Extracting data from old Sybase SQL Anywhere

[Former Member]

I have an old Database as archive for my pictures. The pictures are not stored in the database, only Chapter, pictureID and keywords. It is based on Sybase SQL Anywhere Database Engine Version 5.5.01 Build #1333. The application dose not offer to export listings. I would like to creat listings in a csv format or compareable. Or import the data to an open office database. In advance, thanks for help. If necessary I can upload the database (3.8MB)

p.s. I am not a specialist!!

[Former Member]

Ok. guys, this is exactly what I feared. You are the specialists and I have no clue. :-(( I really appreciate your immediate help.

Before I do or tell stupid things, I was trying to upload the "corpus delicti", so you can see, what I'm talking about. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to do that, as I have less than 100 reputation points.

Can I send the database to one of you and ask for transformation. For instance into an open office data base.

Just in case that there is a userID and PW necessary to access the data base, I wrote a mail to the company that has created this data base once. Just hoping they can tell me.

Thank you very much.

[jeff_albion]

Just in case that there is a userID and PW necessary to access the data base, I wrote a mail to the company that has created this data base once. Just hoping they can tell me.

There is always a username and password required to access the database. The default SQL Anywhere login is "dba" with the password "sql" (although we instruct developers to create a new login / change the default password, so this should NOT work, in general).

If the SQL Anywhere database login credentials have not been provided to you by your software vendor, you will have to work with them directly in order to extract your data - we will not be able to assist you until you are able to verify that you are permitted to have access to the data.

[Former Member]

Perfect Jeff! Thanks to the laziness of the developer the standard p/w works. I have tried to connect the data base via open office. But as I have no idea how to do this right I did not succeed. But at least I have the proof now, that user and p/w are still standard. Now that access is granted, can you help me to export the data to a flat file?

[Breck_Carter]

See the first answer, the one that talks about isql.exe and SELECT and OUTPUT... let us know if you have any problems understanding it or running it.

[Former Member]

Dear Breck I found the iqls.exe on c:sqlany50win32. Starting this, the programm asks for User and P/W. Once the program is running, I can see three windows "Data", "Statistics" and "Command". In "Statistics" it says "Conected to database". How to proceed from here if I want to export all information, linked to each picture, to a structured flat file? Wish you a happy new year.

[Breck_Carter]

In the "Command" pane run commands like this:

select * from tt;

output to 'c:\\temp\\tt.txt';

[Former Member]

Ok. I have managed to find out the names of the tables in the data base by using "Edit -> insert table" from the menu. Now I can export table by table to text files and than combine them in access or something like that. Is this the right way, or is there a more convenient one? Thank you very much for your help.

[VolkerBarth]

Glad you got it going:)

To your question: I guess it's hard to tell for us as we do not know the contents of these tables and their relationship (and the number of tables will matter as well). As a result, there won't be a single "right way".

If you can handle these tables as some kind of lists (as you could with, say, Excel), then I think you are fine to use whatever tool you're familiar with.

In contrast, if you are exporting data from a database with a complex data model (with lots of dependent tables), then the question comes up what to do with these contents? - Usually you would need/have a similar application to migrate all this data to, and if you don't have one already, well, that may be beyond the facilites of such a forum...

[Former Member]

Ok guys, thank you very much for your great help. You can be proud on your self. You have managed to bring a "db-dummy" to access and extract data from an unknown data base. Thank you.