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From: pritchaj@thor.acc.stolaf.edu (John Pritchard)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: INGRES tools
Summary: Import CSV (comma separated value) into INGRES tables?
Message-ID: <10480@thor.acc.stolaf.edu>
Date: 10 Jan 90 06:56:37 GMT
References: <10477@thor.acc.stolaf.edu>
Reply-To: snissen@carleton.edu ()
Distribution: comp.databases
Organization: Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Lines: 19

The college I work for purchased the INGRES database system last
summer, and we have recently begun working with release 6.2 on VAX VMS
systems.  It seems to me there are several "holes" in the tool set; that
is, there are several essential utilities that are missing.  I would
like to hear from anyone who has built similar utilities, toward the
possibility of an application trade as well as swapping experiences. 

We are considering a portable application or procedure to import a text
file that is in standard comma separated value (CSV) format into an
INGRES table.  This is the "mail merge" format, used by most
microcomputer word processors and spreadsheets (Lotus .PRN files).  The
COPY command can import data from text files, but there are two
problems: 1) the user has to specify every column and its format, when
the table may already be defined ion the systems catalogs, and 2) COPY's
handling of embedded delimiters (by escaping them) won't handle CSV. 
Does this ring any bells?  
					Sande Nissen
					Carleton College, MN
					snissen@carleton.edu