Re: pgsql: Implement backup API functions for non-exclusive backups

On Tue, Apr 5, 2016 at 2:11 PM, Magnus Hagander <magnus@hagander.net> wrote:
> Implement backup API functions for non-exclusive backups
>
> Previously non-exclusive backups had to be done using the replication protocol
> and pg_basebackup. With this commit it's now possible to make them using
> pg_start_backup/pg_stop_backup as well, as long as the backup program can
> maintain a persistent connection to the database.
>
> Doing this, backup_label and tablespace_map are returned as results from
> pg_stop_backup() instead of being written to the data directory. This makes
> the server safe from a crash during an ongoing backup, which can be a problem
> with exclusive backups.
>
> The old syntax of the functions remain and work exactly as before, but since the
> new syntax is safer this should eventually be deprecated and removed.
>
> Only reference documentation is included. The main section on backup still needs
> to be rewritten to cover this, but since that is already scheduled for a separate
> large rewrite, it's not included in this patch.
>
> Reviewed by David Steele and Amit Kapila

We've typically tried to keep the width of commit messages narrow
enough that 'git log' looks OK in an 80-character window; this one is
wide enough that it doesn't.