# dblook examples

The following examples demonstrate how the various `dblook` utility options can be specified from a command line. These examples use the `sample` database.

Note: The quotations marks shown in these examples are part of the command argument and must be passed to `dblook`. The way in which quotation marks are passed depends on the operating system and command line that you are using. With some systems it might be necessary to escape the quotation marks by using a forward slash before the quotation mark, for example: `"\"My Table"\"`

Status messages are written to the output (either a -o filename, if specified, or the console) as SQL script comments. These status messages serve as headers to show which types of database objects are being, or have been, processed by the `dblook` utility.

#### Writing the DDL to the console

You can write the DDL to the console for everything that is in the `sample` database. In this example, the database is in the current directory. For example:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample

#### Including error and warning messages in the dblook command

You can write error and warning messages when you write the DDL to the console. The messages are written using `System.err`. For example:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample -verbose

#### Writing the DDL to a file

You can write the DDL to a file called `myDB_DDL.sql` for everything that is in the `sample` database. In this example, the database and file are in the current directory. For example:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample -o myDB_DDL.sql

#### Specifying directory paths in the dblook command

If the database or file are not in the current directory, you must specify the directory paths. For example:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d 'jdbc:derby:c:\private\stuff\sample'
       -o 'C:\temp\newDB.sql'

#### Specifying a schema in the dblook command

You can specify the schema for the database. To write the DDL to the console, for all of the objects in the `sample` database where the database is in the SAMP schema, use the following command:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample -z samp

#### Specifying a remote database and host

If the `sample` database is in the SAMP schema on localhost:1527, you must specify your user ID and password. For example, use the following command to write the DDL to the console:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook
       -d 'jdbc:derby://localhost:1527/"C:\temp\sample";
       user=someusername;password=somepassword' -z samp

#### Specifying a schema and a table within the database in the dblook command

You can specify that only the objects in the `sample` database that are associated with the SAMP and the `My Table` table are written to the console. For example:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample -z samp -t "My Table"

#### Specifying multiple tables in the dblook command

You can specify more than one table in the dblook command by separating the names of the tables with a space. For example, for objects in the `sample` database that are associated with either the `My Table` table or the `STAFF` table, use the following command:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample -t "My Table" staff

#### Writing DDL to a file without a statement delimiter

To write the DDL for all of the objects in`sample` database to the `myDB_DDL.sql` file without a statement delimiter, you must omit the default semi-colon. You can append the DDL to the output files if the files are already there. For example:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample
       -o myDB_DDL.sql -td '' -append

#### Excluding views from the DDL

To write the DDL to the console for all of the objects in the `sample` database except for views, use the following command:

    java org.apache.derby.tools.dblook -d jdbc:derby:sample -noview

Parent topic: dblook
Related concepts
Using dblook
Generating the DDL for a database
Related reference
dblook options