text: ---------------------------------------------------------------
  -- table: dist.  load data
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
  
  truncate dist;
  alter table dist alter column date_received type character varying(10);
  alter table dist alter column date_loaded_delivered type character varying(10);
  copy dist from 'c:\dbdata\symphony\dist.txt' delimiter '|';
  update dist set date_received = null where date_received = 'NEVER';
  update dist set date_loaded_delivered = null where date_loaded_delivered = 'NEVER';
  alter table dist alter column date_received type date using to_date(date_received, 'DD/MM/YYYY');
  alter table dist alter column date_loaded_delivered type date using to_date(date_loaded_delivered, 'DD/MM/YYYY');