External File Format | CREATE FOREIGN TABLE | Teradata Database - External File Object Rules - Teradata Database

SQL Data Definition Language Syntax and Examples

Deployment
VantageCloud
VantageCore
Edition
VMware
Enterprise
IntelliFlex
Product
Teradata Database
Release Number
20.00
Publication Date
June 2025
Content Type
SQL Reference
Publication ID
B035-1144-200K
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en-US
ft:lastEdition
2026-09-23
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lifecycle
latest
External files must be in one of the following formats:
  • JSON
  • CSV
  • Parquet

Field names in CSV and JSON are case sensitive.

Unsupported files and compression types are skipped.

Records that contain errors are skipped. Errors can include mismatched quotation marks (" "), embedded line feeds, and so forth.

External files with UTF-8 BOMs (Byte Order Markers) are supported, but UTF-16LE, UTF-16BE, UTF-32LE, UTF-32BE BOMs are not supported.

Queries return results only for file formats where the format matches the format of the first file specified by the LOCATION option, including:
  • File type (JSON, CSV, or Parquet)
  • File compression (GZIP for JSON or CSV, SNAPPY for Parquet, or uncompressed)
  • Character encoding (LATIN or UTF-8)
  • Field delimiter (comma, tab, and so on)
  • Record delimiter (line feed)