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Postgres documentation
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<refentry id="SQL-SET-SESSION">
 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle id="SQL-SET-SESSION-TITLE">SET</refentrytitle>
  <refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>
 <refnamediv>
  <refname>SET SESSION CHARACTERISTICS</refname>
  <refpurpose>Set per-session run-time parameters</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>
 <refsynopsisdiv>
  <synopsis>
SET SESSION CHARACTERISTICS TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL { READ COMMITTED | SERIALIZABLE }
SET SESSION CHARACTERISTICS TIME ZONE { '<replaceable class="PARAMETER">timezone</replaceable>' | LOCAL | DEFAULT }
  </synopsis>
 </refsynopsisdiv>

 <refsect1 id="R1-SQL-SET-SESSION-1">
  <title>Description</title>
  <para>
   <command>SET SESSION CHARACTERISTICS</command> changes the run-time
   environment for the entire <acronym>SQL</acronym>
   session. Currently, transaction isolation level and time zone can
   be specified by this command.
  </para>

  <para>
   Use <xref linkend="SQL-SHOW" endterm="SQL-SHOW-title"> to show the
   current setting of a parameters.
  </para>

  <para>
   Refer to <xref linkend="SQL-SET-TRANSACTION" endterm="SQL-SET-TRANSACTION-TITLE">
   and to <xref linkend="SQL-SET" endterm="SQL-SET-TITLE"> for more
   information on allowed parameters.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1>
  <title>Examples</title>

  <para>
   Set the timezone for Berkeley, California, using double quotes to
   preserve the uppercase attributes of the time zone specifier (note
   that the date/time format is ISO here):

<screen> 
SET SESSION CHARACTERISTICS TIME ZONE "PST8PDT";
SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP AS today;
   
         today
------------------------
 1998-07-14 07:41:21-07
</screen>
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1 id="R1-SQL-SET-SESSION-3">
  <title>Compatibility</title>

  <refsect2 id="R2-SQL-SET-SESSION-4">
   <title>SQL99</title>

   <para>
    <command>SET SESSION</command> is defined in
    <acronym>SQL99</acronym>.
   </para>
  </refsect2>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>

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