Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for PostgreSQL
- Last updated: Wed Feb 21 17:54:05 EST 2007
+ Last updated: Fri Feb 23 14:06:15 EST 2007
3.6) What is the upgrade process for PostgreSQL?
- The PostgreSQL team only adds bug fixes to minor releases. All users
- should upgrade to the most recent minor release as soon as possible.
- While upgrades always have some risk, PostgreSQL minor releases fix
- only frequently-encountered, security, and data corruption bugs, to
- reduce the risk of upgrading. The community considers not upgrading
- more risky than upgrading.
-
- Upgrading to a minor release, e.g. 8.1.5 to 8.1.6, does not does not
- require a dump and restore; merely stop the database server, install
- the updated binaries, and restart the server.
-
- Major releases (e.g. from 7.3 to 7.4) often change the internal format
- of system tables and data files. These changes are often complex, so
- we don't maintain backward compatibility for data files. A dump/reload
- of the database is required for major upgrades.
+ PostgreSQL major releases include new features and occur roughly once
+ every year. A major release is numbered by increasing either the first
+ or second part of the version number, e.g. 8.1 to 8.2.
+
+ Major releases usually change the internal format of system tables and
+ data files. These changes are often complex, so we don't maintain
+ backward compatibility for data files. A dump/reload of the database
+ is required for major upgrades.
+
+ Minor releases are numbered by increasing the third part of the
+ version number, e.g. 8.1.5 to 8.1.6. The PostgreSQL team only adds bug
+ fixes to minor releases. All users should upgrade to the most recent
+ minor release as soon as possible. While upgrades always have some
+ risk, PostgreSQL minor releases fix only frequently-encountered,
+ security, and data corruption bugs to reduce the risk of upgrading.
+ The community considers not upgrading riskier than upgrading.
+ `
+
+ Upgrading to a minor release does not does not require a dump and
+ restore; merely stop the database server, install the updated
+ binaries, and restart the server.
3.7) What computer hardware should I use?