Text/CSV Database

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PerfectForms™ has a connection type that allows a text (ASCII, delimited) file to be treated as a database. The idea is to support the following:

 

•Lookups into small data lists. Such lists can easily be managed by Excel or just a text editor.
•Ability to generate CSV-type data that can then easily be imported into other systems.

 

 

Requirements

 

•The use of text databases requires the prior installation of the PerfectForms™ connection agent.
•You will need to store your text files in a location that can be accessed by the connection agent.
•The text file database must exist before any attempt to connect to it and must have read/write permissions.
•The first row of the file must contain header information (column names).

 

 

Configuring the Connection Manager's config.xml

 

You will need to include the following in the config.xml file of the PerfectForms™ connection agent. (See the Connection Agent topics for additional information.)

 

<datasource name ="<Your Source Name>" id="<unique id number>" server="<x:/path/folder/>" port="" type="csv">

    <database name ="<filename>" id="<unique id number>"  db="<filename>" delete="<true|false> insert="<true|false>"

     user="" password="" separator="," login="*"/>

</datasource>

 

 

Below is an example:

 

<datasource name ="My Text Database" id="10" server="c:/csvfiles/" port="" type="csv">

    <database name ="db.csv" id="11"  db="db.csv" delete="false" insert="true" user="" password="" separator="," login="*"/>

</datasource>

 

 

Required Parameters

 

•Name parameter - This is the alias that will be displayed in connections within PerfectForms™.
•ID parameter - This is the internal unique ID for this datasource.
•Server parameter - This is the path to the folder containing text file(s) to connect to (e.g. "c:/csvfiles/" for windows, "/usr/csvfiles/" for linux).
•Type parameter - This must be "csv".
•- port parameter - This is not used.

Updated: 06/12/2011  Page url: http://www.perfectforms.com/Documentation/manual/html/?integration_connections__text_.htm
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