When this procedure got old, I started using a script created using pg_dump and pg_restore, as initially outlined here:
Yeah, the short answer is PostgreSQL doesn't make it possible to edit "middle" views without having the code on hand for all dependent views so you can recreate them. You either maintain those views and order manually or you rely on pg_dump to figure it out for you (the former, with version control, is highly recommended).
I could see it being possible to program the server to be more helpful here - by say allowing it to drop but remember view definitions and the re-create them from the remembered versions by name - but no one has seen the motivation to do so; I suspect partially in light of the fact that "version control" is a recommended practice.
David J.
