ipcclean(1)

NAME

       ipcclean  -  remove  shared memory and semaphores from an aborted Post-
       greSQL server

SYNOPSIS

       ipcclean

DESCRIPTION

       ipcclean removes all shared memory segments and semaphore sets owned by
       the  current  user.  It  is intended to be used for cleaning up after a
       crashed  PostgreSQL  server  (postmaster(1)).  Note  that   immediately
       restarting  the server will also clean up shared memory and semaphores,
       so this command is of little real utility.

       Only the database administrator should execute this program as  it  can
       cause  bizarre  behavior (i.e., crashes) if run during multiuser execu-
       tion. If this command is executed while a server is running, the shared
       memory  and  semaphores allocated by that server will be deleted, which
       would have rather severe consequences for that server.

NOTES

       This script is a hack, but in the many years since it was  written,  no
       one has come up with an equally effective and portable solution.  Since
       the postmaster can now clean up by itself, it is unlikely that ipcclean
       will be improved upon in the future.

       The  script  makes  assumption  about  the format of output of the ipcs
       utility which may not  be  true  across  different  operating  systems.
       Therefore, it may not work on your particular OS.

Application                       2003-11-02                       IPCCLEAN(1)