insert into test_b (select * from test_a) with different column order - Mailing list pgsql-general

I have 2 tables that have the same column names but in different
order. Similar to this:

  create table test_a (col_a text, col_b int);
  create table test_b (col_b int, col_a text);
  insert into test_a values ('abc', 2),( 'def', 3);

I would like to do this:

  insert into test_b (select * from test_a);

This fails because the columns in test_b are not in the same order as
test_a. For my use case the tables may get more columns or have
columns removed over time og be recreated in a different order, the
only thing that is given is that the column names in test_a and test_b
always are the same and that the datatype of the named columns are the
same.

Is there a general solution I can use to do the insert?

Regards,

Ole Tange