[Mageia-dev] PostgreSQL conflicts

Mon Apr 25 18:02:47 CEST 2011

This has been discussed in several threads in Cooker over the years.  
+Every new postgreSQL package conflicts with the previous version.  It 
+neither replaces it, nor can it be installed alongside of it, e.g.
+
+Some requested packages cannot be installed:
+lib64pq9.0_5-9.0.4-1.mga1.x86_64 (due to conflicts with 
+lib64pq8.4_5-8.4.8-1.mga1.x86_64, due to conflicts with 
+lib64pq8.4_5-8.4.8-1.mga1.x86_64)
+postgresql8.4-8.4.8-1.mga1.i586 (due to conflicts with 
+postgresql9.0-9.0.4-1.mga1.x86_64)
+postgresql8.4-8.4.8-1.mga1.x86_64 (due to conflicts with 
+postgresql9.0-9.0.4-1.mga1.x86_64, due to conflicts with 
+postgresql9.0-9.0.4-1.mga1.x86_64)
+postgresql8.4-server-8.4.8-1.mga1.x86_64 (due to unsatisfied 
+postgresql8.4[*][>= 8.4.8-1.mga1])
+postgresql9.0-server-9.0.4-1.mga1.x86_64 (due to unsatisfied 
+lib64pq9.0_5[*][>= 9.0.4-1.mga1])
+
+IIRC, many postgreSQL version bumps won't work with the previous 
+version's DB files, requiring that tables be unloaded under the old 
+version and reloaded under the new, and that was the rationale for not 
+having newer versions silently replace older ones.  But I've never 
+understood why the versions can't be installed side-by-side, in 
+version-specific directories.
+
+Then there's the question, with multiple versions, of which one is the 
+"default", and how you switch this at the user or sysadmin level.
+
+I recall several conflicting comments about whether the current setup is 
+correct, but I don't recall any resolution.  What is Mageia's policy on 
+this going to be ?  I believe postgreSQL is installed automatically if 
+the Database group is selected, which means that a lot of 
+unsophisticated users are going to hit these conflicts every time a new 
+version appears.
+