Re: Restore database from tablespace

Greg Spiegelberg <gspiegelberg@gmail.com> wrote:

> I don't know if this was the intent but it did provide me with
> what I thought was a good idea.
>  * Snapshot a schema / tablespace / database to another schema /
> tablespace / database.
>
> The applications for this could be
>  * an alternative to the existing backup methods
>  * using the copy for testing purposes without having to
>    create-drop database
>  * providing stock data for application demos without fear of
>    losing the original
>  * quick recovery to a known good schema and data

I'm still not sure I follow, but there's a technique which isn't
worth much for backup proper, but can be a good way to repeatedly
get to a consistent starting point for tests in some circumstances.
Look at CREATE DATABASE x WITH TEMPLATE y.

http://www.postgresql.org/docs/8.4/interactive/sql-createdatabase.html

You can do that once to capture a starting point for testing.  You
can drop the testing database and re-create at will.

If this and the various backup techniques don't do what you want,
I'm at a loss.  I think you'd need to post something a bit more
concrete for me to understand what you mean.

-Kevin