UTL_FILE v11

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The UTL_FILE package provides the capability to read from, and write to files on the operating system’s file system. Non-superusers must be granted EXECUTE privilege on the UTL_FILE package by a superuser before using any of the functions or procedures in the package. For example the following command grants the privilege to user mary:

GRANT EXECUTE ON PACKAGE SYS.UTL_FILE TO mary;

Also, the operating system username, enterprisedb, must have the appropriate read and/or write permissions on the directories and files to be accessed using the UTL_FILE functions and procedures. If the required file permissions are not in place, an exception is thrown in the UTL_FILE function or procedure.

A handle to the file to be written to, or read from is used to reference the file. The file handle is defined by a public variable in the UTL_FILE package named, UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE. A variable of type FILE_TYPE must be declared to receive the file handle returned by calling the FOPEN function. The file handle is then used for all subsequent operations on the file.

References to directories on the file system are done using the directory name or alias that is assigned to the directory using the CREATE DIRECTORY command.

The procedures and functions available in the UTL_FILE package are listed in the following table:

Function/ProcedureReturn TypeDescription
FCLOSE(file IN OUT)n/aCloses the specified file identified by file.
FCLOSE_ALLn/aCloses all open files.
FCOPY(location, filename, dest_dir, dest_file [, start_line [, end_line ] ])n/aCopies filename in the directory identified by location to file, dest_file, in directory, dest_dir, starting from line, start_line, to line, end_line.
FFLUSH(file)n/aForces data in the buffer to be written to disk in the file identified by file.
FOPEN(location, filename, open_mode [, max_linesize ])FILE_TYPEOpens file, filename, in the directory identified by location.
FREMOVE(location, filename)n/aRemoves the specified file from the file system.
FRENAME(location, filename, dest_dir, dest_file [, overwrite ])n/aRenames the specified file.
GET_LINE(file, buffer OUT)n/aReads a line of text into variable, buffer, from the file identified by file.
IS_OPEN(file)BOOLEANDetermines whether or not the given file is open.
NEW_LINE(file [, lines ])n/aWrites an end-of-line character sequence into the file.
PUT(file, buffer)n/aWrites buffer to the given file. PUT does not write an end-of-line character sequence.
PUT_LINE(file, buffer)n/aWrites buffer to the given file. An end-of-line character sequence is added by the PUT_LINE procedure.
PUTF(file, format [, arg1 ] [, ...])n/aWrites a formatted string to the given file. Up to five substitution parameters, arg1,...arg5 may be specified for replacement in format.

Advanced Server's implementation of UTL_FILE is a partial implementation when compared to Oracle's version. Only those functions and procedures listed in the table above are supported.

UTL_FILE Exception Codes

If a call to a UTL_FILE procedure or function raises an exception, you can use the condition name to catch the exception. The UTL_FILE package reports the following exception codes compatible with Oracle databases:

Exception CodeCondition name
-29283invalid_operation
-29285write_error
-29284read_error
-29282invalid_filehandle
-29287invalid_maxlinesize
-29281invalid_mode
-29280invalid_path

Setting File Permissions with utl_file.umask

When a UTL_FILE function or procedure creates a file, there are default file permissions as shown by the following.

-rw------- 1 enterprisedb enterprisedb 21 Jul 24 16:08 utlfile

Note that all permissions are denied on users belonging to the enterprisedb group as well as all other users. Only the enterprisedb user has read and write permissions on the created file.

If you wish to have a different set of file permissions on files created by the UTL_FILE functions and procedures, you can accomplish this by setting the utl_file.umask configuration parameter.

The utl_file.umask parameter sets the file mode creation mask or simply, the mask, in a manner similar to the Linux umask command. This is for usage only within the Advanced Server UTL_FILE package.

Note

The utl_file.umask parameter is not supported on Windows systems.

The value specified for utl_file.umask is a 3 or 4-character octal string that would be valid for the Linux umask command. The setting determines the permissions on files created by the UTL_FILE functions and procedures. (Refer to any information source regarding Linux or Unix systems for information on file permissions and the usage of the umask command.)

The following is an example of setting the file permissions with utl_file.umask.

First, set up the directory in the file system to be used by the UTL_FILE package. Be sure the operating system account, enterprisedb or postgres, whichever is applicable, can read and write in the directory.

mkdir /tmp/utldir
chmod 777 /tmp/utldir

The CREATE DIRECTORY command is issued in psql to create the directory database object using the file system directory created in the preceding step.

CREATE DIRECTORY utldir AS '/tmp/utldir';

Set the utl_file.umask configuration parameter. The following setting allows the file owner any permission. Group users and other users are permitted any permission except for the execute permission.

SET utl_file.umask TO '0011';

In the same session during which the utl_file.umask parameter is set to the desired value, run the UTL_FILE functions and procedures.

DECLARE
    v_utlfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'utldir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'utlfile';
BEGIN
    v_utlfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory, v_filename, 'w');
    UTL_FILE.PUT_LINE(v_utlfile, 'Simple one-line file');
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Created file: ' || v_filename);
    UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_utlfile);
END;

The permission settings on the resulting file show that group users and other users have read and write permissions on the file as well as the file owner.

$ pwd
/tmp/utldir
$ ls -l
total 4
-rw-rw-rw- 1 enterprisedb enterprisedb 21 Jul 24 16:04 utlfile

This parameter can also be set on a per role basis with the ALTER ROLE command, on a per database basis with the ALTER DATABASE command, or for the entire database server instance by setting it in the postgresql.conf file.

FCLOSE

The FCLOSE procedure closes an open file.

FCLOSE(<file> IN OUT FILE_TYPE)

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing a file handle of the file to be closed.

FCLOSE_ALL

The FLCLOSE_ALL procedures closes all open files. The procedure executes successfully even if there are no open files to close.

FCLOSE_ALL

FCOPY

The FCOPY procedure copies text from one file to another.

FCOPY(<location> VARCHAR2, <filename> VARCHAR2,
  <dest_dir> VARCHAR2, <dest_file> VARCHAR2
  [, <start_line> PLS_INTEGER [, <end_line> PLS_INTEGER ] ])

Parameters

location

Directory name, as stored in pg_catalog.edb_dir.dirname, of the directory containing the file to be copied.

filename

Name of the source file to be copied.

dest_dir

Directory name, as stored in pg_catalog.edb_dir.dirname, of the directory to which the file is to be copied.

dest_file

Name of the destination file.

start_line

Line number in the source file from which copying will begin. The default is 1.

end_line

Line number of the last line in the source file to be copied. If omitted or null, copying will go to the last line of the file.

Examples

The following makes a copy of a file, C:\TEMP\EMPDIR\empfile.csv, containing a comma-delimited list of employees from the emp table. The copy, empcopy.csv, is then listed.

CREATE DIRECTORY empdir AS 'C:/TEMP/EMPDIR';

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_src_dir       VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_src_file      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    v_dest_dir      VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_dest_file     VARCHAR2(20) := 'empcopy.csv';
    v_emprec        VARCHAR2(120);
    v_count         INTEGER := 0;
BEGIN
    UTL_FILE.FCOPY(v_src_dir,v_src_file,v_dest_dir,v_dest_file);
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_dest_dir,v_dest_file,'r');
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('The following is the destination file, ''' ||
        v_dest_file || '''');
    LOOP
        UTL_FILE.GET_LINE(v_empfile,v_emprec);
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_emprec);
        v_count := v_count + 1;
    END LOOP;
    EXCEPTION
        WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN
            UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_count || ' records retrieved');
        WHEN OTHERS THEN
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLERRM: ' || SQLERRM);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLCODE: ' || SQLCODE);
END;

The following is the destination file, 'empcopy.csv'
7369,SMITH,CLERK,7902,17-DEC-80,800,,20
7499,ALLEN,SALESMAN,7698,20-FEB-81,1600,300,30
7521,WARD,SALESMAN,7698,22-FEB-81,1250,500,30
7566,JONES,MANAGER,7839,02-APR-81,2975,,20
7654,MARTIN,SALESMAN,7698,28-SEP-81,1250,1400,30
7698,BLAKE,MANAGER,7839,01-MAY-81,2850,,30
7782,CLARK,MANAGER,7839,09-JUN-81,2450,,10
7788,SCOTT,ANALYST,7566,19-APR-87,3000,,20
7839,KING,PRESIDENT,,17-NOV-81,5000,,10
7844,TURNER,SALESMAN,7698,08-SEP-81,1500,0,30
7876,ADAMS,CLERK,7788,23-MAY-87,1100,,20
7900,JAMES,CLERK,7698,03-DEC-81,950,,30
7902,FORD,ANALYST,7566,03-DEC-81,3000,,20
7934,MILLER,CLERK,7782,23-JAN-82,1300,,10
14 records retrieved

FFLUSH

The FFLUSH procedure flushes unwritten data from the write buffer to the file.

FFLUSH(<file> FILE_TYPE)

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing a file handle.

Examples

Each line is flushed after the NEW_LINE procedure is called.

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY empno;
BEGIN
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory,v_filename,'w');
    FOR i IN emp_cur LOOP
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.empno);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.ename);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.job);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.mgr);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.hiredate);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.sal);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.comm);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.deptno);
        UTL_FILE.NEW_LINE(v_empfile);
        UTL_FILE.FFLUSH(v_empfile);
    END LOOP;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Created file: ' || v_filename);
    UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
END;

FOPEN

The FOPEN function opens a file for I/O.

<filetype> FILE_TYPE FOPEN(<location> VARCHAR2,
  <filename> VARCHAR2,<open_mode> VARCHAR2
  [, <max_linesize> BINARY_INTEGER ])

Parameters

location

Directory name, as stored in pg_catalog.edb_dir.dirname, of the directory containing the file to be opened.

filename

Name of the file to be opened.

open_mode

Mode in which the file will be opened. Modes are: a - append to file; r - read from file; w - write to file.

max_linesize

Maximum size of a line in characters. In read mode, an exception is thrown if an attempt is made to read a line exceeding max_linesize. In write and append modes, an exception is thrown if an attempt is made to write a line exceeding max_linesize. The end-of-line character(s) are not included in determining if the maximum line size is exceeded. This behavior is not compatible with Oracle databases; Oracle does count the end-of-line character(s).

filetype

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the opened file.

FREMOVE

The FREMOVE procedure removes a file from the system.

FREMOVE(<location> VARCHAR2, <filename> VARCHAR2)

An exception is thrown if the file to be removed does not exist.

Parameters

location

Directory name, as stored in pg_catalog.edb_dir.dirname, of the directory containing the file to be removed.

filename

Name of the file to be removed.

Examples

The following removes file empfile.csv.

DECLARE
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
BEGIN
    UTL_FILE.FREMOVE(v_directory,v_filename);
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Removed file: ' || v_filename);
    EXCEPTION
        WHEN OTHERS THEN
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLERRM: ' || SQLERRM);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLCODE: ' || SQLCODE);
END;

Removed file: empfile.csv

FRENAME

The FRENAME procedure renames a given file. This effectively moves a file from one location to another.

FRENAME(<location> VARCHAR2, <filename> VARCHAR2,
  <dest_dir> VARCHAR2, <dest_file> VARCHAR2,
  [ <overwrite> BOOLEAN ])

Parameters

location

Directory name, as stored in pg_catalog.edb_dir.dirname, of the directory containing the file to be renamed.

filename

Name of the source file to be renamed.

dest_dir

Directory name, as stored in pg_catalog.edb_dir.dirname, of the directory to which the renamed file is to exist.

dest_file

New name of the original file.

overwrite

Replaces any existing file named dest_file in dest_dir if set to TRUE, otherwise an exception is thrown if set to FALSE. This is the default.

Examples

The following renames a file, C:\TEMP\EMPDIR\empfile.csv, containing a comma-delimited list of employees from the emp table. The renamed file, C:\TEMP\NEWDIR\newemp.csv, is then listed.

CREATE DIRECTORY "newdir" AS 'C:/TEMP/NEWDIR';

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_src_dir       VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_src_file      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    v_dest_dir      VARCHAR2(50) := 'newdir';
    v_dest_file     VARCHAR2(50) := 'newemp.csv';
    v_replace       BOOLEAN := FALSE;
    v_emprec        VARCHAR2(120);
    v_count         INTEGER := 0;
BEGIN
    UTL_FILE.FRENAME(v_src_dir,v_src_file,v_dest_dir,
        v_dest_file,v_replace);
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_dest_dir,v_dest_file,'r');
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('The following is the renamed file, ''' ||
        v_dest_file || '''');
    LOOP
        UTL_FILE.GET_LINE(v_empfile,v_emprec);
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_emprec);
        v_count := v_count + 1;
    END LOOP;
    EXCEPTION
        WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN
            UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_count || ' records retrieved');
        WHEN OTHERS THEN
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLERRM: ' || SQLERRM);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLCODE: ' || SQLCODE);
END;

The following is the renamed file, 'newemp.csv'
7369,SMITH,CLERK,7902,17-DEC-80 00:00:00,800.00,,20
7499,ALLEN,SALESMAN,7698,20-FEB-81 00:00:00,1600.00,300.00,30
7521,WARD,SALESMAN,7698,22-FEB-81 00:00:00,1250.00,500.00,30
7566,JONES,MANAGER,7839,02-APR-81 00:00:00,2975.00,,20
7654,MARTIN,SALESMAN,7698,28-SEP-81 00:00:00,1250.00,1400.00,30
7698,BLAKE,MANAGER,7839,01-MAY-81 00:00:00,2850.00,,30
7782,CLARK,MANAGER,7839,09-JUN-81 00:00:00,2450.00,,10
7788,SCOTT,ANALYST,7566,19-APR-87 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7839,KING,PRESIDENT,,17-NOV-81 00:00:00,5000.00,,10
7844,TURNER,SALESMAN,7698,08-SEP-81 00:00:00,1500.00,0.00,30
7876,ADAMS,CLERK,7788,23-MAY-87 00:00:00,1100.00,,20
7900,JAMES,CLERK,7698,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,950.00,,30
7902,FORD,ANALYST,7566,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7934,MILLER,CLERK,7782,23-JAN-82 00:00:00,1300.00,,10
14 records retrieved

GET_LINE

The GET_LINE procedure reads a line of text from a given file up to, but not including the end-of-line terminator. A NO_DATA_FOUND exception is thrown when there are no more lines to read.

GET_LINE(<file> FILE_TYPE, <buffer> OUT VARCHAR2)

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the opened file.

buffer

Variable to receive a line from the file.

Examples

The following anonymous block reads through and displays the records in file empfile.csv.

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    v_emprec        VARCHAR2(120);
    v_count         INTEGER := 0;
BEGIN
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory,v_filename,'r');
    LOOP
        UTL_FILE.GET_LINE(v_empfile,v_emprec);
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_emprec);
        v_count := v_count + 1;
    END LOOP;
    EXCEPTION
        WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN
            UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('End of file ' || v_filename || ' - ' ||
                v_count || ' records retrieved');
        WHEN OTHERS THEN
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLERRM: ' || SQLERRM);
            DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLCODE: ' || SQLCODE);
END;

7369,SMITH,CLERK,7902,17-DEC-80 00:00:00,800.00,,20
7499,ALLEN,SALESMAN,7698,20-FEB-81 00:00:00,1600.00,300.00,30
7521,WARD,SALESMAN,7698,22-FEB-81 00:00:00,1250.00,500.00,30
7566,JONES,MANAGER,7839,02-APR-81 00:00:00,2975.00,,20
7654,MARTIN,SALESMAN,7698,28-SEP-81 00:00:00,1250.00,1400.00,30
7698,BLAKE,MANAGER,7839,01-MAY-81 00:00:00,2850.00,,30
7782,CLARK,MANAGER,7839,09-JUN-81 00:00:00,2450.00,,10
7788,SCOTT,ANALYST,7566,19-APR-87 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7839,KING,PRESIDENT,,17-NOV-81 00:00:00,5000.00,,10
7844,TURNER,SALESMAN,7698,08-SEP-81 00:00:00,1500.00,0.00,30
7876,ADAMS,CLERK,7788,23-MAY-87 00:00:00,1100.00,,20
7900,JAMES,CLERK,7698,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,950.00,,30
7902,FORD,ANALYST,7566,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7934,MILLER,CLERK,7782,23-JAN-82 00:00:00,1300.00,,10
End of file empfile.csv - 14 records retrieved

IS_OPEN

The IS_OPEN function determines whether or not the given file is open.

<status> BOOLEAN IS_OPEN(<file> FILE_TYPE)

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the file to be tested.

status

TRUE if the given file is open, FALSE otherwise.

NEW_LINE

The NEW_LINE procedure writes an end-of-line character sequence in the file.

NEW_LINE(<file> FILE_TYPE [, <lines> INTEGER ])

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the file to which end-of-line character sequences are to be written.

lines

Number of end-of-line character sequences to be written. The default is one.

Examples

A file containing a double-spaced list of employee records is written.

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY empno;
BEGIN
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory,v_filename,'w');
    FOR i IN emp_cur LOOP
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.empno);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.ename);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.job);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.mgr);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.hiredate);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.sal);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.comm);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.deptno);
        UTL_FILE.NEW_LINE(v_empfile,2);
    END LOOP;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Created file: ' || v_filename);
    UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
END;

Created file: empfile.csv

This file is then displayed:

C:\TEMP\EMPDIR>TYPE empfile.csv

7369,SMITH,CLERK,7902,17-DEC-80 00:00:00,800.00,,20

7499,ALLEN,SALESMAN,7698,20-FEB-81 00:00:00,1600.00,300.00,30

7521,WARD,SALESMAN,7698,22-FEB-81 00:00:00,1250.00,500.00,30

7566,JONES,MANAGER,7839,02-APR-81 00:00:00,2975.00,,20

7654,MARTIN,SALESMAN,7698,28-SEP-81 00:00:00,1250.00,1400.00,30

7698,BLAKE,MANAGER,7839,01-MAY-81 00:00:00,2850.00,,30

7782,CLARK,MANAGER,7839,09-JUN-81 00:00:00,2450.00,,10

7788,SCOTT,ANALYST,7566,19-APR-87 00:00:00,3000.00,,20

7839,KING,PRESIDENT,,17-NOV-81 00:00:00,5000.00,,10

7844,TURNER,SALESMAN,7698,08-SEP-81 00:00:00,1500.00,0.00,30

7876,ADAMS,CLERK,7788,23-MAY-87 00:00:00,1100.00,,20

7900,JAMES,CLERK,7698,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,950.00,,30

7902,FORD,ANALYST,7566,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,3000.00,,20

7934,MILLER,CLERK,7782,23-JAN-82 00:00:00,1300.00,,10

PUT

The PUT procedure writes a string to the given file. No end-of-line character sequence is written at the end of the string. Use the NEW_LINE procedure to add an end-of-line character sequence.

PUT(<file> FILE_TYPE, <buffer> { DATE | NUMBER | TIMESTAMP | VARCHAR2 })

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the file to which the given string is to be written.

buffer

Text to be written to the specified file.

Examples

The following example uses the PUT procedure to create a comma-delimited file of employees from the emp table.

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY empno;
BEGIN
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory,v_filename,'w');
    FOR i IN emp_cur LOOP
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.empno);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.ename);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.job);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.mgr);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.hiredate);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.sal);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.comm);
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,',');
        UTL_FILE.PUT(v_empfile,i.deptno);
        UTL_FILE.NEW_LINE(v_empfile);
    END LOOP;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Created file: ' || v_filename);
    UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
END;

Created file: empfile.csv

The following is the contents of empfile.csv created above:

C:\TEMP\EMPDIR>TYPE empfile.csv

7369,SMITH,CLERK,7902,17-DEC-80 00:00:00,800.00,,20
7499,ALLEN,SALESMAN,7698,20-FEB-81 00:00:00,1600.00,300.00,30
7521,WARD,SALESMAN,7698,22-FEB-81 00:00:00,1250.00,500.00,30
7566,JONES,MANAGER,7839,02-APR-81 00:00:00,2975.00,,20
7654,MARTIN,SALESMAN,7698,28-SEP-81 00:00:00,1250.00,1400.00,30
7698,BLAKE,MANAGER,7839,01-MAY-81 00:00:00,2850.00,,30
7782,CLARK,MANAGER,7839,09-JUN-81 00:00:00,2450.00,,10
7788,SCOTT,ANALYST,7566,19-APR-87 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7839,KING,PRESIDENT,,17-NOV-81 00:00:00,5000.00,,10
7844,TURNER,SALESMAN,7698,08-SEP-81 00:00:00,1500.00,0.00,30
7876,ADAMS,CLERK,7788,23-MAY-87 00:00:00,1100.00,,20
7900,JAMES,CLERK,7698,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,950.00,,30
7902,FORD,ANALYST,7566,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7934,MILLER,CLERK,7782,23-JAN-82 00:00:00,1300.00,,10

PUT_LINE

The PUT_LINE procedure writes a single line to the given file including an end-of-line character sequence.

PUT_LINE(<file> FILE_TYPE, <buffer> { DATE | NUMBER | TIMESTAMP | VARCHAR2 })

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the file to which the given line is to be written.

buffer

Text to be written to the specified file.

Examples

The following example uses the PUT_LINE procedure to create a comma-delimited file of employees from the emp table.

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    v_emprec        VARCHAR2(120);
    CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY empno;
BEGIN
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory,v_filename,'w');
    FOR i IN emp_cur LOOP
        v_emprec := i.empno || ',' || i.ename || ',' || i.job || ',' ||
            NVL(LTRIM(TO_CHAR(i.mgr,'9999')),'') || ',' || i.hiredate ||
            ',' || i.sal || ',' ||
            NVL(LTRIM(TO_CHAR(i.comm,'9990.99')),'') || ',' || i.deptno;
        UTL_FILE.PUT_LINE(v_empfile,v_emprec);
    END LOOP;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Created file: ' || v_filename);
    UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
END;

The following is the contents of empfile.csv created above:

C:\TEMP\EMPDIR>TYPE empfile.csv

7369,SMITH,CLERK,7902,17-DEC-80 00:00:00,800.00,,20
7499,ALLEN,SALESMAN,7698,20-FEB-81 00:00:00,1600.00,300.00,30
7521,WARD,SALESMAN,7698,22-FEB-81 00:00:00,1250.00,500.00,30
7566,JONES,MANAGER,7839,02-APR-81 00:00:00,2975.00,,20
7654,MARTIN,SALESMAN,7698,28-SEP-81 00:00:00,1250.00,1400.00,30
7698,BLAKE,MANAGER,7839,01-MAY-81 00:00:00,2850.00,,30
7782,CLARK,MANAGER,7839,09-JUN-81 00:00:00,2450.00,,10
7788,SCOTT,ANALYST,7566,19-APR-87 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7839,KING,PRESIDENT,,17-NOV-81 00:00:00,5000.00,,10
7844,TURNER,SALESMAN,7698,08-SEP-81 00:00:00,1500.00,0.00,30
7876,ADAMS,CLERK,7788,23-MAY-87 00:00:00,1100.00,,20
7900,JAMES,CLERK,7698,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,950.00,,30
7902,FORD,ANALYST,7566,03-DEC-81 00:00:00,3000.00,,20
7934,MILLER,CLERK,7782,23-JAN-82 00:00:00,1300.00,,10

PUTF

The PUTF procedure writes a formatted string to the given file.

PUTF(<file> FILE_TYPE, <format> VARCHAR2 [, <arg1> VARCHAR2] [, ...])

Parameters

file

Variable of type FILE_TYPE containing the file handle of the file to which the formatted line is to be written.

format

String to format the text written to the file. The special character sequence, %s, is substituted by the value of arg. The special character sequence, \n, indicates a new line. Note, however, in Advanced Server, a new line character must be specified with two consecutive backslashes instead of one - \\n. This characteristic is not compatible with Oracle databases.

arg1

Up to five arguments, arg1,...arg5, to be substituted in the format string for each occurrence of %s. The first arg is substituted for the first occurrence of %s, the second arg is substituted for the second occurrence of %s, etc.

Examples

The following anonymous block produces formatted output containing data from the emp table. Note the use of the E literal syntax and double backslashes for the new line character sequence in the format string which are not compatible with Oracle databases.

DECLARE
    v_empfile       UTL_FILE.FILE_TYPE;
    v_directory     VARCHAR2(50) := 'empdir';
    v_filename      VARCHAR2(20) := 'empfile.csv';
    v_format        VARCHAR2(200);
    CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY empno;
BEGIN
    v_format := E'%s %s, %s\\nSalary: $%s Commission: $%s\\n\\n';
    v_empfile := UTL_FILE.FOPEN(v_directory,v_filename,'w');
    FOR i IN emp_cur LOOP
        UTL_FILE.PUTF(v_empfile,v_format,i.empno,i.ename,i.job,i.sal,
            NVL(i.comm,0));
    END LOOP;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Created file: ' || v_filename);
    UTL_FILE.FCLOSE(v_empfile);
EXCEPTION
    WHEN OTHERS THEN
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLERRM: ' || SQLERRM);
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('SQLCODE: ' || SQLCODE);
END;

Created file: empfile.csv

The following is the contents of empfile.csv created above:

C:\TEMP\EMPDIR>TYPE empfile.csv
7369 SMITH, CLERK
Salary: $800.00 Commission: $0
7499 ALLEN, SALESMAN
Salary: $1600.00 Commission: $300.00
7521 WARD, SALESMAN
Salary: $1250.00 Commission: $500.00
7566 JONES, MANAGER
Salary: $2975.00 Commission: $0
7654 MARTIN, SALESMAN
Salary: $1250.00 Commission: $1400.00
7698 BLAKE, MANAGER
Salary: $2850.00 Commission: $0
7782 CLARK, MANAGER
Salary: $2450.00 Commission: $0
7788 SCOTT, ANALYST
Salary: $3000.00 Commission: $0
7839 KING, PRESIDENT
Salary: $5000.00 Commission: $0
7844 TURNER, SALESMAN
Salary: $1500.00 Commission: $0.00
7876 ADAMS, CLERK
Salary: $1100.00 Commission: $0
7900 JAMES, CLERK
Salary: $950.00 Commission: $0
7902 FORD, ANALYST
Salary: $3000.00 Commission: $0
7934 MILLER, CLERK
Salary: $1300.00 Commission: $0
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