18.5. Summary
In this chapter, we looked at the first of our two major data import/export utilities. BCP is used primarily for importing and exporting data stored as text files to and from our SQL Server. We also took a look at some of BCP's brethren.
As a legacy utility, BCP will be familiar to most people who have worked with SQL Server forany length of time. Microsoft continues to enhance the core technology behind BCP, so I think it'ssafe to say that BCP is here to stay.
That said, BCP is quite often not your best option. Be sure to check your options with BULK INSERT (and the benefits of running in process to SQL Server) as well as OPENROWSET (BULK).
In our next chapter, we will take a look at BCP's major competition — SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). SSIS has the glamour and glitz that BCP is missing, but it also has its own quirks that can occasionally make the simplicity of BCP seem downright appealing.
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