Re: pg_dump end comment

Gavin Sherry wrote:
> On Tue, 30 Mar 2004, Bruce Momjian wrote:
> 
> > Tom Lane wrote:
> > > Christopher Kings-Lynne <chriskl@familyhealth.com.au> writes:
> > > > This might seem a bit silly, but is there any chance we could add a
> > > > comment at the end of pg_dump text output that says '-- End of dump'?
> > >
> > > Sure --- while you're at it, put a "beginning of dump" at the start.
> > >
> > > Is it worth adding the database name and/or other command-line
> > > parameters given to pg_dump?
> > >
> > > One thing to think about is the difference between a bare pg_dump and a
> > > pg_dump/pg_restore sequence.  Should these always generate identical
> > > text output?  (They do as of CVS tip, I believe, though this was not
> > > always true before.)
> > >
> > > Possibly this is all gilding the lily though...
> >
> > I like an end-of-dump marker for folks who want to check if the dump got
> > truncated somehow.  I can see how to do that for text dumps, but what
> > about for tar or custom dumps?
> 
> Wouldn't it be more effective to test for non zero return status as this
> handles -Fc cases, etc, which would be non-trivial to test.

Yes, they have to check for a proper exit from pg_dump, but there is
still a file sitting around after the dump, with no way to tell if it is
accurate.

--  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610)
359-1001+  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Newtown Square,
Pennsylvania19073