Re: Using many pg_dump in pgAdmin (aka Re : Re : p g_dump: ALTER SEQUENCE ... OWNED in 8.1)

> ------- Original Message -------
> From: Guillaume Lelarge <guillaume(at)lelarge(dot)info>
> To: Laurent ROCHE <laurent_roche(at)yahoo(dot)com>
> Sent: 19/06/07, 17:33:02
> Subject: Re: Using many pg_dump in pgAdmin (aka Re : Re : [pgadmin-support]pg_dump: ALTER SEQUENCE ... OWNED in 8.1)
>
> Laurent ROCHE a écrit :
> > Just to clarify what I mean.
> > I am quite happy (or should I say: not too unhappy) to juggle with different version of pg_dump in my scripts.
> > If that's the way it has to be, that's the way it has to be.
> > See point A, below.
> >
> > But to me pgAdmin is a tool that must be easy to use.
> > Hence, as it seems the rule of pg_dump usage is "if I connect to 8.1 server, I must use pg_dump 8.1; if I connect to a 8.2 server, I must use a 8.2 server; ...". There should be an option for doing that automatically: I should not need to switch from a pg_dump to another when I switch servers.
> >
>
> That's not strictly right.
>
> If you want a backup, you also want to restore it. And this is the real
> question. On which release do you want to restore it ? you can dump a
> 7.4 database with a 8.0 pg_dump and you will probably be able to restore
> it on a 8.2 database. But there's good chance you won't be able to
> restore it on a 7.4 database.
>
> Why ? Just because each new release adds new syntax specifics that older
> releases don't understand.

The recommended method is to always dump using the pg_dump from the version of PostgreSQL you will be restoring to - that way the dump is written in the most appropriate format.

> So, it's better to have the same release on the restored database and
> the pg_dump. You can use an older release, there's a good chance it will
> work. You can (try to) restore it on an older release, but you'll need
> luck to restore it succesfully.

Yup.

> I agree pgAdmin should let the users choose the pg_dump binary they
> want, but unfortunately, pgAdmin can't say which release will be the
> good one.

Exactly.

> I'm sorry, I'm sure my english is really bad this time. Perhaps Dave can
> explain a bit better than I did.

Your explanation is fine.

/D