TEMP_EXTRACT_COLUMN_DELIMITER Option

Specifies the delimiter between columns in the output of the data extraction facility for an ASCII extraction.

Allowed Values

String

Default

','

Scope

Can be set for an individual connection. Takes effect immediately.

Description

Use TEMP_EXTRACT_COLUMN_DELIMITER to specify the delimiter between columns in the output of the data extraction facility. In the case of an ASCII extraction, the default is to separate column values with commas. Strings are unquoted by default.

The delimiter must occupy 1 – 4 bytes, and must be valid in the collation order you are using, if you are using a multibyte collation order. Choose a delimiter that does not occur in any of the data output strings themselves.

If you set this option to the empty string '' for ASCII extractions, the extracted data is written in fixed-width ASCII with no column delimiter. Numeric and binary data types are right-justified on a field of n blanks, where n is the maximum number of bytes needed for any value of that type. Character data types are left-justified on a field of n blanks.

Note: The minimum column width in a fixed-width ASCII extraction is 4 bytes to allow the string “NULL” for a NULL value. For example, if the extracted column is CHAR(2) and TEMP_EXTRACT_COLUMN_DELIMITER is set to the empty string '', there are two spaces after the extracted data.

For details on the data extraction facility and using the extraction options, see System Administration Guide: Volume 1 > Data Import and Export > Methods of Exporting Data from a Database > Data Extraction Facility.