When a user updates to a version of WordPress requiring a database update, any attempt to edit the blog through the wp-admin interface triggers a notice that the user needs to update the database.
It would be nice if the same type of error could be detected and conveyed to clients of the XMLRPC and APP interfaces.
I just tested against an updated 2.2 installation, where my attempts to post through the XMLRPC interface failed with a cryptic database error string (it turns out the wp_categories table needed the recently added "type" column).
Going to the admin interface quickly revealed the cause. But it would be nice if the RPC error was, instead of a database access exception, something along the lines of:
"Your WordPress database is out-of-date, and must be upgraded before you can continue. Please visit the administrator's interface of your WordPress installation to perform the upgrade."
Daniel