COPY - Ignore Problems

How about this:

Let's call your current table tab.
Insert into a table with the same shape as your table tab called 'lfd'.
Create an index on table lfd on fields lname, fname, workdate.
Delete from lfd where lfd.lname = tab.lname and lfd.fname = tab.fname
and lfd.workdata = tab.workdate
Insert into tab select * from lfd

Or something like that. SQL*Server has something called
IGNORE_DUPLICATES. It is the only database I recall that has that
feature.

On Mon, 2003-12-22 at 23:47, Ron St-Pierre wrote:

I wish to insert data into a table from a very large text file (from a
cron script) using COPY. However if the lName (TEXT), fName(TEXT),
workDate(DATE) already exist I don't want to insert data and just want
to move onto the next record. Is there any way I can tell my bash
script/COPY to ignore the case where the unique constraint exists
(lName,fName,workDate), and move on to the next record?

CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE mytemp (
LIKE real_table, PRIMARY KEY (lname, fname, workdate)
);
COPY mytemp FROM '/my/input/file';
INSERT INTO real_table (
SELECT * FROM mytemp AS t
WHERE NOT EXISTS (
SELECT * FROM real_table AS r
WHERE r.lname = t.lname AND
r.fname = t.fname AND
r.workdate = f.workdate
)
);

NB: your mixed case names are automatically converted to lower case
unless you quote them.
--
Oliver Elphick Oliver.Elphick@lfix.co.uk
Isle of Wight, UK http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
GPG: 1024D/3E1D0C1C: CA12 09E0 E8D5 8870 5839 932A 614D 4C34 3E1D 0C1C
========================================
"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
Luke 2:12

Thanks Dann, Michael and Oliver. I guess that a temporary table is what
I should use. I thought about doing it that way initially but thought
I'd see if perhaps I was missing a better way.
Ron

Ron St-Pierre wrote: