[Mediawiki-l] Using export/import instead of upgrading

[Frames Project]

Hello

I would like to know why, instead of upgrading from a very old Mediawiki
version the following procedure is not possible :

1. save all pages + histories on disk using something like export
2. install a fresh uptodate Mediawiki 
3. import all pages + histories from disk  
4. remove the old mediawiki version

Best
Francois Colonna