For MYSQL I use the LOAD DATA SQL. LOAD DATA [LOW_PRIORITY | CONCURRENT] [LOCAL] INFILE 'file_name' [REPLACE | IGNORE] INTO TABLE tbl_name [CHARACTER SET charset_name] [{FIELDS | COLUMNS} [TERMINATED BY 'string'] [[OPTIONALLY] ENCLOSED BY 'char'] [ESCAPED BY 'char'] ] [LINES [STARTING BY 'string'] [TERMINATED BY 'string'] ] [IGNORE number LINES] [(col_name_or_user_var,...)] [SET col_name = expr,...] http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.1/en/load-data.html