Question

Using the table structure below how would I create a bcp bulk insert that would handle the XML data. It is important that this is run from command line.

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[MyTable](
[Id] [uniqueidentifier] NOT NULL DEFAULT (newid()),
[MyXmlField] [xml] NULL

Thanks in advance…

Answer 1

The basic syntax for using bcp is:

bcp <table_name> <direction> <file_name> <options> 

Where the arguments take the following values:

• table_name is the fully qualified
  name of the table. For example, you
  might use inventory.dbo.fruits to
  insert records into the fruits table,
  owned by the database owner, in the
  inventory database.
• direction indicates whether you want
  to import (“in” direction) or export
  (“out” direction) data.
• file_name is the full path to the
  file. For example, you could import
  the file C:\fruit\inventory.txt.
• options allow you to specify
  parameters for the bulk operation.
  For example, you can specify the
  maximum number of errors allowed with
  the –m option. You may also use the
  –x option to specify an XML file
  format. Consult Microsoft’s bcp
  documentation for a full list.

Will need more info to know what switches to use, but it should be somehting like

bcp database.dbo.MyTable in "C:\folder\xmlfile.xml" -c -T

-c Performs the operation using a character data type.
-T Specifies that the bcp utility connects to SQL Server with a trusted connection using integrated security.

Also here is Microsoft’s bcp Utility which should help you with knowing what switches to use.