Oracle-to-PostgreSQL Database Migration
Surfaces migration risks and validates migration work against known Oracle/PostgreSQL behavioral differences documented in the references/ folder.
When to use
- Planning — Before starting migration work on a procedure, trigger, query, or refcursor client. Identify which reference insights apply so risks are addressed up front.
- Validating — After migration work is done, confirm every applicable insight was addressed and integration tests cover the new PostgreSQL semantics.
Workflow
Determine the task type:
Planning a migration? Follow the risk assessment workflow. Validating completed work? Follow the validation workflow.
Risk assessment workflow (planning)
Risk Assessment:
- [ ] Step 1: Identify the migration scope
- [ ] Step 2: Screen each insight for applicability
- [ ] Step 3: Document risks and recommended actions
Step 1: Identify the migration scope
List the affected database objects (procedures, triggers, queries, views) and the application code that calls them.
Step 2: Screen each insight for applicability
Review the reference index in references/REFERENCE.md. For each entry, determine whether the migration scope contains patterns affected by that insight. Read the full reference file only when the insight is potentially relevant.
Step 3: Document risks and recommended actions
For each applicable insight, note the specific risk and the recommended fix pattern from the reference file. Flag any insight that requires a design decision (e.g., whether to preserve Oracle empty-string-as-NULL semantics or adopt PostgreSQL behavior).
Validation workflow (post-migration)
Validation:
- [ ] Step 1: Map the migration artifact
- [ ] Step 2: Cross-check applicable insights
- [ ] Step 3: Verify integration test coverage
- [ ] Step 4: Gate the result
Step 1: Map the migration artifact
Identify the migrated object and summarize the change set.
Step 2: Cross-check applicable insights
For each reference in references/REFERENCE.md, confirm the behavior or test requirement is acknowledged and addressed in the migration work.
Step 3: Verify integration test coverage
Confirm tests exercise both the happy path and the failure scenarios highlighted in applicable insights (exceptions, sorting, UNION ALL behavior/performance risks, refcursor consumption, concurrent transactions, timestamps, materialized-view freshness, etc.).
Step 4: Gate the result
Return a checklist asserting each applicable insight was addressed, migration scripts run, and integration tests pass.