A bulk load configuration file is created when either a table or a result set is exported to a bulk load data file. This file has the same name as the bulk load data file, but with an .xml extension.
The bulk load configuration file defines in its metadata the names and data types of the columns in the bulk load data file. The file defines these names and data types based on the table or result set created by the query that exported the data.
It also defines other data properties, such as length for character and binary data types, the character encoding code page for character types, precision and scale for numeric types, and nullablity for all types.
When a bulk load data file cannot read its configuration file, the following defaults are assumed:
• All data is read in as character data. Each value between commas is read as character data.
• The default character set is defined, on Windows, by the current Windows code page. On UNIX/Linux, it is the IANAAppCodePage value, which defaults to 4.
For example, the format of the bulk load data file GBMAXTABLE.csv (discussed in Exporting Data from a Database) is defined by the bulk load configuration file, GBMAXTABLE.xml, as follows:
