1- <!-- $Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/checkpoint.sgml,v 1.1 2001/01/13 03:11:12 petere Exp $ -->
1+ <!-- $Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/checkpoint.sgml,v 1.2 2001/01/24 21:56:23 petere Exp $ -->
22
33<refentry id="sql-checkpoint">
44 <docinfo>
5- <date>2001-01-13 </date>
5+ <date>2001-01-24 </date>
66 </docinfo>
77
88 <refmeta>
1212
1313 <refnamediv>
1414 <refname>CHECKPOINT</refname>
15- <refpurpose>Force transaction logto disk </refpurpose>
15+ <refpurpose>Force transaction logcheckpoint </refpurpose>
1616 </refnamediv>
1717
1818 <refsynopsisdiv>
@@ -25,7 +25,20 @@ CHECKPOINT
2525 <title>Description</title>
2626
2727 <para>
28- This documentation needs to be written.
28+ Write-Ahead Logging (WAL) puts a checkpoint in the transaction log
29+ every 300 seconds by default. (This may be changed by the run-time
30+ configuration option <parameter>CHECKPOINT_TIMEOUT</parameter>.)
31+ The <command>CHECKPOINT</command> command forces a checkpoint at
32+ the point at which the command is issued. The next automatic
33+ checkpoint will still happen after the original cycle expires.
34+ </para>
35+
36+ <para>
37+ A checkpoint is a point in the transaction log sequence at which
38+ all data files have been updated to reflect the information in the
39+ log. All data files will be flushed to disk. Refer to the
40+ <citetitle>PostgreSQL Administrator's Guide</citetitle> for more
41+ information about the WAL system.
2942 </para>
3043 </refsect1>
3144