Re: Non-text mode for pg_dumpall

On Fri, Jul 25, 2025 at 04:59:29PM -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> Andrew Dunstan <andrew(at)dunslane(dot)net> writes:
> > Before we throw the baby out with the bathwater, how about this
> > suggestion? pg_dumpall would continue to produce globals.dat, but it
> > wouldn't be processed by pg_restore, which would only restore the
> > individual databases. Or else we just don't produce globals.dat at all.
> > Then we could introduce a structured object that pg_restore could safely
> > use for release 19, and I think we'd still have something useful for
> > release 18.
>
> I dunno ... that seems like a pretty weird behavior. People would
> have to do a separate text-mode "pg_dumpall -g" and remember to
> restore that too. Admittedly, this could be more convenient than
> "pg_dumpall -g" plus separately pg_dump'ing each database, which is
> what people have to do today if they want anything smarter than a flat
> text dumpfile. But it still seems like a hack --- and it would not be
> compatible with v19, where presumably "pg_dumpall | pg_restore"
> *would* restore globals. I think that the prospect of changing
> dump/restore scripts and then having to change them again in v19
> isn't too appetizing.

+1