Thread: Importing data into postgreSQL from FileMaker?

Hi

I've made heaps of Filemaker databases on a Mac, now I'm moving to use
PostgreSQL on Debian GNU/Linux.

Can I use textfiles (e.g. tab-separated) to transfer data from
FileMaker to PostgreSQL??  At the moment I don't have a network linkup
for the various machines and need to ferry data across on a zip-disk.

Or is a PostgreSQL database file in the format Macs would consider
'text' anyway, and I can work on it that way? (i.e. work on the file in
the Mac domain with a TextEditor)

[apologies if that's a silly question, but - hell - it does say novice
on this header!]

Thanks in anticipation

Neacal

>I've made heaps of Filemaker databases on a Mac, now I'm moving to use
>PostgreSQL on Debian GNU/Linux.

I've made a little app to convert a Mac FMP export to a PostgreSQL
importable file in UTF-8.

(You'd have to define your PostgreSQL databases as UTF-8 at creation time.)

If I can locate my app I'll send it to you off line.

Marc

PS: you can check out aliacta.com for Eduphant which is a free text
encoding savvy postgresql client that runs on Mac 9 and X (and
Windows), and pgSQL4RB if you want to use REALbasic to develop your
custom (Mac/Win/Linux) PostgreSQL clients.

Neacal, do you have another e-mail address than @mac.ppc?  My e-mail
app can't send you e-mails there.

Marc

Neacal <deb@mac.ppc> writes:
> Can I use textfiles (e.g. tab-separated) to transfer data from
> FileMaker to PostgreSQL??

Tab-separated text files should work fine --- read them with COPY.
(At least, to that level of detail it will work.  You might encounter
some issues with representation of NULLs, or different ideas about
timestamp formatting, or something like that.  I dunno enough about
FileMaker to say.)

            regards, tom lane

>  > Can I use textfiles (e.g. tab-separated) to transfer data from
>>  FileMaker to PostgreSQL??
>
>Tab-separated text files should work fine

The problem with Mac Filemaker exported tab-separeted text files is
that they are encoded in Macroman, which PostgreSQL doesn't support
as far as I know.  Hence the utility to convert them to unicode first.

Marc