Illegal combination when importing xml file into xmltype column

Question

I have the following control file.
LOAD DATA
CHARACTERSET UTF8
INFILE *
INTO TABLE IMPORTRAWXML TRUNCATE
SITEID constant 0
,VENDORID constant 17
,SITEFORMATID constant 2
,"\\plutonium\outcomes\AHA GWTG-Outpatient\Programs\DataTransfer\LoadTest\V17_standard_test.xml" filler char(1000)
,RAWDATA LOBFILE ("\\plutonium\outcomes\AHA GWTG-Outpatient\Programs\DataTransfer\LoadTest\V17_standard_test.xml")
TERMINATED BY EOF
)When I run it using sqlldr command line I get the following error:
SQL*Loader-350: Syntax error at line 1.
Illegal combination of non-alphanumeric characters
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>Does anyone have any idea what I am doing wrong here? If I remove the fully resolved path (both the control file and xml file are in the same folder) it tells me it can't find the file to load.
HELP!!!!
Thanks,
Eva

Answer 1

evaleah wrote:
I have made sure all my home settings are correct in my registry editor and they are. Another thing to note is the control file I am using works 100% perfectly, beautifully when called from Toad for Oracle. It is when called from the command line utility that it fails. Is there anyway to determine what the difference could be?
So we know that I can work (toad works), but it doesn't yet work in a "cmd" environment.
Just as any other program Toad is also a client and uses NLS and other environment settings. Maybe these are stored in the registry, maybe the are being set by Toad by reading a configuration file while it is started or while running.
As said, on Windows its tricky...
Setting properties in the registry will not mean that they are the same a "cmd" window or maybe not even been set.
If you execute / run "cmd" then the "set" statement/command will output the environment settings that will be used during the livetime of that "cmd" session.
C:/> setIn my laptop environment (windows 7 64 bit) it will show the following
C:\>set
ALLUSERSPROFILE=C:\ProgramData
APPDATA=C:\Users\marco\AppData\Roaming
CommonProgramFiles=C:\Program Files\Common Files
CommonProgramFiles(x86)=C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files
CommonProgramW6432=C:\Program Files\Common Files
COMPUTERNAME=00-00-000
ComSpec=C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe
DEFLOGDIR=C:\ProgramData\McAfee\DesktopProtection
FP_NO_HOST_CHECK=NO
HOMEDRIVE=C:
HOMEPATH=\Users\marco
LOCALAPPDATA=C:\Users\marco\AppData\Local
LOGONSERVER=\\AMISNT
MpConfig_ProductAppDataPath=C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows Defender
MpConfig_ProductCodeName=AntiSpyware
MpConfig_ProductPath=C:\Program Files\Windows Defender
MpConfig_ProductUserAppDataPath=C:\Users\marco\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows
Defender
MpConfig_ReportingGUID=CA08B82B-EF0A-4107-89D8-ED5BB37E7515
NUMBER_OF_PROCESSORS=2
OS=Windows_NT
Path=C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\dbhome_1\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Win
dows\System32\Wbem;C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\
PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC
PERL5LIB=c:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\perl\5.8.3\lib\MSWin32-x64;c:\oracle\prod
uct\10.2.0\db_1\perl\5.8.3\lib;c:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\perl\site\5.8.3;c:\
oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\perl\site\5.8.3\lib;c:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\sys
man\admin\scripts;
PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE=AMD64
PROCESSOR_IDENTIFIER=Intel64 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 10, GenuineIntel
PROCESSOR_LEVEL=6
PROCESSOR_REVISION=170a
ProgramData=C:\ProgramData
ProgramFiles=C:\Program Files
ProgramFiles(x86)=C:\Program Files (x86)
ProgramW6432=C:\Program Files
PROMPT=$P$G
PSModulePath=C:\Windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\Modules\
PUBLIC=C:\Users\Public
SESSIONNAME=Console
SystemDrive=C:
SystemRoot=C:\Windows
TEMP=C:\Users\marco\AppData\Local\Temp
TMP=C:\Users\marco\AppData\Local\Temp
USERDNSDOMAIN=AMIS
USERDOMAIN=AMIS
USERNAME=marco
USERPROFILE=C:\Users\marco
VBOX_INSTALL_PATH=C:\Program Files\Sun\VirtualBox\
VSEDEFLOGDIR=C:\ProgramData\McAfee\DesktopProtection
windir=C:\Windows
C:\>The only thing that identifies that I have Oracle installed is set in the %PATH% variable and %PERL5LIB%. From the path setting you can also deduct that I have Oracle 11 and Oracle 10 software installed. So when I execute "sqlldr" what NLS settings will it use and which tnsnames.ora alias for example to connect to the database...?
You can you do it and see what happens...
C:\>sqlldr
SQL*Loader: Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on Wed May 12 20:36:25 2010
Copyright (c) 1982, 2009, Oracle and/or its affiliates.  All rights reserved.
Usage: SQLLDR keyword=value [,keyword=value,...]
Valid Keywords:
...So it will pick the first "sqlldr" in the %PATH% environment setting. But what about NLS...? As said to be absolute sure you will have to set it in your environment.
C:/> set ORACLE_HOME="C:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1"
C:\> set
Path=C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\dbhome_1\bin;C:\Windows\system32;C:\Windows;C:\Win
dows\System32\Wbem;C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\
PATHEXT=.COM;.EXE;.BAT;.CMD;.VBS;.VBE;.JS;.JSE;.WSF;.WSH;.MSC
PERL5LIB=c:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\perl\5.8.3\lib\MSWin32-x64;c:\oracle\prod
uct\10.2.0\db_1\perl\5.8.3\lib;c:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\perl\site\5.8.3;c:\
oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\perl\site\5.8.3\lib;c:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\sys
man\admin\scripts;
ORACLE_HOME="C:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1"
C:\> echo %ORACLE_HOME%
"C:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1"Because if I enter "sqlldr" it will pick the executable from the 11.2 install, but the ORACLE_HOME is set to the wrong environment
Executing sqlldr now will give me an error
C:\>sqlldr
Message 2100 not found; No message file for product=RDBMS, facility=ULMessage 21
00 not found; No message file for product=RDBMS, facility=UL
C:\>Another thing you can notice now is that from that output alone, you can't deduct the Oracle "sqlldr" version anymore. Setting the ORACLE_HOME environment to either 10.2 or 11.2 will cause "sqlldr" to execute normally (at least thats how it looks) BUT in the case of the oracle 10.2 setting it will use the wrong message files etc. At least not the correct software versions / files "sqlldr" is shipped with. So you can (and most of the time) will get strange errors.
C:\> set ORACLE_HOME=C:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1
C:\>sqlldr
SQL*Loader: Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on Wed May 12 20:45:00 2010
C:\>set ORACLE_HOME=C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\dbhome_1
C:\>sqlldr
SQL*Loader: Release 11.2.0.1.0 - Production on Wed May 12 20:49:50 2010
Copyright (c) 1982, 2009, Oracle and/or its affiliates.  All rights reserved.
Usage: SQLLDR keyword=value [,keyword=value,...]
...In the registry you can find a lot of those variables are set for ORACLE_HOME, ORACLE_BASE, SQLPATH, maybe TNS_ADMIN, ORACLE_SID, NLS_LANG. You can find the variables IN the registry on two places. The most common one is the SYSTEM wide environment settings under //HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/ORACLE and in my case for 11.2 under //HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/ORACLE/KEY_OraDb11g_Home1.
You could overrule this for to be active on "my user session", my login session as account "marco" under //HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Oracle, but no one using Windows is doing this.
Besides the "cmd" and registry environment, there is a different place as well were you can set these parameters. In windows go to "start", click "control panel", click "system", click tab "Advanced" and then click on the button on the bottum with "Environment Variables". Here you can see the distinction between user and system wide variables as well. Here you can also set NLS_LANG, ORACLE_HOME etc. If I am not mistaken than these will be the default values used in a fresh "cmd" window session. But they can and will interfere with programs you start via clicking them. For example something a Java program like SQL Developer (and/or Toad). If those values are not overrulled by the program by for example using his own variables from a config file or else, those sessings from the "system" / control panel item will be used. If it is the wrong mix, you will encounter strange issues.
Setting ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_BASE will be used by a lot of derived other settings for example the default place SQL*Net drivers and tnsnames aliases etc will be checked. For example setting the ORACLE_HOME to
C:\> set ORACLE_HOME=C:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1will result in that the tnsnames aliases from
C:\> set ORACLE_HOME=C:\oracle\product\10.2.0\db_1\NETWORK\adminwill be used and NOT the ones maybe needed from
C:\oracle\product\11.2.0\dbhome_1\NETWORK\adminYou can overrule this behavior by setting the TNS_ADMIN variable. By default, most explicit form for example on linux and Unix, the following rule will be used by Oracle
1) .tnsnames.ora in the home directory of the user
2) standard default: $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin
3) behavior can be overruled via setting $TNS_ADMINThe fact that you are able via Toad to execute it correctly proves you that it can be done. But Toad uses in your session "SQL*Net" or JDBC or ODBC or ADO or ? via its own configuration environment settings that are being set on which values...?
Both Oracle and Toad use the OSI model (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model), both have to follow the same rules. There hasn't been changed that much over the years, character set conversions are done in the "two task common" layer of the data transport on either side (client/server) when data travels between a client and server. And don't forget a database can be also be a client when for instance database links are being used. One of the reasons to read old manuals because there the basics are still perfectly explained: http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/A57673_01/DOC/net/doc/NWUS233/ch2.htm#twotask (Oracle 7.3.4 Networking Manual).
This long long story is just to show you that you have more control if you set variables explicitly in a "cmd" window (and or in a linux/unix shell (as long as the session isn't "forked")) BUT you will have to be precise. Check the environment a set those environment variables that control / that are being used by "sqlldr" (and that are probably more then you realised, for example that SQL_PATH variable is the default directory where SQL*Plus is looking and saving its "SQL" and spool "LIS" files).
HTH