In a COPY INTO statement, which approach specifies the exact files to load from a stage?

• A. Copying all files by omitting any file specification
• B. Using a pattern in the stage path
• C. Listing a single file name only
• D. Using the FILES parameter with a comma-separated list of file names in parentheses

Answer: (D)

The main idea is precise control over which files are loaded from a stage. In COPY INTO, you specify an exact set of files to ingest using the FILES parameter, listing them as a comma-separated list inside parentheses. This lets you load only the files you want (for example, FILES = ('sales_202406.csv','sales_202407.csv')), even when other files exist in the stage.

Not specifying files loads all files from the stage path, and using a pattern filters by name but does not enumerate a fixed list of files. Listing a single file name is technically valid for that one file, but FILES is the mechanism designed to handle an explicit, potentially multiple-file selection in one place.