Re: Why does pg_dump set default_with_oids to true?

Alvaro Herrera <alvherre(at)commandprompt(dot)com> writes:
> Kynn Jones escribi:
>> The documentation deprecates setting this variable to true. Why does
>> pg_dump do it?

> To dump tables that were created WITH OIDS.

What is deprecated is the use of the WITH OIDS feature, not the variable
;-). But it is not pg_dump's charter to enforce that deprecation.

Maybe what you are asking is why it uses SET default_with_oids rather
than attaching WITH OIDS to the CREATE TABLE commands. That was done
as a compatibility measure so that the dump files would still be
readable by PG versions that didn't understand WITH OIDS --- they'd
reject the SET commands but still accept the CREATE TABLE commands.
By the same token the files are a shade more portable to other DBMSes
than they would be with WITH OIDS clauses. Neither of these arguments
is hugely compelling, perhaps, but avoiding the use of a variable isn't
very compelling either ...

regards, tom lane