SQL Server : export query as a .txt file - sql

I am trying to export my SQL Server query results into a folder in .txt format (this is for an automated job)
I know the equivalent in MySQL works with INTO OUTFILE. Does anyone know the best way to do this in SQL Server 2008 Management Studio?
SELECT DISTINCT RTRIM (s1.SGMNTID) AS 'AccCode',RTRIM (s1.DSCRIPTN) AS 'CodeDesc', CASE
WHEN s1.SGMTNUMB = '1' THEN '1'
WHEN s1.SGMTNUMB = '2' THEN '2'
WHEN s1.SGMTNUMB = '3' THEN '110'
WHEN s1.SGMTNUMB = '4' THEN '4'
WHEN s1.SGMTNUMB = '5' THEN '120'
END AS 'AccountType_id',
CASE WHEN s1.SGMTNUMB = '2'
THEN LEFT(s1.SGMNTID, 2)
ELSE 'DEFAULT'
END AS 'AccGroupName'
FROM GL40200 s1
UNION
SELECT REPLACE ([ACTNUMBR_1]+'-'+ [ACTNUMBR_2]+'-'+ [ACTNUMBR_3]+'-'+[ACTNUMBR_4]+'-'+ [ACTNUMBR_5],' ', '') AS 'AccCode',
'' AS 'CodeDesc',
'0' AS 'AccountType_id',
'Default' AS 'AccGroupName'
FROM GL00100 a
INTO OUTFILE 'C:\Users\srahmani\verian/myfilename.txt'

You do this in the SSMS app, not the SQL.
In the toolbar select:
Query --> Results To --> Results To File
Then Execute the SQL statements and it will prompt you to save to a text file with an .rpt extension. Open the results in a Text Editor.

Another way is from command line, using the osql:
OSQL -S SERVERNAME -E -i thequeryfile.sql -o youroutputfile.txt
This can be used from a BAT file and shceduled by a windows user to authenticated.

You can use bcp utility.
To copy the result set from a Transact-SQL statement to a data file,
use the queryout option. The following example copies the result of a query into the Contacts.txt data file. The example assumes that you are using Windows Authentication and have a trusted connection to the server instance on which you are running the bcp command. At the
Windows command prompt, enter:
bcp "<your query here>" queryout Contacts.txt -c -T
You can use BCP by directly calling as operating sytstem command in SQL Agent job.

You can use windows Powershell to execute a query and output it to a text file
Invoke-Sqlcmd -Query "Select * from database" -ServerInstance "Servername\SQL2008" -Database "DbName" > c:\Users\outputFileName.txt

The BCP Utility can also be used in the form of a .bat file, but be cautious of escape sequences (ie quotes "" must be used in conjunction with ) and the appropriate tags.
.bat Example:
C:
bcp "\"YOUR_SERVER\".dbo.Proc" queryout C:\FilePath.txt -T -c -q
-- Add PAUSE here if you'd like to see the completed batch
-q MUST be used in the presence of quotations within the query itself.
BCP can also run Stored Procedures if necessary. Again, be cautious: Temporary Tables must be created prior to execution or else you should consider using Table Variables.

This is quite simple to do and the answer is available in other queries. For those of you who are viewing this:
select entries from my_entries where id='42' INTO OUTFILE 'bishwas.txt';

Related

Export amazon mysql database to an excel sheet

I have an ec2-instance on which mysql database is there and now there are multiple tables have huge values which i want to export into an excel sheet into my local system or even some place at S3 will also work , how can i achieve this ?
Given that you installed your own MySQL instance on an EC2 node, you should have full access to MySQL's abilities. I don't see any reason why you can't just do a SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE here:
SELECT *
FROM yourTable
INTO OUTFILE 'output.csv'
FIELDS TERMINATED BY ','
ENCLOSED BY '"'
LINES TERMINATED BY '\n';
Once you have the CSV file, you may transfer it to a box running Excel, and use the Excel import wizard to bring in the data.
Edit:
Based on your comments below, it might be the case that you need to carefully select an output path and location to which MySQL and your user have permissions to write.
Another way to export CSV files from RDS Mysql and without getting Access denied for user '<databasename>'#'%' (using password: YES) is doing the following command:
mysql -u username -p --database=dbname --host=rdshostname --port=rdsport --batch -e "select * from yourtable" | sed 's/\t/","/g;s/^/"/;s/$/"/;s/\n//g' > yourlocalfilename.csv
The secret is in this part:
--batch -e "select * from yourtable" | sed 's/\t/","/g;s/^/"/;s/$/"/;s/\n//g' > yourlocalfilename.csv

DB2 Output to Variable via bash script

I'm hoping someone can help with applying the output from a db2 command to a variable to use later on in a script.
So far I am at...
db2 "connect to <database> user <username> using <password>"
while read HowMany ;
do
Counter=$HowMany
echo $HowMany
done < <(db2 -x "SELECT COUNT(1) FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS WHERE TABNAME = 'TableA' AND TABSCHEMA='SchemaA' AND GENERATED = 'A'")
When trying to reference $Counter outside of the while loop, it returns SQL1024N A database connection does not exist. SQLSTATE=08003 as does the echo $HowMany
I've tried another method using pipe, which makes the $HowMany show the correct value, but as that is a sub shell, it's lost afterwards.
I'd rather not use temp files and remove them if possible as I don't like left over files if scripts abort at any time.
The DB2 CLP on Linux and UNIX can handle command substitution without losing its database connection context, making it possible to capture query results into a local shell variable or treat it as an inlined block of text.
#!/bin/sh
# This script assumes the db2profile script has already been sourced
db2 "connect to <database> user <username> using <password>"
# Backtick command substitution is permitted
HowMany=`db2 -x "SELECT COUNT(1) FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS WHERE TABNAME = 'TableA' AND TABSCHEMA='SchemaA' AND GENERATED = 'A'"`
# This command substitution syntax will also work
Copy2=$(db2 -x "SELECT COUNT(1) FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS WHERE TABNAME = 'TableA' AND TABSCHEMA='SchemaA' AND GENERATED = 'A'")
# One way to get rid of leading spaces
Counter=`echo $HowMany`
# A while loop that is fed by process substitution cannot use
# the current DB2 connection context, but combining a here
# document with command substitution will work
while read HowMany ;
do
Counter=$HowMany
echo $HowMany
done <<EOT
$(db2 -x "SELECT COUNT(1) FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS WHERE TABNAME = 'TableA' AND TABSCHEMA='SchemaA' AND GENERATED = 'A'")
EOT
As you have found, a DB2 connection in one shell is not available to sub-shells. You could use a sub-shell, but you'd have to put the CONNECT statement in that sub-shell.
So it's more of a simple rewrite, and don't use a sub-shell:
db2 "connect to <database> user <username> using <password>"
db2 -x "SELECT COUNT(1) FROM SYSCAT.COLUMNS WHERE TABNAME = 'TableA' AND TABSCHEMA='SchemaA' AND GENERATED = 'A'" | while read HowMany ; do
Counter=$HowMany
echo $HowMany
done

Unable to open BCP host data-file

Below is an example of the BCP Statement.
I'm not accustomed to using BCP so your help and candor is greatly appreciated
I am using it with a format file as well.
If I execute from CMD prompt it works fine but from SQL I get the error.
The BCP statement is all on one line and the SQL Server Agent is running as Local System.
The SQL server, and script are on the same system.
I ran exec master..xp_fixeddrives
C,45589
E,423686
I've tried output to C and E with the same result
EXEC xp_cmdshell 'bcp "Select FILENAME, POLICYNUMBER, INSURED_DRAWER_100, POLICY_INFORMATION, DOCUMENTTYPE, DOCUMENTDATE, POLICYYEAR FROM data.dbo.max" queryout "E:\Storage\Export\Data\max.idx" -fmax-c.fmt -SSERVERNAME -T
Here is the format file rmax-c.fmt
10.0
7
1 SQLCHAR 0 255 "$#Y#$" 1 FILENAME
2 SQLCHAR 0 40 "" 2 POLICYNUMBER
3 SQLCHAR 0 40 "" 3 INSURED_DRAWER_100
4 SQLCHAR 0 40 "" 4 POLICY_INFORMATION
5 SQLCHAR 0 40 "" 5 DOCUMENTTYPE
6 SQLCHAR 0 40 "" 6 DOCUMENTDATE
7 SQLCHAR 0 8 "\r\n" 7 POLICYYEAR
Due to formating in this post the last column of the format file is cut off but reads SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS for each column other that documentdate.
Does the output path exist? BCP does not create the folder before trying to create the file.
Try this before your BCP call:
EXEC xp_cmdshell 'MKDIR "E:\Storage\Export\Data\"'
First, rule out an xp_cmdshell issue by doing a simple 'dir c:*.*';
Check out my blog on using BCP to export files.
I had problems on my system in which I could not find the path to BCP.EXE.
Either change the PATH variable of hard code it.
Example below works with Adventure Works.
-- BCP - Export query, pipe delimited format, trusted security, character format
DECLARE #bcp_cmd4 VARCHAR(1000);
DECLARE #exe_path4 VARCHAR(200) =
' cd C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\Tools\Binn\ & ';
SET #bcp_cmd4 = #exe_path4 +
' BCP.EXE "SELECT FirstName, LastName FROM AdventureWorks2008R2.Sales.vSalesPerson" queryout ' +
' "C:\TEST\PEOPLE.TXT" -T -c -q -t0x7c -r\n';
PRINT #bcp_cmd4;
EXEC master..xp_cmdshell #bcp_cmd4;
GO
Before changing the path to \110\ for SQL Server 2012 and the name of the database to [AdventureWorks2012], I received the following error.
After making the changes, the code works fine from SSMS. The service is running under NT AUTHORITY\Local Service. The SQL Server Agent is disabled. The output file was created.
Please check, the file might be opened in another application or program.
If it is the case, bcp.exe cannot overwrite the existing file contents.
In my case, I solved The problem in the following way:
my command was :
bcp "select Top 1000 * from abc.dbo.abcd" queryout FileNameWithDirectory -c -t "|" -r "0x0a" -S 192.111.1.111 -U xx -P xxxxx
My FileNameWithDirectory was too long. like "D:\project-abc\R&D\abc-608\FilesNeeded\FilesNeeded\DataFiles\abc.csv".
I change into a simpler directory like : "D:\abc.csv"
Problem solved.
So I guess the problem occurred due to file name exceeding. thus the file was not found.
If it works from the command line but not from the SQL Agent, I think it is an authentication issue.
The SQL Server Agent is running under a account. Make sure that the account has the ability to read the format file and generate the output file.
Also, make sure the account has the ability to execute the xp_cmdshell stored procedure.
Write back with your progress ...
I received this after I shared my output folder, even when there were no files open.
I created a new, unshared folder for output and all was fine.
(might help someone ;-))
In my case this fix was simply running in administrator mode.
This error can be due to insufficient write permissions to the target folder.
This is a common issue, since the user writing the query might have access to a folder, but the SQL Server Agent or logged-in server account which actually invokes bcp.exe may not.
Destination path has to already exist (except for file name).
Remove no_output from your command, if you use one offcourse
SET #sql = 'BCP ....'
EXEC master..xp_cmdshell #sql , no_output
EXEC master..xp_cmdshell #sql
In case anyone else runs into the same problem: I had ...lesPerson" queryout' rather than ...lesPerson" queryout '
If your code is writing the data file, and then reading it with BCP, make sure that you CLOSE THE DATA FILE before trying to read it!
Failure to do so gives: 'Unable to open host data-file'.
Python example:
# Management of temporary bulk insert file.
def openBulkInsertFile(self) :
self.bulkInsertFile = open('c:/tmp/bulkInsertContent.txt', 'w', newline='')
self.csvWriter = csv.writer(self.bulkInsertFile)
def closeBulkInsertFile(self) :
self.bulkInsertFile.close()
When using a Job in SQL the user that uses the SQL express server is the current user logged, you should give write permission to that user in the folder where the Batch writes the output.
This happens usually only with bcp, when using type commands the ownership goes to the computer(Administrator) and the command runs with out problem.
So if you have a long command in your job just look for the bcp parts.

Generate a Properties File using Shell Script and Results from a SQL Query

I am trying to create a properties file like this...
firstname=Jon
lastname=Snow
occupation=Nights_Watch
family=Stark
...from a query like this...
SELECT
a.fname as firstname,
a.lname as lastname,
b.occ as occupation...
FROM
names a,
occupation b,
family c...
WHERE...
How can I do this? As I am aware of only using spool to a CSV file which won't work here?
These property files will be picked up by shell scripts to run automated tasks. I am using Oracle DB
Perhaps something like this?
psql -c 'select id, name from test where id = 1' -x -t -A -F = dbname -U dbuser
Output would be like:
id=1
name=test1
(For the full list of options: man psql.)
Since you mentionned spool I will assume you are running on Oracle. This should produce a result in the desired format, that you can spool straight away.
SELECT
'firstname=' || firstname || CHR(10) ||
'lastname=' || lastname || CHR(10) -- and so on for all fields
FROM your_tables;
The same approach should be possible with all database engines, if you know the correct incantation for a litteral new line and the syntax for string concatenation.
It is possible to to this from your command line SQL client but as STTLCU notes it might be better to get the query to output in something "standard" (like CSV) and then transform the results with a shell script. Otherwise, because a lot of the features you would use are not part of any SQL standard, they would depend on the database server and client application. Think of this step as sort of the obverse of ETL where you clean up the data you "unload" so that it is useful for some other application.
For sure there's ways to build this into your query application: e.g. if you use something like perl DBI::Shell as your client (which allows you to connect to many different servers using the DBI module) you can jazz up your output in various ways. But here you'd probably be best off if could send the query output to a text file and run it through awk.
Having said that ... here's how the Postgresql client could do what you want. Notice how the commands to set up the formatting are not SQL but specific to the client.
~/% psql -h 192.168.2.69 -d cropdusting -u stubblejumper
psql (9.2.4, server 8.4.14)
WARNING: psql version 9.2, server version 8.4.
Some psql features might not work.
You are now connected to database "cropdusting" as user "stubblejumper".
cropdusting=# \pset border 0 \pset format unaligned \pset t \pset fieldsep =
Border style is 0.
Output format is unaligned.
Showing only tuples.
Field separator is "=".
cropdusting=# select year,wmean_yld from bckwht where year=1997 AND freq > 13 ;
1997=19.9761904762
1997=14.5533333333
1997=17.9942857143
cropdusting=#
With the psql client the \pset command sets options affecting the output of query results tables. You can probably figure out which option is doing what. If you want to do this using your SQL client tell us which one it is or read through the manual page for tips on how to format the output of your queries.
My answer is very similar to the two already posted for this question, but I try to explain the options, and try to provide a precise answer.
When using Postgres, you can use psql command-line utility to get the intended output
psql -F = -A -x -X <other options> -c 'select a.fname as firstname, a.lname as lastname from names as a ... ;'
The options are:
-F : Use '=' sign as the field separator, instead of the default pipe '|'
-A : Do not align the output; so there is no space between the column header, separator and the column value.
-x : Use expanded output, so column headers are on left (instead of top) and row values are on right.
-X : Do not read $HOME/.psqlrc, as it may contain commands/options that can affect your output.
-c : The SQL command to execute
<other options> : Any other options, such as connection details, database name, etc.
You have to choose if you want to maintain such a file from shell or from PL/SQL. Both solutions are possible and both are correct.
Because Oracle has to read and write from the file I would do it from database side.
You can write data to file using UTL_FILE package.
DECLARE
fileHandler UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
BEGIN
fileHandler := UTL_FILE.FOPEN('test_dir', 'test_file.txt', 'W');
UTL_FILE.PUTF(fileHandler, 'firstname=Jon\n');
UTL_FILE.PUTF(fileHandler, 'lastname=Snow\n');
UTL_FILE.PUTF(fileHandler, 'occupation=Nights_Watch\n');
UTL_FILE.PUTF(fileHandler, 'family=Stark\n');
UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(fileHandler);
EXCEPTION
WHEN utl_file.invalid_path THEN
raise_application_error(-20000, 'ERROR: Invalid PATH FOR file.');
END;
Example's source: http://psoug.org/snippet/Oracle-PL-SQL-UTL_FILE-file-write-to-file-example_538.htm
At the same time you read from the file using Oracle external table.
CREATE TABLE parameters_table
(
parameters_coupled VARCHAR2(4000)
)
ORGANIZATION EXTERNAL
(
TYPE ORACLE_LOADER
DEFAULT DIRECTORY test_dir
ACCESS PARAMETERS
(
RECORDS DELIMITED BY NEWLINE
FIELDS
(
parameters_coupled VARCHAR2(4000)
)
)
LOCATION ('test_file.txt')
);
At this point you can write data to your table which has one column with coupled parameter and value, i.e.: 'firstname=Jon'
You can read it by Oracle
You can read it by any shell script because it is a plain text.
Then it is just a matter of a query, i.e.:
SELECT MAX(CASE WHEN INSTR(parameters_coupled, 'firstname=') = 1 THEN REPLACE(parameters_coupled, 'firstname=') ELSE NULL END) AS firstname
, MAX(CASE WHEN INSTR(parameters_coupled, 'lastname=') = 1 THEN REPLACE(parameters_coupled, 'lastname=') ELSE NULL END) AS lastname
, MAX(CASE WHEN INSTR(parameters_coupled, 'occupation=') = 1 THEN REPLACE(parameters_coupled, 'occupation=') ELSE NULL END) AS occupation
FROM parameters_table;

Execute SQL from file in bash

I'm trying to load a sql from a file in bash and execute the loaded sql. The sql file needs to be versatile, meaning it cannot be altered in order to make things easy while being run in bash (escaping special characters like * )
So I have run into some problems:
If I read my sample.sql
SELECT * FROM SAMPLETABLE
to a variable with
ab=`cat sample.sql`
and execute it
db2 `echo $ab`
I receive an sql error because by doing a cat the * has been replaced by all the files in the directory of sample.sql.
Easy solution would be to replace "" with "\" . But I cannot do this, because the file needs to stay executable in programs like DB Visualizer etc.
Could someone give me hint in the right direction?
The DB2 command line processor has options that accept a filename as input, so you shouldn't need to load statements from a text file into a shell variable.
This command will execute all SQL statements in the file, with newline treated as the statement terminator:
db2 -f sample.sql
This command will execute all SQL statements in the file, with semicolon treated as the statement terminator:
db2 -t -f sample.sql
Other useful CLP flags are:
-x : Suppress the column headings
-v : Echo the statement text immediately before execution
-z : Tee a copy of all CLP output to the filename immediately following this flag
Redirect stdin from the file.
db2 < sample.sql
In case, you have a variable used in your script and wanted to get it replaced by the shell before executed in DB2 then use this approach:
Contents of File.sql:
cat <<xEOF
insert values(1,2) into ${MY_SCHEMA}.${MY_TABLE};
select * from ${MY_SCHEMA}.${MY_TABLE};
xEOF
In command prompt do:
export MY_SCHEMA='STAR'
export MY_TAVLE='DIMENSION'
Then you are all good to get it executed in DB2:
eval File.sq |db2 +p -t
The shell will replace the global variables and then DB2 will execute it.
Hope it helps.