PostgreSQL Administration - database "postgres" does not exist

Author

database "postgres" does not exist

Emmanuel Courcelle

2006-10-25, 8:24 am

Hello everybody

We have a very strange problem here: we have been using postgresql for
several years now, it runs fine without any problem.
BUT today, we saw something I do not understand:

when I try to use psql like this:
sudo -u postgres psql
I get the message:
psql: FATAL: database "postgres" does not exist

About 1-2 months ago, this was OK

I know this message is current on a new installation when the system is
NOT initialized.
But what puzzles me here is that the database postgres DID exist... but
it seems to have suddenly disappeared !!!!

A part from this, everything works fine, for example the command:
sudo -u postgres psql -d template1
works, and the postgres applications run quite smoothly

So, here is my question: how such a thing could have happen ? We cannot
remeber any stupid thing we could have done (but may be we did... And
what do I have to do to recreate the postgres database... in fact, is it
even necessary doing so ?

The OS is a 64bits Debian (distribution testing, dist-upgraded today but
this did not correct the problem)
The postgres version is 8.1.4

Thanks in advance,

--
Emmanuel COURCELLE emmanuel.courcelle@toulouse.inra.fr
L.I.P.M. (UMR CNRS-INRA 2594/441) tel (33) 5-61-28-54-50
B.P.52627 - 31326 CASTANET TOLOSAN Cedex - FRANCE
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Richard Broersma Jr

2006-10-25, 8:24 am

> Hello everybody
> We have a very strange problem here: we have been using postgresql for
> several years now, it runs fine without any problem.
> BUT today, we saw something I do not understand:
> when I try to use psql like this:
> sudo -u postgres psql
> I get the message psql: FATAL: database "postgres" does not exist
> About 1-2 months ago, this was OK
> I know this message is current on a new installation when the system is
> NOT initialized.
> But what puzzles me here is that the database postgres DID exist... but
> it seems to have suddenly disappeared !!!!
> A part from this, everything works fine, for example the command:
> sudo -u postgres psql -d template1
> works, and the postgres applications run quite smoothly
> So, here is my question: how such a thing could have happen ? We cannot
> remeber any stupid thing we could have done (but may be we did... And
> what do I have to do to recreate the postgres database... in fact, is it
> even necessary doing so ?

If you issue "\l" from within the posgresql command prompt does it list postgres as a database?
If it does not show up, my guess is that is was dropped.

Regards,

Richard Broersma Jr.

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louis gonzales

2006-10-25, 8:24 am

Richard,
Are you sure that you weren't typing an additional argument, such as:
sudo -u postgres psql db_name

Reason I ask is because, by default running the command psql assumes
some things if you don't call them out explicitly such as:

psql assumes:
-h 127.0.0.1
-p 5432 (or whichever was compiled in)
user_name (database name, named that of the user)
user_name (user name, named that of the user)

so when you type:
sudo -u postgres psql, I think it's interpreted as:
sudo -u postgres -h 127.0.0.1 -p 5432 postgres postgres

sudo -u postgres psql -d template1 (implies a user of postgres) and that's why it works.

Richard Broersma Jr wrote:

>
>If you issue "\l" from within the posgresql command prompt does it list postgres as a database?
>If it does not show up, my guess is that is was dropped.
>
>Regards,
>
>Richard Broersma Jr.
>
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>
> http://archives.postgresql.org
>
>

--
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Richard Broersma Jr

2006-10-25, 8:24 am

> Richard,
> Are you sure that you weren't typing an additional argument, such as:
> sudo -u postgres psql db_name

I'm not the one having problems connecting to the postgres database ;)

Regards,

Richard Broersma Jr.

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Enrico

2006-10-25, 8:24 am

On Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:39:48 +0200
Emmanuel Courcelle <emmanuel.courcelle@toulouse.inra.fr> wrote:

> when I try to use psql like this:
> sudo -u postgres psql
> I get the message:
> psql: FATAL: database "postgres" does not exist

Are you sure that postgres database really exists?
Try psql dbname -U postgres

Bye Enrico

--
If Bill Gates had a penny for everytime Windows crashed,he'd be a multi-billionaire by now .......oh look, he already is !!!!
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