Q64495: ISAMIO.EXE /I Imports ASCII Text File into BASIC ISAM File
Article: Q64495
Product(s): See article
Version(s): 7.00 7.10
Operating System(s): MS-DOS
Keyword(s): ENDUSER | SR# S900531-47 | mspl13_basic
Last Modified: 6-AUG-1990
You can convert an ASCII text file into a Microsoft BASIC Professional
Development System (PDS) ISAM database table by using the ISAMIO.EXE
utility with the /I (Import) option. This article describes how to use
the ISAMIO /I option.
This information applies to Microsoft BASIC Professional Development
System (PDS) versions 7.00 and 7.10 under MS-DOS.
The syntax for importing (converting) an ASCII file into an ISAM
database using the ISAMIO utility is as follows:
ISAMIO /I ASCIIFIL.TXT DATBASE.MDB TABLNAME SPECFIL.TXT [options]
ASCIIFIL.TXT can have two formats. It can appear in a fixed-width
format where certain data appears in fixed columns of the file. The
ISAMIO /F option is required for a file of this type. The file can
also be comma delimited with string data enclosed in double quotation
marks. In this format, blank spaces should not be used between the
fields and the commas. If blank spaces are inserted between the commas
and the data, an "Unable to Parse column xx of line xx" error may
occur.
The DATBASE.MDB and TABLNAME are names of the ISAM database and table
into which the ASCII file is to be imported. If DATBASE.MDB or
TABLNAME doesn't already exist, PROISAMD support must be available to
create them. A related ISAMIO.EXE error message is as follows:
ISAM command is not available" (in 7.00 or 7.10)
This error message displays when PROISAM capability is currently
installed but PROISAMD capability is needed (to create a new ISAM
database or table). To avoid this error, do one of the following:
1. If you ran SETUP.EXE with the "ISAM Routines in TSR" option, load
PROISAMD.EXE instead of PROISAM.EXE.
2. If you ran SETUP with "ISAM Routines in LIB, Support Database
Access Only" option, run SETUP again and choose "ISAM Routines in
LIB, Support Database Creation and Access."
If the database and table already exist and you use the ISAMIO /A
(Append) option, you can use either PROISAM or PROISAMD.
SPECFIL.TXT is the file that ISAMIO uses to specify the data type and
size for each column of a table. Each line of the file relates to a
column of the table. The format is as follows:
[fixedwidthsize,][type,[size],[columnname]]
The fields in SPECFIL.TXT can be separated by spaces or commas. The
"fixedwidthsize" field is valid only if the /F option is used. It just
specifies the size of the field to read from ASCIIFIL.TXT.
The "type" field in SPECFIL.TXT is one of the indexable ISAM data
TYPEs. In the case of arrays, user-defined TYPEs, and strings longer
than 255 characters, the "type" field must be specified as binary. If
the "type" field is specified as variabletext (vt) or variablestring
(vs), the "size" field must appear. The "size" field for string data
tells ISAMIO the size of the field to put the string data into. The
"size" field can be smaller, which truncates input data, or larger,
which allows a larger string to be input later. These two types are
the same except that variabletext (vt) is case insensitive while
variablestring (vs) is case sensitive. Note that BASIC PDS' use of
string data is case insensitive (that is, all comparisons made are
case insensitive). Therefore, even if variablestring is specified, it
is converted to variabletext.
The "columnname" field in SPECFIL.TXT is any valid ISAM column name,
but it is ignored if the /C option is used.
The ISAMIO options that you can use for importing a file (/I) are /C,
/F, and /A. The following table describes these options:
Option Description
------ -----------
/A Tells ISAMIO that you are importing ASCIIFIL.TXT and
appending it to an existing table (TABLNAME). If /A is
specified, column names cannot appear in ASCIIFIL.TXT
(the /C option), only data. If you use the /A and /C
options together, the following error message displays:
APPEND & COLUMN_NAMES conflicts
The SPECFIL.TXT file cannot appear on a command line that
contains the /A option. ISAMIO uses the format of the
existing table that is being appended to. If SPECFIL.TXT
is specified along with the /A option, the following error
message displays:
APPEND and specfile conflicts
If the table does not exist within the specified database
(DATBASE.MDB), ISAMIO displays the following error message:
Can't Open Table "TABLNAME"
/C Tells ISAMIO that the ISAM table's column names should be
taken from the first line of ASCIIFIL.TXT. These column
names need to be separated by a space, comma, or any
combination thereof. If a column name is not consistent
with the ISAM naming convention, ISAM displays the error
message "Invalid Name." If this option is not specified
when importing a new table, ISAMIO looks at SPECFIL.TXT
for the column names. If ISAMIO doesn't find a column name
in SPECFIL.TXT, it displays an error message that tells
you that you must specify a column name in SPECFIL.TXT.
/F Tells ISAMIO that the text to be imported is of a
fixed-width format (already in columns of a certain
length). The size of the fixed-width format must be
specified in the first column of SPECFIL.TXT. If the /F
option is not used, the data in the fields of ASCIIFIL.TXT
are assumed to be delimited by commas, with string data
enclosed in double quotation marks. If you use /F and one
of the fields is shorter than the specified length, you
will receive the error message "Unable to parse column xx
of line xx," where "column" refers to the column of a
table.
Depending on how you ran SETUP.EXE, the ISAMIO.EXE utility will be
built either to run as a stand-alone program or to require the
terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) form of ISAM. A separate article,
found by querying in this Knowledge Base on the following words,
discusses this topic:
SETUP and builds and ISAMIO
When you run ISAMIO and receive one of the following error messages,
you must install the PROISAM.EXE or PROISAMD.EXE TSR program if you
are running MS-DOS; if you are running OS/2, you must put PROISAM.DLL
or PROISAMD.DLL in your LIBPATH:
ISAMIO: ISAM TSR is not loaded" (in 7.00 under MS-DOS)
ISAMIO : error: ISAM DLL not found" (in 7.10 under MS-DOS or OS/2)
The following are some examples of importing different ASCII files:
Example 1
---------
The contents of ASCIIFIL.TXT are as follows:
CustomerName Address CustomerNumber
Huck Finn 1606 Crest Dr. 3490
Joe Henry 893 S. Scenic 5620
Billy Bob 143 Maple St 0894
The contents of SPECFIL.TXT are as follows (where BASIC PDS ISAM treats
vt and vs the same way):
12,vt,20
16,vs,16
4,integer
Invoke ISAMIO.EXE in MS-DOS as follows:
ISAMIO /I ASCIIFIL.TXT CUSTOMER.MDB TABLE1 SPECFIL.TXT /C/F
Example 2
---------
The contents of ASCIIFIL.TXT are as follows:
"Huck Finn","1606 Crest Dr.",3490
"Joe Henry","893 S. Scenic",5620
"Billy Bob","143 Maple St",0894
The contents of SPECFIL.TXT are as follows:
12,vt,20,CustomerName
16,vs,16,Address
4,integer,CustomerNumber
Invoke ISAMIO.EXE in MS-DOS as follows:
ISAMIO /I ASCIIFIL.TXT CUSTOMER.MDB TABLE2 SPECFIL.TXT
Example 3: Appending a File to an Existing ISAM Table
------------------------------------------------------
The following example shows how to append an ASCII file to an existing
ISAM table:
The contents of APENDFIL.TXT are as follows:
"John Doe","1387 Main Blvd.",2490
Note that a SPECFIL.TXT file is not used when appending a file to the
ISAM table. Invoke ISAMIO.EXE as follows:
ISAMIO /I APENDFIL.TXT CUSTOMER.MDB TABLE2 /A
For more information on how to use ISAMIO, see Pages 389-391, Chapter
10, "ISAM Utilities," of the "Microsoft BASIC 7.0: Programmer's Guide"
for versions 7.00 and 7.10.
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