In discussion with Jim Nasby, I have updated the FAQ to strongly
encourage minor upgrading:
<H3 id="item3.6">3.6) Why do I need to do a dump and restore
to upgrade between major PostgreSQL releases?</H3>
<P>The PostgreSQL team makes only bug fixes in minor releases,
so, for example, upgrading from 7.4.8 to 7.4.9 does not require
a dump and restore; merely stop the database server, install
the updated binaries, and restart the server.</P>
<P>All users should upgrade to the most recent minor release as
soon as it is available. While every upgrade has some risk,
PostgreSQL minor releases are designed to fix only common bugs
with the least risk. The community considers <i>not</i> upgrading
more risky that upgrading.</P>
<P>Major releases (e.g. from 7.3 to 7.4) often change the internal
format of system tables and data files. These changes are often complex,
so we don't maintain backward compatibility for data files. A dump/reload
of the database is required for major upgrades.</P>
--
Bruce Momjian http://candle.pha.pa.us
EnterpriseDB http://www.enterprisedb.com
+ If your life is a hard drive, Christ can be your backup. +