postgresql - new upstream release

["Oliver Elphick" <olly@lfix.co.uk>]

The new upstream release of postgresql (6.3) is incompatible with the
current version (6.2.1) and will require a dump and reload of databases.
To do this properly, users should be using the pg_dumpall script from 6.3.
Postgresql-6.3 is also library-incompatible with the previous release.

In making the original release of 6.2.1, I decided that, for a number of
reasons, it was too risky and too time-consuming to let the preinst and
postinst scripts do the conversion automatically.  This is still the case,
so the new release has to conflict with but not replace the old.  The user
should get the new pg_dumpall out of the new package, use it to dump the
existing database, check that he has got a good dump, check that he also
has a backup of his database and the 6.2.1 programs that he will need if
he has to recover the backup, delete the existing database and remove
postgresql-6.2.1. Then dselect/dpkg can install the new postgresql, and the
user can restore his database from the dump.

I'd like comments from existing postgresql users about this and from anyone
about how to achieve getting one bit of the new package out before it can
be installed.

I had better reiterate here my reasons for not allowing an automatic
update:

1. Some databases can have millions of records.  If the update is run as
   part of the normal dselect run, it could hold up progress for hours.

2. With a large database, there is the problem of space for an extra copy;
   such systems will probably need to dump to tape.  I don't consider such
   procedures to be sufficiently reliable to be put in an automatic
   process.

3. Since an automatic script will have to delete the database, there will be
   no opportunity for the user to check the integrity of his data.




-- 
Oliver Elphick                                Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk
Isle of Wight                              http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver

PGP key from public servers; key ID 32B8FAA1



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