Introduction

Transferring and manipulating data was once the job of trained database administrators. With data the driving factor in markets that require reaction time in terms of minutes, having the information available to analyze is the key to making informed and accurate decisions for your organization. Getting data in and out of SQL Server is a common task, and several tools are available in SQL Server 2000 to accomplish this task. Whether it s importing data from heterogeneous systems such other databases or exporting data for use in other database or user applications such as OLAP solutions, Microsoft SQL Server can get the job done with as little as a few clicks of the mouse.

Tools such as SQL Server s Data Transformation Services (DTS) have become such important components in database solutions that it is difficult to remember how these tasks were accomplished before they were available. SQL Server 2000 has made several enhancements to DTS, allowing access to tasks such as file transfers using FTP and nested package execution. Additional enhancements such as saving DTS packages to Visual Basic files and global variables make DTS a powerful programming tool for importing, exporting, and manipulating SQL Server data.

Traditional data import/export utilities are also available in SQL Server 2000. Bulk Copy (BCP), a longtime favorite of database administrators, is supported, as is T-SQL s BULK INSERT command. This chapter reviews each of these import/export methods and their advantages and disadvantages. You will learn when to use one method rather than another and...