Question about fixes and updates

Hi All,

I just wanted to know if the patches that are applied to Postgres are back
ported to earlier versions? For example, I run the last stable release in
version 8.1... 8.1.9? Do I need to upgrade to 8.2.x to benefit from the
patches? Or is there a latest 8.1.9 binary that I can download and refresh my
installation? Please advise.

Regards

Srini
============================
Srinivas Kotapally

111 Presidential Boulevard Suite 246
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

Phone: +1 610 747 0341
Fax: +1 610 747 0343
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On Jul 30, 2007, at 3:20 AM, Srinivas Kotapally wrote:
> I just wanted to know if the patches that are applied to Postgres
> are back ported to earlier versions? For example, I run the last
> stable release in version 8.1... 8.1.9? Do I need to upgrade to
> 8.2.x to benefit from the patches? Or is there a latest 8.1.9
> binary that I can download and refresh my installation? Please
> advise.

Only bugfixes are backported, depending on the severity of the bug
and how hard it is to fix in older versions. Security issues are also
backpatched. If you look for threads of messages in pgsql-commit,
that will give you an idea of what gets backported (though often
threads are just discussions; you may have to hunt to find some
backpatching ones).
--
Decibel!, aka Jim Nasby decibel(at)decibel(dot)org
EnterpriseDB http://enterprisedb.com 512.569.9461 (cell)

On Mon, Jul 30, 2007 at 06:20:14AM -0400, Srinivas Kotapally wrote:
> I just wanted to know if the patches that are applied to Postgres are back
> ported to earlier versions? For example, I run the last stable release in
> version 8.1... 8.1.9? Do I need to upgrade to 8.2.x to benefit from the
> patches? Or is there a latest 8.1.9 binary that I can download and refresh my
> installation? Please advise.

Bug fixes are typically backpatched to earlier releases if the fix
isn't too invasive. However, to get those fixes you'll need to
build from the latest CVS source or wait until the next minor
release. I don't know if anybody builds "8.1.9 + latest patches"
packages.

If you're curious about a particular fix then see the Release Notes
for the latest release in the branch you're running (e.g., 8.1.9
for the 8.1 branch) or search the pgsql-committers archives:

http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-committers/

Commits to back branches will show a tag like REL8_1_STABLE.

--
Michael Fuhr