="varname">array_nulls</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
3 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.1.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
4 </span> <a href="#GUC-ARRAY-NULLS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
5 This controls whether the array input parser recognizes
6 unquoted <code class="literal">NULL</code> as specifying a null array element.
7 By default, this is <code class="literal">on</code>, allowing array values containing
8 null values to be entered. However, <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> versions
9 before 8.2 did not support null values in arrays, and therefore would
10 treat <code class="literal">NULL</code> as specifying a normal array element with
11 the string value <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">NULL</span>”</span>. For backward compatibility with
12 applications that require the old behavior, this variable can be
13 turned <code class="literal">off</code>.
15 Note that it is possible to create array values containing null values
16 even when this variable is <code class="literal">off</code>.
17 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-BACKSLASH-QUOTE"><span class="term"><code class="varname">backslash_quote</code> (<code class="type">enum</code>)
18 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.2.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
19 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.2.1.4" class="indexterm"></a>
20 </span> <a href="#GUC-BACKSLASH-QUOTE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
21 This controls whether a quote mark can be represented by
22 <code class="literal">\'</code> in a string literal. The preferred, SQL-standard way
23 to represent a quote mark is by doubling it (<code class="literal">''</code>) but
24 <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> has historically also accepted
25 <code class="literal">\'</code>. However, use of <code class="literal">\'</code> creates security risks
26 because in some client character set encodings, there are multibyte
27 characters in which the last byte is numerically equivalent to ASCII
28 <code class="literal">\</code>. If client-side code does escaping incorrectly then an
29 SQL-injection attack is possible. This risk can be prevented by
30 making the server reject queries in which a quote mark appears to be
31 escaped by a backslash.
32 The allowed values of <code class="varname">backslash_quote</code> are
33 <code class="literal">on</code> (allow <code class="literal">\'</code> always),
34 <code class="literal">off</code> (reject always), and
35 <code class="literal">safe_encoding</code> (allow only if client encoding does not
36 allow ASCII <code class="literal">\</code> within a multibyte character).
37 <code class="literal">safe_encoding</code> is the default setting.
39 Note that in a standard-conforming string literal, <code class="literal">\</code> just
40 means <code class="literal">\</code> anyway. This parameter only affects the handling of
41 non-standard-conforming literals, including
42 escape string syntax (<code class="literal">E'...'</code>).
43 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-ESCAPE-STRING-WARNING"><span class="term"><code class="varname">escape_string_warning</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
44 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.3.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
45 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.3.1.4" class="indexterm"></a>
46 </span> <a href="#GUC-ESCAPE-STRING-WARNING" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
47 When on, a warning is issued if a backslash (<code class="literal">\</code>)
48 appears in an ordinary string literal (<code class="literal">'...'</code>
49 syntax) and <code class="varname">standard_conforming_strings</code> is off.
50 The default is <code class="literal">on</code>.
52 Applications that wish to use backslash as escape should be
53 modified to use escape string syntax (<code class="literal">E'...'</code>),
54 because the default behavior of ordinary strings is now to treat
55 backslash as an ordinary character, per SQL standard. This variable
56 can be enabled to help locate code that needs to be changed.
57 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-LO-COMPAT-PRIVILEGES"><span class="term"><code class="varname">lo_compat_privileges</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
58 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.4.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
59 </span> <a href="#GUC-LO-COMPAT-PRIVILEGES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
60 In <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> releases prior to 9.0, large objects
61 did not have access privileges and were, therefore, always readable
62 and writable by all users. Setting this variable to <code class="literal">on</code>
63 disables the new privilege checks, for compatibility with prior
64 releases. The default is <code class="literal">off</code>.
65 Only superusers and users with the appropriate <code class="literal">SET</code>
66 privilege can change this setting.
68 Setting this variable does not disable all security checks related to
69 large objects — only those for which the default behavior has
70 changed in <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> 9.0.
71 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-QUOTE-ALL-IDENTIFIERS"><span class="term"><code class="varname">quote_all_identifiers</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
72 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.5.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
73 </span> <a href="#GUC-QUOTE-ALL-IDENTIFIERS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
74 When the database generates SQL, force all identifiers to be quoted,
75 even if they are not (currently) keywords. This will affect the
76 output of <code class="command">EXPLAIN</code> as well as the results of functions
77 like <code class="function">pg_get_viewdef</code>. See also the
78 <code class="option">--quote-all-identifiers</code> option of
79 <a class="xref" href="app-pgdump.html" title="pg_dump"><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">pg_dump</span></span></a> and <a class="xref" href="app-pg-dumpall.html" title="pg_dumpall"><span class="refentrytitle"><span class="application">pg_dumpall</span></span></a>.
80 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-STANDARD-CONFORMING-STRINGS"><span class="term"><code class="varname">standard_conforming_strings</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
81 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.6.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
82 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.6.1.4" class="indexterm"></a>
83 </span> <a href="#GUC-STANDARD-CONFORMING-STRINGS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
84 This controls whether ordinary string literals
85 (<code class="literal">'...'</code>) treat backslashes literally, as specified in
87 Beginning in <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> 9.1, the default is
88 <code class="literal">on</code> (prior releases defaulted to <code class="literal">off</code>).
89 Applications can check this
90 parameter to determine how string literals will be processed.
91 The presence of this parameter can also be taken as an indication
92 that the escape string syntax (<code class="literal">E'...'</code>) is supported.
93 Escape string syntax (<a class="xref" href="sql-syntax-lexical.html#SQL-SYNTAX-STRINGS-ESCAPE" title="4.1.2.2. String Constants with C-Style Escapes">Section 4.1.2.2</a>)
94 should be used if an application desires
95 backslashes to be treated as escape characters.
96 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-SYNCHRONIZE-SEQSCANS"><span class="term"><code class="varname">synchronize_seqscans</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
97 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.2.2.7.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
98 </span> <a href="#GUC-SYNCHRONIZE-SEQSCANS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
99 This allows sequential scans of large tables to synchronize with each
100 other, so that concurrent scans read the same block at about the
101 same time and hence share the I/O workload. When this is enabled,
102 a scan might start in the middle of the table and then <span class="quote">“<span class="quote">wrap
103 around</span>”</span> the end to cover all rows, so as to synchronize with the
104 activity of scans already in progress. This can result in
105 unpredictable changes in the row ordering returned by queries that
106 have no <code class="literal">ORDER BY</code> clause. Setting this parameter to
107 <code class="literal">off</code> ensures the pre-8.3 behavior in which a sequential
108 scan always starts from the beginning of the table. The default
109 is <code class="literal">on</code>.
110 </p></dd></dl></div></div><div class="sect2" id="RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE-CLIENTS"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">19.13.2. Platform and Client Compatibility <a href="#RUNTIME-CONFIG-COMPATIBLE-CLIENTS" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="GUC-TRANSFORM-NULL-EQUALS"><span class="term"><code class="varname">transform_null_equals</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
111 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.3.2.1.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
112 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.3.2.1.1.4" class="indexterm"></a>
113 </span> <a href="#GUC-TRANSFORM-NULL-EQUALS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
114 When on, expressions of the form <code class="literal"><em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em> =
115 NULL</code> (or <code class="literal">NULL =
116 <em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em></code>) are treated as
117 <code class="literal"><em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em> IS NULL</code>, that is, they
118 return true if <em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em> evaluates to the null value,
119 and false otherwise. The correct SQL-spec-compliant behavior of
120 <code class="literal"><em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em> = NULL</code> is to always
121 return null (unknown). Therefore this parameter defaults to
122 <code class="literal">off</code>.
124 However, filtered forms in <span class="productname">Microsoft
125 Access</span> generate queries that appear to use
126 <code class="literal"><em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em> = NULL</code> to test for
127 null values, so if you use that interface to access the database you
128 might want to turn this option on. Since expressions of the
129 form <code class="literal"><em class="replaceable"><code>expr</code></em> = NULL</code> always
130 return the null value (using the SQL standard interpretation), they are not
131 very useful and do not appear often in normal applications so
132 this option does little harm in practice. But new users are
133 frequently confused about the semantics of expressions
134 involving null values, so this option is off by default.
136 Note that this option only affects the exact form <code class="literal">= NULL</code>,
137 not other comparison operators or other expressions
138 that are computationally equivalent to some expression
139 involving the equals operator (such as <code class="literal">IN</code>).
140 Thus, this option is not a general fix for bad programming.
142 Refer to <a class="xref" href="functions-comparison.html" title="9.2. Comparison Functions and Operators">Section 9.2</a> for related information.
143 </p></dd><dt id="GUC-ALLOW-ALTER-SYSTEM"><span class="term"><code class="varname">allow_alter_system</code> (<code class="type">boolean</code>)
144 <a id="id-1.6.6.16.3.2.2.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
145 </span> <a href="#GUC-ALLOW-ALTER-SYSTEM" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
146 When <code class="literal">allow_alter_system</code> is set to
147 <code class="literal">off</code>, an error is returned if the <code class="command">ALTER
148 SYSTEM</code> command is executed. This parameter can only be set in
149 the <code class="filename">postgresql.conf</code> file or on the server command
150 line. The default value is <code class="literal">on</code>.
152 Note that this setting must not be regarded as a security feature. It
153 only disables the <code class="literal">ALTER SYSTEM</code> command. It does not
154 prevent a superuser from changing the configuration using other SQL
155 commands. A superuser has many ways of executing shell commands at
156 the operating system level, and can therefore modify
157 <code class="literal">postgresql.auto.conf</code> regardless of the value of
160 Turning this setting off is intended for environments where the
161 configuration of <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> is managed by
163 In such environments, a well-intentioned superuser might
164 <span class="emphasis"><em>mistakenly</em></span> use <code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code>
165 to change the configuration instead of using the external tool.
166 This might result in unintended behavior, such as the external tool
167 overwriting the change at some later point in time when it updates the
169 Setting this parameter to <code class="literal">off</code> can
170 help avoid such mistakes.
172 This parameter only controls the use of <code class="command">ALTER SYSTEM</code>.
173 The settings stored in <code class="filename">postgresql.auto.conf</code>
174 take effect even if <code class="literal">allow_alter_system</code> is set to
175 <code class="literal">off</code>.
176 </p></dd></dl></div></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="runtime-config-locks.html" title="19.12. Lock Management">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="runtime-config.html" title="Chapter 19. Server Configuration">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="runtime-config-error-handling.html" title="19.14. Error Handling">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">19.12. Lock Management </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 18.0 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> 19.14. Error Handling</td></tr></table></div></body></html>