Re: Deprecating, and scheduling removal of, pg_dump's tar format.

On 07/27/2018 10:05 AM, Andres Freund wrote:
>
>> Yeah. I don't mind removing really marginal features to ease
>> maintenance, but I'm not sure that this one is all that marginal or
>> that we'd save that much maintenance by eliminating it.
> My point is more that it forces users to make choices whenever they use
> pg_dump. And the tar format has plenty downsides that aren't immediately
> apparent. By keeping something with only a small upside around, we
> force users to waste time.

Correct. Sometimes it is best to limit choices, someone may chose tar
because it is a command they have used but not fully understand what
that means within the context of PostgreSQL. Then they are going to have
something happen, they will ask for help either on the lists or from a
consulting firm and the first they either will say is, "Don't use the
tar format" or at least, "You should be using one of the other formats".

Why invite the overhead?

JD

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