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Tom Kyte

Thanks for the question, Peter.

Asked: January 05, 2001 - 2:04 pm UTC

Last updated: March 10, 2008 - 9:15 pm UTC

Version: 8.1.5 & 8.1.6

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You Asked

The requirement is to store and Excel spreadsheet from a users local or network drive into the database. Front end is written in ColdFusion.

Can you provide me with advice and sample code that describes how to store and retrieve this data? Should I use a Blob or Clob datatype to store the spreadsheet?

Related to this, do you know how/if Excel could be automatically launced in order to update a spreadsheet that is stored in the database?

Thanks...

and Tom said...

You will defintely want to use a BLOB since a spreadsheet is binary data.

I would refer you to:

</code> http://docs.oracle.com/cd/A81042_01/DOC/appdev.816/index.htm 

for documentation on LOBS in Oracle.  As for how cold fusion works with them -- I'll have to refer you to the makes of cold fusion, I do not know what support they may (or may not) have for them.

You can also search on my site for LOB, blob, clob.  I have quite a few examples there in Java, C, and PLSQL.

If you use something like iFS
http://www.oracle.com/ip/deploy/database/features/index.html?ifs.html <code>
excel can read/write the spreadsheet from/to the database naturally.



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Comments

Updated documentation?

A reader, March 10, 2008 - 4:30 pm UTC

I have been asked if this same solution is a possibility for our database. I had to give the "I don't know, but I'll investigate" answer.

I clicked the links you provided but the bottom link is no longer valid.

Do you know if this has been updated, modified, changed in any way for 10g?
Tom Kyte
March 10, 2008 - 9:15 pm UTC

yes, it has been slightly modified in the intervening many many years :)

http://www.oracle.com/stellent/index.html

Thank you kindly

A reader, March 12, 2008 - 11:12 am UTC

For your attentiveness and prompt responses.
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CLOB/BLOB/etc

Complete documentation on Securefiles and Large Objects here