Thread: Problems with \copy and delimiters ','

I'm having some problems using \copy

I have a directory full of test data that I want to be installed automatically
when "make database" is issued.  While the Makefile rules would seem simple, I'm
having some trouble.

I want to do this
\copy table_name from 'table_name.cdf' delimiters ',';

But I get:
\copy: parse error at "delimiters"

A similar command:
copy table_name from '/path/to/file/table_name.cdf' delimiters ',';
works fine, but this makes things complicated, as I don't know the path to the
files until it happens (who knows where the tarball will be unpacked, I want to
give a relative path, not an absolute).

The documentation I've found on \copy says to see the docs on copy ;)

Does the \copy command not support "delimiters"?  This is 7.4 on FreeBSD 5.1.

--
Bill Moran
Potential Technologies
http://www.potentialtech.com

Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com> writes:
> I want to do this
> \copy table_name from 'table_name.cdf' delimiters ',';

> But I get:
> \copy: parse error at "delimiters"

Looking at the psql code, it evidently wants "with delimiter" ...

regression=# \copy table_name from 'table_name.cdf' with delimiter ','
table_name.cdf: No such file or directory

> The documentation I've found on \copy says to see the docs on copy ;)

It's *supposed* to match the backend syntax, but seems a few bricks
shy of a load at the moment.  Anyone feel like fixing it?  See
parse_slash_copy() in src/bin/psql/copy.c.

            regards, tom lane

Tom Lane wrote:
> Bill Moran <wmoran@potentialtech.com> writes:
>
>>I want to do this
>>\copy table_name from 'table_name.cdf' delimiters ',';
>
>>But I get:
>>\copy: parse error at "delimiters"
>
> Looking at the psql code, it evidently wants "with delimiter" ...
>
> regression=# \copy table_name from 'table_name.cdf' with delimiter ','
> table_name.cdf: No such file or directory

Yes, that does indeed work.  Note "with delimiter" not "with delimiters"

>>The documentation I've found on \copy says to see the docs on copy ;)
>
> It's *supposed* to match the backend syntax, but seems a few bricks
> shy of a load at the moment.  Anyone feel like fixing it?  See
> parse_slash_copy() in src/bin/psql/copy.c.

Oops ... I'll try to look at this code this weekend, but (to be honest)
I doubt I'll have much time to do anything to it.  Unless the fix it
very simple, I probably won't get anything done.

BTW Tom: I see your mailserver rejects mail from Adelphia.  I can't say
that I blame you, but it prevents me from emailing you directly until I
get smtp auth set up on mail.potentialtech.com (which, based on my
schedule, is not a priority right now ...)  But I did have something
Pittsburgh-related that I wanted to ask you about ... could you give
me a phone call, possibly?  (# is on the web site)  or pass on another
way that I could reach you?

--
Bill Moran
Potential Technologies
http://www.potentialtech.com