This book uses the following typographical conventions to mark
certain portions of text: new terms, foreign phrases, and other
important passages are emphasized in italics.
Everything that represents input or output of the computer, in
particular commands, program code, and screen output, is shown in a
monospaced font (example). Within such
passages, italics (example) indicate
placeholders; you must insert an actual value instead of the placeholder.
On occasion, parts of program code are emphasized in bold face
(example), if they have been
added or changed since the preceding example.
The following conventions are used in the synopsis of a command:
brackets ([ and ]) indicate
optional parts. (In the synopsis of a Tcl command, question marks
(?) are used instead, as is usual in Tcl.) Braces
({ and }) and vertical lines
(|) indicate that you must choose one
alternative. Dots (...) mean that the preceding element
can be repeated.
Where it enhances the clarity, SQL commands are preceded by the
prompt =>, and shell commands are preceded by the
prompt $. Normally, prompts are not shown, though.
An administrator is generally a person who is
in charge of installing and running the server. A user
could be anyone who is using, or wants to use, any part of the
PostgreSQL system. These terms should not
be interpreted too narrowly; this book does not have fixed
presumptions about system administration procedures.
