1. A machine-implemented method for creating a target database on a target platform based on a source database on a source platform, comprising the steps of: identifying, within said source database, first information that cannot be used, in its current state, within the target database; determining a first subset of said first information; identifying, within said first information, a second subset that cannot be automatically converted to be valid in the target database, wherein said second subset comprises one or more redo log files on said source platform, the one or more redo log files comprising information for redoing changes made to said source database including one or more change vectors that cannot be automatically converted to be valid in the target database; opening said source database in a read-only mode to quiesce the contents of said second subset; automatically converting said first subset to first converted information that is in a state that can be used within the target database; converting data files of said source database to produce converted files that can be attached to the target database; creating said target database; wherein the step of creating the target database includes the steps of storing in said target database said first converted information, attaching to said target database said converted files thereby incorporating database objects that reside in said converted files into the target database, and omitting reference to the contents of said second subset in said target database; wherein the source and target databases are relational databases managed by one or more database servers that are capable of executing queries against said source and target databases.