The data-load process reads a source data file, converts
the data to a different format, and inserts the converted data into
a database table.
The source data can come from one or more of the following sources:
Files
Tapes
Pipes (application-generated data) (UNIX™)
The supports
load and unload data greater than 2 GB to files and tapes.
During conversion, the source data is often manipulated so that
the converted data displays different characteristics. Examples of
this manipulation include:
Changing lowercase letters to uppercase letters
Loading default values, loading certain table columns, or replacing
nulls
Masking the data to include only part of a value
Converting from one data type to another, such as conversion of
a numeric string to a float
Converting from the code set of one locale to the code set of
another locale
When you prepare to run a data load with the HPL, you describe
the actions that the HPL must take by defining a set of metadata components.
The components describe different aspects of the load process. The
HPL uses information from:
The device array to find the set of the source-data files
The format to define the data types and layout of the source data
The filter to select the records from the source data that should
be written to the database table
The map to modify and reorganize the data
The ipload utility helps you prepare the components. Load data to a database table, addresses the process
of loading a file to a database.
The following figure shows the data load process. The figure summarizes
the data-load process by showing how data moves from data files to
table entries. Figure 1: The
data-load process
