Storing a dynamically created PDF file in memory and storing it to a blob field in a database

[Tony]

Hi,
I have dynamically created a PDF document in memory as a FileOutputStrea m
Now I have to get it into a DB2 table, storing it as a BLOB. The table has a
document id,
document name, some date fields and this BLOB column that stores PDF Files.
Until now, the PDF files were read off of a disk drive. The code used was:

byte[] fileAsBytes = (byte[]) adminDocEvent.g etFile();

which returns an object.
then:
"INSERT INTO WPWDB.DOC_DOCUM ENT ("
+ "DOC_SUB_CAT_ID ,"
+ "DOC_DOC_NM_TXT ,"
+ "DOC_DOC_DESCN_ TXT,"
+ "DOC_ACTIVE_TXT ,"
+ "DOC_DOC_LNK_TX T,"
+ "DOC_DOC_MIME_T YP,"
+ "MODIFY_USUS_ID ,"
+ "MODIFY_DT_ TM)"
+ " VALUES (?,?,?,?,?,?,?, CURRENT TIMESTAMP)";

connection = getConnection() ;

pstmt = connection.prep areStatement(qu ery);
pstmt.setInt(1, subCatId);
pstmt.setString (2, docName);
pstmt.setString (3, docDescription) ;
pstmt.setString (4, "Y");
==> pstmt.setBytes( 5, fileasarray);
pstmt.setString (6, mimeType);
pstmt.setString (7, modfiedUserID);
pstmt.executeUp date();

This is fine, if the pdf file exists as a file on a disk.
For my issue (loading a pdf file from memory) I use the following:

FileOutputStrea m fos = new FileOutputStrea m(docName);
private PdfWriter docWriter = null;
docWriter=PdfWr iter.getInstanc e(pdfDocument, fos);
I then create the pdfDocument in memory using iText classes.
Then I try to prepare the file for the above sql stmt.

file = (Object) fos;
AdminDocDAO adminDocDAO = new AdminDocDAO();
if (adminDocDAO.ad dDoc(subCatId,d ocName,docDescr iption,fileAsBy tes,
mimeType,modifi edUserID))

I get a casting exeception at: file = (Object) fos;

So my question is can anyone think of another approach to getting a
FileOutputStrea m into a format loadable in SQL using DB2???????
Thanks to any and all who can.

[Raymond DeCampo]

Tony wrote:
[snip]

This is fine, if the pdf file exists as a file on a disk.
For my issue (loading a pdf file from memory) I use the following:

FileOutputStrea m fos = new FileOutputStrea m(docName);
private PdfWriter docWriter = null;
docWriter=PdfWr iter.getInstanc e(pdfDocument, fos);
I then create the pdfDocument in memory using iText classes.
Then I try to prepare the file for the above sql stmt.

file = (Object) fos;
AdminDocDAO adminDocDAO = new AdminDocDAO();
if (adminDocDAO.ad dDoc(subCatId,d ocName,docDescr iption,fileAsBy tes,
mimeType,modifi edUserID))

I get a casting exeception at: file = (Object) fos;

So my question is can anyone think of another approach to getting a
FileOutputStrea m into a format loadable in SQL using DB2???????
Thanks to any and all who can.

Tony,

You seem confused. First, a FileOutputStrea m is a mechanism for writing
bytes to a file. It does not contain the bytes. It can not be cast to
a File. If you want a File object representing the file the
FileOutputStrea m writes to, use the File constructor that accepts a
String, passing the same name you passed to the FileOutputStrea m
constructor. Then you can read in the bytes in the file into a byte array.

Note that this means you will have the entire file in memory. If the
file is large, this is a bad idea. Most JDBC drivers provide a means
for obtaining an OutputStream for BLOBs. You should look into using
this mechanism. In this case, you could skip the file, skip reading the
file into a byte array and just write the PDF directly to the database.
(This assumes that you didn't need the file for other purposes. If
you want the file too, you could still read a bit of the file, write it
to the db and repeat to avoid placing the entire file in memory.)

HTH,
Ray

--
XML is the programmer's duct tape.

[Tony]

Thanks Ray. I've solved the problem.

Tony
"Raymond DeCampo" <rd******@spam. twcny.spam.rr.s pam.com.spam> wrote in
message news:Mi******** ***********@twi ster.nyroc.rr.c om...

Tony wrote:
[snip]

This is fine, if the pdf file exists as a file on a disk.
For my issue (loading a pdf file from memory) I use the following:

FileOutputStrea m fos = new FileOutputStrea m(docName);
private PdfWriter docWriter = null;
docWriter=PdfWr iter.getInstanc e(pdfDocument, fos);
I then create the pdfDocument in memory using iText classes.
Then I try to prepare the file for the above sql stmt.

file = (Object) fos;
AdminDocDAO adminDocDAO = new AdminDocDAO();
if (adminDocDAO.ad dDoc(subCatId,d ocName,docDescr iption,fileAsBy tes,
mimeType,modifi edUserID))

I get a casting exeception at: file = (Object) fos;

So my question is can anyone think of another approach to getting a
FileOutputStrea m into a format loadable in SQL using DB2???????
Thanks to any and all who can.
Tony,

You seem confused. First, a FileOutputStrea m is a mechanism for writing
bytes to a file. It does not contain the bytes. It can not be cast to
a File. If you want a File object representing the file the
FileOutputStrea m writes to, use the File constructor that accepts a
String, passing the same name you passed to the FileOutputStrea m
constructor. Then you can read in the bytes in the file into a byte

array.
Note that this means you will have the entire file in memory. If the
file is large, this is a bad idea. Most JDBC drivers provide a means
for obtaining an OutputStream for BLOBs. You should look into using
this mechanism. In this case, you could skip the file, skip reading the
file into a byte array and just write the PDF directly to the database.
(This assumes that you didn't need the file for other purposes. If
you want the file too, you could still read a bit of the file, write it
to the db and repeat to avoid placing the entire file in memory.)

HTH,
Ray

--
XML is the programmer's duct tape.