Do we always need the socket file?

Michael Brusser wrote:

I have Postgres 7.2.1 configured to listen on TCP/IP port.
When the server starts up it still creates the socket file in /tmp.
Removing this file manually does not seem to cause any problem for the
application.

Is there a way to prevent postmaster from creating this file?
Is this really safe to remove the socket file, or would it create
some problem that I won't necessarily see?

I guess the big question is why you don't want the file created? If you
have 'local' disabled in pg_hba.conf, it doesn't allow connections.

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  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us
  pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610) 359-1001
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We're trying to avoid creating any unnecessary files, especially outside
of the product installation tree. Look at this as a policy.
Experience shows that sooner or later some of your customers ask you:
what is this /tmp/.s.PGSQL.xxx file is? What do I need it for?
Also some admins known to periodically clean out /tmp, /var/run, etc.

Mike.

Michael Brusser <michael@synchronicity.com> writes:

We're trying to avoid creating any unnecessary files, especially outside
of the product installation tree. Look at this as a policy.
Experience shows that sooner or later some of your customers ask you:
what is this /tmp/.s.PGSQL.xxx file is? What do I need it for?
Also some admins known to periodically clean out /tmp, /var/run, etc.

Well if you clean out files programs are using you should expect those
programs to break. Other programs that create sockets in /tmp include screen
and X for example.

Unix domain sockets are sometimes more efficient and sometimes more secure
than TCP/IP connections. So preferring TCP/IP just to avoid /tmp pollution
might be a bit of a loss for aesthetic value.

--
greg