Re: dump from 8.x restore to 7.3.x

["Edoardo Ceccarelli" <eddy(at)axa(dot)it>]

Thank you for this infos, I wasn't sure about this, now, at least, I know that this is not possible.
On the other hand, even the most experienced database programmer / administrator  when upgrading a production environment can't be 100% sure about whether the application,will fail or not.
Of course, testing is the only way to ensure that everything will be as smooth as possible but a real safety net would be to establish a common dump file format across different PG versions.
I will keep searching ... and testing of course :)

My understanding is that dumps are not backwards compatible.  Any dumps created with a Version 8.*
pg_dump cannot be used for any older versions.  If you want "play it safe" you should create a new
server for the postgresql version 8.1 to preform validation tests with your front-ends.  After you
are satisfied that everything works well you can replace the version 7 production server with
version 8.

If you would like a safety net beyond this you could contact one of the PostgreSQL consulting
companies to walk you through the integration of V.8.1 into your projection system.

Regards,

Richard Broersma Jr.