Sampling large data files

Question

I am currently working as a Data Warehouse programmer and therefore must place numerous flat files through the ETL process. Of course, before downloading a file, I need to know about its contents, the problem is that most files are> 1 GB in size, and I can’t open them using my dear friend Notepad. Just kidding. I usually use VIM or Notepad ++, but it takes some time to open the file. Can I "partially" read a file using VIM or some other editor?

PS I know that I could write a 10 liner script in the “sample data” of this file, but it would be easier to convince team members to use the editor function, not the script I wrote.

Thank you for your understanding.

Answer 1

If you want to use vim, you can look at the LargeFile script.

As an alternative, I always found that UltraEdit very quickly opens large files.

Answer 2

You said you have VIM, which makes you wonder if you have a unix environment?

If you like, you can connect the input through the unix utility topand display the original import on the screen. Like this:

EDIT : (thanks Honk)

terminal$> head -N 15 file.csv

(where 15 means you want to see only 15 lines).

Answer 3

There are quite a lot of similar questions, but hey, Textpad is a good choice for this.

Answer 4

use the head command.

Answer 5

Use "less" on solaris ... use the same via cygwin on windows. This problem does not appear on mainframes; the ISPF editor handles it pretty well.

Answer 6

UltraEdit claims to process files over 4 GB ...