How to output a file using tab delimiter in Netezza NZSQL

Question

I am trying to output some files using the NZSQL CLI, but cannot output as tab delimited files. Can anyone who worked on NZ share their thoughts on this command below.

Tried so far: -

nzsql  -o sample.txt -F=  -A -t -c  "SELECT * FROM DW_ETL.USER WHERE datasliceid % 20 = 2 LIMIT 5;"

Answer 1

To specify a tab as a delimiter, use $ in combination with the -F option.

nzsql  -o sample.txt -F $'\t'  -A -t -c  "SELECT * FROM DW_ETL.USER WHERE datasliceid % 20 = 2 LIMIT 5;"

This is documented in the output of nzsql -h.

nzsql -h
This is nzsql, the IBM Netezza SQL interactive terminal.

Usage:
  nzsql [options] [security options] [dbname [username] [password]]

Security Options:
  -securityLevel       Security Level you wish to request (default: preferredUnSecured)
  -caCertFile          ROOT CA certificate file (default: NULL)

Options:
  -a                   Echo all input from script
  -A                   Unaligned table output mode (-P format=unaligned)
  -c <query>           Run only single query (or slash command) and exit
  -d <dbname>          Specify database name to connect to (default: system)
  -D <dbname>          Specify database name to connect to (default: system)
  -schema <schemaname> Specify schema name to connect to (default: $NZ_SCHEMA)
  -e                   Echo queries sent to backend
  -E                   Display queries that internal commands generate
  -f <filename>        Execute queries from file, then exit
  -F <string>          Set field separator (default: "|") (-P fieldsep=)
                       For any binary/control/non-printable character use '$'
                       (e.g., nzsql -F $'\t' // for TAB)
...

If you have a lot of data, I would recommend using external tables instead.

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE '/tmp/sample.txt' USING (DELIMITER '\t') 
AS SELECT * FROM DW_ETL.USER WHERE datasliceid % 20 = 2 LIMIT 5;