There are specific requirements for the format of the input and
output files when you import and export data.
The default file format is a delimited text file with the following characteristics:
- Rows are separated by a new line
- Fields are separated by a comma (,)
- Character-based fields are delimited with double quotes (")
Restriction: Before you perform import or export operations, you
must ensure that the chosen delimiter character is not contained in the data
to be imported or exported. If you chose a delimiter character that is part
of the data to be imported or exported unexpected errors might occur. The
following restrictions apply to column and character delimiters:
- Delimiters are mutually exclusive
- A delimiter cannot be a line-feed character, a carriage return, or a blank
space
- The default decimal point (.) cannot be a character delimiter
- Delimiters cannot be hex decimal characters (0-9, a-f, A-F).
The record delimiter is assumed to be a new-line character. The record
delimiter should not be used as any other delimiter.
Character delimiters are permitted with the character-based fields (CHAR,
VARCHAR, and LONG VARCHAR) of a file during import. Any pair of character
delimiters found between the enclosing character delimiters is imported into
the database. For example, suppose that you have the following character string:
"what a ""great"" day!"
The
preceding character string gets imported into the database as:
What a "great" day!
During export, the rule applies in reverse. For example, suppose you have
the following character string:
"The boot has a 3" heel."
The
preceding character string gets exported to a file as:
"The boot has a 3""heel."
The following example file shows four rows and four columns in the default
file format:
1,abc,22,def
22,,,"a is a zero-length string, b is null"
13,"hello",454,"world"
4,b and c are both null,,
The export procedure outputs the following values:
1,"abc",22,"def"
22,,,"a is a zero-length string, b is null"
13,"hello",454,"world"
4,"b and c are both null",,