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PostgreSQL documentation
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<refentry id="APP-CREATEDB">
 <docinfo>
  <date>2000-11-11</date>
 </docinfo>

 <refmeta>
  <refentrytitle id="APP-CREATEDB-TITLE"><application>createdb</application></refentrytitle>
  <manvolnum>1</manvolnum>
  <refmiscinfo>Application</refmiscinfo>
 </refmeta>

 <refnamediv>
  <refname>createdb</refname>
  <refpurpose>create a new <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> database</refpurpose>
 </refnamediv>

 <refsynopsisdiv>
  <cmdsynopsis>
   <command>createdb</command>
   <arg rep="repeat"><replaceable>options</replaceable></arg>
   <arg><replaceable>dbname</replaceable></arg>
   <arg><replaceable>description</replaceable></arg>
  </cmdsynopsis>

  <refsect2 id="R2-APP-CREATEDB-1">
   <title>
    Inputs
   </title>
   <para>

    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
      <term>-h, --host <replaceable class="parameter">host</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the host name of the machine on which the 
	server is running.  If host begins with a slash, it is used 
	as the directory for the Unix domain socket.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-p, --port <replaceable class="parameter">port</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the Internet TCP/IP port or the local Unix domain socket file 
	extension on which the server is listening for connections.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-U, --username <replaceable class="parameter">username</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        User name to connect as
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-W, --password</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Force password prompt.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-e, --echo</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Echo the queries that <application>createdb</application> generates
	and sends to the server.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-q, --quiet</term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Do not display a response.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-D, --location <replaceable class="parameter">datadir</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the alternative location for the database.  See also <xref
	linkend="app-initlocation">.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-T, --template <replaceable class="parameter">template</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Specifies the template database from which to build this database.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term>-E, --encoding <replaceable class="parameter">encoding</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        Specifies the character encoding scheme to be used in this database.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><replaceable class="parameter">dbname</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
	Specifies the name of the database to be created.  The name must be
	unique among all <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> databases in this installation.
        The default is to create a database with the same name as the
        current system user.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><replaceable class="parameter">description</replaceable></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
        This optionally specifies a comment to be associated with the newly created
	database.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

    </variablelist>

    The options <literal>-h</literal>, <literal>-p</literal>, <literal>-U</literal>,
    <literal>-W</literal>, and <literal>-e</literal> are passed on literally to
    <xref linkend="app-psql">.

    The options <literal>-D</literal>, <literal>-T</literal>, and
    <literal>-E</literal> are converted into options for the underlying
    SQL command <xref linkend="SQL-CREATEDATABASE"
    endterm="SQL-CREATEDATABASE-title">; see there for more information
    about them.
   </para>
  </refsect2>

  <refsect2 id="R2-APP-CREATEDB-2">
   <title>
    Outputs
   </title>
   <para>
    <variablelist>
     <varlistentry>
      <term><computeroutput>CREATE DATABASE</computeroutput></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>The database was successfully created.</para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><computeroutput>createdb: Database creation failed.</computeroutput></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>(Says it all.)</para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>

     <varlistentry>
      <term><computeroutput>createdb: Comment creation failed. (Database was created.)</computeroutput></term>
      <listitem>
       <para>
       The comment/description for the database could not be created.
       The database itself will have been created already. You can use the
       <acronym>SQL</acronym> command <command>COMMENT ON DATABASE</command> to
       create the comment later on.
       </para>
      </listitem>
     </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    If there is an error condition, the backend error message will be displayed.
    See <xref linkend="SQL-CREATEDATABASE" endterm="SQL-CREATEDATABASE-TITLE">
    and <xref linkend="APP-PSQL"> for possibilities.
   </para>
  </refsect2>
 </refsynopsisdiv>

 <refsect1 id="R1-APP-CREATEDB-1">
  <title>
   Description
  </title>
  <para>
   <application>createdb</application> creates a new <productname>PostgreSQL</productname>
   database. The user who executes this command becomes the database owner.
  </para>

  <para>
   <application>createdb</application> is a shell script wrapper around the
   <acronym>SQL</acronym> command
   <xref linkend="SQL-CREATEDATABASE" endterm="SQL-CREATEDATABASE-title"> via
   the <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> interactive terminal
   <xref linkend="APP-PSQL">. Thus, there is nothing
   special about creating databases via this or other methods. This means
   that the <application>psql</application> program must be found by the script and that
   a database server must be running at the targeted port. Also, any default
   settings and environment variables available to <application>psql</application>
   and the <application>libpq</application> front-end library will apply.
  </para>
 </refsect1>

 <refsect1 id="R1-APP-CREATEDB-2">
  <title>Usage</title>

  <informalexample>
   <para>
    To create the database <literal>demo</literal> using the default
    database server:
<screen>
<prompt>$ </prompt><userinput>createdb demo</userinput>
<computeroutput>CREATE DATABASE</computeroutput>
</screen>
    The response is the same as you would have gotten from running the
    <command>CREATE DATABASE</command> <acronym>SQL</acronym> command.
   </para>
  </informalexample>

  <informalexample>
   <para>
    To create the database <literal>demo</literal> using the
    server on host <literal>eden</>, port 5000, using the
    <literal>LATIN1</literal> encoding scheme with a look at the
    underlying query:
<screen>
<prompt>$ </prompt><userinput>createdb -p 5000 -h eden -E LATIN1 -e demo</userinput>
<computeroutput>CREATE DATABASE "demo" WITH ENCODING = 'LATIN1'</computeroutput>
<computeroutput>CREATE DATABASE</computeroutput>
</screen>
   </para>
  </informalexample>
 </refsect1>
</refentry>

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