Using Different Releases of Export and Import

This section describes compatibility issues that relate to using different releases of Export and the Oracle database.

Whenever you are moving data between different releases of the Oracle database, the following basic rules apply:

The Import utility and the database to which data is being imported (the target database) must be the same version. For example, if you try to use the Import utility 9.2.0.7 to import into a 9.2.0.8 database, then you may encounter errors.
The version of the Export utility must be equal to the version of either the source or target database, whichever is earlier.

For example, to create an export file for an import into a later release database, use a version of the Export utility that equals the source database. Conversely, to create an export file for an import into an earlier release database, use a version of the Export utility that equals the version of the target database.
- In general, you can use the Export utility from any Oracle8 release to export from an Oracle9i server and create an Oracle8 export file.

Restrictions When Using Different Releases of Export and Import

The following restrictions apply when you are using different releases of Export and Import:

Export dump files can be read only by the Import utility because they are stored in a special binary format.
Any export dump file can be imported into a later release of the Oracle database.
The Import utility cannot read export dump files created by the Export utility of a later maintenance release or version. For example, a release 9.2 export dump file cannot be imported by a release 9.0.1 Import utility.
Whenever a lower version of the Export utility runs with a later version of the Oracle database, categories of database objects that did not exist in the earlier version are excluded from the export.
Export files generated by Oracle9i Export, either direct path or conventional path, are incompatible with earlier releases of Import and can be imported only with Oracle9i Import. When backward compatibility is an issue, use the earlier release or version of the Export utility against the Oracle9i database.

Examples of Using Different Releases of Export and Import

Table 23-5 shows some examples of which Export and Import releases to use when moving data between different releases of the Oracle database.

Table 23-5 Using Different Releases of Export and Import

Export from->Import to	Use Export Release	Use Import Release
8.1.6 -> 8.1.6	8.1.6	8.1.6
8.1.5 -> 8.0.6	8.0.6	8.0.6
8.1.7 -> 8.1.6	8.1.6	8.1.6
9.0.1 -> 8.1.6	8.1.6	8.1.6
9.0.1 -> 9.0.2	9.0.1	9.0.2
9.0.2 -> 10.1.0	9.0.2	10.1.0
10.1.0 -> 9.0.2	9.0.2	9.0.2

Table 23-5 covers moving data only between the original Export and Import utilities. For Oracle Database 10g release 1 (10.1) or later, Oracle recommends the Data Pump Export and Import utilities in most cases because these utilities provide greatly enhanced performance compared to the original Export and Import utilities.