BTEQ and Teradata PT can both load data into Teradata and can update tables, among other functions. Other similarities include:
- Capacity – Both can send up to 64 KB per request and up to 1 MB per request with array support.
- Capabilities – Both can support multiple sessions and can load, export, process DDL, and act as a command line interface.
The following table explains the major differences between BTEQ and Teradata PT:
| BTEQ | Teradata PT |
|---|---|
| Consumes less client CPU. | Consumes more client CPU. |
| Loads or updates either all records or stops after x records that you specify with the REPEAT command. | Can also load or update only selected rows. |
| Limited error handling. | Performs error handling and creates error log tables. |
| No checkpoint restart. | Checkpoint restart. |
| No SERIALIZE option. | SERIALIZE option ensures the correct sequencing of transactions. |
| Does not process multiple DML statements in a single pass of the input data. | Can perform conditional apply or multiple apply. |
Recommendation: If your job has millions of rows, use Teradata PT. If not, especially for a load job that will be used again in the future, consider both. See which performs better and causes less system overhead. BTEQ can be a good choice for smaller amounts of data, exploratory work, and DDL.