ASA SQL User's Guide
Importing and Exporting Data
You can import individual tables or portions of tables from other database file formats, or from ASCII files. Depending on the format of the data you are inserting, there is some flexibility as to whether you create the table before the import or during the import. You may find importing a useful tool if you need to add large amounts of data to your database at a time.
You can export individual tables and query results in ASCII format, or in a variety of formats supported by other database programs. You may find exporting a useful tool if you need to share large portions of your database, or extract portions of your database according to particular criteria.
Although Adaptive Server Anywhere import and export procedures work on one table at a time, you can create scripts that effectively automate the importing or export procedure, allowing you to import and export data into or from a number of tables consecutively.
You can insert (append) data into tables, and you can replace data in tables. In some cases, you can also create new tables at the same time as you import the data. If you are trying to create a whole new database, however, consider loading the data instead of importing it, for performance reasons.
You can export query results, table data, or table schema. If you are trying to export a whole database, however, consider unloading the database instead of exporting data, for performance reasons.
For more information about loading and unloading complete databases, see Rebuilding databases.
You can import and export files between Adaptive Server Anywhere and Adaptive Server Enterprise using the BCP FORMAT clause.
For more information, see Adaptive Server Enterprise compatibility.
Data formats
Table structures for import
Conversion errors during import
Outputting NULLs