CSV in Databases: COPY, LOAD DATA, and Bulk Import
Load CSV files into databases using PostgreSQL COPY, MySQL LOAD DATA INFILE, and SQLite .import. Handle nulls, delimiters, and encoding issues.
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Tags: csv, database, import
CSV in Databases: COPY, LOAD DATA INFILE, and Bulk Import Strategies Loading CSV data into a database sounds straightforward until it isn't. Mismatched column counts, encoding issues, dates in five different formats, NULL represented as empty strings or the literal text "NULL" — all of these will silently corrupt data or blow up your import job. This guide covers the right way to do bulk CSV loading in PostgreSQL, MySQL, and SQLite, along with the staging table pattern for handling errors gracefully. --- PostgreSQL: COPY is PostgreSQL's native bulk loader. It bypasses row-by-row INSERT overhead and is dramatically faster — typically 10-50x for large files. Basic Usage The meta-command (lowercase) is the client-side equivalent — it reads from the client's filesystem, not the server's, and…
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