[BUGS] PSQL commands not backwards-compatible

#1

Folks,

Discovered some problems using 8.1 psql to connect to an 8.0 server:

test_stats=# \l
ERROR: relation "pg_catalog.pg_roles" does not exist
test_stats=# \dt
ERROR: relation "pg_catalog.pg_roles" does not exist
test_stats=# \dv
ERROR: relation "pg_catalog.pg_roles" does not exist

This is from CVS, the day before the beta release. Ignore me if it's
already been fixed.

--
--Josh

Josh Berkus
Aglio Database Solutions
San Francisco

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#2

This isn't a bug, it's a feature request. We've never had backwards
compatibility of psql backslash commands.

There was some talk just a day or two ago about starting to support
that beginning in 8.2; it's not happening for 8.1 though.

regards, tom lane

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#3

On Tue, Aug 30, 2005 at 12:09:03PM -0700, Josh Berkus wrote:

Quote:

Discovered some problems using 8.1 psql to connect to an 8.0 server:

test_stats=# \l
ERROR: relation "pg_catalog.pg_roles" does not exist
test_stats=# \dt
ERROR: relation "pg_catalog.pg_roles" does not exist
test_stats=# \dv
ERROR: relation "pg_catalog.pg_roles" does not exist

This is from CVS, the day before the beta release. Ignore me if it's
already been fixed.

It's not fixed, but it's also labeled "won't fix," at least for now.

--
Alvaro Herrera <alvherre[]alvh.no-ip.org> Architect, www.EnterpriseDB.com
"El sentido de las cosas no viene de las cosas, sino de
las inteligencias que las aplican a sus problemas diarios
en busca del progreso." (Ernesto Hernández-Novich)

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#4

Tom Lane wrote:

Quote:

This isn't a bug, it's a feature request. We've never had backwards
compatibility of psql backslash commands.

In the past, most of these usually worked. As it appears now, most of
them won't work at all, so we should really put a bigger warning sign
somewhere, because in spite of this not being a bug, people will
probably consider it so and keep bothering us about it.

--
Peter Eisentraut
http://developer.postgresql.org/~petere/

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#5

Peter Eisentraut <peter_e (AT) gmx (DOT) net> writes:

Quote:

Tom Lane wrote:
This isn't a bug, it's a feature request. We've never had backwards
compatibility of psql backslash commands.

In the past, most of these usually worked.

They've been broken on a fairly regular basis in past releases.
Certainly 7.3 broke every single one because of the addition of
schema syntax ...

regards, tom lane

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#6

Tom,

Quote:

They've been broken on a fairly regular basis in past releases.
Certainly 7.3 broke every single one because of the addition of
schema syntax ...

Yeah, and we warned people about it, as I recall. Also, we had about 25x
less users then. I think we should put something in the release notes:

WARNING: 8.1's "psql" is not completely backwards-compatible with previous
versions of PostgreSQL.

--Josh

--
__Aglio Database Solutions_______________
Josh Berkus Consultant
josh (AT) agliodbs (DOT) com www.agliodbs.com
Ph: 415-752-2500 Fax: 415-752-2387
2166 Hayes Suite 200 San Francisco, CA

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#7

Josh Berkus wrote:

Quote:

Tom,

They've been broken on a fairly regular basis in past releases.
Certainly 7.3 broke every single one because of the addition of
schema syntax ...

Yeah, and we warned people about it, as I recall. Also, we had about 25x
less users then. I think we should put something in the release notes:

WARNING: 8.1's "psql" is not completely backwards-compatible with previous
versions of PostgreSQL.

I am working on a patch to warn on psql startup if the backslash
commands might not work.

--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
pgman (AT) candle (DOT) pha.pa.us | (610) 359-1001
+ If your life is a hard drive, | 13 Roberts Road
+ Christ can be your backup. | Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073

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#8

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Tom Lane wrote:

Quote:

This isn't a bug, it's a feature request. We've never had backwards
compatibility of psql backslash commands.

In the past, most of these usually worked.

They've been broken on a fairly regular basis in past releases.
Certainly 7.3 broke every single one because of the addition of
schema syntax ...

I think that example is the exception, and not the rule. All
other versions /except/ 7.3 worked for the most part with older
versions. I think this is a worthy goal. We don't have to try
and go back to 7.2 or anything, but I think most users would
presume that psql would at least work on at least the previous
version.

If it's the beta timing, I can understand that, but there wasn't all
this fuss when I made psql backwards-compatible last time for
tablespaces. Also, I would think the no new feature rule could
be bent a little here, considering that psql is a relatively
small standalone app, and, as pointed out, we are definitely going
to see people complain about this on the list. A little bit of
effort now will make the project look much better in the long run.

- --
Greg Sabino Mullane greg (AT) turnstep (DOT) com
PGP Key: 0x14964AC8 200508301952
http://biglumber.com/x/web?pk=2529DF...9B906714964AC8

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#9

On Tue, Aug 30, 2005 at 07:35:40PM -0400, Bruce Momjian wrote:

Quote:

Josh Berkus wrote:
Tom,

They've been broken on a fairly regular basis in past releases.
Certainly 7.3 broke every single one because of the addition of
schema syntax ...

Yeah, and we warned people about it, as I recall. Also, we had
about 25x less users then. I think we should put something in
the release notes:

WARNING: 8.1's "psql" is not completely backwards-compatible with
previous versions of PostgreSQL.

I am working on a patch to warn on psql startup if the backslash
commands might not work.

In case of relenting on the feature freeze vs. bug thing, I am
preparing a patch that makes psql's \d commands backward-compatible to
8.0. I should have it out this evening or possible tomorrow for
review.

Cheers,
D
--
David Fetter david (AT) fetter (DOT) org http://fetter.org/
phone: +1 510 893 6100 mobile: +1 415 235 3778

Remember to vote!

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#10

Josh Berkus <josh (AT) agliodbs (DOT) com> writes:

Quote:

I think we should put something in the release notes:

WARNING: 8.1's "psql" is not completely backwards-compatible with previous
versions of PostgreSQL.

Can you point to any single one of the past five major releases in which
psql's backslash commands *WERE* completely backwards-compatible with
previous versions of PostgreSQL? This is not breaking news.

regards, tom lane

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