Binary Load Formats

To speed data loading into Sybase IQ, create data files in Sybase IQ binary format, then load this data into Sybase IQ using the FORMAT BINARY and BINARY column specification clauses of LOAD TABLE.

You can find instructions for using LOAD TABLE in Reference: Statements and Options.

• IQ Binary Load Format and Load Efficiency
  The Sybase IQ binary load format is a fixed-width format.
• Operating System Native Data Types
  Data for the following data types is stored in native operating system binary format and can be written to data files directly in that format. Sybase IQ reads the respective number of bytes directly into the associated data types without conversion.
• DATE
  DATE column data is stored in Sybase IQ as four bytes (a 32-bit unsigned integer) representing the number of days since 0000-01-01.
• TIME
  TIME data is stored as a 64-bit unsigned quantity that represents a number in microseconds (in other words, 1.0e-6 seconds).
• TIMESTAMP
  TIMESTAMP data is stored as a 64-bit unsigned integer and represents a quantity in microseconds. You can compute a binary TIMESTAMP value for a given year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and microsecond as follows:
• NUMERIC and DECIMAL
  Formats for NUMERIC and DECIMAL data types vary as a function of precision.
• NULL Value Loads
  The most expedient way to insert NULL values is to use the NULL byte in the input file and specify WITH NULL BYTE in the column specification of the LOAD TABLE statement.