More minor updates and copy-editing.

doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml

 <!--
-$PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml,v 1.59 2003/12/26 20:00:00 meskes Exp $
+$PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml,v 1.60 2004/12/28 22:47:15 tgl Exp $
 -->
 
 <chapter id="ecpg">
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml,v 1.59 2003/12/26 20:00:00 meskes Exp
  </para>
 
  <para>
-  Admittedly, this documentation is quite incomplete.  But since this
+  This documentation is quite incomplete.  But since this
   interface is standardized, additional information can be found in
   many resources about SQL.
  </para>
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml,v 1.59 2003/12/26 20:00:00 meskes Exp
    An embedded SQL program consists of code written in an ordinary
    programming language, in this case C, mixed with SQL commands in
    specially marked sections.  To build the program, the source code
-   is first passed to the embedded SQL preprocessor, which converts it
+   is first passed through the embedded SQL preprocessor, which converts it
    to an ordinary C program, and afterwards it can be processed by a C
-   compilation tool chain.
+   compiler.
   </para>
 
   <para>
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml,v 1.59 2003/12/26 20:00:00 meskes Exp
   </para>
 
   <para>
-   As indicated, programs written for the embedded
+   As already stated, programs written for the embedded
    <acronym>SQL</acronym> interface are normal C programs with special
    code inserted to perform database-related actions.  This special
    code always has the form
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ecpg.sgml,v 1.59 2003/12/26 20:00:00 meskes Exp
 EXEC SQL ...;
 </programlisting>
    These statements syntactically take the place of a C statement.
-   Depending on the particular statement, they may appear in the
-   global context or within a function.  Embedded
+   Depending on the particular statement, they may appear at the
+   global level or within a function.  Embedded
    <acronym>SQL</acronym> statements follow the case-sensitivity rules
    of normal <acronym>SQL</acronym> code, and not those of C.
   </para>
@@ -326,9 +326,9 @@ EXEC SQL COMMIT;
   <para>
    In the default mode, statements are committed only when
    <command>EXEC SQL COMMIT</command> is issued. The embedded SQL
-   interface also supports autocommit of transactions (as known from
-   other interfaces) via the <option>-t</option> command-line option
-   to <command>ecpg</command> (see below) or via the <literal>EXEC SQL
+   interface also supports autocommit of transactions (similar to
+   <application>libpq</> behavior) via the <option>-t</option> command-line
+   option to <command>ecpg</command> (see below) or via the <literal>EXEC SQL
    SET AUTOCOMMIT TO ON</literal> statement. In autocommit mode, each
    command is automatically committed unless it is inside an explicit
    transaction block. This mode can be explicitly turned off using
@@ -448,7 +448,7 @@ char  foo[16], bar[16];
    <para>
     The declarations are also echoed to the output file as a normal C
     variables, so there's no need to declare them again.  Variables
-    that are not intended to be used with SQL commands can be declared
+    that are not intended to be used in SQL commands can be declared
     normally outside these special sections.
    </para>
 
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ do {
     second host variable specification to each host variable that
     contains data.  This second host variable is called the
     <firstterm>indicator</firstterm> and contains a flag that tells
-    whether the datums is null, in which case the value of the real
+    whether the datum is null, in which case the value of the real
     host variable is ignored.  Here is an example that handles the
     retrieval of null values correctly:
 <programlisting>
@@ -1043,7 +1043,7 @@ static void set_error_handler(void)
    <title>sqlca</title>
 
    <para>
-    For a more powerful error handling, the embedded SQL interface
+    For more powerful error handling, the embedded SQL interface
     provides a global variable with the name <varname>sqlca</varname>
     that has the following structure:
 <programlisting>
@@ -1064,7 +1064,7 @@ struct
 } sqlca;
 </programlisting>
     (In a multithreaded program, every thread automatically gets its
-    own copy of <varname>sqlca</varname>.  This works similar to the
+    own copy of <varname>sqlca</varname>.  This works similarly to the
     handling of the standard C global variable
     <varname>errno</varname>.)
    </para>
@@ -1132,7 +1132,7 @@ struct
    <para>
     The structure <varname>sqlca</varname> is not defined in the SQL
     standard, but is implemented in several other SQL database
-    systems.  The definitions are similar in the core, but if you want
+    systems.  The definitions are similar at the core, but if you want
     to write portable applications, then you should investigate the
     different implementations carefully.
    </para>
@@ -1539,7 +1539,7 @@ ecpg prog1.pgc
 <programlisting>
 cc -c prog1.c
 </programlisting>
-   The generated C source files include headers files from the
+   The generated C source files include header files from the
    <productname>PostgreSQL</> installation, so if you installed
    <productname>PostgreSQL</> in a location that is not searched by
    default, you have to add an option such as
@@ -1575,9 +1575,9 @@ ECPG = ecpg
   </para>
 
   <para>
-   <application>ecpg</application> is thread-safe if it is compiled using
-   the <option>--enable-thread-safety</> <filename>configure</filename>
-   command-line option.  (You might need to use other threading
+   The <application>ecpg</application> library is thread-safe if it is built
+   using the <option>--enable-thread-safety</> command-line option to
+   <filename>configure</filename>.  (You might need to use other threading
    command-line options to compile your client code.)
   </para>
  </sect1>
@@ -1621,7 +1621,7 @@ ECPG = ecpg
   <title>Internals</title>
 
   <para>
-   This section explain how <application>ECPG</application> works
+   This section explains how <application>ECPG</application> works
    internally. This information can occasionally be useful to help
    users understand how to use <application>ECPG</application>.
   </para>

doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml

 <!--
-$PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08 petere Exp $
+$PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.6 2004/12/28 22:47:15 tgl Exp $
 -->
 
  <chapter id="external-projects">
@@ -9,15 +9,28 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08
    <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> is a complex software project,
    and managing it is difficult. We have found that many
    enhancements to <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> can be more
-   efficiently developed independently of the main project. They can
-   have their own developer teams, email lists, their own bug tracking,
-   and their own release schedule. While their independence makes
-   development easier, it makes user's jobs harder. They have to hunt
+   efficiently developed separately from the core project. Separate
+   projects can
+   have their own developer teams, email lists, bug tracking,
+   and release schedules. While their independence makes
+   development easier, it makes users' jobs harder. They have to hunt
    around looking for database enhancements to meet their needs.
-   This section outlines some of the more popular externally
+   This section describes some of the more popular externally
    developed enhancements and guides you on how to find them.
   </para>
 
+  <para>
+   Many <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>-related projects are
+   hosted at either
+   <productname>GBorg</> at <ulink url="http://gborg.postgresql.org">
+   http://gborg.postgresql.org</ulink> or
+   <productname>pgFoundry</> at <ulink
+   url="http://pgfoundry.org">http://pgfoundry.org</ulink>.
+   There are other
+   <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>-related projects that are hosted
+   elsewhere, but you will have to do an Internet search to find them.
+  </para>
+
  <sect1 id="interfaces">
   <title>Externally Developed Interfaces</title>
 
@@ -36,11 +49,7 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08
   </para>
 
   <para>
-   To use other interfaces, you have to do some searching. For example,
-   <productname>GBorg</> at <ulink url="http://gborg.postgresql.org">
-   http://gborg.postgresql.org</ulink> has over thirty interfaces listed
-   in its <literal>Drivers/Interfaces</> section. Some of the more
-   popular interfaces are:
+   Some of the more popular interfaces are:
 
    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
@@ -54,20 +63,20 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>Npgsql</term>
+     <term>pgjdbc</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       <application>.Net</> interface for more recent
-       <application>Windows</> applications.
+       A <application>JDBC</> interface.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>libpq++</term>
+     <term>Npgsql</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       An older <application>C++</> interface.
+       <application>.Net</> interface for more recent
+       <application>Windows</> applications.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
@@ -82,57 +91,57 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>pgperl</term>
+     <term>libpq++</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       A <application>Perl</> interface with an <acronym>API</> similar
-       to <application>libpq</>.
+       An older <application>C++</> interface.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>DBD-Pg</term>
+     <term>pgperl</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       A <application>Perl</> interface that uses the
-       <acronym>DBD</>-standard <application>API</>.
+       A <application>Perl</> interface with an <acronym>API</> similar
+       to <application>libpq</>.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>pgtcl</term>
+     <term>DBD-Pg</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       The original version of the <application>TCL</> interface.
+       A <application>Perl</> interface that uses the
+       <acronym>DBD</>-standard <application>API</>.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>PyGreSQL</term>
+     <term>pgtclng</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       A <application>Python</> interface library.
+       A newer version of the <application>Tcl</> interface.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>pgjdbc</term>
+     <term>pgtcl</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       A <application>JDBC</> interface.
+       The original version of the <application>Tcl</> interface.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
 
     <varlistentry>
-     <term>pgtclng</term>
+     <term>PyGreSQL</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
-       A newer version of the <application>TCL</> interface.
+       A <application>Python</> interface library.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
@@ -140,14 +149,6 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08
    </variablelist>
    </para>
 
-  <para>
-   That section also contains several server-side languages that are
-   separate projects. <application>pgFoundry</> at <ulink
-   url="http://pgfoundry.org">http://pgfoundry.org</ulink> contains
-   even more projects. Other projects are not even hosted on these
-   servers and you will have to do an Internet search to find them.
-  </para>
-
  </sect1>
  
  <sect1 id="extensions">
@@ -169,7 +170,7 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/external-projects.sgml,v 1.5 2004/12/13 18:05:08
    like <application>PostGIS</>. Even <application>PostgreSQL</>
    replication solutions are developed externally. For example,
    <application>Slony-I</> is a popular master/slave replication solution
-   that is developed independently from the main projects.
+   that is developed independently from the core project.
   </para>
 
   <para>

doc/src/sgml/information_schema.sgml

-<!-- $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/information_schema.sgml,v 1.19 2004/11/27 21:27:06 petere Exp $ -->
+<!-- $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/information_schema.sgml,v 1.20 2004/12/28 22:47:15 tgl Exp $ -->
 
 <chapter id="information-schema">
  <title>The Information Schema</title>
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
    exists in all databases.  The owner of this schema is the initial
    database user in the cluster, and that user naturally has all the
    privileges on this schema, including the ability to drop it (but
-   the space savings achieved by this are minuscule).
+   the space savings achieved by that are minuscule).
   </para>
 
   <para>
@@ -1003,7 +1003,7 @@
    function (as parameter or return type) and stores some information
    about how the data type is used in that instance (for example, the
    declared maximum length, if applicable).  Each data type
-   descriptors is assigned an arbitrary identifier that is unique
+   descriptor is assigned an arbitrary identifier that is unique
    among the data type descriptor identifiers assigned for one object
    (table, domain, function).  This view is probably not useful for
    applications, but it is used to define some other views in the
@@ -1735,7 +1735,7 @@ ORDER BY c.ordinal_position;
    in the current database that are restricted by some unique, primary
    key, or foreign key constraint.  Check constraints are not included
    in this view.  Only those columns are shown that are contained in a
-   table owned the current user.
+   table owned by the current user.
   </para>
 
   <table>
@@ -3320,7 +3320,7 @@ ORDER BY c.ordinal_position;
 
   <para>
    The table <literal>sql_packages</literal> contains information
-   about which features packages defined in the SQL standard are
+   about which feature packages defined in the SQL standard are
    supported by <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>.  Refer to <xref
    linkend="features"> for background information on feature packages.
   </para>
@@ -3888,7 +3888,7 @@ ORDER BY c.ordinal_position;
    incompatibilities with the SQL standard that affect the
    representation in the information schema.  First, trigger names are
    local to the table in <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>, rather
-   than independent schema objects.  Therefore there may be duplicate
+   than being independent schema objects.  Therefore there may be duplicate
    trigger names defined in one schema, as long as they belong to
    different tables.  (<literal>trigger_catalog</literal> and
    <literal>trigger_schema</literal> are really the values pertaining

doc/src/sgml/lobj.sgml

 <!--
-$PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/lobj.sgml,v 1.33 2003/11/29 19:51:37 pgsql Exp $
+$PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/lobj.sgml,v 1.34 2004/12/28 22:47:15 tgl Exp $
 -->
 
  <chapter id="largeObjects">
@@ -9,15 +9,11 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/lobj.sgml,v 1.33 2003/11/29 19:51:37 pgsql Exp $
   <indexterm><primary>BLOB</><see>large object</></>
 
    <para>
-    In <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> releases prior to 7.1,
-    the size of any row in the database could not exceed the size of a
-    data page.  Since the size of a data page is 8192 bytes (the
-    default, which can be raised up to 32768), the upper limit on the
-    size of a data value was relatively low. To support the storage of
-    larger atomic values, <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
-    provided and continues to provide a large object interface.  This
-    interface provides file-oriented access to user data that is stored in
-    a special large-object structure.
+    <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> has a <firstterm>large object</>
+    facility, which provides stream-style access to user data that is stored
+    in a special large-object structure.  Streaming access is useful
+    when working with data values that are too large to manipulate
+    conveniently as a whole.
    </para>
 
    <para>
@@ -59,10 +55,13 @@ $PostgreSQL: pgsql/doc/src/sgml/lobj.sgml,v 1.33 2003/11/29 19:51:37 pgsql Exp $
     <indexterm><primary>sliced bread</><see>TOAST</></indexterm>
     <productname>PostgreSQL 7.1</productname> introduced a mechanism
     (nicknamed <quote><acronym>TOAST</acronym></quote>) that allows
-    data rows to be much larger than individual data pages.  This
-    makes the large object interface partially obsolete.  One
-    remaining advantage of the large object interface is that it allows values up
-    to 2 GB in size, whereas <acronym>TOAST</acronym> can only handle 1 GB.
+    data values to be much larger than single pages.  This
+    makes the large object facility partially obsolete.  One
+    remaining advantage of the large object facility is that it allows values
+    up to 2 GB in size, whereas <acronym>TOAST</acronym>ed fields can be at
+    most 1 GB.  Also, large objects can be manipulated piece-by-piece much more
+    easily than ordinary data fields, so the practical limits are considerably
+    different.
    </para>
 
   </sect1>
@@ -117,7 +116,7 @@ Oid lo_creat(PGconn *conn, int mode);
      creates a new large  object.  
      <replaceable class="parameter">mode</replaceable>  is  a  bit mask
      describing  several  different  attributes  of  the new
-     object.  The symbolic constants listed here are defined
+     object.  The symbolic constants used here are defined
      in the header file <filename>libpq/libpq-fs.h</filename>.
      The access type (read, write, or both) is controlled by
      or'ing together the bits <symbol>INV_READ</symbol>  and
@@ -149,6 +148,9 @@ Oid lo_import(PGconn *conn, const char *filename);
      specifies the operating system name of
      the file to be imported as a large object.
      The return value is the OID that was assigned to the new large object.
+     Note that the file is read by the client interface library, not by
+     the server; so it must exist in the client filesystem and be readable
+     by the client application.
     </para>
    </sect2>
 
@@ -164,7 +166,9 @@ int lo_export(PGconn *conn, Oid lobjId, const char *filename);
      <indexterm><primary>lo_export</></>
      The <parameter>lobjId</parameter> argument specifies  the  OID  of  the  large
      object  to  export  and the <parameter>filename</parameter> argument specifies
-     the operating system name name of the file.
+     the operating system name of the file.
+     Note that the file is written by the client interface library, not by
+     the server.
     </para>
    </sect2>
 
@@ -200,7 +204,7 @@ int lo_write(PGconn *conn, int fd, const char *buf, size_t len);
 </synopsis>
      <indexterm><primary>lo_write</></> writes
      <parameter>len</parameter> bytes from <parameter>buf</parameter>
-     to large object <parameter>fd</>.  The <parameter>fd</parameter>
+     to large object descriptor <parameter>fd</>.  The <parameter>fd</parameter>
      argument must have been returned by a previous
      <function>lo_open</function>.  The number of bytes actually
      written is returned.  In the event of an error, the return value
@@ -217,7 +221,7 @@ int lo_write(PGconn *conn, int fd, const char *buf, size_t len);
 int lo_read(PGconn *conn, int fd, char *buf, size_t len);
 </synopsis>
      <indexterm><primary>lo_read</></> reads
-     <parameter>len</parameter> bytes from large object
+     <parameter>len</parameter> bytes from large object descriptor
      <parameter>fd</parameter> into <parameter>buf</parameter>. The
      <parameter>fd</parameter> argument must have been returned by a
      previous <function>lo_open</function>.  The number of bytes
@@ -227,16 +231,16 @@ int lo_read(PGconn *conn, int fd, char *buf, size_t len);
 </sect2>
 
 <sect2>
-<title>Seeking on a Large Object</title>
+<title>Seeking in a Large Object</title>
 
 <para>
-     To change the current read or write location on a large
-     object, call
+     To change the current read or write location associated with a
+     large object descriptor, call
 <synopsis>
 int lo_lseek(PGconn *conn, int fd, int offset, int whence);
 </synopsis>
      <indexterm><primary>lo_lseek</></> This function moves the
-     current location pointer for the large object described by
+     current location pointer for the large object descriptor identified by
      <parameter>fd</> to the new location specified by
      <parameter>offset</>.  The valid values for <parameter>whence</>
      are <symbol>SEEK_SET</> (seek from object start),
@@ -250,7 +254,7 @@ int lo_lseek(PGconn *conn, int fd, int offset, int whence);
 <title>Obtaining the Seek Position of a Large Object</title>
 
 <para>
-     To obtain the current read or write location of a large object,
+     To obtain the current read or write location of a large object descriptor,
      call
 <synopsis>
 int lo_tell(PGconn *conn, int fd);
@@ -264,7 +268,7 @@ int lo_tell(PGconn *conn, int fd);
 <title>Closing a Large Object Descriptor</title>
 
 <para>
-     A large object may be closed by calling
+     A large object descriptor may be closed by calling
 <synopsis>
 int lo_close(PGconn *conn, int fd);
 </synopsis>