BLOB vs. LONG RAW - size restrictions?

In the Oracle Lite 10g release notes, it states...
1.3.1 BLOB Support in the Oracle Lite Database
Most of the data is stored in the Oracle Lite database file with an ODB extension; any BLOB objects—either binary or character—and the indexes are stored in a file with an OBS extension.
Because BLOB data and indexes are stored in an OBS file, there is no limit for BLOB data or indexes. The limitation for BLOB data and indexes is the space limitations of the operating system or 16 terabytes. There still exists a 4 GB limitation for the ODB file; however, this is not as much of an issue now that BLOB data can be stored in the OBS files.
I have an application that stores "blobs" in a table using the LONG RAW data type. Is the data stored in columns of type LONG RAW stored in the ODB file (which is limited to 4 GB) or the OBS file?
Thanks!
Kelly

Long columns are limited to 2Gb lenght and are stored inline.
Ref. Oracle® Database Reference
10g Release 2 (10.2)
Part Number B14237-02
~ Madrid

Similar Messages

How can i get a LONG RAW size? Please help me.

Hi,
I have one table (record) that contain 2 fields,
image as LONG RAW and staffid as string.
How can i make the select statement to get the actual size for each image?
I have try to do " Select dbms_lob.getLength(image) as actualsize,staffid from record " ,
but it get error "ORA-00997:illegal use of LONG datatype"
Can any body help me ?thanks
Message was edited by:
user450549

LONG RAW and BLOB are very different data types. Oracle has been suggesting for quite a while that folks migrate from LONG RAW to BLOB-- it's much easier to work with BLOB data than LONG RAW data...
How much data, roughly, do you have in these columns. If it's relatively small, you may be able to use UTL_RAW.LENGTH. If it's longer, though, I believe you have to write a program that reads all the data and calculates the length as you go, which is obviously not particularly efficient...
Justin

BLOB or LONG RAW ?

Hi,
Who can explain to me what differences are between BLOB Format
and LONG RAW format ?? Which between the twice is better to store
picture and sound in a Oracle database.
It's for a application project in Developer V6 on the web.
Thanks,
Bart
null

Bart (guest) wrote:
: Hi,
: Who can explain to me what differences are between BLOB
Format
: and LONG RAW format ?? Which between the twice is better to
store
: picture and sound in a Oracle database.
: It's for a application project in Developer V6 on the web.
: Thanks,
: Bart
I would recommend to use blobs. This are the new datatypes in
Oracle8, they can store up to 4 GB (lang raw 2 GB); in addition,
lang raw are only for backward compatibility (see you oracle 8
documentation). Furthermore, you can use the dbms_lob package on
LOB datatypes to manipulate lob data in the database.
peter
null

PLSQL 을 사용해서 LONG RAW 를 BLOB 으로 바꾸는 방법

제품 : PL/SQL
작성날짜 : 2002-10-16
PLSQL 을 사용해서 LONG RAW 를 BLOB 으로 바꾸는 방법
======================================
PURPOSE
PLSQL 을 사용해서 LONG/LONG RAW 를 BLOB/CLOB 으로 바꾸는 방법을
예제를 통해 알아봅니다.
만일 Oracle 9i v9.x 를 이용하는 경우에는 다음 명령을 사용하실 수 있습니다.
ALTER TABLE 'TABLE with LONG column' MODIFY ('LONG column' CLOB)
또는
ALTER TABLE 'TABLE with LONG RAW column' MODIFY ('LONG RAW column' BLOB)
Example
Example #1
Example #1 은 LONG column 에 64k 이하의 data 가 있을 경우
PL/SQL 을 이용해서 BLOB 으로 바꾸는 예제 입니다.
-- table 을 drop 합니다.
drop table traw;
drop table tblob
-- table 을 생성합니다.
create table traw (n1 number , l1 long raw);
create table tblob (n1 number , l1 blob);
--- clob 도 사용 가능합니다.
-- table 에 insert 합니다.
begin
for i in 1..10 loop
insert into traw values (i,utl_raw.cast_to_raw(rpad(to_char(i),60,'&')));
insert into tblob values (i,empty_blob());
end loop;
end;
declare
lobloc blob;
buffer long raw(32000);
amount number ;
offset number := 1;
begin
for rec in (select * from traw) loop
select l1 into lobloc from tblob where n1=rec.n1 for update;
buffer := rec.l1;
amount := utl_raw.length(rec.l1);
dbms_lob.write(lobloc,utl_raw.length(rec.l1),1,buffer);
end loop;
end;
Example #2
다음은 PL/SQL 를 이용해서 LONG columns 을 BLOBs 로 변환하는
또 다른 방법입니다.
REM long2lob.sql
REM Version 1.0, last updated 8/8/97
REM This procedure copies LONG data into a CLOB, as described in
REM Chapter 21 of Oracle8 PL/SQL Programming by Scott Urman.
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE Long2Lob(
-- Uses DBMS_SQL to select a LONG column identified by p_LongQuery, and
-- returns it in p_CLob.
p_LongQuery IN VARCHAR2,
p_CLob IN OUT CLOB) AS
c_ChunkSize CONSTANT INTEGER := 100;
v_CursorID INTEGER;
v_RC INTEGER;
v_Chunk VARCHAR2(100);
v_ChunkLength INTEGER;
v_Offset INTEGER := 0;
BEGIN
-- Open the cursor, define, execute, and fetch.
v_CursorID := DBMS_SQL.OPEN_CURSOR;
DBMS_SQL.PARSE(v_CursorID, p_LongQuery, DBMS_SQL.V7);
DBMS_SQL.DEFINE_COLUMN_LONG(v_CursorID, 1);
v_RC := DBMS_SQL.EXECUTE_AND_FETCH(v_CursorID);
-- Loop over the LONG, fetching c_ChunkSize characters at a time from
-- the LONG and adding them to the LOB.
LOOP
DBMS_SQL.COLUMN_VALUE_LONG(v_CursorID, 1, c_ChunkSize, v_Offset,
v_Chunk, v_ChunkLength);
DBMS_LOB.WRITE(p_CLob, v_ChunkLength, v_Offset + 1, v_Chunk);
IF v_ChunkLength < c_ChunkSize THEN
EXIT;
ELSE
v_Offset := v_Offset + v_ChunkLength;
END IF;
END LOOP;
DBMS_SQL.CLOSE_CURSOR(v_CursorID);
EXCEPTION
WHEN OTHERS THEN
-- Clean up, and reraise the error.
DBMS_SQL.CLOSE_CURSOR(v_CursorID);
RAISE;
END Long2Lob;
Reference Documents
Note:1012454.7
Note:168975.1

Sql Developer MSSql Migration, Online data move, image to long raw mapping

Hello,
my task is to migrate a MSSql Server Database to Oracle 10.2.0.4 with SQL Developer Version 2.1.1.64
and JTDS JDBC Driver oracle.sqldeveloper.thirdparty.drivers.sqlserver 11.1.1.58.17.
Capture, convert and online data move works except data mapping from MSSql image to Oracle long raw dataype.
I need to map MsSql image to oracle blob, to achieve online data move!
is Sql Developer online migration MsSql image to oracle long raw possible?
I know that long raw is outdated, but i'm dba and not responsible for the software part.
What options should i try? offline data move? can MS Bulk Copy Program export image data and SQL*Loader import into long raw?
Any experience or tipp?
Thanks
Michael

Hi user12132314 ,
I do not see any 'long raw' options on our current SQLServer 2005 data type mapping. (Raw is a separate 2000 byte data type).
The usual route for SQLDeveloper is to go to Blob.
Online - this is simple & automated.
Offline - this actually goes via hex output in bcp to sqlldr, read in as CLOB which is then encoded to blob. (This is automated)
(Online 'Copy to Oracle' option, right click on table, may be of use if advanced features not included in the select such as defaults are not required, it copies over a select * from table, including blobs)
To move you from blob to long raw after migration can be done (easily enough if Oracle database >=10g so the stream does not have to be in smaller 'chunks')
http://asktom.oracle.com/pls/asktom/f?p=100:11:3938270166267830::::P11_QUESTION_ID:702825000306
I can look into this if you want to go down this route.
Note however that long raw has drawbacks and blob is preferred, see
Oracle® Database SQL Language Reference
11g Release 2 (11.2)
Part Number E17118-04
Data Types
LONG Data Type
for example one restriction is:
A table can contain only one LONG column.
-Turloch
SQLDeveloper Team

Getting LONG RAW from remote database

Hi,
I have a table in my local database that has a LONG RAW column . I have another table of similar structure in a remote database (so it has LONG RAW as well). I would like to transfer data including LONG RAW data from the remote database into the local database table using PL/SQL. I know it is not possible to copy LONG RAW over dblink directly. Can anyone suggest an approach to accomplish this?
The local table cannot be changed to BLOB, but I have the flexibility to change the remote table to use BLOB. So, can anyone tell me if the following solution would work. If so, can you shed some light on what PL/SQL libraries to use or can you provide me with some sample code to implement steps 3 and 4 below?:
1. Change the remote table to use BLOB
2. Create a new temporary table with BLOB in the local database.
3. Copy data using PL/SQL from remote BLOB to local temporary table BLOB.
4. Copy data using PL/SQL from BLOB to LONG RAW within the local database from temporary table (w/ BLOB) to the actual target table (w/ LONG RAW).
I think step 3 can be a direct Insert-Select from remote table (I'll try this myself), but not sure how to go about step 4.
Thanks for your help.

There is a chapter in the Oracle Application Developer's Guide on calling external procedures
I don't know enough about VB and the available VB APIs to know for sure. I would assume that VB could be configured to generate a DLL with a C call specification. I would also assume that there was a VB API that would allow you to manipulate LONG RAW and BLOB data. Unfortunately, though, I don't know which VB API's have that functionality.
Justin

Load image file into a LONG RAW column via SQL*Loader

Does anyone know how to load a image file into a LONG RAW column via SQL*Loader?
Thanks
-Hsing-Hua-

Are you trying to import the image on the client into Oracle lite, or from the server end into the main oracle database for download to the client?
On our system images are loaded into the the oracle lite database (10g R1 at the moment) on the client (DELL X50 PDA's) into a BLOB (Not LONG RAW) column using Java (relatively standard functionality in Java) as this is what our application software is written in.
From the server end, we do not at the moment load images as such, but we do load the application software into the database for deployment of new versions to the clients (the DMC/DMS updates we have found very unreliable), and the technique should be the same for images. Again the file is imported into a BLOB column.
NOTE a column defined as BLOB on the main Oracle database appears as a LONG VARBINARY on the client Oracle lite database, but the synchronisation process handles the conversion with no problem.
To import into a BLOB column on the server try the following
1) you will need to create a DIRECTORY (CREATE DIRECTORY command) within the database, pointing at a directory on the database server (or accessible from it). This is needed for the file location.
CREATE OR REPLACE DIRECTORY PDA_FILE_UPLOAD AS '/pdaapps/jar/'
NOTE create directory needs to be run as SYSTEM
2) define your table to hold the image and other data. Our tables is
SQL> desc pda_applications
Name Null? Type
ID NOT NULL NUMBER(12)
PDAAT_CODE NOT NULL VARCHAR2(10)
VERSION NOT NULL NUMBER(5,2)
PART_NO NOT NULL NUMBER(3)
FILE_OBJECT BLOB
DEPLOY_APPLICATION_YN NOT NULL VARCHAR2(1)
3) copy the image (or in our case a .jar file) to the database server directory specified in step 1
4) the actual import is done using a DBMB_LOB procedure
PROCEDURE pr_load_file
Module Name : pr_load_file
Description : Main call. Create a new pda_applications record, and import the specified file into it
Version History:
Vers. Author Date Reason
1.0 G Wilkinson 03/02/2006 Initial Version.
(PA_VERSION IN NUMBER
,PA_FILENAME IN VARCHAR2
,PA_PDAAT_CODE IN VARCHAR2
,PA_PART_NO IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1
,PA_DEPLOY IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'Y')
IS
l_FileLocator BFILE;
l_blobLocator BLOB;
l_seq NUMBER;
l_location VARCHAR2(20);
no_params EXCEPTION;
call_fail EXCEPTION;
BEGIN
-- Throw error if required details not present
IF pa_version IS NULL
OR pa_filename IS NULL
OR pa_pdaat_code IS NULL THEN
RAISE no_params;
END IF;
-- Initialize the BLOB locator for writing. Note that we have
-- to import a blob into a table as part of a SELECT FOR UPDATE. This locks the row,
-- and is a requirement for LOADFROMFILE.
SELECT pdaa_id_seq.nextval
INTO l_seq
FROM dual;
-- First create the application record (file is imported by update, not insert
INSERT INTO pda_applications
(ID,PDAAT_CODE,VERSION,PART_NO,FILE_OBJECT,DEPLOY_APPLICATION_YN)
VALUES (l_seq,pa_pdaat_code,pa_version,pa_part_no,EMPTY_BLOB(),pa_deploy);
-- Lock record for update to import the file
SELECT file_object INTO l_blobLocator
FROM pda_applications
WHERE id=l_seq
FOR UPDATE;
-- Initialize the BFILE locator for reading.
l_FileLocator := BFILENAME('PDA_FILE_UPLOAD', pa_filename);
DBMS_LOB.FILEOPEN(l_FileLocator, DBMS_LOB.FILE_READONLY);
-- Load the entire file into the character LOB.
-- This is necessary so that we have the data in
-- character rather than RAW variables.
DBMS_LOB.LOADFROMFILE(l_blobLocator, l_FileLocator
,DBMS_LOB.GETLENGTH(l_FileLocator)
,src_offset => 1);
-- Clean up.
DBMS_LOB.FILECLOSE(l_FileLocator);
-- Create download records for each user associated with the application for sending to the PDA's
-- to install the software
IF pa_deploy = 'Y' then
IF fn_deploy (pa_pdaa_id => l_seq
,pa_pdaat_code => pa_pdaat_code) != 'SUCCESS' THEN
RAISE call_fail;
END IF;
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN no_params THEN
pkg_appm.pr_log_message( pa_mdl_name => g_module_name
, pa_mdl_version => fn_get_body_version
, pa_error_code => SQLCODE
, pa_location => l_location
, pa_text => 'Missing parameters'
, pa_severity => 'E'
WHEN OTHERS THEN
DBMS_LOB.FILECLOSE(l_FileLocator);
pkg_appm.pr_log_message( pa_mdl_name => g_module_name
, pa_mdl_version => fn_get_body_version
, pa_error_code => SQLCODE
, pa_location => l_location
, pa_text => SQLERRM
, pa_severity => 'E'
END pr_load_file;
I hope this may be of some help

LONG RAW Columns and Replication Set-up

we are working to set-up a replicated environment for all of
our Oracle Applications.
I could not get a clear understanding which Version Oracle will
support BLOB/CLOB/LONG RAW replication support or
Whether we can plan for Replicating such kind of Applications.
I read from one of Oracle Press book - "Oracle Backup &
Recovery" it is documented
that Oracle doesn't replication support for columns that use
BLOBs,CLOBs ( Page
no. 434 )
As one of our application was designed using LONG RAW Column, I
was wondering
about carrying the existing LONG RAW column to be replicated
like a CLOB/BLOB, if oracle supports Replication of BLOB/CLOB.
It will be of great help, if you can provide some insight in the
complexity of
having BLOBs in the applications to go further on making our
efforts to have a
Replicated environment set-up.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Bhanu Prakash
< [email protected]>

1) LONG and LONG RAW have been depricated since 8i so you shouldn't be using them ever for anything.
2) LONG and LONG RAW don't even have decent support to be manipulated from PL/SQL so there is essentially no SQL support.
3) It would be very rare that you would have anything to index in a LONG or a LONG RAW from a functionality standpoint. You're not likely, for example, to want to store more than 4k of data in a LONG and then do things like search for strings that start with a particular phrase. You're very very unlikely to want to search a binary LONG RAW to look for rows where the binary data starts with a particular string of bytes. You'd potentially want to be able to use Oracle Text on a LONG field to search for particular words and phrases in the text but I'm not sure that existed prior to LONGs being depricated.
Justin

Migrating LONG RAW to BLOB and optimizing extent size

Hi all,
I got a quite fragmented table with a LONG RAW column I want to migrate to BLOB and defragment.
DB version is Oracle9i Release 9.2.0.4.0 and this is a production environment.
I know MOVE and/or CTAS are not possible with LONG RAW columns
So, how can I do that? Is ALTER TABLE MODIFY the only possibility to migrate from LOING RAW to BLOB?
Since ALTER TABLE MODIFY will lock the whole table preventing any DML operation, I need at least a rough estimate of the time needed for this operation. How can I do that?
Since this table is quite fragmented, I also want to rebuilt it using a different extent size.
I think I should issue a ALTER TABLE MOVE... after having performed the "ALTER TABLE MODIFY".
Can I do something better to minimize unavailability to DML operations?
thanks,
andrea

Hi,
Is this an OCCI question?
I don't see that "to_blob" is documented anywhere. The "to_lob" function can be used to convert long raw columns, but its use is pretty specific and certainly not for general query use.
Regards,
Mark
EDIT1: Well, my local documentation set does not have "to_blob" in it at all. However, it is in the 11.1 SQL Language Reference on OTN:
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/B28359_01/server.111/b28286/functions186.htm#sthref2358
Despite the fact that the documentation mentions "long raw" the function appears to only work with "raw" data in my 11.1 tests.
What's your goal here?
Edited by: Mark Williams on Jun 8, 2009 7:15 PM

Restrict the LONG RAW Column with less than 32760 bytes in the SELECT

When i am trying to access a LONG RAW Dataype wchich has characters greter than 32760 bytes i am getting this error.
Error -6502: ORA-06502: PL/SQL: numeric or value error
I came to know that PL/SQL will only be able to access the first 32760 bytes of a LONG RAW. If we try to fetch a LONG RAW from the database into PL/SQL variable which exceeds the 32760 byte limit then we encountered the above error.
Can anyone tell to avoid this error can we write a query to restrict the output to get only those records which has LONG RAW length less than 32760 bytes.
Since we canot use utl_raw.length() in the Select Statement, is there any function to restrict the the records for less than 32760 Bytes only for LONG RAW datatype, so that i will not get any records for more than 32760 bytes and we will not get this error.
REquest you to please help.

Hi
we do not have an option of migrating the LONG RAW to BLOB or any kind of ALTER to the table.
We want to restrict the use of Records from the Table which has data for LONG RAW column less than 32760 bytes, so that we will not get the PL/SQL numberic Error
any function for LONG RAW that can be used in SQL like for varchar2 we can use
select length(NAME) < 100 from tb_emp+
i.e it will get records only which has NAME less than 100 characters.

Insert from Long Raw to Blob

Hi all,
I'm presently working on oracle 8.1.7,im having a table with Long Raw as a field.
I want to insert the image into another table which containing a Blob as field.I wanted it to take place either by Database trigger or Procedure or any other way..
Please can anybody provide me the script. I've already tried the procedure..select long raw to blob..I'm getting Numeric or Value error...i think the size of the image in the long raw table might be > 32767...
Urgent please...
thanks in advance
rgds,
John

Hi John,
Post this question in Database forum for quick help.
The forum is present at this location.
General Database Discussions
Regards,
Anupama

How can i read a stored picture in oracle Long Raw datatype? blob or clob?

How can i read a stored picture in oracle Long Raw datatype? Like a blob or clob?....i am using jdk 1.3
This is because...i tried to read it like a blob but i obtain a exception...about Type of column no valid......but the column exist....and it contains the long raw datatype of the pictures.....this is my code:
import java.sql.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import oracle.jdbc.driver.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.Statement;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import oracle.sql.BLOB;
import oracle.sql.BLOB.*;
import oracle.jdbc.driver.*;
import java.sql.*;
class rec_ima1
public static void main(String h[])
Connection con = null;
Blob bl;
final ImageIcon image1;
JPanel photo;
try
Class.forName("oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver").newInstance();
con= DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:oracle:thin:@123.3.12.213:1521:db_name","user","password");
String query = "Select * from pictures where ID = '18840'";
Statement stmt = con.createStatement();
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery( query );
if (!rs.next())
System.out.println("Empty Result Set");
bl = rs.getBlob(5);
if (bl == null) {
System.out.println("Null Blob");
return;
InputStream is = bl.getBinaryStream();
int imageLength = (int) bl.length();
System.out.println(imageLength);
System.out.println(bl.length());
byte[] imageData = new byte [imageLength];
is.read(imageData, 0, imageLength);
image1 = new ImageIcon(imageData);
photo = new JPanel() {
public void paint(Graphics g){
g.setColor(Color.lightGray);
g.drawImage(image1.getImage(), 0, 0, this);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
Now i tried using clob:
import java.sql.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import oracle.jdbc.driver.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.Statement;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import oracle.sql.CLOB;
import oracle.sql.CLOB.*;
import oracle.jdbc.driver.*;
import java.sql.CallableStatement;
class rec_ima4
public static void main(String h[])
Connection con = null;
Clob cl;
JPanel photo;
try
Class.forName("oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver").newInstance();
con= DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:oracle:thin:@123.3.12.213:1521:db_name","user","password");
con.setAutoCommit (false);
String query = "Select * from pictures where ID = '18840'";
Statement stmt = con.createStatement();
ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery( query );
while (rs.next()) {
oracle.sql.CLOB clob = (CLOB) rs.getObject(5); //line 47
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
This is the runtime exception:
java.lang.ClassCastException: [B
at rec_ima4.main(rec_ima4.java:47)

Thanks by answering to me......
Well....i did that....but what is ImageIO?....
I declared a ImageIcon imageIO, but this give me the following:
rec_ima3.java:49: cannot resolve symbol
symbol : class BufferedImage
location: class rec_ima3
BufferedImage bi = ImageIO.read(bInput);
^
rec_ima3.java:49: cannot resolve symbol
symbol : variable ImageIO
location: class rec_ima3
BufferedImage bi = ImageIO.read(bInput);
^
What classes i have to import?.....what is ImageIO?
Thanks

Can we use BLOB instead of LONG RAW in JMSStore

(Oracle 9i, Weblogic 8.1.2)
          We are putting in place a Dataguard environment (or standby database). In such environment, prod data is copied to another database in 'pseudo' real time. Unfortunately some 'old' datatypes are not supported by Dataguard. In JMS tables %JMSSTORE, the field RECORD is defined as LONG RAW and LONG RAW is one of the unsupported datatypes.
          Can we alter those tables in order to use BLOB instead of LONG RAW ?
          Regards,
          Bao Nguyen


Hi Bao,
          Answers in-line:
          Bao Nguyen wrote:
          > (Oracle 9i, Weblogic 8.1.2)
          >
          > We are putting in place a Dataguard environment (or standby database). In such environment, prod data is copied to another database in 'pseudo' real time. Unfortunately some 'old' datatypes are not supported by Dataguard. In JMS tables %JMSSTORE, the field RECORD is defined as LONG RAW and LONG RAW is one of the unsupported datatypes.
          >
          > Can we alter those tables in order to use BLOB instead of LONG RAW ?
          Not supported in 8.1. A supported Oracle BLOB capability will be
          available in the next release. I can think of two
          possible work-arounds:
          (1) The following might work, but is not currently supported by
          BEA: Manually create the table with a BLOB type and use
          an Oracle OCI or BEA type IV driver. Definitely do NOT use
          an Oracle thin driver, as data corruption may result.
          (2) I recall that another customer had a replication product
          they were able to get working with LONG RAW by modifying
          the table definition so that the table's handle index was a primary key.
          I do not remember the name of the product.
          (The latter modification is supported for certain releases
          now - but I think this usage must be confirmed with customer support.)
          Tom
          >
          > Regards,
          >
          > Bao Nguyen
          >

Modify long raw to blob column

Hello,
I would like to know if it is possible to modify a long raw column into a blob column, without having to drop and recreate my table.
There is already data inserted in the long raw column.
Thanks in advance,
Cindy

'Fraid not.
A LOB is stored "out-of-line", which means the actual "raw" data is held separately from the table. A long raw stores the data in-line. This means that you'll have to write some code to extract the "raw" data and write it to the LOB. Methinks you won't be able to add a LOB-type column to the table if you have a long raw existing in it already.

6i to 9i conversion OLE container stored in a LONG RAW column to BLOB

I need to automate the migration of data stored in a long raw column to a blob column. The objects were stored in the long raw column using an Oracle Forms 6i OLE container. There is also multiple object types stored in the column, ie (word, excel, images, but mostly pdf's). I have looked at the webutil package but cannot figure out how to read the long raw column since ole containers are obsolete in 9i. I have a lot of records that need migrating and need help.
Thanks,
J. Broome
[email protected]

It doesn't appear that I am able to attach the PDF files. Can you supply your email (or I can supply mine) so I can send you the three files:
1.) A good PDF (manually extracted from our old application)
2.) Dump of the same PDF file (includes header/footer info)
3.) A partially fixed PDF file (but some of the pictures / pages are cut off - specifically pages 3,5,9,10,12,14)
The way that we have tried to fix the file (in example 3 above) is the following:
a.) Find the First Occurrence of "%PDF-"
b.) Find the Last Occurrence of "%%EOF"
c.) if the first "%PDF-" is found AND the last "%%EOF" is found, then
i.) Remove all data before the first %PDF-
ii.) Remove all data after the last %%EOF
Let me know if you need any other information.
Thanks,
Mike

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