Spaces value in sql loader

Question

Is there a way to load in spaces using Sql*Loader given that the table it is loading to has a not null column but has a default value. My data file has spaces for a number field instead of zeros. Since my table column is declared as not null, it's failing even if I have a default value of '0' in my column.

Answer 1

You can tackle this in the control file. Here is a snippet from Oracle OnLine books - hopefully this will help out! Cheers.
==========================================
Setting a Column to Null or Zero
If you want all inserted values for a given column to be null, omit the column's specifications entirely. To set a column's values
conditionally to null based on a test of some condition in the logical record, use the NULLIF clause; see NULLIF Keyword. To set a
numeric column to zero instead of NULL, use the DEFAULTIF clause, described next.
DEFAULTIF Clause
Using DEFAULTIF on numeric data sets the column to zero when the specified field condition is true. Using DEFAULTIF on
character (CHAR or DATE) data sets the column to null (compare with Numeric External Datatypes). See also Specifying Field
Conditions for details on the conditional tests.
DEFAULTIF field_condition
A column may have both a NULLIF clause and a DEFAULTIF clause, although this often would be redundant.
Note: The same effects can be achieved with the SQL string and the DECODE function. See Applying SQL Operators to
Fields
NULLIF Keyword
Use the NULLIF keyword after the datatype and optional delimiter specification, followed by a condition. The condition has the same
format as that specified for a WHEN clause. The column's value is set to null if the condition is true. Otherwise, the value remains
unchanged.
NULLIF field_condition
The NULLIF clause may refer to the column that contains it, as in the following example:
COLUMN1 POSITION(11:17) CHAR NULLIF (COLUMN1 = "unknown")
This specification may be useful if you want certain data values to be replaced by nulls. The value for a column is first determined from
the datafile. It is then set to null just before the insert takes place. Case 6: Loading Using the Direct Path Load Method provides
examples of the NULLIF clause.
Note: The same effect can be achieved with the SQL string and the NVL function. See Applying SQL Operators to Fields.
Null Columns at the End of a Record
When the control file specifies more fields for a record than are present in the record, SQL*Loader must determine whether the
remaining (specified) columns should be considered null or whether an error should be generated. The TRAILING NULLCOLS
clause, described in TRAILING NULLCOLS, explains how SQL*Loader proceeds in this case.
==========================================