Got CSV?
Comma-Delimted Files and Uses Comma-separated
value (CSV) files contain specially formatted, plain-text fields that
are often used to populate spreadsheets or databases. CSV files are
easy to use because they have simple formatting, one record per line,
and a comma separating each field. Also known as comma-separated list
(CSL) or comma-delimited, the original format dates back to the early
days of business computing. Commonly
used, transferred and stored data values in a CSV file include: names,
addresses, phone numbers, gender, dollar amounts, etc. Since records
are separated with system end-of-line characters, CRLF (ASCII 13 Dec or
0D Hex and ASCII 10 Dec or 0A Hex) for Windows, LF for Unix, and CR for
Mac, no binary data can be used. Instead, the data must be in ASCII
text -- making it possible to transfer data from one computer to
another easily. CSV files are common across computer platforms because they are used for: - Passing data between internal word sizes
- Data formatting purposes
- Making fields easily editable in common spreadsheet tools like Excel
- Transferring large amounts of tabular data between companies or applications that are not directly connected.
CSV files are supported across the IRI product line. CoSort users
can sort, transform, report from, encrypt fields within, and
several source file formats into, CSV files. IRI’s Fast Extract (FACT) tool creates CSV files from Oracle and DB2 table data. IRI's RowGen tool can create safe test data in CSV file format. IRI's NextForm
tool converts between CSV and other popular file formats like
LDIF, XML ISAM, Vision, and text. For more information on CSV files and
how they are used within IRI products and solutions, click here.
Alliance Partner Spotlight
IRI Joins HP Infrastructure Program
The
HP Infrastructure Advantage Partner Program (IAPP) is designed for
independent software vendors with "HP-platform-ready" applications
interested in proactively offering their combined solutions to HP
customers. An extension of the HP Developer & Solution Partner
Program (DSPP), IAPP provides additional services to cross-industry
partners like IRI. Program benefits include co-branded collateral,
engineering resources, and increased visibility with HP field
organizations. Mark
Jones manages the IRI alliance within HP's Enterprise Storage and
Servers Infrastructure Solution Alliances unit. "From the earliest days
of HP-UX on PA-RISC to newer Integrity and blade platforms for Linux
and Windows, IRI has always made CoSort and its compatible offerings
available to our customers,” he observed. CoSort software on HP
hardware enables and accelerates mission-critical operations at
companies like Weyerhaeuser, NAL Worldwide, and Fortis Clearing. "Joint
successes like these prove the commercial superiority of open systems
and the benefits of bringing best-of-breed technologies together. We
are now making our sales and services teams aware of CoSort's
availability on HP 11i v3 next."
Tech Tip
Viewing CoSort Resources By entering the command sortcl /RC
at the command prompt, your CoSort resource control (cosortrc)
file settings will display on the monitor via stderr.
Alternatively, if you put this command at the top of a script, the
cosortrc settings active for that particular job are displayed when you
execute the job. Using this command inside a job script is also a good
way to test a script for syntax errors without running the job.
If you run the the following SortCL job script:
/RC
/INFILE=in.dat
/FIELD=(f1, POS-3, NUMERIC)
/SORT
/KEY=f1
/OUTFILE=out
the screen display will display:
+3 job.scl: error (84): "POS-3" unrecognized word You
see that there is a typo on line 3. The -3 needs to be changed to =3.
After correcting the script, and re-running it, no error is returned,
and the cosortc settings are displayed on the screen. Below is that
display.
CoSort v9.1.2 D91081017-1344 64B Copyright 1978-2008 IRI, Inc. www.cosort.com
EDT 17:25:48 Thu Oct 30 2008. #99999.9999 8 CPU x86_64 Monitor Level 0
<00:00:00.00> event (112): Errors 0
Default Settings:
AIO
ON
AIO_BUFFERS
2
ON_EMPTY_OUTPUT
PROCESS_WITH_ZEROS
ON_WORKAREAS_FULL ABORT
ON_MISSING_OUTLENGTH VARLENGTH
PREVENT_DOUBLE_TERM OFF
USE_RECORDCOUNT_API 0
Filename: ./.cosortrc
THREAD_MAX
4
Filename: /home/cosort9/etc/cosortrc
MEMORY_MAX
738197504
THREAD_MIN
1
BLOCKSIZE
1228800
MONITOR_LEVEL
0
MINIMUM_YEAR
70
ON_EMPTY_INPUT
PROCESS_WITH_ZEROS
OUTPUT_TERMINATOR INFILE
LOG/home/cosort9/etc/cosort.log
WORK_AREA
1
-- /tmp/ : 0
cosortrc report
Environment Information:
User: cosortuser
COSORT_HOME: /home/cosort9
Process Limits from ULIMIT:
Memory: 1710MB
Open Files: 1024 This
display shows each place Unix CoSort resources are set. Default
values are used when no settings are specified in a cosortrc file.
Notice that there is a .cosortrc file in the directory where the job
was initiated. The settings in this file will override parameters in
other cosortrc files (other than those that might be referenced inside
a SortCL script).
The /RC command
also displays other information under the headings of "Environment
Information" and "Process Limits" from ULIMIT on UNIX and Linux
operating systems. On Windows, in addition to certain default values,
key resource settings in the registry are displayed. Override values
are specified in a cosort.rc file (if it exists in the job directory),
and are also displayed with sortcl /RC.
Appendix
D in the CoSort manual documents the order of precedence for using
cosortrc settings from multiple sources. For help with your resource
controls, please use IRI's on-line support request form. |
IRI Business Advice
Sharing Our Experience
Product Release Tips
Congratulations …
you have a new idea! You have gone from concept evaluation and market
research to prototype testing an pricing considerations.
Have you thought about what it takes to optimize the success of
the product's actual release? Doing that
right can be almost as important as creating a product worthy of
release. If your company has created a credible product, then it must
take appropriate measures to ensure it will be seen, sampled, and
ultimately, sold.
1. Define your market. Is
your product something made to sell to the unknown, OR is it something
people asked for and you made it for them? This is an important
distinction in product release decisions because you need to frame your
release and marketing plans accordingly. In other words, ask yourself
"who is my target audience, and how do I reach them? Is there more
than one audience?
2. Transfer your concept into context.
The release is your entire product in a one-time-shot selling package,
so you need to articulate what the product does and its importance.
Name the product carefully, and list its benefits from the user's
perspective. You also need to formulate a complete, clear, and
distinctive selling plan that explains what the product does, why it's
needed, and how it's obtained and used. Include all salient
information, and keep in mind that what makes sense to you might not make sense to someone else.
3. Market your product to your audience(s).
The best launch messages illustrate a product's unique
benefits to the target audience. Brochures, press releases,
product mock-ups, etc. should grab attention with unique product
attributes and compelling performance metrics. Targeted advertising and
marketing campaigns should be planned and ready before product launch.
By keeping an audience focus, you will also be able to improve
your products and marketing campaigns beyond the initial release.
4. Consider the release date.
The worst time to release a new product is just before a competitor’s
release, or, just after. If you release before your competitor
they can find glitches in your product and release theirs without the
same problem. Conversely, if you release right after them, it
could look like you’re “knocking theirs off" and didn’t come up the
product on your own. The best time to launch a product is
when no one else is planning a release, there is a need for
your product, and the market is in a position to purchase.
5. Plan a soft launch. When
a movie is about to be released, it is shown to a diverse group of
people. Based on their reaction, the director may re-shoot scenes
or even change the ending. Keep the same idea in mind for your
product. Introduce it to focus groups, offer free trials, etc. to
get honest feedback and insight. This is also your opportunity to find
problems that can be corrected before the actual launch occurs. If
a product has a successful soft launch, the chances of surviving
downstream competition increase.
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