Question

I am working on a project where (small) XML files need to lead to inserts in an Oracle 11g database.

I could write a tool with a file monitor on the directory the XML files are ftp’d to, translate the XML into insert statements, then connect to the database to run the inserts, but I wonder whether Oracle already has facilities available to do the same.

So I am looking for an Oracle 11g (or separate) tool that can automatically detect arrival of new files in some directory, and process these as an XML upload into the Oracle database (of course, the XML format has to conform to Oracle XML upload requirements).

Answer 1

If you are using Oracle Database 11gR2 the Oracle Scheduler has been enhanced to include a file watcher.

About File Watchers

A file watcher is a Scheduler object that defines the location, name,
and other properties of a file whose arrival on a system causes the
Scheduler to start a job. You create a file watcher and then create
any number of event-based jobs or event schedules that reference the
file watcher. When the file watcher detects the arrival of the
designated file, it raises a file arrival event. The job started by
the file arrival event can retrieve the event message to learn about
the newly arrived file. The message contains the information required
to find the file, open it, and process it.

A file watcher can watch for a file on the local system (the same host
computer running Oracle Database) or a remote system. Remote systems
must be running the Scheduler agent, and the agent must be registered
with the database.

You can use this functionality to “kick off” the routine you need to insert the XML into database tables.