How copy a new line char to a file?

Hi all,

I should have explained it better:

Why don't I just insert each line in the table and let "copy to" do its
thing inserting a new line char (lf) at the end of each line?
Because I need the file lines to be in a certain order. Copy to will
copy the lines in its own order.
Until now I'm inserting html pages in a single line table without a lf
and copying then to files. Here is the result:
http://planeta.terra.com.br/informatica/kakaostats/
http://planeta.terra.com.br/informatica/kakaostats/t13802.html
Right click the page and click view source and there it is, a single
giant line.
The problem with mixing html and pl/pgsql is that it becomes a big
mess. It is very hard to evolve the code and understand it.
So I choose to not output html anymore but cvs text and build the page
with php. Advantages: much simpler pl/pgsql code and upload size 80%
smaller.
Lines finishing with a lf are much easier to parse in php (fgetcsv).
This and the need to have then ordered is why i need to insert lfs in
the single line table from which to copy to file.
I have solved it with a simple python script but it is one more step
and is not fail safe. Where there would be a lf I insert the string
"newLine". Then in the python script I change it to an actual lf char.
But in the remote possibility that there is or there will be this
string in the database (600+ thousand distinct user names) then the
output file will be wrong.
Also it is one more piece of software to be mantained.

Regards,
Clodoaldo Pinto

 --- Clodoaldo Pinto Neto <clodoaldo_pinto@yahoo.com.br> escreveu: 

Hi all,

I'm trying to copy a table with a text field column containing a new
line char to a file:

ksDesenv=# create table page(line text) without oids;
CREATE TABLE
ksDesenv=# insert into page (line)
values('1stline'||chr(10)||'2ndline');
INSERT 0 1
ksDesenv=# select * from page;
line
-----------------
1stline
2ndline
(1 registro)

ksDesenv=# copy page to '/var/www/html/kakaostats/page.txt';
COPY

But this is what the page.txt file looks like:

1stline\n2ndline

What can I do to make the copy to command insert an actual new line
char?

Regards,
Clodoaldo Pinto Neto

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On Wed, 11 Aug 2004, [iso-8859-1] Clodoaldo Pinto Neto wrote:

I should have explained it better:

Why don't I just insert each line in the table and let "copy to" do its
thing inserting a new line char (lf) at the end of each line?
Because I need the file lines to be in a certain order. Copy to will
copy the lines in its own order.
Until now I'm inserting html pages in a single line table without a lf
and copying then to files. Here is the result:
http://planeta.terra.com.br/informatica/kakaostats/
http://planeta.terra.com.br/informatica/kakaostats/t13802.html
Right click the page and click view source and there it is, a single
giant line.
The problem with mixing html and pl/pgsql is that it becomes a big
mess. It is very hard to evolve the code and understand it.
So I choose to not output html anymore but cvs text and build the page
with php. Advantages: much simpler pl/pgsql code and upload size 80%
smaller.
Lines finishing with a lf are much easier to parse in php (fgetcsv).
This and the need to have then ordered is why i need to insert lfs in
the single line table from which to copy to file.
I have solved it with a simple python script but it is one more step
and is not fail safe. Where there would be a lf I insert the string
"newLine". Then in the python script I change it to an actual lf char.
But in the remote possibility that there is or there will be this
string in the database (600+ thousand distinct user names) then the
output file will be wrong.
Also it is one more piece of software to be mantained.

I think in general you might be better off either writing functions in an
untrusted language that actually do what you want with the files or a
"client" app that connects to the database and gets the data you want and
puts it into a file. I don't think COPY TO is really meant as a general
purpose writing arbitrary content into a file tool.