Hi,
We'd like to ship PostgreSQL as part of a product that runs on both PPC and
Intel Macs, but the database files are tied to the build settings and
endianness of the computer that the database was initialized on.
Is there any way to cause the server to modify the database files in-place
for endianness issues? I know that a backup-then-restore process would fix
the data, but on Macs, many users use Apple's computer migration tools to
copy all their programs/data/users/etc.. to new Macs.
If the user moves from a PPC to an Intel Mac, for instance, the database
would be copied over, but the data would be for the old computer, and the
database won't start. The backup/restore process is hard for end users,
since they don't understand it -- and they won't contact us until after the
migration is done, and often not until they've discarded the old computer.
It would be nice if there was a way to recover the data from the existing
database files.
I found this old thread on a related topic, and it seems that this cannot be
done...
http://archives.postgresql.org/pgsql-general/2008-01/msg00635.php
Thanks,
Chris
--
Chris Saldanha
Parliant Corporation
http://www.parliant.com/