>> Another option is "nearly do nothing", keep version 8.2 only apply 8.2
>> updates.



Thanks for this. In that case, I'll worry about Slony et al when 8.2
is retired I suppose. Hopefully PG will have a humanly decodable
upgrade mechanism by then.

But where can I find instructions to update 8.2.x without downtime?

I go to postgresql.org and search for "How to update 8.2":
http://search.postgresql.org/search?q=how+to+update+8.2&a=1&submit=Search

As always, the website's search engine returns useless stuff. If I
search google it comes up with links to the SQL "UPDATE" command.

I manually scoured the labyrinth of docs and came up with this Upgrade link:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/install-upgrading.html

But again, as always, this assumes "pg_dumpall".

Perhaps this instruction assumes that I am upgrading between major
versions, but I want to stay clear of pg_dumpall -- it locks the
database and causes downtime. How can I simply upgrade the database
and leave the data alone. I thought an upgrade was merely PG's "system
files" being updated?

Any pointers deeply appreciated.