Sampling Large Data Files

Question

I currently work in the position of Data Warehouse programmer and as such have to put numerous flat files through ETL process. Of course prior to loading the file I have to be aware of its content, the problem is that majority of the files are > 1 GB large and I can not open them using my dear old friend "notepad". Kidding. I usually use VIM or Notepad++ but it still takes a while to open the file. Could I perform a "partial" read of the file using VIM or some other editor?

P.S. I know that I could write a 10 liner script to "data sample" the file, but it would be simpler to convince team members to use a feature of an editor than a script that I wrote.

Thank you for any insight you might have.

Answer 1

If you want to stick with using vim, you could have a look at the LargeFile script.

Alternatively, I've always found that UltraEdit opens large files extremely quickly.