Using SQL Loader to Load LOBs

You can use SQL Loader to bulk load LOBs. See "Loading LOBs" in Oracle8i Utilities for details on using SQL*Loader control file data definition language (DDL) to load LOB types.

Data loaded into LOBs can be lengthy and it is likely that you will want to have the data out- of-line from the rest of the data. LOBFILES provide a method to separate lengthy data.

LOBFILES

LOBFILES are simple datafiles that facilitate LOB loading. LOBFILEs are distinguished from primary datafiles in that in LOBFILEs there is no concept of a record. In LOBFILEs the data is of any of the following types:

• Predetermined size fields (fixed length fields)

• Delimited fields, i.e., TERMINATED BY or ENCLOSED BY

  Note: The clause PRESERVE BLANKS is not applicable to fields read from a LOBFILE.

• Length-Value pair fields (variable length fields) -- VARRAW, VARCHAR, or VARCHARC loader datatypes are used for loading from this type of fields.

• A single LOB field into which the entire contents of a file can be read.

  Note: A field read from a LOBFILE cannot be used as an argument to a clause (for example, the NULLIF clause).