Why does the PostgreSQL connector remove \ from a text field?

Question

Why does the PostgreSQL connector remove \ from a text field?

Diana Rus 55

Hi,

I have a pipeline that copies data from a postgresql db table into an azure db. This table has a column that contains special characters like {. The copy activity has been running for a long time without issues, however last week overnight it decided that the \ will no longer be brought back. If I connect directly into the Postgresql db I can still see the \ in that column, if I preview data in ADF those \ don't appear and are subsequently not being copied into the Azure db. Why has this happened?

See below screenshots of the 2 behaviours.

ADF:

User's image

PostgreSql db:

User's image

phemanth 15,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2024-06-20T08:51:49.9666667+00:00

@Diana Rus We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.
phemanth 15,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2024-06-24T13:28:55.4166667+00:00

@Diana Rus just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.

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phemanth 15,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2024-06-20T08:51:49.9666667+00:00

@Diana Rus We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.
phemanth 15,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2024-06-24T13:28:55.4166667+00:00

@Diana Rus just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.

Answer 1

phemanth 15,765 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

@Diana Rus

Thanks for using MS Q&A platform and posting your query.

The issue you’re experiencing might be due to the way the backslash (\) character is handled in different systems. The backslash is often used as an escape character in many programming languages and databases, including PostgreSQL. This means that it’s used to introduce special character sequences.

If a system or language interprets the backslash as an escape character, it will treat the \ character and the character following it as a special sequence, and it won’t be displayed in the output. This could be why you’re not seeing the \ character when you preview the data in Azure Data Factory (ADF).

To resolve this issue, you might need to adjust the settings or the query used in your pipeline to ensure that the \ character is correctly copied from the PostgreSQL database to the Azure database. This could involve adding an extra \ to escape the backslash itself (i.e., \\), or changing the settings to treat the \ as a literal character instead of an escape character.

Please note that the exact solution might depend on the specifics of your pipeline and the data you’re working with

Hope this helps. Do let us know if you any further queries.

Diana Rus 55 Reputation points

2024-06-17T10:40:25.55+00:00

Hi @phemanth ,

Thank you for your reply. the pipeline/table in postgresql/table in azure have not changed in months, so why the sudden change in how the data is being brought back?
phemanth 15,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2024-06-19T07:08:21.98+00:00

@Diana Rus The sudden change in how the data is being brought back could be due to a variety of reasons. Here are a few possibilities:

Software Updates: Sometimes, updates to the database software or the Azure Data Factory can change the way certain characters are handled. If there was a recent update, it might have affected the interpretation of the backslash (\) character.

Data Changes: If the data in your PostgreSQL table has changed, it might have introduced new instances of the \ character that weren’t present before. These could be causing the issue you’re seeing.

Configuration Changes: Even if you didn’t change the pipeline or the tables, there might have been changes to the configuration of your PostgreSQL database, Azure database, or Azure Data Factory. These changes could affect how data is transferred and how special characters like \ are handled.

Network Issues: Sometimes, network issues can cause data to be transferred incorrectly, leading to missing or altered characters.

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Why does the PostgreSQL connector remove \ from a text field?

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