How to Synch SPSS and SQL Data

Question

I imported SQL data to SPSS for analysis and made lots of changes in the field names, types and ...

However, it happens a lot that some records in SQL database are added/removed and these changes must be reflected into my SPSS file. I know that I can export back my SPSS to SQL, make changes there in SQL, and import back SQL data to SPSS. But, every time I import it, all the lables, classifications and ... revert back.

So, I am wondering if at all there is a way to synch records (or even fields) from SQL without importing new SQL table in a fresh SPSS file?

Thanks

Answer 1

You need to re-import the table, but as long as your changes are made in syntax, you can just reexecute that syntax to reapply the changes. Alternatively, if you can identify the changes based on date or other criteria, you could just pull those changes, apply your syntax, and merge with the main file using MATCH, ADD, or UPDATE.