Claudio Valderrama C. wrote:

> Hello, I see the request for a bulk loader appearing from time to time in
> our lists.
> I understand a bulk loader is a facility able to do a batch insertion with
> fast data insertion rates.
> But our normal, single row insertions are -generally speaking- acceptable in
> speed and faster than other servers.
>
> Therefore, to put the horse before the cart:
> - Why do users need a bulk loader? Aren't we enough fast to insert records?
> For example, our classic solution is to prepare a parameterized INSERT
> statement and keep feeding data as parameters.
> - What features do users expect from a bulk loader? It's mostly a client
> side thing or a set of improvements in the server side, too?
> - Perhaps this email should be sent to firebird-support instead?
>
>

If the server knew it was a bulk load, it could lock the table, load the
data, and build the indexes using a sort and fast load / fast merge
algorithm (more or less equivalent to dropping the indexes, loading, and
redefining the indexes but easier). On the other hand, "locking the
table" isn't exactly a classic concept.