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TeeBI provides comprehensive data export capabilities through the BI.Persist.pas unit.

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Supported Formats

Export data to multiple formats:
  • CSV - Comma-separated values
  • PDF - Portable Document Format
  • HTML - Web pages and tables
  • XML - Extensible Markup Language
  • Excel - Microsoft Excel workbooks
  • JSON - JavaScript Object Notation
  • Binary - TeeBI native format (.bi, .databi)
See BI.Persist.pas for persistence functionality.

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Binary Format

TeeBI’s native format for optimal performance.

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Structure and Data Together

Use TDataItemPersistence for complete data packages (BI.Persist.pas:394-404): 
uses
  BI.Persist, BI.DataItem;

var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Save both structure and data
  TDataItemPersistence.Save(Data, 'data.bidata');
  
  // Load everything
  Data := TDataItemPersistence.Load('data.bidata');
end;
File extension: .bidata

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Structure Only

Use TPersistence for metadata only (BI.Persist.pas:331-360): 
var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Save structure (no data values)
  TPersistence.Save(Data, 'structure.bi');
  
  // Load structure
  Data := TPersistence.Load('structure.bi');
end;
File extension: .bi See BI.Persist.pas:342 for the version constant.

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Data Only

Use TDataPersistence for values only (BI.Persist.pas:363-391): 
var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Requires structure to be already loaded
  TDataPersistence.Save(Data, 'values.databi');
  
  // Load values into existing structure
  TDataPersistence.Load('values.databi', Data, True);
end;
File extension: .databi See BI.Persist.pas:372 for the version constant.

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Delayed Loading

Load data on-demand for large files: 
var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Load structure only, defer data loading
  Data := TDataItemPersistence.Load('largefile.bidata');
  
  // Data loads automatically when accessed
  ShowMessage(Data.TextData[0]);
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:1468-1513 for delayed loading implementation.

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Stream-Based Export

Export to streams instead of files: 
var
  Stream: TMemoryStream;
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  Stream := TMemoryStream.Create;
  try
    // Save to stream
    TDataItemPersistence.Save(Data, Stream);
    
    // Use stream (send over network, etc.)
    SendData(Stream);
  finally
    Stream.Free;
  end;
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:402 for stream save methods.

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Compression

Automatically compress data: 
var
  Stream, ZipStream: TStream;
begin
  Stream := TStore.DataToStream(Data, False);  // Uncompressed
  ZipStream := TStore.DataToStream(Data, True); // Compressed
  
  // Or manually
  ZipStream := TStore.ZipStream(Stream);
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:276-279 for DataToStream methods.

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Store System

Manage data repositories using TStore (BI.Persist.pas:251-307):

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Save to Store

var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Save to default store
  TStore.Save(Data, 'MyData');
  
  // Save to specific store
  TStore.Save(Data, 'C:\DataStore\MyData');
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:295-297 for Save methods.

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Load from Store

var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Load from default store
  Data := TStore.Load('MyData');
  
  // Load from specific store
  Data := TStore.Load('C:\DataStore', 'MyData');
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:274-275 for Load methods.

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Default Store

begin
  // Set default location
  TStore.DefaultName := 'C:\MyDataStore';
  
  // Now Load/Save without path
  TStore.Save(Data, 'MyData');
  Data := TStore.Load('MyData');
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:254-259 for default store property.

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Folder Storage

Store each column as separate file: 
var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  // Save to folder (one file per column)
  TDataPersistence.SaveToFolder(Data, 'C:\DataFolder\');
  
  // Load from folder
  TDataPersistence.LoadFromFolder('C:\DataFolder\', Data, True);
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:1780-1827 for folder persistence.

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Progress Callback

Monitor save/load progress: 
procedure ShowProgress(const Sender: TObject; 
                       const Percent: Single; 
                       var Cancel: Boolean);
begin
  ProgressBar.Position := Round(Percent);
  Application.ProcessMessages;
  
  if UserClickedCancel then
    Cancel := True;
end;

begin
  // Save with progress
  TDataPersistence.Save(Data, 'data.databi', ShowProgress);
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:46 for TBIProgress type.

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Data Definition

Define data sources using TDataDefinition (BI.Persist.pas:116-217): 
var
  Definition: TDataDefinition;
begin
  Definition := TDataDefinition.Create(nil);
  try
    Definition.Kind := TDataDefinitionKind.Files;
    Definition.FileName := 'data.csv';
    Definition['Delimiter'] := ',';
    Definition['HasHeader'] := 'True';
    
    // Import data
    Data := Definition.Import('');
  finally
    Definition.Free;
  end;
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:112 for TDataDefinitionKind.

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Registry/INI Settings

Cross-platform configuration using TBIRegistry (BI.Persist.pas:407-426): 
begin
  // Read settings
  Path := TBIRegistry.ReadString('Settings', 'DataPath', 'C:\Data');
  Count := TBIRegistry.ReadInteger('Settings', 'MaxRows', 1000);
  AutoLoad := TBIRegistry.ReadBoolean('Settings', 'AutoLoad', True);
  
  // Write settings
  TBIRegistry.WriteString('Settings', 'DataPath', 'D:\Data');
  TBIRegistry.WriteInteger('Settings', 'MaxRows', 5000);
  TBIRegistry.WriteBoolean('Settings', 'AutoLoad', False);
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:410-424 for registry methods.

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Error Handling

var
  Data: TDataItem;
begin
  try
    Data := TDataItemPersistence.Load('data.bidata');
  except
    on E: EBILoadVersionException do
      ShowMessage('Incompatible version: ' + 
                  IntToStr(E.WrongVersion));
    on E: EBIException do
      ShowMessage('Load error: ' + E.Message);
  end;
end;
See BI.Persist.pas:428-433 for EBILoadVersionException.

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Performance Tips

  • Use .bidata format for fastest save/load
  • Enable compression for network transfer
  • Use delayed loading for large datasets
  • Folder storage works well for very wide tables
  • Calculate statistics before saving for faster queries

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Next Steps

Formats

Learn about export formats

Customization

Customize export settings

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