Populating a Database

Using the SQL*Loader
The SQL*Loader is a utility program that reads operating system text files and converts the contents into fields in a table. Take the following three steps to use the SQL*Loader:
  1. Delete all rows of tables and commit if it is not for appending: 
    SQL> DROP TABLE  customers; 
SQL> CREAT TABLE  customers ( 
  2    name  VARCHAR(32), 
  3    SSN   CHAR(10)  PRIMARY KEY, 
  4    no    INTEGER   CHECK (no >= 0) ); 
SQL> COMMIT;
  2. Create a control file: 

    shell⯈ cat customers.ctl 

load data infile *
append into table customers
fields terminated by ',' (name, SSN, no)
begindata
Digimon,456789012,6
Dragonball Z,678901234,59
Kids Next Door,789012345,0
Medabot,567890123,26
Pokemon,345678901,2
Powerpuff Girls,123456789,12
Yu-Gi-Oh,234567890,75
  3. Run the loader: 
    shell⯈ sqlldr user_id/password@xe control=customers.ctl

Automating the Job Fully
Further automate the whole procedure by using shell programming: 
shell⯈ cat dbload.sh 
sqlplus user_id/password@xe @create.sql
sqlldr  user_id/password@xe control=customers.ctl
shell⯈ sh dbload.sh



      Mum’s the word.