Re: importing a data file without defining a table structure

On Jul 22, 2010, at 4:21 PM, c b wrote:

> What's the quickest and easiest way to load data into tables from
> external files.
>
> I've dug around a bit and it may be the case that people just don't do
> what I'm looking to do, so I'm asking here.
>
> I've got a csv file with column names in the first row. I want to
> load that into a table and have the column types and names generated
> automatically.
>
> Can this be done? (Or do I need to first create a table with CREATE,
> typing out each column name and data type manually, and then edit the
> data file to remove the first row, and then copy the file into the
> table using COPY?)

No, Postgres does not automatically create the table structure for you. But not too difficult to implement with your favorite scripting language. I use this method to bulk load tables from other systems and then write views and functions to convert it to the format I need.

John DeSoi, Ph.D.