> Alfred Perlstein <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> > It would be very helpful if the COPY command could be expanded
> > in order to provide positional parameters.
>
> I think it's a bad idea to try to expand COPY into a full-tilt data
> import/conversion utility, which is the direction that this sort of
> suggestion is headed in. COPY is designed as a simple, fast, reliable,
> low-overhead data transfer mechanism for backup and restore. The more
> warts we add to it, the less well it will serve that purpose.
What is really cool is Informix's UNLOAD/LOAD commands. It combines
COPY with SELECT/INSERT:
UNLOAD TO '/tmp/x'
SELECT * FROM tab
and LOAD is similar:
LOAD FROM '/tmp/x'
INSERT INTO TAB
This leverages SELECT and INSERT's column and WHERE capabilities to do
almost anything you want with flat files. I think it is superior to our
COPY.
--
Bruce Momjian | http://candle.pha.pa.us
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | (610) 853-3000
+ If your life is a hard drive, | 830 Blythe Avenue
+ Christ can be your backup. | Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026
---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
TIP 3: if posting/reading through Usenet, please send an appropriate
subscribe-nomail command to [EMAIL PROTECTED] so that your
message can get through to the mailing list cleanly
