Re: [INTERFACES] COPY syntax

From: Eric Marsden <emarsden(at)mail(dot)dotcom(dot)fr>
To: pgsql-interfaces(at)postgreSQL(dot)org
Subject: Re: [INTERFACES] COPY syntax
Date: 1998-08-13 16:41:46
Message-ID: m24svgsuk5.fsf@cook.onecert.fr
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>>>>> "TL" == Tom Lane <tgl(at)sss(dot)pgh(dot)pa(dot)us> writes:

TL> COPY IN/OUT data needs to be handled slightly differently from
TL> data seen in SQL commands and SELECT results. In particular,
TL> COPY likes to represent null values as \N, which can be confused
TL> with a valid string value if you don't escape backslash.

I am struggling with this right at the moment (I'm new to databases,
I'm struggling with everything). Is it possible to use functions in
COPY input? Specifically, I am trying to do this

COPY attributes FROM 'home/ecm/prog/database/attributes.data';

where the file contains entries like (with tabs)

nextval('attribute_id_sequence') Control and Monitoring \N

I get an ERROR: pg_atoi: error in "nextval(attribute_id_sequence)":
can't parse "nextval(attribute_id_sequence)". Should I be using
auto-generated numbers and setting the sequence to an initial value
instead?

--
Eric Marsden
emarsden @ mail.dotcom.fr
It's elephants all the way down

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