Re: pg_dump: Sorted output, referential integrity

> > > but to manage the data in a version
> > >control system you need it consistently sorted. So a flag to sort by
> > >either primary key or left to right would be of great value. (--sorted
> > >?)
> >
> > Not really very generalizable when you consider user defined types,
> > triggers etc.
>
> Hmmm. But if we have a primary key on columns (A,B,C) and request the data
> 'order by A,B,C' this should be portable, shouldn't it?
> If we don't have a primary key simply ordering by 1,2,3,...n
> should also work.
> Or am I missing something?

I can see how ordering a dump by the primary key would be a neat way of
'clustering' your data after a restore, however I have qualms about the
scalability of such a scheme.  What if someone has a 100GB table?  They may
have arranged things so that they never get a sort from it or something, or
it might take ages.  However I guess if it's an optional parameter it might
be neat.

My feeling is that it won't happen unless you actually code it into a patch
that makes it a parameter to pg_dump.  Having an actual patch is a great way
of getting something you want done ;)

Alternatively, have you tried just writing a PERL script (or some clever sed
script) that will just sort the COPY FROM sections...?

Chris