5. Populating Tables : Formatted Copying : Column Name and Format Specifications
 
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Column Name and Format Specifications
When using the COPY statement to do formatted copying, specify the column name and the format in which that column’s data is to be copied, as follows:
column_name = format [null-clause]
where:
column_name
Specifies the column from which data is read or to which data is written. The name in the copy target must be the same as in the copy source; you cannot change column names in the COPY statement.
format
Specifies the format of the column data in the data file. This format may be different from that column’s type or format in the table. For example, a table may contain an INTEGER column, but to copy the column into a text file, the COPY format should be a character-type format. The COPY statement can copy all data types except logical keys.
The column names and their formats must be separated by commas, and the list must be in parentheses.