Re: pg_dump --snapshot

On 2013-05-07 16:50:52 +0100, Greg Stark wrote:
> What's the worst case for using an old snapshot? If I try to access a
> table that doesn't exist any longer I'll get an error. That doesn't
> really seem that bad for the use case I described. It's worse for the
> full table dump but for an explicit list of tables, eh. Seems ok to
> me.

Its worth than that, you can get a dump that dumps successfully but
doesn't restore:
http://archives.postgresql.org/message-id/20130507141526.GA6117%40awork2.anarazel.de

But that's not really related to snapshots. And not related to the
patch. Imo the whole focus on the time between snapshot taking and
taking the locks is a misguided and not really the problem.

Greetings,

Andres Freund

-- Andres Freund                       http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/PostgreSQL Development, 24x7 Support, Training &
Services