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><H1
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><A
NAME="MANAGE-AG-CREATEDB"
>21.2. Creating a Database</A
></H1
><P
> In order to create a database, the <SPAN
CLASS="PRODUCTNAME"
>PostgreSQL</SPAN
>
server must be up and running (see <A
HREF="server-start.html"
>Section 17.3</A
>).
</P
><P
> Databases are created with the SQL command
<A
HREF="sql-createdatabase.html"
>CREATE DATABASE</A
>:
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>CREATE DATABASE <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>name</I
></TT
>;</PRE
><P>
where <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>name</I
></TT
> follows the usual rules for
<ACRONYM
CLASS="ACRONYM"
>SQL</ACRONYM
> identifiers. The current role automatically
becomes the owner of the new database. It is the privilege of the
owner of a database to remove it later (which also removes all
the objects in it, even if they have a different owner).
</P
><P
> The creation of databases is a restricted operation. See <A
HREF="role-attributes.html"
>Section 20.2</A
> for how to grant permission.
</P
><P
> Since you need to be connected to the database server in order to
execute the <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE DATABASE</TT
> command, the
question remains how the <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="EMPHASIS"
>first</I
></SPAN
> database at any given
site can be created. The first database is always created by the
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>initdb</TT
> command when the data storage area is
initialized. (See <A
HREF="creating-cluster.html"
>Section 17.2</A
>.) This
database is called
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>postgres</TT
>. So to
create the first <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"ordinary"</SPAN
> database you can connect to
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>postgres</TT
>.
</P
><P
> A second database,
<TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>template1</TT
>,
is also created during database cluster initialization. Whenever a
new database is created within the
cluster, <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>template1</TT
> is essentially cloned.
This means that any changes you make in <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>template1</TT
> are
propagated to all subsequently created databases. Because of this,
avoid creating objects in <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>template1</TT
> unless you want them
propagated to every newly created database. More details
appear in <A
HREF="manage-ag-templatedbs.html"
>Section 21.3</A
>.
</P
><P
> As a convenience, there is a program you can
execute from the shell to create new databases,
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>createdb</TT
>.
</P><PRE
CLASS="SYNOPSIS"
>createdb <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>dbname</I
></TT
></PRE
><P>
<TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>createdb</TT
> does no magic. It connects to the <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>postgres</TT
>
database and issues the <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>CREATE DATABASE</TT
> command,
exactly as described above.
The <A
HREF="app-createdb.html"
><SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>createdb</SPAN
></A
> reference page contains the invocation
details. Note that <TT
CLASS="COMMAND"
>createdb</TT
> without any arguments will create
a database with the current user name.
</P
><DIV
CLASS="NOTE"
><BLOCKQUOTE
CLASS="NOTE"
><P
><B
>Note: </B
> <A
HREF="client-authentication.html"
>Chapter 19</A
> contains information about
how to restrict who can connect to a given database.
</P
></BLOCKQUOTE
></DIV
><P
> Sometimes you want to create a database for someone else, and have him
become the owner of the new database, so he can
configure and manage it himself. To achieve that, use one of the
following commands:
</P><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>CREATE DATABASE <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>dbname</I
></TT
> OWNER <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
>;</PRE
><P>
from the SQL environment, or:
</P><PRE
CLASS="PROGRAMLISTING"
>createdb -O <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>rolename</I
></TT
> <TT
CLASS="REPLACEABLE"
><I
>dbname</I
></TT
></PRE
><P>
from the shell.
Only the superuser is allowed to create a database for
someone else (that is, for a role you are not a member of).
</P
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