Re:

On Tue, Apr 06, 2004 at 14:27:05 +0900,
Colm De Barra <colm(at)aruke(dot)com> wrote:
> Hey,
>
> I don't know if this is possible but maybe someone here
> will know.
>
> I compiled version 7.4.1 of postgres and added a specially
> patched version of postgis which allows me to store and retrieve
> spatial data.
>
> I have another postgres installation (version 7.3 I think) on
> another machine which has all my map data stored on it, but doesn't
> have the special patched version of postgis.
>
> The data is huge - well over 50 gigs - so theres no way I want to have
> to copy all the data onto the new box. Is there any way I can point the
> new installation at the tables on the old installation ??

No. You need to do a dump and restore.

You can only avoid a dump and restore when upgrading in the same series
(e.g. 7.3.2 -> 7.3.5) and if you use the same configuration options
when building the package.

If you are really asking if you can make cross database references, dblink
might let you do that. I don't know if it is restricted to other databases
in the same cluster or if you can connect to any database (in which case
it should be usable).

There have been some discussions about making upgrades smoother. I think
that things might improve after 7.5.