Importing initial reference data

Pepys allows the import of initial data for the reference and metadata tables. In practical terms, this means that Pepys can be initialised with lists of Platform Types, Nationalities, Platforms, Sensors and so on, which will significantly reduce the workload of analysts importing datafiles into Pepys. To import new initial data into the Pepys databases, follow the instructions below. Before starting, make sure you know the full path to the folder of CSV files to be imported - it will look something like c:\path\to\folder

  1. Open the Windows Command prompt by opening the Start Menu and searching for Command Prompt.

  2. Type pepys_admin.bat --path <PATH_TO_CSV_FILES>, replacing <PATH_TO_CSV_FILES> with the full path to the folder containing the CSV files. The full command will look like pepys_admin.bat --path c:\path\to\folder. Press Enter. This will open the Pepys Admin application.

  3. Press 1 followed by Enter to select the Initialise/Clear option.

  4. WARNING: Only perform steps 4a & 4b if you intend to delete all data in the Pepys database. It is most likely that you don’t wish to clear the database schema. Please read the conditions described below in the section stitled Clearing the database schema.

4a. Press 2 followed by Enter to select the Clear database schema option

4b. Press 3 followed by Enter to select the Create Pepys schema option

  1. You will be back at list of options. Choose option 4. This will import the reference data from the CSV files, and a message will appear saying this has completed and which file was used, followed by the menu appearing again.

  2. Now choose option 5 to import the metadata. If there are any errors in the CSV files, these will be displayed. The entries with errors will not have been imported, so changes can be made to these entries and the import run again without needing to clear the database by running step 4.

  3. Choose option 0 and then option 0 again to exit Pepys Admin.

  4. Close the Command Prompt

Clearing the database schema

Under a few circumstances it is necessary to clear/wipe the database. This should be performed if an organisation is performing initial experiments with strategies for Reference Tables, or performing Pepys trials, and wishes to wipe everything and start again.