Rebuilding a database is a specific type of import and export involving unloading and reloading your entire database. The rebuild (unload/load) and extract tools are used to rebuild databases, to create new databases from part of an existing one, and to eliminate unused free pages.

You can rebuild your database from Sybase Central or by using dbunload.

With importing and exporting, the destination of the data is either into your database or out of your database. Importing reads data into your database. Exporting writes data out of your database. Often the information is either coming from or going to another non-SQL Anywhere database.

If you specify the encryption options -ek, -ep, or -et, the LOAD TABLE statements in the reload.sql file must include the encryption key. Hard-coding the key compromises security, so a parameter in the reload.sql file specifies the encryption key. When you execute the reload.sql file with Interactive SQL, you must specify the encryption key as a parameter. If you do not specify the key in the READ statement, Interactive SQL prompts for the key.

Loading and unloading takes data and schema out of a SQL Anywhere database and then places the data and schema back into a SQL Anywhere database. The unloading procedure produces data files and a reload.sql file which contains table definitions required to recreate the tables exactly. Running the reload.sql script recreates the tables and loads the data back into them.

Rebuilding a database can be a time-consuming operation, and can require a large amount of disk space. As well, the database is unavailable for use while being unloaded and reloaded. For these reasons, rebuilding a database is not advised in a production environment unless you have a definite goal in mind.

 From one SQL Anywhere database to another

 Rebuilding versus exporting

 Rebuilding replicating databases

 See also