build sql script: terminator

Showing posts with label terminator. Show all posts

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Bulk Insert Row Terminator

Hi there, I'm trying to import a cobol file (.dat) which has a line feed as the row delimiter. Using the TransactSQL Bulk Insert with a row terminator of '\n' is not working for me. Does anyone know the equivilant row terminator of a LF? (Using the Import Export wizard I supply a {LF} and it likes that fine). I would like to use the Bulk Insert Statement for more control of the data. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,If it's just a line feed (hex 0A), then you should be able to use '\l\' as the rowterminator. (Note that is a lowercase "L".)

Terri|||Ryan..did that work for you?

BULK INSERT row terminator

Hello all,
I have a multiple text files with an odd row terminator. If you were to
examine it in VB it would be like a "CrCrLf" instead of just "CrLf". In
HEX it is DDA instead of just DA. When I am trying to import into my
table using BULK INSERT I use "\n" as the row terminator but that is
putting the the previous character into the column and then it signals
a carriage return when I attempt to query the data.

Any suggestions on what I should use as the row terminator? Is it
possible to tell BULK INSERT to use something like "CHAR(10)\n"?

"\n\n" does NOT work.

Thanks in advance.I found it!
"\r\n" works like a charm.. "\r" is for carriage return only.. I'm
surprised I didn't already know that.

I found the answer here:
http://www4.dogus.edu.tr/bim/bil_ka...l65dba/ch16.htm

under table:
Table 16.4. Valid field terminators.
Terminator Type Syntax
tab \t
new line \n
carriage return \r
backslash \\
NULL terminator \0
user-defined terminator character (^, %, *, and so on)sql

Thursday, March 8, 2012

BULK INSERT FIELD TERMINATOR

I need to be able to insert data from a file that may be tab delimited or delimited with spaces. Right now I am using fieldterminator = '\t' but I also need to account if there are just spaces there. Can this be done?any bites?|||

I don't believe that you will be able to use multiple terminitors.

The way that I have dealth with issues like this is to create a 'data washing' step prior to the bulk load. If you are using a JOB, DTS, or SSIS, create a step that runs a small batch file that pre-processes the data, changing whatever characters to what other characters are needed, and then move on to the bulk load step.

Bulk Insert fails to import data files created on Unix

It seems to me that files created on Unix machines with line terminator \n, or chr(10), cannot be imported using the Bulk Insert statement. Is this a bug, or an oversight by Microsoft? Does this mean that unless one replaces all \n with \r\n, there is no way to use Bulk Insert to import Unix files? This is a very strange behavior by MSSQL. Even lessor programs such as Excel and Word automatically recognize chr(10) as a line termination character. Am I missing something, or is this just the way MSSQL is?

You will need to use a format file, in this you can specify the terminator for the last column in a row.

Have a look in BOL. This page shows an example of a file using /r/n which you can obviously change

ms-help://MS.SQLCC.v9/MS.SQLSVR.v9.en/udb9/html/ecfc546d-f708-45f4-878d-fb71b5fd1a0a.htm

|||

Of if you are using the BULK INSERT TSQL statement look at this page

ms-help://MS.SQLCC.v9/MS.SQLSVR.v9.en/tsqlref9/html/be3984e1-5ab3-4226-a539-a9f58e1e01e2.htm

|||I figured out that the problem has to do with MSSQL's native behavior. It turns out that whenever it sees \n, it automatically converts it to \r\n, without notifiying the user. There are at least three ways to work around this strange behavior: 1) replace every \n in your file with \r\n before using Bulk Insert, 2) build your sql statement dynamically either in a stored procedure or VB.net, i.e., use & chr(10) & ,or + chr(10) +, instead of '\n' as the line terminator in your statement, and 3) load your file into a Datatable via ADO.net, and then insert the entire Datatable into MSSQL.|||

Note sure what figuring out was required, as BOL has an example that just works.

|||

I have never succeeded to convince BULK INSERT to read Unix

files, and I find one of these solutions usually works:

1. See if the process that moved the files from the Unix

machine can correct the line ends (for example, ftp can do

this)

2. Run the Unix utility unix2dos on the files before they

leave the Unix machine, or afterwards, under the Cygwin

Unix shell for Windows. (Or write a tiny command-line

Windows program to do this.)

Steve Kass

Drew University

ktto@.discussions.microsoft.com wrote:

> I figured out that the problem has to do with MSSQL's native behavior.

> It turns out that whenever it sees \n, it automatically converts it to

> \r\n, without notifiying the user. There are at least three ways to work

> around this strange behavior: 1) replace every \n in your file with \r\n

> before using Bulk Insert, 2) build your sql statement dynamically either

> in a stored procedure or VB.net, i.e., use & chr(10) & ,or + chr(10) +,

> instead of '\n' as the line terminator in your statement, and 3) load

> your file into a Datatable via ADO.net, and then insert the entire

> Datatable into MSSQL.