Re: Which installation parts are backward compatible?

Euler Taveira de Oliveira wrote:
> Alvaro Herrera escreveu:
>> Euler Taveira de Oliveira wrote:
>>> Peter Eisentraut escreveu:
>>>> If no such list exists yet, perhaps we can complete the above one, document 
>>>> it, and pass it on to the packagers.
>>>>
>>> Are you suggesting that if an user has 7.4 and install 8.3 then the package
>>> will replace psql-7.4 with psql-8.3? It will confuse users more that help them
>>> (psql --version ?) and we will have extra effort to maintain the compatibility
>>> version list at each binary.
>> psql is already compatible with old versions.  I don't think we should
>> throw away that work by not maintaining it.
>>
> I think we shouldn't too. But I think newbie users will be confused when (s)he
> doesn't find the exact binary version at her/his machine.

Newbie users aren't exactly the target audience for a multiversion 
installation.  And the slightly-past-newbie-users might find the 
hypothetical "this version of psql supports servers 7.4 through 8.4" 
notice in the man page or version output helpful.