Relative Positioning of Fields

This section describes how SQL*Loader determines the starting position of a field in the following situations:

No Start Position Specified for a Field

When a starting position is not specified for a field, it begins immediately after the end of the previous field. Figure 10-2 illustrates this situation when the previous field (Field 1) has a predetermined size.

Figure 10-2 Relative Positioning After a Fixed Field

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Description of "Figure 10-2 Relative Positioning After a Fixed Field "

Previous Field Terminated by a Delimiter

If the previous field (Field 1) is terminated by a delimiter, then the next field begins immediately after the delimiter, as shown in Figure 10-3.

Figure 10-3 Relative Positioning After a Delimited Field

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Description of "Figure 10-3 Relative Positioning After a Delimited Field "

Previous Field Has Both Enclosure and Termination Delimiters

When a field is specified with both enclosure delimiters and a termination delimiter, then the next field starts after the termination delimiter, as shown in Figure 10-4. If a nonwhitespace character is found after the enclosure delimiter, but before the terminator, then SQL*Loader generates an error.

Figure 10-4 Relative Positioning After Enclosure Delimiters

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Description of "Figure 10-4 Relative Positioning After Enclosure Delimiters "