doc: improve ALTER SYSTEM description of value list quoting

Reported-by: [email protected]
Discussion: https://postgr.es/m/167105927893.1897.13227723035830709578@wrigleys.postgresql.org

Backpatch-through: 11

diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml
index 6f8bd39eaf8e3a5956fb0a433146e3c13973d87f..bea5714ba1aab8f85f9fcbead5d834586b4d01d5 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/alter_system.sgml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
 
  
 
-ALTER SYSTEM SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value | 'value' | DEFAULT }
+ALTER SYSTEM SET configuration_parameter { TO | = } { value [, ...] | DEFAULT }
 
 ALTER SYSTEM RESET configuration_parameter
 ALTER SYSTEM RESET ALL
@@ -83,9 +83,17 @@ ALTER SYSTEM RESET ALL
       New value of the parameter.  Values can be specified as string
       constants, identifiers, numbers, or comma-separated lists of
       these, as appropriate for the particular parameter.
+      Values that are neither numbers nor valid identifiers must be quoted.
       DEFAULT can be written to specify removing the
       parameter and its value from postgresql.auto.conf.
      
+
+     
+      For some list-accepting parameters, quoted values will produce
+      double-quoted output to preserve whitespace and commas; for others,
+      double-quotes must be used inside single-quoted strings to get
+      this effect.
+