Neoview Database Administrator's Guide (R2.2)

Using a Format File
You can use the formatFile (-ff) argument to point to a format file that defines the format of the
input data. A format file allows you to:
• Define the order of the input fields when the input field sequence does not match the ordering
of the columns in the target table
• Specify input fields to ignore, if the input contains more fields than required by the target
table
• Specify the column position and length for fixed-width input data
• Specify the date format and date separator character for an input field
• Specify that a column is to be used for a reflexive update
The format for the contents of the format file is:
<layout nullChar=""> <field name="field-name"
[parameter="parameter-value"] … /> </layout>
The format file must include an entry for every field in the input data. You can define these
arguments:
A character that represents the NULL value, for fixed-width data. For delimited data, this
argument is ignored.
nullChar
The name of the target table column to which an input field will be matched. The file names
must be exactly the same. Always enter column names in upper case. Otherwise, the loader
will report an error even though the column names are spelled correctly.
If the column should be ignored, this argument must contain a unique name that does not
match any table column name.
field name
Specifies a field to be ignored.
ignore
Start of a field for fixed-width data. For delimited data, this argument is ignored. This field
starts from a value of 1.
startPos
Length of a field for fixed-width data. For delimited data, this argument is ignored.
length
The date format of the input field. Allowable values are:
yyyymmdd
ddmmyyyy
mmddyyyy
yymmdd
ddmmyy
mmddyy
If you specify dateFormat in the format file, it overrides the dateFormat specification in a
command. If you use one of the two-digit year formats, the loader automatically adds the
century, depending on the value set for -cy, crossoverYear.
dateFormat
Date separator of the input field.
If you specify dateSeparator in the format file, it overrides the dateSeparator specification in a
command.
dateSeparator
Reflexive update. The input value provided to update an existing column is a numerical value
to be added to or subtracted from the current column value. Allowable values are:
+
-
refExp
Input Data Considerations For Load Tasks 105