# **LOAD_FILE()**

## **Function Description**

The `LOAD_FILE()` function is used to read the contents of the file pointed to by the datalink type.

:::{note}
When load_file() is used to load large files, if the file data is too large, it may exceed the system memory limit, resulting in memory overflow. It is recommended to use it in combination with [DATALINK](../../Data-Types/datalink-type.md).
:::
## **Function Syntax**

```text
>LOAD_FILE(datalink_type_data);
```

## **Parameter definition**

| Parameters | Description |
| ---- | ---- |
| datalink_type_data | datalink type data, you can use the [cast()](../../Operators/operators/cast-functions-and-operators/cast.md) function to convert |

## **Example**

There is a file under `/Users/admin/case` `t1.csv`

```bash
(base) admin@192 case % cat t1.csv
This is a test message
```

```text
create table t1 (col1 int, col2 datalink);
create stage stage1 url='file:///Users/admin/case/';
insert into t1 values (1, 'file:///Users/admin/case/t1.csv');
insert into t1 values (2, 'stage://stage1//t1.csv');

mysql> select * from t1;
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| col1 | col2 |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| 1 | file:///Users/admin/case/t1.csv |
| 2 | stage://stage1//t1.csv |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
2 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> select col1, load_file(col2) from t1;
+-------------------------------------------+
| col1 | load_file(col2) |
+-------------------------------------------+
| 1 | this is a test message
 |
| 2 | this is a test message
 |
+-------------------------------------------+
2 rows in set (0.01 sec)


mysql> select load_file(cast('file:///Users/admin/case/t1.csv' as datalink));
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| load_file(cast(file:///Users/admin/case/t1.csv as datalink)) |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| this is a test message
                                      |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql> select load_file(cast('stage://stage1//t1.csv' as datalink));
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| load_file(cast(stage://stage1//t1.csv as datalink)) |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| this is a test message
                             |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 row in set (0.00 sec)
```