Using file tables of SQL server 2012 in PowerBuilder

[Former Member]

Hi ,

Any anyone have any experience in using FILE TABLES (SQL server 2012 ) with PowerBuilder ?

What is so special about it ?!

Regards

Ahmed

[Former Member]

Hi Ahmed;

Sounds like MicroSoft is trying to emulate Oracle's External File feature. Unfortunately, they seem to have got the implementation wrong. In Oracle, you can map a Table to an external file - however, you can also map the field delimitation as well (ie: field => Column). That way, when you do a "Select C1, C2, C3 ... From External_Table", Oracle reads the file data stream and returns you an ANSI result set. Thus, PB and the DWO can handle this transparently.

  Looks like MS did not understand the Field=>Column mapping concept and just leaving the file externally versus making it a blob. Newer versions of ASE have the Oracle external File implementation correct.

  The main reason for External File tables in Oracle is to assist the DBA or Developer in importing external data that gets refreshed often and/or also needs validation before being stored in structured DBMS tables.

Regards ... Chris

[Former Member]

it seems the 'advantage' is to allow non sql access to the files, as well as non transactional access to the file:  "the special thing is that you can access these files and directories from windows applications as if they were stored in the file system."

then the question is why would you bother using sql sever to manage this.  i guess so that you can  back it up with all of your other sql server data as well as provide access to it via sql. 

It seems that powerbuilder could access the files either via blob processing or via the file system

[Former Member]

I doubt (but feel free to prove me wrong) that PB can support filetables using datawindows or embedded sql. 

As far as "what good are they", I can't say.  I can't really see a good reason to store files in a database, but this feature at least allows access to those files using standard file APIs (i.e., without having to access them via DML over a database connection). Blob handling isn't exactly easy in PB, so there is that advantage.