Re: pg_dump versus ancient server versions

On Thu, Dec 2, 2021 at 5:01 AM Peter Eisentraut
<peter(dot)eisentraut(at)enterprisedb(dot)com> wrote:
> * pg_dump and psql will maintain compatibility with servers at least
> ten major releases back.
>
> * We keep old major release branches buildable as long as a new major
> release that has support for that old release is under support.
>
> Buildable for this purpose means just enough that you can use it to
> test pg_dump and psql. This probably includes being able to run make
> installcheck and use pg_dump and psql against the regression database.
> It does not require support for any additional build-time options that
> are not required for this purpose (e.g., new OpenSSL releases).
> Conversely, it should be buildable with default compiler options. For
> example, if it fails to build and test cleanly unless you use -O0,
> that should be fixed. Fixes in very-old branches should normally be
> backpatches that have stabilized in under-support branches. Changes
> that silence compiler warnings in newer compilers are by themselves
> not considered a backpatch-worthy fix.

Sounds reasonable. It doesn't really make sense to insist that the
tools have to be compatible with releases that most developers can't
actually build.

--
Robert Haas
EDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com