Description
- pg_dump is a utility for backing up a
+ pg_dump is a utility for exporting a
PostgreSQL database. It makes consistent
- backups even if the database is being used concurrently.
+ exports even if the database is being used concurrently.
pg_dump does not block other users
accessing the database (readers or writers).
+ Note, however, that except in simple cases,
+ pg_dump is generally not the right choice for
+ taking regular backups of production databases. See for further discussion.
pg_dump only dumps a single database.
- To back up an entire cluster, or to back up global objects that are
+ To export an entire cluster, or to export global objects that are
common to all databases in a cluster (such as roles and tablespaces),
use .
@@ -76,7 +80,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
pg_restore,
pg_dump provides a flexible archival and
transfer mechanism. pg_dump can be used to
- backup an entire database, then pg_restore
+ export an entire database, then pg_restore
can be used to examine the archive and/or select which parts of the
database are to be restored. The most flexible output file formats are
the custom format () and the
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_restore.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_restore.sgml
index 2e3ba802581..b8b27e1719e 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_restore.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/pg_restore.sgml
@@ -781,7 +781,7 @@ PostgreSQL documentation
Require that each schema
(/) and table
(/) qualifier match at
- least one schema/table in the backup file.
+ least one schema/table in the file to be restored.