Other Alternatives - FastLoad

Other Alternatives

The Teradata FastLoad example is a simple, straightforward exercise can be used to quickly create a job script and run Teradata FastLoad. The following information explains some of the more significant functional alternatives that Teradata FastLoad provides, and provides references to where they are described in greater detail.

Mainframe‑Attached Client Systems

The Teradata FastLoad example assumes UNIX or Windows OS is the operating system on a network‑attached client system.

To run the example using z/OS on a mainframe‑attached client system, use the standard z/OS JCL control statements (DD) to allocate and create the Teradata FastLoad data sets or files before invoking the utility.

For more information about invoking Teradata FastLoad on mainframe‑attached client systems, see “Invoking Teradata FastLoad” on page 33.

MultiLoad Utility

The Teradata FastLoad example shows a very simple Teradata FastLoad job, loading a very small amount of data into an empty table.

MultiLoad could have been used to perform the same task, but the job would have run much more slowly. Teradata FastLoad works only on empty tables. MultiLoad can be used to:

Insert additional data rows into existing tables

Update individual rows of existing tables

Delete individual rows from existing tables

Load data into multiple tables

Load data into MULTISET tables

Load data into tables with nonunique secondary indexes

Input File Formats

The format of the input data source for the Teradata FastLoad example (insert.input) is UNFORMATTED, as specified by the SET RECORD command.

Teradata FastLoad also supports input data source files with the following formats:

FORMATTED

BINARY

TEXT

VARTEXT

For descriptions of all the supported input file formats, see “SET RECORD” on page 152.

INMOD Routines

In the Teradata FastLoad example, the utility reads the input data records directly from the specified source file (insert.input).

An alternative would be to write an INMOD routine that Teradata FastLoad could call to obtain input records.

The INMOD routine, for example, could:

Read and preprocess records from a file

Generate data records

Read data from other database systems

Validate data records

Convert data record fields

In this case, use the optional INMOD name specification of the DEFINE command to identify the name of the INMOD routine.

For more information about using INMOD routines, see “INMOD and Notify Exit Routines” on page 61 and the INMOD name option in “DEFINE” on page 95.