Chris - I would consider checksums. Many systems have built-in checksum functions. On Unix these are cksum and sum. You could probably write a simple one that would work on your various systems. Search for checksum and somewhere on the Internet is probably sample code for one in a language that will work for you.
Dennis Williams DBA, 40%OCP Lifetouch, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2002 12:35 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I have to create packages that will generate several flat files of data from tables that will be sent to other systems to be processed. I am looking for ideas on how to ensure data integrity in the flat files. For example, the expected record count is stored on the first line of the file to ensure that the correct amount of records was received. The systems group is chartered to ensure the flat files are correctly FTPed between systems, so that's covered. I just worry that if "somehow" a flat file is scrambled then the scrambled data is loaded into the database, therefore corrupting it. At this phase, XML is not an option I keep thinking that some sort of CRC should be stored with each line in the flat file. And then before the line is loaded into the database, the CRC is compared against the generated CRC of the just read line. Has anyone done anything like this? Any examples out there? Many TIA!! -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
