The information in this section applies only to environments in which the release of both SQL*Loader and Oracle Database are 11g release 1 (11.1) or later. It does not apply to environments in which either SQL*Loader, Oracle Database, or both are at an earlier release.
In the SQL*Loader control file, the description of the field corresponding to a REF column consists of the column name followed by a REF clause. The REF clause takes as arguments the table name and any attributes applicable to the type of REF column being loaded. The table names can either be specified dynamically (using filler fields) or as constants. The table name can also be specified with or without the schema name.
Whether the table name specified in the REF clause is specified as a constant or by using a filler field, it is interpreted as case-sensitive. This could result in the following situations:
If user SCOTT creates a table named table2 in lowercase without quotation marks around the table name, then it can be used in a REF clause in any of the following ways:
REF(constant 'TABLE2', ...)
REF(constant '"TABLE2"', ...)
REF(constant 'SCOTT.TABLE2', ...)
If user SCOTT creates a table named "Table2" using quotation marks around a mixed-case name, then it can be used in a REF clause in any of the following ways:
REF(constant 'Table2', ...)
REF(constant '"Table2"', ...)
REF(constant 'SCOTT.Table2', ...)
In both of those situations, if constant is replaced with a filler field, then the same values as shown in the examples will also work if they are placed in the data section.