---
title: "ExportIntoTable - v5.10.13"
slug: "exportintotable-v51013"
updated: 2023-10-13T12:43:44Z
published: 2023-10-13T12:43:45Z
canonical: "docs.datajet.app/exportintotable-v51013"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.datajet.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# ExportIntoTable - v5.10.13

## ExportIntoTable – breaking changes

**Version: 5.10.13**

This article summarizes:

- Changes in [ExportIntoTable](/v1/docs/exportintotable) where the exported dataset may be empty.
- Changes in ExportIntoTable default behaviour when appending data

# Background

As an analytical platform, DataJet has limited support for empty tables (i.e., tables with no records). *Scripts and processes must be developed to manage these necessary limitations*.

- Greater control is required over append processes – this is to better support upserts (where data is both updated and inserted) on very large and very wide tables.
- New default flags have been added to ExportIntoTable to add greater control and visibility over the creation of empty tables and the appending of data.

# Change in default behaviour

## Empty Datasets

Previously, an empty dataset would create a table with no records and no fields. The default behaviour is now to create a table with no records, but *with* fields. It is possible to keep legacy behaviour using flags.

**NOTE: This may take noticeably longer, depending on the number of fields in the table.**

**NOTE: This may impact existing scripts.**

## Appending

Previously, appending data would allow unbalanced tables to be created without raising an error. (An unbalanced table is a table where the field definition in the base table does not exactly match the field definition in the data that is being appended). Appending mismatched field definitions will *now raise an error*.

It is still possible to create an unbalanced table (there are engineering scenarios in which this is desirable) but it must now be explicitly configured.

**NOTE: This may result in existing scripts raising an error where previously they did not.**

# Tables with no records

DataJet does not support tables with 0 records, even though some API methods allow them to be created.

Any operations involving tables with no records are **unsupported** and scripts which allow empty tables to be created should **be modified to use conditional processing** to either avoid their creation or avoid subsequent operations.

If this is not possible, the **ignoreIfEmpty** and **abandonOnEmpty** flags can be used to mimic legacy behaviour. However, there remains the risk of subsequent methods failing and any such scripts should be re-tested accordingly.

# Conditional processing

Use IF…ELSE…ENDIF methods, along with:

- [empty](/v1/docs/empty):  If Empty(Table)
- [exists](/v1/docs/exists): Exists([Objectname])
- Count([Datasetname],1) ~~ X   (~~ = operator,  X = value)

{empty example}

{exists example}

{count example}

# ExportIntoTable with domain of 0 records

| 8.16 | 9.22 | 10.13 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Creates table with no fields and no records (instant) | Does nothing (no table created) (instant) | Default behaviour: will create empty table with **no records but with fields** (will take some time on wide tables) **Variations** “**ignoreIfEmpty**”= true: Does nothing if table is empty (same as v 9.22) “**abandonOnEmpty**” = true: Creates table with fields but no records (same as 8.16) Default for both flags = false |

## Existing Scripts

Existing scripts which are required to operate exactly as before will need to **add “abandonOnEmpty” =true** to ExportIntoTable methods. This will create a table with no records and no fields (same behaviour as v8.16 and earlier).

## Upsert Scripts

Upsert scripts should do the following:

```none
Load BASE table

Load DELTA Table

Join BASE to DELTA

Create “RecordsToUpsert” domain on BASE table

If Count([BASE.RecordsToUpsert],1)=0

     ExportToTable  APPEND DELTA to BASE

Else

     ExportToTable  [BASE.RecordsToUpsert] into TEMPTABLE

     Delete BASE

     Rename TEMPTABLE to BASE

     ExportToTable  APPEND DELTA to BASE

End If
```

No flags are required – default ExportIntoTable behaviour is sufficient.

## General Principle for new scripts

New scripts should use the **if(exists([TableName])) conditional statement** to **explicitly handle** scenarios where a table may or may not be created:

To force creation of an empty table with **no records but with fields**, do the following:

```none
ExportIntoTable TABLE1, all=true,[empty dataset]

NOTE: The resulting table is not valid for analysis.
```

To only create a table if there are records in the dataset, do the following

```none
ExportIntoTable TABLE1, ignoreIfEmpty=false, empty dataset]

If Exists([TABLE1])

     //Do something on TABLE1

Else

     //Handle scenario where table doesn’t exist

End If
```

To create a table with **no records and no fields**, do the following:

```none
ExportIntoTable TABLE1, [empty dataset], abandonOnEmpty=true

NOTE: The resulting table is not valid for analysis.
```

# Appending Data with mismatched field definitions

| 9.22 | 10.13 |
| --- | --- |
| Creates unbalanced table | Default behaviour: will **raise an error** if field definitions are not identical in existing table and dataset to append: “append will produce unbalanced table - see 'allowUnbalanced' or 'completeFields'” **Variations** “**allowUnbalanced**”= true: Allows mismatched definitions to be appended without raising an error. “**completeFields**” = true: fills in missing fields in existing table and update data with nulls. |