Re: using COPY table FROM STDIN within script run as psql

From: Bruce Momjian <pgman(at)candle(dot)pha(dot)pa(dot)us>
To: Kevin Murphy <murphy(at)genome(dot)chop(dot)edu>
Cc: pgsql-general <pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org>
Subject: Re: using COPY table FROM STDIN within script run as psql
Date: 2004-09-26 01:06:45
Message-ID: 200409260106.i8Q16j313474@candle.pha.pa.us
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Would you provide a reproducable example? Also, what PostgreSQL version
are you using?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kevin Murphy wrote:
> This is a tip for the record in case it helps somebody else in the
> future.
>
> I have an import script that relies on a stored procedure that runs as
> a trigger on inserts into a temporary table. The script looks like
> this:
>
> -- create table
> -- ...
> -- define procedure and trigger
> -- ...
> -- import data via COPY command:
> COPY temp_table FROM STDIN WITH NULL AS '';
>
> However, when run as "psql -f import.sql <data.file", it does not work
> if you use the SQL "COPY" command, even if you are running psql on the
> database server. You get an error like this: ERROR: missing data for
> column "somecol". An interesting red-herring is that the column
> mentioned is not necessarily the first column in the table!
>
> The solution is to use the psql "\COPY" command instead (and remove the
> trailing semi-colon, which cannot be used with psql commands). I.e.
> this command will work:
>
> \COPY temp_table FROM STDIN WITH NULL AS '';
>
> -Kevin Murphy
>
>
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