FYI: My script for a consistent export using Flashback_time

Question

This is my first 'non-question' post, but thought it might be useful to others, as I spent a bit of trial & error getting it to work:
Here is the OS command, to create an export as per a Flashback_time:
SET exportDate=%DATE:~6,4%%DATE:~3,2%%DATE:~0,2% %TIME:~0,2%%TIME:~3,2%00
echo %exportDate%
20100222 092500
expdp '"/ as sysdba"' job_name=mySID dumpfile=dpdump_dir:mySID_FULL.dpdmp logfile=dpdump_dir:mySID_FULL.log flashback_time=\"TO_TIMESTAMP('%exportDate%','YYYYMMDD HH24MISS')\" full=y parallel=2
Here is the same script, except that it is run via an Enterprise Manager Grid Control job - note the difference in the use of the '%' delimiters:
set ORACLE_SID=mySID
del d:\oracle\admin\%%ORACLE_SID%%\dpdump\%%ORACLE_SID%%_full.dpdmp
SET exportDate=%%DATE:~6,4%%%%DATE:~3,2%%%%DATE:~0,2%% %%TIME:~0,2%%%%TIME:~3,2%%00
echo %%exportDate%%
d:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\bin\expdp '"/ as sysdba"' job_name=exp_%%ORACLE_SID%%_FULL dumpfile=dpdump_dir:%%ORACLE_SID%%_FULL.dpdmp logfile=dpdump_dir:%%ORACLE_SID%%_FULL.log flashback_time=\"TO_TIMESTAMP('%%exportDate%%','YYYYMMDD HH24MISS')\" full=y parallel=2
if %%ERRORLEVEL%% neq 0 set TOTALERRORLEVEL=1
Comments welcome

Answer 1

The easiest way I know of to do a consistent export is to use this:
flashback_time=sysdate
This was broken on earlier versions but is fixed in either 11.1.0.7 or 11.2.
Another way is to use a sql file like this:
flashback_sysdate.sql
set echo off
set linesize 132
set heading off
spool time.par
select 'flashback_time=' || TO_CHAR(sysdate, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS') FROM SYS.DUAL;
spool off
exit
This will produce a file called time.par which can be used as a par file. The problem is if you already are using a par file, datapump only lets you use one parfile.
time.par
flashback_time=2010-02-25 09:20:55
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