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diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/ref/copy.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/ref/copy.sgml index 389b455fde..56e7223bd9 100644 --- a/doc/src/sgml/ref/copy.sgml +++ b/doc/src/sgml/ref/copy.sgml @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ <!-- -$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/copy.sgml,v 1.41 2003/03/27 16:51:27 momjian Exp $ +$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/copy.sgml,v 1.42 2003/04/15 13:25:08 petere Exp $ PostgreSQL documentation --> @@ -8,186 +8,35 @@ PostgreSQL documentation <refentrytitle id="sql-copy-title">COPY</refentrytitle> <refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo> </refmeta> + <refnamediv> - <refname> - COPY - </refname> - <refpurpose> - copy data between files and tables - </refpurpose> + <refname>COPY</refname> + <refpurpose>copy data between files and tables</refpurpose> </refnamediv> + <refsynopsisdiv> - <refsynopsisdivinfo> - <date>1999-12-11</date> - </refsynopsisdivinfo> - <synopsis> +<synopsis> COPY <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ ( <replaceable class="parameter">column</replaceable> [, ...] ) ] - FROM { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | <filename>stdin</filename> } + FROM { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | STDIN } [ [ WITH ] [ BINARY ] [ OIDS ] [ DELIMITER [ AS ] '<replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable>' ] [ NULL [ AS ] '<replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable>' ] ] + COPY <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ ( <replaceable class="parameter">column</replaceable> [, ...] ) ] - TO { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | <filename>stdout</filename> } + TO { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | STDOUT } [ [ WITH ] [ BINARY ] [ OIDS ] [ DELIMITER [ AS ] '<replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable>' ] [ NULL [ AS ] '<replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable>' ] ] - </synopsis> - - <refsect2 id="R2-SQL-COPY-1"> - <refsect2info> - <date>1998-09-08</date> - </refsect2info> - <title> - Inputs - </title> - <para> - - <variablelist> - <varlistentry> - <term><replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable></term> - <listitem> - <para> - The name (possibly schema-qualified) of an existing table. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term><replaceable class="parameter">column</replaceable></term> - <listitem> - <para> - An optional list of columns to be copied. If no column list is - specified, all columns will be used. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term><replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term> - <listitem> - <para> - The absolute Unix path name of the input or output file. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term><filename>stdin</filename></term> - <listitem> - <para> - Specifies that input comes from the client application. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term><filename>stdout</filename></term> - <listitem> - <para> - Specifies that output goes to the client application. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term>BINARY</term> - <listitem> - <para> - Changes the behavior of field formatting, forcing all data to be - stored or read in binary format rather than as text. You can not - specify <option>DELIMITER</option> or <option>NULL</option> - in binary mode. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term>OIDS</term> - <listitem> - <para> - Specifies copying the internal object id (OID) for each row. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term><replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable></term> - <listitem> - <para> - The single character that separates fields within each row (line) of the file. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - <varlistentry> - <term><replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable></term> - <listitem> - <para> - The string that represents a NULL value. The default is - <quote><literal>\N</literal></quote> (backslash-N). You might - prefer an empty string, for example. - </para> - <note> - <para> - On a <command>COPY FROM</command>, any data item that matches - this string will be stored as a NULL value, so you should - make sure that you use the same string as you used with - <command>COPY TO</command>. - </para> - </note> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - - </variablelist> - </para> - </refsect2> - - <refsect2 id="R2-SQL-COPY-2"> - <refsect2info> - <date>1998-09-08</date> - </refsect2info> - <title> - Outputs - </title> - <para> - - <variablelist> - <varlistentry> - <term><computeroutput> -COPY - </computeroutput></term> - <listitem> - <para> - The copy completed successfully. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - <varlistentry> - <term><computeroutput> -ERROR: <replaceable>reason</replaceable> - </computeroutput></term> - <listitem> - <para> - The copy failed for the reason stated in the error message. - </para> - </listitem> - </varlistentry> - </variablelist> - </para> - </refsect2> +</synopsis> </refsynopsisdiv> - <refsect1 id="R1-SQL-COPY-1"> - <refsect1info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect1info> - <title> - Description - </title> + <refsect1> + <title>Description</title> + <para> <command>COPY</command> moves data between <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> tables and standard file-system @@ -207,152 +56,242 @@ ERROR: <replaceable>reason</replaceable> <para> <command>COPY</command> with a file name instructs the - <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> backend to directly read from - or write to a file. The file must be accessible to the backend and - the name must be specified from the viewpoint of the backend. When - <filename>stdin</filename> or <filename>stdout</filename> is + <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> server to directly read from + or write to a file. The file must be accessible to the server and + the name must be specified from the viewpoint of the server. When + <literal>STDIN</literal> or <literal>STDOUT</literal> is specified, data is transmitted via the connection between the - client frontend and the backend. - - <tip> + client and the server. + </para> + </refsect1> + + <refsect1> + <title>Parameters</title> + + <variablelist> + <varlistentry> + <term><replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable></term> + <listitem> <para> - Do not confuse <command>COPY</command> with the - <application>psql</application> instruction - <command>\copy</command>. <command>\copy</command> invokes - <command>COPY FROM stdin</command> or <command>COPY TO - stdout</command>, and then fetches/stores the data in a file - accessible to the <application>psql</application> client. Thus, - file accessibility and access rights depend on the client rather - than the backend when <command>\copy</command> is used. + The name (possibly schema-qualified) of an existing table. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><replaceable class="parameter">column</replaceable></term> + <listitem> + <para> + An optional list of columns to be copied. If no column list is + specified, all columns will be used. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable></term> + <listitem> + <para> + The absolute path name of the input or output file. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>STDIN</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + Specifies that input comes from the client application. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>STDOUT</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + Specifies that output goes to the client application. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>BINARY</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + Forces all data to be stored or read in binary format rather + than as text. You cannot specify the <option>DELIMITER</option> + or <option>NULL</option> options in binary mode. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><literal>OIDS</literal></term> + <listitem> + <para> + Specifies copying the OID for each row. (An error is raised if + <literal>OIDS</literal> is specified for a table that does not + have OIDs.) + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable></term> + <listitem> + <para> + The single character that separates columns within each row + (line) of the file. The default is a tab character. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + + <varlistentry> + <term><replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable></term> + <listitem> + <para> + The string that represents a null value. The default is + <literal>\N</literal> (backslash-N). You might prefer an empty + string, for example. </para> - </tip> - </para> - <refsect2 id="R2-SQL-COPY-3"> - <refsect2info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect2info> - <title> - Notes - </title> + <note> + <para> + On a <command>COPY FROM</command>, any data item that matches + this string will be stored as a null value, so you should make + sure that you use the same string as you used with + <command>COPY TO</command>. + </para> + </note> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + </variablelist> + </refsect1> + + <refsect1> + <title>Diagnostics</title> + + <variablelist> + <varlistentry> + <term><computeroutput>COPY</computeroutput></term> + <listitem> + <para> + The copy operation completed successfully. + </para> + </listitem> + </varlistentry> + </variablelist> + </refsect1> + + <refsect1> + <title>Notes</title> + <para> <command>COPY</command> can only be used with plain tables, not with views. </para> <para> - The BINARY keyword will force all data to be + The <literal>BINARY</literal> key word will force all data to be stored/read as binary format rather than as text. It is - somewhat faster than the normal copy command, but a binary copy + somewhat faster than the normal text mode, but a binary format file is not portable across machine architectures. - </para> - - <para> - By default, a text copy uses a tab ("\t") character as a delimiter - between fields. The field delimiter may be changed to any other - single character with the keyword <option>DELIMITER</option>. Characters - in data fields that happen to match the delimiter character will be - backslash quoted. - </para> - - <para> - You must have <firstterm>select privilege</firstterm> on any table - whose values are read by <command>COPY TO</command>, and - <firstterm>insert privilege</firstterm> on a table into which values - are being inserted by <command>COPY FROM</command>. The backend also - needs appropriate Unix permissions for any file read or written by - <command>COPY</command>. - </para> - - <para> - <command>COPY FROM</command> will invoke any triggers and check - constraints on the destination table. However, it will not invoke rules. </para> <para> - <command>COPY</command> stops operation at the first error. This - should not lead to problems in the event of a <command>COPY - TO</command>, but the target relation will already have received - earlier rows in a <command>COPY FROM</command>. These rows will not - be visible or accessible, but they still occupy disk space. This may - amount to a considerable amount of wasted disk space if the failure - happened well into a large copy operation. You may wish to invoke - <command>VACUUM</command> to recover the wasted space. + You must have select privilege on any table + whose values are read by <command>COPY TO</command>, and + insert privilege on a table into which values + are being inserted by <command>COPY FROM</command>. </para> <para> Files named in a <command>COPY</command> command are read or written - directly by the backend, not by the client application. Therefore, + directly by the server, not by the client application. Therefore, they must reside on or be accessible to the database server machine, not the client. They must be accessible to and readable or writable by the <application>PostgreSQL</application> user (the user ID the server runs as), not the client. <command>COPY</command> naming a file is only allowed to database superusers, since it allows reading - or writing any file that the backend has privileges to access. - - <tip> - <para> - The - <application>psql</application> instruction <command>\copy</command> - reads or writes files on the client machine with the client's - permissions, so it is not restricted to superusers. - </para> - </tip> + or writing any file that the server has privileges to access. + </para> + + <para> + Do not confuse <command>COPY</command> with the + <application>psql</application> instruction + <command>\copy</command>. <command>\copy</command> invokes + <command>COPY FROM STDIN</command> or <command>COPY TO + STDOUT</command>, and then fetches/stores the data in a file + accessible to the <application>psql</application> client. Thus, + file accessibility and access rights depend on the client rather + than the server when <command>\copy</command> is used. </para> <para> It is recommended that the file name used in <command>COPY</command> always be specified as an absolute path. This is enforced by the - backend in the case of <command>COPY TO</command>, but for + server in the case of <command>COPY TO</command>, but for <command>COPY FROM</command> you do have the option of reading from a file specified by a relative path. The path will be interpreted - relative to the backend's working directory (somewhere below - <filename>$PGDATA</filename>), not the client's working directory. + relative to the working directory of the server process (somewhere below + the data directory), not the client's working directory. + </para> + + <para> + <command>COPY FROM</command> will invoke any triggers and check + constraints on the destination table. However, it will not invoke rules. + </para> + + <para> + <command>COPY</command> stops operation at the first error. This + should not lead to problems in the event of a <command>COPY + TO</command>, but the target table will already have received + earlier rows in a <command>COPY FROM</command>. These rows will not + be visible or accessible, but they still occupy disk space. This may + amount to a considerable amount of wasted disk space if the failure + happened well into a large copy operation. You may wish to invoke + <command>VACUUM</command> to recover the wasted space. </para> - </refsect2> </refsect1> - <refsect1 id="R1-SQL-COPY-2"> - <refsect1info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect1info> + <refsect1> <title>File Formats</title> + <refsect2> - <refsect2info> - <date>2002-02-12</date> - </refsect2info> <title>Text Format</title> + <para> - When <command>COPY</command> is used without the BINARY option, - the file read or written is a text file with one line per table row. - Columns (attributes) in a row are separated by the delimiter character. - The attribute values themselves are strings generated by the + When <command>COPY</command> is used without the <literal>BINARY</literal> option, + the data read or written is a text file with one line per table row. + Columns in a row are separated by the delimiter character. + The column values themselves are strings generated by the output function, or acceptable to the input function, of each attribute's data type. The specified null-value string is used in - place of attributes that are NULL. + place of columns that are null. <command>COPY FROM</command> will raise an error if any line of the input file contains more or fewer columns than are expected. + If <literal>OIDS</literal> is specified, the OID is read or written as the first column, + preceding the user data columns. </para> - <para> - If OIDS is specified, the OID is read or written as the first column, - preceding the user data columns. (An error is raised if OIDS is - specified for a table that does not have OIDs.) - </para> + <para> End of data can be represented by a single line containing just backslash-period (<literal>\.</>). An end-of-data marker is - not necessary when reading from a Unix file, since the end of file + not necessary when reading from a file, since the end of file serves perfectly well; but an end marker must be provided when copying data to or from a client application. </para> + <para> Backslash characters (<literal>\</>) may be used in the <command>COPY</command> data to quote data characters that might otherwise be taken as row or column delimiters. In particular, the following characters <emphasis>must</> be preceded by a backslash if - they appear as part of an attribute value: backslash itself, + they appear as part of a column value: backslash itself, newline, and the current delimiter character. </para> + <para> The following special backslash sequences are recognized by <command>COPY FROM</command>: @@ -404,47 +343,44 @@ ERROR: <replaceable>reason</replaceable> backslash sequence, but it does use the other sequences listed above for those control characters. </para> + <para> Never put a backslash before a data character <literal>N</> or period (<literal>.</>). Such pairs will be mistaken for the default null string or the end-of-data marker, respectively. Any other backslashed character that is not mentioned in the above table will be taken to represent itself. </para> + <para> It is strongly recommended that applications generating COPY data convert data newlines and carriage returns to the <literal>\n</> and - <literal>\r</> sequences respectively. At present - (<productname>PostgreSQL</productname> 7.2 and older versions) it is + <literal>\r</> sequences respectively. At present it is possible to represent a data carriage return without any special quoting, and to represent a data newline by a backslash and newline. However, these representations will not be accepted by default in future releases. </para> + <para> Note that the end of each row is marked by a Unix-style newline - ("\n"). Presently, <command>COPY FROM</command> will not behave as + (<quote><literal>\n</></>). Presently, <command>COPY FROM</command> will not behave as desired if given a file containing DOS- or Mac-style newlines. This is expected to change in future releases. </para> </refsect2> <refsect2> - <refsect2info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect2info> <title>Binary Format</title> + <para> The file format used for <command>COPY BINARY</command> changed in - <application>PostgreSQL</application> v7.1. The new format consists - of a file header, zero or more tuples, and a file trailer. + <application>PostgreSQL</application> 7.1. The new format consists + of a file header, zero or more tuples containing the row data, and + a file trailer. </para> <refsect3> - <refsect3info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect3info> - <title> - File Header - </title> + <title>File Header</title> + <para> The file header consists of 24 bytes of fixed fields, followed by a variable-length header extension area. The fixed fields are: @@ -454,11 +390,11 @@ ERROR: <replaceable>reason</replaceable> <term>Signature</term> <listitem> <para> -12-byte sequence <literal>PGBCOPY\n\377\r\n\0</> --- note that the null +12-byte sequence <literal>PGBCOPY\n\377\r\n\0</> --- note that the zero byte is a required part of the signature. (The signature is designed to allow easy identification of files that have been munged by a non-8-bit-clean transfer. This signature will be changed by newline-translation -filters, dropped nulls, dropped high bits, or parity changes.) +filters, dropped zero bytes, dropped high bits, or parity changes.) </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> @@ -467,7 +403,7 @@ filters, dropped nulls, dropped high bits, or parity changes.) <term>Integer layout field</term> <listitem> <para> -int32 constant 0x01020304 in source's byte order. Potentially, a reader +32-bit integer constant 0x01020304 in source's byte order. Potentially, a reader could engage in byte-flipping of subsequent fields if the wrong byte order is detected here. </para> @@ -478,7 +414,7 @@ order is detected here. <term>Flags field</term> <listitem> <para> -int32 bit mask to denote important aspects of the file format. Bits are +32-bit integer bit mask to denote important aspects of the file format. Bits are numbered from 0 (<acronym>LSB</>) to 31 (<acronym>MSB</>) --- note that this field is stored with source's endianness, as are all subsequent integer fields. Bits 16-31 are reserved to denote critical file format issues; a reader @@ -491,7 +427,7 @@ only one flag bit is defined, and the rest must be zero: <term>Bit 16</term> <listitem> <para> - if 1, OIDs are included in the dump; if 0, not + if 1, OIDs are included in the data; if 0, not </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> @@ -504,8 +440,8 @@ only one flag bit is defined, and the rest must be zero: <term>Header extension area length</term> <listitem> <para> -int32 length in bytes of remainder of header, not including self. In -the initial version this will be zero, and the first tuple follows +32-bit integer, length in bytes of remainder of header, not including self. +Currently, this is zero, and the first tuple follows immediately. Future changes to the format might allow additional data to be present in the header. A reader should silently skip over any header extension data it does not know what to do with. @@ -531,17 +467,12 @@ is left for a later release. </refsect3> <refsect3> - <refsect3info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect3info> - <title> - Tuples - </title> + <title>Tuples</title> <para> -Each tuple begins with an int16 count of the number of fields in the +Each tuple begins with a 16-bit integer count of the number of fields in the tuple. (Presently, all tuples in a table will have the same count, but that might not always be true.) Then, repeated for each field in the -tuple, there is an int16 <structfield>typlen</> word possibly followed by field data. +tuple, there is a 16-bit integer <structfield>typlen</> word possibly followed by field data. The <structfield>typlen</> field is interpreted thus: <variablelist> @@ -549,7 +480,7 @@ The <structfield>typlen</> field is interpreted thus: <term>Zero</term> <listitem> <para> - Field is NULL. No data follows. + Field is null. No data follows. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> @@ -558,7 +489,7 @@ The <structfield>typlen</> field is interpreted thus: <term>> 0</term> <listitem> <para> - Field is a fixed-length data type. Exactly N + Field is a fixed-length data type. Exactly that many bytes of data follow the <structfield>typlen</> word. </para> </listitem> @@ -570,7 +501,7 @@ The <structfield>typlen</> field is interpreted thus: <para> Field is a <literal>varlena</> data type. The next four bytes are the <literal>varlena</> header, which contains - the total value length including itself. + the total value length including the header itself. </para> </listitem> </varlistentry> @@ -587,7 +518,7 @@ The <structfield>typlen</> field is interpreted thus: </para> <para> -For non-NULL fields, the reader can check that the <structfield>typlen</> matches the +For nonnull fields, the reader can check that the <structfield>typlen</> matches the expected <structfield>typlen</> for the destination column. This provides a simple but very useful check that the data is as expected. </para> @@ -602,23 +533,19 @@ you from moving a binary file across machines). </para> <para> -If OIDs are included in the dump, the OID field immediately follows the +If OIDs are included in the file, the OID field immediately follows the field-count word. It is a normal field except that it's not included in the field-count. In particular it has a <structfield>typlen</> --- this will allow -handling of 4-byte vs 8-byte OIDs without too much pain, and will allow -OIDs to be shown as NULL if that ever proves desirable. +handling of 4-byte vs. 8-byte OIDs without too much pain, and will allow +OIDs to be shown as null if that ever proves desirable. </para> </refsect3> <refsect3> - <refsect3info> - <date>2001-01-02</date> - </refsect3info> - <title> - File Trailer - </title> + <title>File Trailer</title> + <para> - The file trailer consists of an int16 word containing -1. This is + The file trailer consists of an 16-bit integer word containing -1. This is easily distinguished from a tuple's field-count word. </para> @@ -631,48 +558,47 @@ OIDs to be shown as NULL if that ever proves desirable. </refsect2> </refsect1> - <refsect1 id="R1-SQL-COPY-3"> - <title> - Usage - </title> + <refsect1> + <title>Examples</title> + <para> - The following example copies a table to standard output, - using a vertical bar (|) as the field delimiter: + The following example copies a table to the client + using the vertical bar (<literal>|</literal>) as the field delimiter: +<programlisting> +COPY country TO STDOUT WITH DELIMITER '|'; +</programlisting> </para> - <programlisting> -COPY country TO <filename>stdout</filename> WITH DELIMITER '|'; - </programlisting> + <para> - To copy data from a Unix file into the <literal>country</> table: - </para> - <programlisting> + To copy data from a file into the <literal>country</> table: +<programlisting> COPY country FROM '/usr1/proj/bray/sql/country_data'; - </programlisting> +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> Here is a sample of data suitable for copying into a table from - <filename>stdin</filename> (so it has the termination sequence on the + <literal>STDIN</literal> (so it must have the termination sequence on the last line): - </para> - <programlisting> +<programlisting> AF AFGHANISTAN AL ALBANIA DZ ALGERIA ZM ZAMBIA ZW ZIMBABWE \. - </programlisting> - <para> - Note that the white space on each line is actually a TAB. +</programlisting> + Note that the white space on each line is actually a tab character. </para> + <para> The following is the same data, output in binary format on a Linux/i586 machine. The data is shown after filtering through the - Unix utility <command>od -c</command>. The table has three fields; - the first is <type>char(2)</type>, the second is <type>text</type>, - and the third is <type>integer</type>. All the rows have a null value - in the third field. - </para> - <programlisting> + Unix utility <command>od -c</command>. The table has three columns; + the first has type <type>char(2)</type>, the second has type <type>text</type>, + and the third has type <type>integer</type>. All the rows have a null value + in the third column. +<programlisting> 0000000 P G B C O P Y \n 377 \r \n \0 004 003 002 001 0000020 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 \0 003 \0 377 377 006 \0 \0 \0 0000040 A F 377 377 017 \0 \0 \0 A F G H A N I S @@ -683,38 +609,33 @@ ZW ZIMBABWE 0000160 M 377 377 \n \0 \0 \0 Z A M B I A \0 \0 003 0000200 \0 377 377 006 \0 \0 \0 Z W 377 377 \f \0 \0 \0 Z 0000220 I M B A B W E \0 \0 377 377 - </programlisting> +</programlisting> + </para> </refsect1> - <refsect1 id="R1-SQL-COPY-6"> - <title> - Compatibility - </title> + <refsect1> + <title>Compatibility</title> - <refsect2 id="R2-SQL-COPY-4"> - <refsect2info> - <date>1998-09-08</date> - </refsect2info> - <title> - SQL92 - </title> - <para> - There is no <command>COPY</command> statement in SQL92. - </para> - <para> - The following syntax was used by pre-7.3 applications and is still supported: - <synopsis> - COPY [ BINARY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ WITH OIDS ] - FROM { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | <filename>stdin</filename> } - [ [USING] DELIMITERS '<replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable>' ] - [ WITH NULL AS '<replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable>' ] - COPY [ BINARY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ WITH OIDS ] - TO { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | <filename>stdout</filename> } - [ [USING] DELIMITERS '<replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable>' ] - [ WITH NULL AS '<replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable>' ] - </synopsis> - </para> - </refsect2> + <para> + There is no <command>COPY</command> statement in the SQL standard. + </para> + + <para> + The following syntax was used before PostgreSQL version 7.3 and is + still supported: + +<synopsis> +COPY [ BINARY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ WITH OIDS ] + FROM { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | STDIN } + [ [USING] DELIMITERS '<replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable>' ] + [ WITH NULL AS '<replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable>' ] + +COPY [ BINARY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table</replaceable> [ WITH OIDS ] + TO { '<replaceable class="parameter">filename</replaceable>' | STDOUT } + [ [USING] DELIMITERS '<replaceable class="parameter">delimiter</replaceable>' ] + [ WITH NULL AS '<replaceable class="parameter">null string</replaceable>' ] +</synopsis> + </para> </refsect1> </refentry> |