Re: Making the most, or over-thinking it - SQL for uploads -- WDSCI-L

LOL

Duane - it's not due to any lack on your part - as Buck is sayin, text files are unstructured things.

Now if you have SQL Server, or MySQL, it is probably possible to have a link or some such that can pull stuff out of the text fiel - assuming it is either delimited or fixed-length data.

This just doesn't feel "convenient"! Have the text file saved or otherwise delivered to an IFS directory and have a regular job that imports it to a holding file, then run SQL on the i that does does the WHERE stuff for you.

Easy? Yep! At least IMHO

Vern

On 8/30/2016 11:03 AM, Duane Scott wrote:

Thanks for the responses.

Vern - Not necessarily a one-time task as importing data from PC to DB2 is done constantly, and there are many ways to do so. However, using SQL is my FIRST thought over most of the tools that we have access to, simply because of its convenience. At least perceived convenience. As to the method that I used to get the data this time, I used Access Client Solutions Data Transfer. But doing so forced me to load the entire record to a DB2 data file from which I used interactive SQL from an IBM i ACS emulation session to INSERT my selected fields. Note: my first transfer using ACS was not exactly easy until I figured out how different it was from the old Client Access. But I endured and achieved the success I needed to "get 'er done".

Buck - I figured as much since I couldn't find much in the way of assistance through Google or WDSCI-L. But I wasn't sure I had used the correct terminology in my search. I am fairly certain that I have access to MySQL or SQL server, because I've toyed with it on non-IBM i projects. Very briefly. And the files I used were already structured for use with the access. But I'm not familiar with setting up the PC to interact. Thus the request for a primer, which was basically a shot in the dark. I think I understand what you are saying about it being a part of a MySQL schema already set up, which it is not.

I really just figured that I could access text files similar to accessing them as done on IBM i. I also figured that it was my own lack of experience and knowledge of setting up the PC that caused the inability to just find the file and open it up.

duane

-----Original Message-----
From: WDSCI-L [mailto:wdsci-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Buck Calabro
Sent: Tuesday, August 30, 2016 11:40 AM
To: wdsci-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [WDSCI-L] Making the most, or over-thinking it - SQL for uploads

On 8/30/2016 11:15 AM, Duane Scott wrote:

I can access my DB2 files on the IBM I and display data, but haven't figured out the set up to access text files on a PC (using SQL).

Generally speaking, you can't.
Think of SQL as a client-server relationship.
There's a client, which accepts SQL statements like SELECT COLUMN FROM TABLE, and there's a server which the client connects to, and acts upon that statement.

On a typical Windows PC, there's no server to handle the SQL statement.
So if you're talking about a regular .txt file which you can edit with Notepad, you aren't going to use SQL to do anything with it.

On the other hand, if you have DB2 or MySQL or SQL Server loaded and running on that PC, and the file is part of a schema inside the database, you can connect to it if you have the appropriate JDBC driver.

What's the setup on the PC?

--
--buck

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