Doc: clarify description of regexp fields in pg_ident.conf.

tglsfdc · tglsfdc · commit f8ce5dea433c · 2025-07-15T18:53:00.000-04:00
The grammar was a little shaky and confusing here, so word-smith it a bit. Also, adjust the comments in pg_ident.conf.sample to use the same terminology as the SGML docs, in particular "DATABASE-USERNAME" not "PG-USERNAME". Back-patch appropriate subsets. I did not risk changing pg_ident.conf.sample in released branches, but it still seems OK to change it in v18. Reported-by: Alexey Shishkin <alexey.shishkin@enterprisedb.com> Author: Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> Reviewed-by: David G. Johnston <david.g.johnston@gmail.com> Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/175206279327.3157504.12519088928605422253@wrigleys.postgresql.org Backpatch-through: 13
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/client-auth.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/client-auth.sgml
@@ -1003,8 +1003,9 @@ local   db1,db2,@demodbs  all                                   md5
    the remainder of the field is treated as a regular expression.
    (See <xref linkend="posix-syntax-details"/> for details of
    <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s regular expression syntax.)  The regular
-   expression can include a single capture, or parenthesized subexpression,
-   which can then be referenced in the <replaceable>database-username</replaceable>
+   expression can include a single capture, or parenthesized subexpression.
+   The portion of the system user name that matched the capture can then
+   be referenced in the <replaceable>database-username</replaceable>
    field as <literal>\1</literal> (backslash-one).  This allows the mapping of
    multiple user names in a single line, which is particularly useful for
    simple syntax substitutions.  For example, these entries
@@ -1022,12 +1023,11 @@ mymap   /^(.*)@otherdomain\.com$   guest
   <para>
    If the <replaceable>database-username</replaceable> field starts with
    a slash (<literal>/</literal>), the remainder of the field is treated
-   as a regular expression (see <xref linkend="posix-syntax-details"/>
-   for details of <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>'s regular
-   expression syntax). It is not possible to use <literal>\1</literal>
-   to use a capture from regular expression on
-   <replaceable>system-username</replaceable> for a regular expression
-   on <replaceable>database-username</replaceable>.
+   as a regular expression.
+   When the <replaceable>database-username</replaceable> field is a regular
+   expression, it is not possible to use <literal>\1</literal> within it to
+   refer to a capture from the <replaceable>system-username</replaceable>
+   field.
   </para>
 
   <tip>
diff --git a/src/backend/libpq/pg_ident.conf.sample b/src/backend/libpq/pg_ident.conf.sample
@@ -13,25 +13,25 @@
 # user names to their corresponding PostgreSQL user names.  Records
 # are of the form:
 #
-# MAPNAME  SYSTEM-USERNAME  PG-USERNAME
+# MAPNAME  SYSTEM-USERNAME  DATABASE-USERNAME
 #
 # (The uppercase quantities must be replaced by actual values.)
 #
 # MAPNAME is the (otherwise freely chosen) map name that was used in
 # pg_hba.conf.  SYSTEM-USERNAME is the detected user name of the
-# client.  PG-USERNAME is the requested PostgreSQL user name.  The
-# existence of a record specifies that SYSTEM-USERNAME may connect as
-# PG-USERNAME.
+# client.  DATABASE-USERNAME is the requested PostgreSQL user name.
+# The existence of a record specifies that SYSTEM-USERNAME may connect
+# as DATABASE-USERNAME.
 #
-# If SYSTEM-USERNAME starts with a slash (/), it will be treated as a
-# regular expression.  Optionally this can contain a capture (a
-# parenthesized subexpression).  The substring matching the capture
-# will be substituted for \1 (backslash-one) if present in
-# PG-USERNAME.
+# If SYSTEM-USERNAME starts with a slash (/), the rest of it will be
+# treated as a regular expression.  Optionally this can contain a capture
+# (a parenthesized subexpression).  The substring matching the capture
+# will be substituted for \1 (backslash-one) if that appears in
+# DATABASE-USERNAME.
 #
-# PG-USERNAME can be "all", a user name, a group name prefixed with "+", or
-# a regular expression (if it starts with a slash (/)).  If it is a regular
-# expression, the substring matching with \1 has no effect.
+# DATABASE-USERNAME can be "all", a user name, a group name prefixed with "+",
+# or a regular expression (if it starts with a slash (/)).  If it is a regular
+# expression, no substitution for \1 will occur.
 #
 # Multiple maps may be specified in this file and used by pg_hba.conf.
 #
@@ -69,4 +69,4 @@
 # Put your actual configuration here
 # ----------------------------------
 
-# MAPNAME       SYSTEM-USERNAME         PG-USERNAME
+# MAPNAME       SYSTEM-USERNAME         DATABASE-USERNAME
