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Nucleus, Sybase IQ and Netezza for Oracle users

A brief guide of Nuclues, Sybase IQ and Netezza database for Oracle users.

Other database concept for those coming from Oracle background

Nucleus is currently known as “Sand Analytic Server”

Category Oracle Nucleus Sybase IQ Netezza

Interface
Usability & OLTP & DSS DSS DSS DSS
application Only extensive Only extensive read Only extensive read
read operation operation operation
SQL Plus sqlplus nisqlm isql –U user_name – nzsql dbname user
user/password@dbname connection_name P password –S password
dbname server
command terminates user/password command terminates
by ; command terminates by ; or \g
by “go” on a
separate line
GUI based admin Oracle Enterprise Sand Enterprise Sybase Central Java
tool Manager Manager edition
Import/export imp / exp ndlm
Loading data from sqlldr ndlm nzload
file can only load data can both load and
unload data
to/from database
Server engine Oracle instance and Nserv, Octopus
background processes
Configuration tool Net Config Assistant nconfig
Data config file Control files, nucleus.ini under $SYBASE/interfaces
tnsnames.ora, /usr/nuclues
listener.ora

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Creating a Use create database nconfig dbname

database command in sqlplus
Starting database Startup command in nserv
instance sqlplus connection_name
instance_name
Concurrency Octopus
manager?
Starting database sqlplus /nolog nserv start_asiq
SQL>conn sys/pwd@db connection_name demodb.db
as sysdba instance_name
SQL>startup
Must be run from
box where database
server installed
locally
Stopping database SQL>shutdown Use stop_asiq or
dbstop command
Database logical Schema, user, table, Schema, user,
objects view, PL/SQL table, view only
procedure/function,
package and much
more
Types of indices B Tree and Bitmap Both but Bitmap
mainly type is used
extensively
Referential Primary/foreign Primary/foreign Primary/foreign
integrity keys/Not null values keys/ Not null keys/ Not null
values values
Logging of Redo log files Change files
operation (purely for recovery (often form part
purpose) of data files)
Data consistency After After applying
commit/rollback changes
Querying past data Flashback query Time travel

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Usually for a short Even for a long

period in the past period on the past
Backup & Restore Relevant files can Backup is carried
be backed up OS at OS level only
level (physical) or (physical).
using RMAN (logical)
Maintenance Complicated to Easier to manage.
maintain – usually Dedicated DBA not
dedicated DBA is essential.
required
Client connection Add in tnsnames.ora Create connection
name in DSN using
ODBC
Internals
Physical component Data files, control Data files, log
files files, Redo log files
files
Memory processes DBWn, SMON, PMON,
LGWR, CKPT etc.
Way data is stored Data is stored in Updates in Redo Data is stored in
data files. Redo log logs are treated *.iq file
changes are as data files!
frequently saved to Such data is
data files. merged with main
data files only
when user wants.
Database has to be
dismounted to
apply redo log
changes.
Logical data Tablespace -< data Dbspace -< data
division files files (dbname.iq
file)
Metadata storage System & Sysaux Catalog store,

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tablespaces named as dbname.db

for first physical
file
Storing of records A row of data is Data is stored
on disk blocks stored at one place column wise
in the disk. (Domain concept).
Unique column
values are indexed
in separate table
and index is
stored instead of
data.
Transportation of Thru transportable Usually copying
database table spaces but bit all relevant files
complex process. and configuring
similar database
in another system
is easier.
Specific examples
Unix environmental $ORACLE_HOME $SYBASE
variables
Selecting first Select * from table Select * from Select top 100 * Select * from
(or random) 100 where rownum < 101 schema.table with from schema.table schema.table limit
records sample of 100 100
See database Select * from Select * from
tables dba_tables (or sys.systable
dba_views) Shows tables &
views
Seeing what SQL Select * from
are running sa_conn_activity()
View procedure Select * from
code sys.sysprocedure

Create a copy of a Create table Select * into

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table new_table as select new_table from

* from old_table old_table where 1=2
where 1=2
Note: if #new_table is
used, it is created as
temporary table which
only exists in the same
session
Saving data to commit commit [saved in commit
database session only]

commit work [saved

permanently]

shutdown immediate
keep change [saved
permanently with
entry point]
Running an SQL In SQL Plus In Nisqlm
file within SQL SQL>@filename.sql SQL> .run
prompt filename.sql
To rename a table RENAME TABLE ALTER TABLE ALTER TABLE
current_name TO schema.old_name current_name RENAME
new_name RENAME new_name TO new_name

NOTE: An Oracle vs Sybase comparison is available here.

http://www.rocket99.com/sybase/syb_vs_ora.html

Nucleus examples (similarities in line with Oracle)

Logging on to a database using nisqlm

nisqlm gwgr00 ltgroup0 dba/chuffer

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Unloading (i.e. extracting data) a table (not all columns) using ndlm

ndlm gwgr00 ltgroup0 dba/chuffer sample_ndlm_config.ndl

The ndl file is similar to Oracle SQL Loader’s control file.

Sample ndl file for above command –

export @/usr/users/cp_dev/sbasak/nuc_extract.txt

NULL ""

RECORD
{
CAMPAIGN_ID *|
CAMPAIGN_NAME *\n
}
select campaign_id, campaign_name from cas.campaign_history_lookup with sample of 10;
}

If you are unloading all fields you can use “select *” also.

Sample ndl file for loading data into database

import @/MHDS2/dev/ltsbcp/cas/data/mfs/partitions/mfs_4way_0/load/GI_REP_FORECAST_R2L.dat
@/MHDS2/dev/ltsbcp/cas/data/mfs/partitions/mfs_4way_1/load/GI_REP_FORECAST_R2L.dat
@/MHDS2/dev/ltsbcp/cas/data/mfs/partitions/mfs_4way_2/load/GI_REP_FORECAST_R2L.dat
@/MHDS2/dev/ltsbcp/cas/data/mfs/partitions/mfs_4way_3/load/GI_REP_FORECAST_R2L.dat

NULL ""

RECORD
{

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product *\t
media *\t
date_sequence *\t
cum_perc_total_sales *\t
sum_sale_ind_keys *\t
sum_sale_ind *\t
cum_sales_total *\n
}
CAS.GI_REP_FORECAST
{
product product
media media
date_sequence date_sequence
cum_perc_total_sales cum_perc_total_sales
sum_sale_ind sum_sale_ind
cum_sales_total cum_sales_total
}
}

The above file can be called by ndlm in following fashion.

ndlm -u gwgr99_dev ltgroup_dev dba/ gen_GI_REP_FORECAST.ndl

A more efficient command example is (using parallel read/write)

nohup ndlm -f 32768 -d -b -u -w -k 4 -j 4 -e /tmp/campaign_history_adhoc_load2.err ltb99ut

ltbcas_ute DBA/BLUESKY /tmp/campaign_history_adhoc_load2.ndl > /tmp/adhoc_load.log &

Describe a table (like desc table_name in SQL plus)

-- DESCRIBE A TABLE
SELECT
C.COLNO
,C.NAME
,D.TYPE
,C.LENGTH
,C.DOMAINID
,DN.NAME

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FROM
SYSTEM.TABLES T
JOIN SYSTEM.COLUMNS C ON T.TABLEID = C.TABLEID
JOIN SYSTEM.DATATYPES D ON C.DATATYPE = D.DATATYPE
JOIN SYSTEM.DOMAINS DN ON C.DOMAINID = DN.DOMAINID
WHERE
T.TABLEID = (SELECT TABLEID FROM SYSTEM.TABLES WHERE NAME = UPPER('CAMPAIGN_HISTORY_LOOKUP'))
AND T.SCHEMAID = (SELECT SCHEMAID FROM SYSTEM.SCHEMAS WHERE NAME = UPPER('CAS'))
ORDER BY 1
;

Running an SQL command from OS command prompt

nisqlm connection_name db_name uid/pwd < filename.sql

nisqlm ccms99 ltbcms_dev dba/nucl3us < /usr/users/cp_dev/sbasak/test.sql

To exit from nisqlm, type .exit at the SQL> prompt.

How to find the dependent objects in Nucleus?

Usually most dependent objects on a table are views.

You can find that information from SYSTEM.VIEWTEXT table in Nucleus.

Nserv and Octopus

In Nucleus, it is important to understand the difference between nserv and Octopus.

Nserv is the database engine. There can be only one active nserv connection to any database at
any time. If you try to log in to database with another nserv session, the previous connection
will be automatically disconnected. With nserv connection, you have unrestricted access to
database.

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With Octopus connection, you can log in to database and modify data but your changes will not be
visible to other users (either nserv or another Octopus connection). With octopus, you can never
make any permanent changes to the database. The advantage of using octopus is that, several
users can use their own what-if scenarios with their own data – without actually affecting other
users (as they won’t see this data). As a result, COMMIT WORK statement will work only on nserv
connection and not on octopus connection.

Sybase IQ examples (similarities in line with Oracle)

Viewing a table structure

select
t.table_id
,t.table_name
,t.table_type
,c.column_id
,c.column_name
,c.column_type
,c.pkey
,c.nulls
,c.width
,d.domain_name
,t.view_def
from
sys.systable t
join sys.syscolumn c on t.table_id = c.table_id
join sys.sysdomain d on c.domain_id = d.domain_id
where
t.table_name = upper('experian_omnibase')
and user_name(creator) = 'CAS'

This query is similar to querying DBA_TABLES in Oracle.

To see what SQLs are currently running on database, run this command

Sp_iqcontext

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To see database status (free space etc.) use

sp_iqstatus

ISQL commands sample

Log in to database as (either from database server of from client box – if available)
isql -S lbgw_qa -U DBA -P SQL

Quit from isql by typing quit.

Sybase IQ architecture

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IQ Store = Oracle’s logical tablespace which contains physical data file(s). In Sybase IQ, the
data are actually indexes.
Catalog store = Sybase IQ tables are logically defined here (i.e. table metadata) somewhat
similar to Oracle’s System/Sysaux tablespace. It contains system tables and all stored
procedures. Only one catalog store per database.

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IQ Temporary store = Oracle’s temporary tablespace

IQ Message log = Like Oracle’s alert log file
IQ Transaction log = Like Oracle’s Undo tablespace. Used for rollback/roll forward changes.

Sybase IQ Extract file (unload data from database)

SET TEMPORARY OPTION TIMESTAMP_FORMAT='YYYYMMDDHHNNSS'

set temporary option temp_extract_column_delimiter='|'
set temporary option temp_extract_name1 ='/tmp/TABLE_EXTRACT.dat'
set temporary option temp_extract_name2 =''
set temporary option temp_extract_null_as_empty='ON'
set temporary option temp_extract_binary='OFF'
go
select field1, field2, field3 from my_schema.mytable where x=4
go

select * can also be used if all fields are required.

Sybase IQ load file (load data from database – like SQL Loader configuration file)

LOAD TABLE schema_name.table_name (

field1, field2, field3
)
FROM ‘/tmp/TABLE_EXTRACT.dat’
DELIMITED BY '|'
ESCAPES OFF
LOG DELIMITED BY '|'
IGNORE CONSTRAINT ALL 0
MESSAGE LOG '/MHDS1/dev/sky/olive/data/admin/log/TABLE_LOAD.msg'
ROW LOG '/MHDS1/dev/sky/cmd/data/admin/log/TABLE_LOAD.rej'
ONLY LOG ALL
NOTIFY 1000000
GO
COMMIT
GO

The above command should load data to database.

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Note: Unlike most loaders where each field in the file is separated by a field delimiter except
the last field which just has the row delimiter, Sybase IQ loader expects the last field to also
have the field delimiter and then followed by the row delimiter. The Unix “tr –d” command can be
used to remove newline characters from load files.

Sybase Stored procedure example

This sample stored procedure will create a procedure which will count records of all tables
under a given schema (user). This command can be run at isql prompt.

drop procedure get_table_summary;

go
create procedure cas.get_table_summary(in p_table_owner varchar(50) default 'gi_dev')
begin
declare tname varchar(100);
declare row_count integer;
declare x integer;
declare err_notfound exception for sqlstate value '02000';
-- get all tables under current user
declare c_table_details dynamic scroll cursor for select table_name from sys.systable where creator =
user_id(p_table_owner);
--check if the table exists
select count(*) into x from systable where table_name = 'table_summary';
if x = 0 then
-- create table
create table cas.table_summary(
table_name varchar(100) null,
no_rows numeric(10) null,
)
else
-- table already exists
message 'table already exists' to console;
DELETE FROM CAS.TABLE_SUMMARY;
COMMIT WORK;
end if;
open c_table_details with hold; -- Open the CURSOR for reading.
CalculationLoop: loop
-- Calculate summary for each table

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fetch next c_table_details into tname;

if sqlstate = err_notfound then
leave CalculationLoop -- without it will be an infinite loop!
end if;
--select count(*) into row_count from tname;
execute immediate 'select count(*) into row_count from ' || tname;
insert into table_summary values( tname,row_count) ;
commit work
end loop CalculationLoop;
close c_table_details
end

To execute the above stored procedure from isql prompt, use

exec get_table_summary(‘lb_prod’);
go

If execution is successful, it will show this => (return status = 0)

To see the source code of the procedure/function, execute this

select * from sysprocedure where proc_name = 'get_table_summary'

To create index in Sybase, use this command

CREATE HG INDEX index_name ON table_name(column_name)

In Sybase, if you get “Database page size error” when trying to issue “select * from tablename”,
execute this before “select * from tablename” command.

set temporary option FORCE_NO_SCROLL_CURSORS = 'ON'

It works in isql as well as 3rd party tools like WinSql.

Other Sybase caveats

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The IQ doesn’t have queues for requests of changing its objects, like other RDBMSes (SQL Server,
Oracle, ASE, ASA, MYSQL, DB2, etc) do. Therefore, every update/delete/insert/alter/create index
to a table/view/procedure locks the object and the second transaction that’s trying to make a
change, getting an error message. That’s why the IQ is not the right database to make
transactions. The cache mechanism needs a database that gets many transactions from the
application and can handle many update/delete/insert transactions. Therefore it uses ASA
(Adaptive Server Anywhere) as a transactional database to get the changes from the application
and the cache mechanism copy the new records to the IQ.

Netezza Examples

Show time –
dbname(user)=> select now();

Describe a table

In nzsql prompt, type \d TABLENAME

Loading data to a Netezza table from an external text file (similar to SQL Loader)

For example, /tmp/nztest.txt file contains

100
200
300

Log on to nzsql (eg. nzsql lbcccms_dev cms_dev L10yds01 – it may be necessary to log on from same box where
Netezza is installed or do an rsh/ssh if possible)

-- create external table

CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE ext_nztest SAMEAS nztest USING (dataobject ('/tmp/nztest.txt') compress
false format 'text');
-- load from external table (i.e. data file)

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insert into nztest select * from ext_nztest;

If input data is tab delimited, then the tab DELIMITER ' ' character should be inserted from
Unix prompt by pressing tab key(copy-paste from Windows won’t work)!

create external table X_AML_OFFER_LEVEL sameas AML_OFFER_LEVEL

using (
dataobject ('/tmp/AML_OFFER_LEVEL_rollover.dat')
dateStyle 'YMD'
dateDelim '-'
DELIMITER ' '
nullValue '' ctrlChars true ignoreZero true truncString true
);
insert into AML_OFFER_LEVEL select * from x_AML_OFFER_LEVEL;
drop table X_AML_OFFER_LEVEL;

It can be called using this command

/nz/kit/bin/nzsql -d lbcccms_dev -f /tmp/CB10932_nz_rollover_load.sql -u cms_dev -pw L10yds01 -o

/tmp/CB10932_nz_rollover_load.log

Netezza system tables

To see all users

Select * from _v_user

To see relationship/columns of a table

select
t.tablename
,t.objtype
,t.owner
,c.attname
,c.format_type

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from
_v_table t
join _v_relation_column c on t.objid = c.objid
where
t.tablename = lower('gi_uss')

Sybase stored procedures

create procedure get_tables_structure(@p_user varchar(100))

begin

declare tname varchar(100);

declare row_count integer;
declare val1 integer;
declare val2 integer;
declare err_notfound exception for sqlstate value '02000';
declare c_table_details dynamic scroll cursor for select t.table_name from sys.systable t where
user_name(creator) = @p_user;

execute immediate 'select count(*) into val2 from sys.systable where table_name = ''summary_table'' and
user_name(creator) = ''' || @p_user || '''' ;
if val2 = 1 then -- table exists, so truncate
execute immediate 'truncate table ' || @p_user || '.summary_table;';
else -- no table, so create
execute immediate '' ||
'CREATE TABLE summary_table (' ||
' "table_name" char(128) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "table_type" char(10) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "column_id" unsigned int NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "column_name" char(128) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "column_type" char(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "pkey" char(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "nulls" char(1) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "width" smallint NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL,' ||
' "domain_name" char(128) NOT NULL DEFAULT NULL)';
end if;

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commit work;

open c_table_details with hold;

CalculationLoop:
loop
fetch next c_table_details into tname;
if sqlstate = err_notfound then
leave CalculationLoop -- without it will be an infinite loop!
end if;
execute immediate 'select t.table_name ,t.table_type ,c.column_id ,c.column_name
,c.column_type ,c.pkey ,c.nulls ,c.width ,d.domain_name into ' || @p_user || '.temp_table1 from sys.systable t
join sys.syscolumn c on t.table_id = c.table_id join sys.sysdomain d on c.domain_id = d.domain_id where
t.table_name = ''' || tname || '''' ;
execute immediate 'insert into ' || @p_user || '.summary_table select * from ' || @p_user ||
'.temp_table1';
execute immediate 'drop table ' || @p_user || '.temp_table1';
end loop CalculationLoop;
commit work;
close c_table_details

end
go
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
exec get_tables_structure('lp_train_data');
go

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