Copyright: Copyright (C) 1995, Oracle Corporation


SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference

Preface

Introduction

Learning SQL*Plus Basics

Manipulating Commands

Formatting Query Results

Accessing SQL Databases

Command Reference

COPY Command Messages and Codes

Release 3.2 Enhancements

SQL*Plus Limits

SQL Command List

Security

SQL*Plus Commands from Earlier Releases

Glossary


Info

SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference,  Release 3.2
Part No. A31553-1
Copyright E 1995 Oracle Corporation
All rights reserved.  Printed in the U.S.A.
Contributing Author:  Frank Rovitto
Contributors:  Larry Baer, Lisa Colston, Roland Kovacs, Karen Denchfield-Masterson, Alison Holloway, Christopher Jones, Anita Lam, Nimish Mehta, Bud Osterberg, Richard Rendell, Farokh Shapoorjee, Larry Stevens, Andre Touma
This software was not developed for use in any nuclear, aviation, mass transit,  medical, or other inherently dangerous applications. It is the customer's responsibility to take all appropriate measures to ensure the safe use of such applications if the programs are used for such purposes.
This software/documentation contains proprietary information of Oracle Corporation; it is provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and is also protected by copyright law.  Reverse engineering of the software is prohibited.
If this software/documentation is delivered to a U.S. Government Agency of the Department of Defense, then it is delivered with Restricted Rights and the following legend is applicable:
Restricted Rights Legend  Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of DFARS 252.227-7013, Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software (October 1988).
Oracle Corporation, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood City, CA 94065.
If this software/documentation is delivered to a U.S. Government Agency not within the Department of Defense, then it is delivered with Restricted Rights", as defined in FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data - General, including Alternate III (June 1987).
The information in this document is subject to change without notice. If you find any problems in the documentation, please report them to us in writing. Oracle Corporation does not warrant that this document is error free.
CASE Designer, CASE Dictionary, Oracle, SQL* Forms, SQL*Plus, and SQL*ReportWriter are registered trademarks , and CASE Generator, Oracle Graphics, Oracle*Mail, and PL/SQL are trademarks of Oracle Corporation.
Lotus and 1-2-3 are trademarks of Lotus Development Corporation.
All other products or company names are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.


SQL*Plus® User's Guide and Reference

Release 3.2

Part No. A31553-1


Preface

The SQL*Plus (pronounced "sequel plus") User's Guide and Reference introduces the SQL*Plus program and its uses. It also provides a detailed description of each SQL*Plus command.

Audience

This Guide addresses business and technical professionals who have a basic understanding of the SQL database language. If you do not have any familiarity with this database tool, you should refer to the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual. If you plan to use the PL/SQL database language in conjunction with SQL*Plus, refer to the PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference for information on using PL/SQL.

How to Use this Guide

Refer to the following tables for a list of topics covered by this Guide, a description of each topic, and the number of the chapter that covers the topic.

PART IUnderstanding SQL*Plus

Topic	Description	Chapter Number
Introduction	Gives an overview of SQL*Plus, instructions on using this Guide, and information on what you need to run SQL*Plus.	1
Learning SQL*Plus Basics	Explains how to start SQL*Plus and enter and execute commands. You learn by following step-by-step examples using sample tables.	2
Manipulating Commands	Also through examples, helps you learn to edit commands, save them for later use, and write interactive commands.	3
Formatting Query Results	Explains how you can format columns, clarify your report with spacing and summary lines, define page dimensions and titles, and store and print query results. Also uses step-by-step examples.	4
Accessing Databases	Tells you how to connect to default and remote databases, and how to copy data between databases and between tables on the same database. Includes one example.	5

PART II  Reference

Topic	Description	Chapter Number
Command Reference	Gives you a SQL*Plus command summary and detailed descriptions of each SQL*Plus command in alphabetical order.	6
COPY Command Messages and Codes	Lists copy command error messages, their causes, and appropriate actions for error recovery.	Appendix A
Release 3.2Enhancements	Describes enhancements to SQL*Plus in Release 3.2.	Appendix B
SQL*Plus Limits	Lists the maximum values for elements of SQL*Plus.	Appendix C
SQL Command List	Provides a list of major SQL commands and clauses.	Appendix D
Security	Explains how to restrict users' access to certain SQL*Plus and SQL commands.	Appendix E
SQL*Plus Commands from Earlier Releases	Provides information on SQL*Plus commands from earlier Releases.	Appendix F
Glossary	Defines technical terms associated with Oracle and SQL*Plus.	Glossary

Related Publications

Related documentation includes the following publications:

•	SQL*Plus Quick Reference

•	PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference

•	SQL*Module User's Guide and Reference

•	Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual

•	Oracle7 Server Concepts Manual

•	Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide

•	Oracle7 Server Application Developer's Guide

•	Oracle7 Server Distributed Databases Manual

•	Oracle7 Server Utilities User's Guide

•	Oracle7 Server Messages Manual

•	Oracle7 Server Migration Guide

•	Oracle7 Server Reference Manual

•	Oracle7 Server Tuning Guide

•	Oracle7 Parallel Server Manual

•	Programmer's Guide to the Oracle Call Interface

•	Programmer's Guide to the Oracle Precompilers

•	Programmer's Guide to the Oracle Pro*C Precompiler

•	Pro*COBOL Supplement to the Oracle Precompilers Guide

•	Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system

Your Comments Are Welcome

Oracle Corporation values and appreciates your comments as an Oracle user and reader of the manuals. As we write, revise, and evaluate, your opinions are the most important input we receive. At the back of this manual is a Reader's Comment Form that we encourage you to use to tell us both what you like and what you dislike about this (or other) Oracle manuals. If the form is not at the end of this manual, or if you would like to contact us, please use the following addresses and phone numbers.

For documentation questions/comments, contact:

SQL*Plus Documentation Manager
Research & Development
Oracle Systems Australia Pty Ltd
324 St. Kilda Road
Melbourne  VIC  3004
Australia
+61 3 685 9100 (telephone)
+61 3 699 1259 (fax)

For product questions/comments, contact:

SQL*Plus Product Manager
Research & Development
Oracle Systems Australia Pty Ltd
324 St. Kilda Road
Melbourne  VIC  3004
Australia
+61 3 685 9100 (telephone)
+61 3 699 1259 (fax)


Understanding SQL*Plus


Introduction

This chapter introduces you to SQL*Plus, covering the following topics:

•	overview of the SQL*Plus program

•	definition of basic concepts

•	explanation of who can use SQL*Plus

•	description of other programs you can use with Oracle

•	command syntax conventions used in this Guide

•	sample tables you will use

•	equipment, software, and information you need to run SQL*Plus


Overview of SQL*Plus

You can use the SQL*Plusprogram in conjunction with the SQLdatabase language and its procedural language extension, PL/SQL. The SQL database language allows you to store and retrieve data in Oracle. PL/SQL allows you to link several SQL commands through procedural logic.

SQL*Plus enables you to manipulate SQL commands and PL/SQL blocks, and to perform many additional tasks as well. Through SQL*Plus, you can

•	enter, edit, store, retrieve, and run SQL commands and PL/SQL blocks

•	format, perform calculations on, store, and print query results in the form of reports

•	list column definitions for any table

•	access and copy data between SQL databases

•	send messages to and accept responses from an end user

Basic Concepts

The following definitionsexplain concepts central to SQL*Plus:

command	An instruction you give SQL*Plus or Oracle.
block	A group of SQL and PL/SQL commands related to one another through procedural logic.
table	The basic unit of storage in Oracle.
query	A SQL command (specifically, a SQL SELECT command) that retrieves information from one or more tables.
query results	The data retrieved by a query.
report	Query results formatted by you through SQL*Plus commands.

Who Can Use SQL*Plus

The SQL*Plus, SQL, and PL/SQL command languages are powerful enough to serve the needs of users with some database experience, yet straightforward enough for new users who are just learning to work with Oracle.

The design of the SQL*Pluscommand language makes it easy to use. For example, to give a column labelled ENAME in the database the clearer heading "Employee", you might enter the following command:

COLUMN ENAME HEADING EMPLOYEE

Similarly, to list the column definitions for a table called EMP, you might enter this command:

DESCRIBE EMP

Other Ways of Working with Oracle

Oracle serves as the foundation for a complete set of CASE, application development, and office automation tools. These tools support every phase of a system's development and life cycle, from analysis and design through implementation and maintenance.

CASE	CASE Designer	a systems analysis and design tool
	CASE Dictionary	a repository of data rules
	CASE Generators	a suite of application generators
Application Development	Oracle*Forms	a screen builder
	SQL*Menu	a menu builder
	SQL*ReportWriter	a report builder
	Oracle Graphics	a chart builder
	Oracle Card	a multimedia development environment
	SQL*TextRetrieval	a text search system
	PL/SQL	a client-server procedural language
	Oracle Precompilers	programming language interfaces
Office Automation	Oracle*Mail	an electronic messaging system
	Oracle Data Browser	a graphical query tool


Using this Guide

This Guide gives you information on SQL*Plus that applies to all operating systems. Some aspects of SQL*Plus, however, differ on each operating system. Such operating-system-specific details are covered in the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your system.Use these operating-system-specific manuals in conjunction with the SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference.

Throughout this Guide, examples showing how to enter commands use a common command syntax and a common set of sample tables. Both are described below. You will find the conventions for command syntax particularly useful when referring to the reference portion of this Guide.

Conventions for Command Syntax

The following two tables describe the notation and conventionsfor commandsyntaxused in this Guide.

Feature	Example	Explanation
uppercase	BTITLE	Enter text exactly as spelled; it need not be in uppercase.
lowercase italics	column	A clause value; substitute an appropriate value.
words with specific meanings	c	A single character.
	char	A CHAR value—a literal in single  quotes—or an expression with a CHAR value.
	d or e	A date or an expression with a DATE value.
	expr	An unspecified expression.
	m or n	A number or an expression with  a NUMBER value.
	text	A CHAR constant with or without single quotes.
	variable	A user variable (unless the text specifies another variable type).
Table 1 - 1.  Commands, Terms, and Clauses

Other words are explained where used if their meaning is not explained by context.

Feature	Example	Explanation
vertical bar	|	Separates alternative syntax elements that may be optional or mandatory.
brackets	[OFF|ON]	One or more optional items. If two items appear separated by |, enter one of the items separated by |. Do not enter the brackets or |.
braces	{OFF|ON}	A choice of mandatory items; enter one of the items separated by |. Do not enter the braces or |.
underlining	{OFF|ON}	A default value; if you enter nothing, SQL*Plus assumes the underlined value.
ellipsis	n...	Preceding item(s) may be repeated any number of times.
Table 1 - 2.  Punctuation

Enter other punctuation marks (such as parentheses) where shown in the command syntax.

Sample Tables

Many of the concepts and operations in this Guide are illustrated by a set of sampletables.These tables contain personnel records for a fictitious company. As you complete the exercises in this Guide, imagine that you are personnel director for this company.

The exercises make use of the information in two sample tables:

EMP	Contains information about the employees of the sample company.
DEPT	Contains information about the departments in the company.

Figure 1 - 1 and Figure 1 - 2 show the information in these tables.

EMPNO ENAME  JOB      MGR  HIREDATE    SAL    COMM   DEPTNO
----- -----  -------- ---- ----------- ------ ------ ------
 7369 SMITH  CLERK    7902 17-DEC-80      800            20
 7499 ALLEN  SALESMAN 7698 20-FEB-81     1600    300     30
 7521 WARD   SALESMAN 7698 22-FEB-81     1250    500     30
 7566 JONES  MANAGER  7839 02-APR-81     2975            20
 7654 MARTIN SALESMAN 7698 28-SEP-81     1250   1400     30
 7698 BLAKE  MANAGER  7839 01-MAY-81     2850            30
 7782 CLARK  MANAGER  7839 09-JUN-81     2450            30
 7788 SCOTT  ANALYST  7566 09-DEC-82     3000            20
 7839 KING   PRESIDENT     17-NOV-81     5000            10
 7844 TURNER SALESMAN 7698 08-SEP-81     1500      0     30
 7876 ADAMS  CLERK    7788 12-JAN-83     1100            20
 7900 JAMES  CLERK    7698 03-DEC-81      950            30
 7902 FORD   ANALYST  7566 03-DEC-81     3000            20
 7934 MILLER CLERK    7782 23-JAN-82     1300            10

Figure 1 - 1.  EMP Table

DEPTNO    DNAME         LOC
--------- ------------- -----------
       10 ACCOUNTING    NEW YORK
       20 RESEARCH      DALLAS
       30 SALES         CHICAGO
       40 OPERATIONS    BOSTON

Figure 1 - 2.  DEPT Table


What You Need to Run SQL*Plus

To run SQL*Plus, you need hardware, software, operating-system-specific information, a username and password, and access to one or more tables.

Hardware and Software

Oracle and SQL*Plus can run on many different kinds of computers. Your computer's operating system manages the computer's resources and mediates between the computer hardware and programs such as SQL*Plus. Different computers use different operating systems. For information about your computer's operating system, see the documentation provided with the computer.

Before you can begin using SQL*Plus, both Oracle and SQL*Plus must be installed on your computer. Note that in order to take advantage of the enhancements in SQL*Plus Release 3.2, you must have Oracle7 Release 7.2. For a list of SQL*Plus Release 3.2 enhancements, see Appendix B.

If you have multiple users on your computer, your organization should have a Database Administrator(called a DBA) who supervises the use of Oracle.

The DBA is responsible for installing Oracle and SQL*Plus on your system. If you are acting as DBA, see the instructions for installing Oracle and SQL*Plus in the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.

Information Specific to Your Operating System

A few aspects of Oracle and SQL*Plus differ from one type of host computer and operating system to another. These topics are discussed in the Oracle installation and user's manual(s), published in a separate version for each host computer and operating system that SQL*Plus supports.

Keep a copy of your Oracle installation and user's manual(s) available for reference as you work through this Guide. When necessary, this Guide will refer you to your installation and user's manual(s).

Username and Password

When you start SQL*Plus, you will need a usernamethat identifies you as an authorized Oracle user and a passwordthat proves you are the legitimate owner of your username. The demonstration username, SCOTT, and password, TIGER, may be set up on your system during the installation procedure. In this case, you can use the Oracle username SCOTT and password TIGER with the EMP and DEPT tables (Figure 1 - 1 and Figure 1 - 2).

Multi-User Systems

If several people share your computer's operating system, your DBA can set up your SQL*Plus username and password. You will also need a system username and password to gain admittance to the operating system. These may or may not be the same ones you use with SQL*Plus.

Single-User Systems

If only one person at a time uses your computer, you may be expected to perform the DBA's functions for yourself. In that case, you can use the Oracle username SCOTT and password TIGER. If you want to define your own username and password, see the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual.

Access to Sample Tables

Each table in the database is "owned" by a particular user. You may wish to have your own copies of the sample tablesto use as you try the examples in this Guide. To get your own copies of the tables, see your DBA or run the Oracle-supplied command file namedDEMOBLD(you run this file from your operating system, not from SQL*Plus).

When you have no more use for the sample tables, remove them by running another Oracle-supplied command file namedDEMODROP. For instructions on how to run DEMOBLD and DEMODROP, see the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.


Learning SQL*Plus Basics

This chapter helps you learn the basics of using SQL*Plus, including the following topics:

•	using the keyboard

•	starting and leaving SQL*Plus

•	running SQL commands, PL/SQL blocks, and SQL*Plus commands

•	understanding variables that affect running commands

•	saving changes to the database automatically

•	stopping a command while it is running

•	collecting timing statistics on commands you run

•	running host operating system commands and SQL*Forms forms

•	listing a table definition

•	listing a PL/SQL definition

•	controlling the display

•	interpreting error messages

Read this chapter while sitting at your computer and try out the examples shown. Before beginning, make sure you have access to the sample tables described in Chapter 1.


Getting Started

To begin using SQL*Plus, you must first become familiar with the functions of several keys on your keyboard and understand how to start and leave SQL*Plus.

Using the Keyboard

Several keys on your keyboard have special meaning in SQL*Plus.Table 2 - 1 lists these keys.

See your Oracle installation and user's manual(s) for your operating system to learn which physical key performs each function on the keyboard commonly used with your host computer.

Note: A SQL*Plus key may perform different functions when pressed in other products or the operating system.

Fill in each blank in Table 2 - 1 with the name of the corresponding keyboard key. Then locate each key on your keyboard.

SQL*PlusKey Name	Keyboard Key Name	Function
[Return]	___________	End a line of input.
[Backspace]	___________	Move cursor left one character to correct an error.
[Pause]	___________	Suspend program operation and display of output.
[Resume]	___________	Resume program operation and output [Pause].
[Cancel]	___________	Halt program operation; return to the SQL*Plus command prompt.
[Interrupt]	___________	Exit SQL*Plus and return to the host operating system.
Table 2 - 1.  SQL*Plus Special Keys and their Functions

Starting SQL*Plus

Now that you have identified important keys on your keyboard, you are ready to start SQL*Plus.

Example 2-1Starting SQL*Plus

This example shows you how to startSQL*Plus. Follow the steps shown.

1.	Make sure that Oracle has been installed on your computer.

2.	Turn on your computer (if it is off) and log on to the host operating system (if required). If you are already using your computer, you need not log off or reset it. Simply exit from the program you are using (if any).

You should see one or more characters at the left side of the screen. This is the operating system'scommand prompt, which signals that the operating system is ready to accept a command. In this Guide the operating system's prompt will be represented by a dollar sign ($). Your computer's operating system prompt may be different.

3.	Enter the command SQLPLUSand press [Return]. This is an  operating system command that starts SQL*Plus.

Note: Some operating systems expect you to enter commands in lowercase letters. If your system expects lowercase, enter the SQLPLUS command in lowercase.

$ SQLPLUS

SQL*Plus displays its version number, the date, and copyright information, and prompts you for your username (the text displayed on your system may differ slightly):

SQL*Plus: Version 3.2 - Production on Fri April 10 09:39:26 1995

Copyright (c) Oracle Corporation 1979, 1994. All rights reserved.

Enter user-name:

4.	Enter yourusernameand press [Return]. SQL*Plus displays the prompt "Enter password:".

5.	Enter your passwordand press [Return] again. For your protection, your password does not appear on the screen.

The process of entering your username and password is called logging in. SQL*Plus displays the version of Oracle to which you connected and the versions of available tools such as PL/SQL.

Next, SQL*Plusdisplays the SQL*Plus command prompt:

SQL>

The command prompt indicates that SQL*Plus is ready to accept your commands.

If SQL*Plus does not start, you should see a message meant to help you correct the problem. For further information, refer to the Oracle7 Server Messages and Codes manual for Oracle messages, or to your operating system manual for system messages.

Shortcuts to Starting SQL*Plus

When you startSQL*Plus, you can enter your username and password, separated by a slash (/), following the command SQLPLUS. For example, if your username is SCOTT and your password is TIGER, you can enter

$ SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER

and press [Return]. You can also arrange to log in to SQL*Plus automatically when you log on to your host operating system. See the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for details.

Leaving SQL*Plus

When you are done workingwith SQL*Plusand wish to return to the operating system, enter the EXITcommand at the SQL*Plus command prompt.

Example 2-2Exiting SQL*Plus

To leave SQL*Plus, enter the EXIT command at the SQL*Plus command prompt:

SQL> EXIT

SQL*Plus displays the version of Oracle from which you disconnected and the versions of tools available through SQL*Plus. After a moment you will see the operating system prompt.

Before continuing with this chapter, follow steps 3, 4, and 5 of Example 2-1 to start SQL*Plus again. Alternatively, log in using the shortcut shown under "Shortcuts to Starting SQL*Plus" above.


Entering and Executing Commands

Entering Commands

Your computer's cursor, or pointer (typically an underline, a rectangular block, or a slash), appears after the command prompt. The cursor indicates the place where the next character you type will appear on your screen.

To tell SQL*Plus what to do, simply type the command you wish to enter. Usually, you separate the words in a command from each other by a spaceor tab. You can use additional spaces or tabs between words, if you wish, to make your commands more readable.

Note: You will see examples of spacing and indentation throughout this Guide. When you enter the commands in the exercises, you do not have to space them as shown, but you may find them clearer to read if you do.

You can entercommands in capitals or lowercase. For the sake of clarity, all table names, column names, and commands in this Guide appear in capital letters.

You can enter three kinds of commandsat the command prompt:

•	SQL commands, for working with information in the database

•	PL/SQL blocks, also for working with information in the database

•	SQL*Plus commands, for formatting query results, setting options, and editing and storing SQL commands and PL/SQL blocks

The manner in which you continue a command on additional lines, end a command, or execute a command differs depending on the type of command you wish to enter and run. Examples of how to run and execute these types of commands are found on the following pages.

Getting Help

To get online help for SQL*PLUS commands, type HELP at the command prompt followed by the name of the command. For example:

SQL>HELP ACCEPT

If you get a response indicating that help is not available, consult your database administrator. For more details about the help system, see the HELP command in Chapter 6.

Executing Commands

After you enter the command and direct SQL*Plus to execute it, SQL*Plus processes the command and redisplays the command prompt, indicating that you can enter another command.

Running SQL Commands

The SQL commandlanguage enables you to manipulate data in the database. See your Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for information on individual SQL commands.

Example 2-3Entering a SQL Command

In this example, you will enter and execute a SQL command to display the employee number, name, job, and salary of each employee in the sample table EMP.

1.	At the command prompt, enter the first line of the command:

SQL> SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, JOB, SAL

If you make a mistake, use [Backspace] to erase it and re-enter. When you are done, press [Return] to move to the next line.

2.	SQL*Plus will display a "2", the prompt for the second line. Enter the second line of the command:

2  FROM EMP WHERE SAL < 2500;

The semicolon(;)means that this is the end of the command. Press [Return]. SQL*Plus processes the command and displays the resultson the screen:

     EMPNO ENAME        JOB               SAL
---------- ------------ ---------- ----------
      7369 SMITH        CLERK             800
      7499 ALLEN        SALESMAN         1600
      7521 WARD         SALESMAN         1250
      7654 MARTIN       SALESMAN         1250
      7782 CLARK        MANAGER          2450
      7844 TURNER       SALESMAN         1500
      7876 ADAMS        CLERK            1100
      7900 JAMES        CLERK             800
      7934 MILLER       CLERK            1300

9 rows selected
SQL>

After displaying the results and the number of rows retrieved, SQL*Plus displays the command prompt again. If you made a mistake and therefore did not get the results shown above, simply re-enter the command.

The headings may be repeated in your output, depending on the setting of a system variable called PAGESIZE. Whether you see the message concerning the number of records retrieved depends on the setting of a system variable called FEEDBACK. You will learn more about system variables later in this chapter in the section "Variables that Affect Running Commands". To save space, the number of records selected will not be shown in the rest of the examples in this Guide.

Understanding SQL Command Syntax

Just as spoken language has syntax rulesthat govern the way we assemble words into sentences, SQL*Plus has syntax rules that govern how you assemble words into commands.You must follow these rules if you want SQL*Plus to accept and execute your commands.

Dividing a SQL Command into Separate Lines   You can divide your SQL commandinto separate lines at any points you wish, as long as individual words are not split between lines. Thus, you can enter the query you entered in Example 2-3 on one line:

SQL> SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, JOB, SAL FROM EMP WHERE SAL < 2500;

You can also enter the query on several lines:

SQL> SELECT
  2  EMPNO, ENAME, JOB, SAL
  3  FROM EMP
  4  WHERE SAL < 2500;

In this Guide, you will find most SQL commands divided into clauses, one clause on each line. In Example 2-3, for instance, the SELECT and FROM clauses were placed on separate lines. Many people find this most convenient, but you may choose whatever line division makes your command most readable to you.

Ending a SQL Command   You can end a SQL commandin one of three ways:

•	with a semicolon (;)

•	with a slash (/) on a line by itself

•	with a blank line

A semicolon (;)tells SQL*Plus that you want to run the command. Type the semicolon at the end of the last line of the command, as shown in Example 2-3, and press [Return]. SQL*Plus will process the command and store it in the SQL buffer (see "The SQL Buffer" below for details). If you mistakenly press [Return] before typing the semicolon, SQL*Plus will prompt you with a line number for the next line of your command. Type the semicolon and press [Return] again to run the command.

Note: You cannot enter a comment (/* */) on the same line on which you enter a semicolon.

A slash (/)on a line by itself also tells SQL*Plus that you wish to run the command. Press [Return] at the end of the last line of the command. SQL*Plus prompts you with another line number. Type a slash and press [Return] again. SQL*Plus will execute the command and store it in the buffer (see "The SQL Buffer" below for details).

A blank linetells SQL*Plus that you have finished entering the command, but do not want to run it yet. Press [Return] at the end of the last line of the command. SQL*Plus prompts you with another line number.

Press [Return] again; SQL*Plus now prompts you with the SQL*Plus command prompt. SQL*Plus does not execute the command, but stores it in the SQL buffer (see "The SQL Buffer" below for details). If you subsequently enter another SQL command, SQL*Plus overwrites the previous command in the buffer.

Creating Stored Procedures  Stored procedures are PL/SQL functions, packages, or procedures. To create stored procedures, you use SQL CREATE commands. The following SQL CREATE commands are used to create stored procedures:

•	CREATE FUNCTION

•	CREATE PACKAGE

•	CREATE PACKAGE BODY

•	CREATE PROCEDURE

•	CREATE TRIGGER

Entering any of these commands places you in PL/SQL mode, where you can enter your PL/SQL subprogram (see also "Running PL/SQL Blocks" in this chapter). When you are done typing your PL/SQL subprogram, enter a period (.) on a line by itself to terminate PL/SQL mode. To run the SQL command and create the stored procedure, you must enter RUN or slash (/). A semicolon (;) will not execute these CREATE commands.

When you use CREATE to create a stored procedure, a message appears if there are compilation errors. To view these errors, you use SHOW ERRORS. For example:

SQL> SHOW ERRORS PROCEDURE ASSIGNVL

See Chapter 6 for a description of the SHOW command.

To execute a PL/SQL statement that references a stored procedure, you can use the EXECUTE command. EXECUTE runs the PL/SQL statement that you enter immediately after the command. For example:

SQL> EXECUTE :ID := EMP_MANAGEMENT.GET_ID('BLAKE')

See Chapter 6 for a description of the EXECUTE command.

The SQL Buffer

The area where SQL*Plus stores your most recently entered SQL command or PL/SQL block is called the SQL buffer. The command or block remains there until you enter another. Thus, if you want to edit or rerun the current SQL command or PL/SQL block, you may do so without re-entering it. See Chapter 3 for details about editing or rerunning a command or block stored in the buffer.

SQL*Plus does not store the semicolon or the slash you type to execute a command in the SQL buffer.

Note: SQL*Plus commands are not stored in the SQL buffer.

Executing the Current SQL Command or PL/SQL Block from the Command Prompt

You can run (or rerun) the current SQL commandor PL/SQL blockby entering the RUNcommand or the slash(/) commandat the command prompt. The RUNcommand lists the SQL command or PL/SQL block in the bufferbefore executing the command or block; the slash (/)command simply runs the SQL command or PL/SQL block.

Running PL/SQL Blocks

You can also use PL/SQLsubprograms (called blocks) to manipulate data in the database. See your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference for information on individual PL/SQL statements.

To enter a PL/SQL subprogram in SQL*Plus, you need to be in PL/SQL mode. You are placed in PL/SQL mode when

•	You type DECLARE or BEGIN at the SQL*Plus command prompt. After you enter PL/SQL mode in this way, type the remainder of your PL/SQL subprogram.

•	You type a SQL command (such as CREATE FUNCTION) that creates a stored procedure. After you enter PL/SQL mode in this way, type the stored procedure you want to create.

SQL*Plus treats PL/SQLsubprograms in the same manner as SQL commands, except that a semicolon(;) or a blank line does not terminate and execute a block. Terminate PL/SQL subprograms by entering a period (.) by itself on a new line.

SQL*Plus stores the subprograms you enter at the SQL*Plus command prompt in the SQL buffer. Execute the current subprogram by issuing a RUN or slash (/) command. Likewise, to execute a SQL CREATE command that creates a stored procedure, you must also enter RUN or slash (/). A semicolon (;) will not execute these SQL commands as it does other SQL commands.

SQL*Plus sends the complete PL/SQL subprogram to Oracle for processing (as it does SQL commands). See your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference for more information.

You might enter and execute a PL/SQL subprogram as follows:

SQL> DECLARE
  2      x   NUMBER := 100;
  3  BEGIN
  4      FOR i IN 1..10 LOOP
  5          IF MOD (i, 2) = 0 THEN    --i is even
  6            INSERT INTO temp VALUES (i, x, 'i is even');
  7          ELSE
  8            INSERT INTO temp VALUES (i, x, 'i is odd');
  9          END IF;
 10          x := x + 100;
 11      END LOOP;
 12  END;
 13  .
SQL> /

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

When you run a subprogram, the SQL commands within the subprogram may behave somewhat differently than they would outside of the subprogram. See your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference for detailed information on the PL/SQL language.

Running SQL*Plus Commands

You can use SQL*Plus commands to manipulate SQL commands and PL/SQL blocks and to format and print query results. SQL*Plus treats SQL*Plus commandsdifferently than SQL commands or PL/SQL blocks. For information on individual SQL*Plus commands, refer to the following chapters of this Guide.

To speed up command entry, you can abbreviate many SQL*Plus commandsto one or a few letters. Abbreviations for some SQL*Plus commands are described along with the commands in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. For abbreviations of all SQL*Plus commands, refer to the command descriptions in Chapter 6.

Example 2-4Entering a SQL*Plus Command

This example shows how you might enter a SQL*Plus command to change the format used to display the column SAL of the sample table EMP.

1.	On the command line, enter this SQL*Plus command:

SQL> COLUMN SAL FORMAT $99,999 HEADING SALARY

If you make a mistake, use [Backspace] to erase it and re-enter. When you have entered the line, press [Return]. SQL*Plus notes the new format and displays the SQL*Plus command prompt again, ready for a new command.

2.	Enter the RUN command to re-run the most recent query (from Example 2-3). SQL*Plus reprocesses the query and displays the results:

SQL> RUN
1  SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, JOB, SAL
2* FROM EMP WHERE SAL < 2500
   EMPNO ENAME         JOB          SALARY
-------- ------------- ---------- --------
    7369 SMITH         CLERK          $800
    7499 ALLEN         SALESMAN     $1,600
    7521 WARD          SALESMAN     $1,250
    7654 MARTIN        SALESMAN     $1,250
    7782 CLARK         MANAGER      $2,450
    7844 TURNER        SALESMAN     $1,500
    7876 ADAMS         CLERK        $1,100
    7900 JAMES         CLERK          $800
    7934 MILLER        CLERK        $1,300

The COLUMN command formatted the column SAL with a dollar sign ($) and a comma (,) and gave it a new heading. The RUN command then reran the query of Example 2-3, which was stored in the buffer. SQL*Plus does not store SQL*Plus commands in the SQL buffer.

Understanding SQL*Plus Command Syntax

SQL*Plus commands have a different syntaxfrom SQL commands or PL/SQL blocks.

Continuing a Long SQL*Plus Command on Additional Lines    You can continue a long SQL*Plus commandby typing a hyphenat the end of the line and pressing [Return]. If you wish, you can type a space before typing the hyphen. SQL*Plus displays a right angle-bracket (>) as a prompt for each additional line. For example:

SQL> COLUMN SAL FORMAT $99,999 -
>  HEADING SALARY

Ending a SQL*Plus Command    You do not need to end a SQL*Plus commandwith a semicolon. When you finish entering the command, you can just press [Return]. If you wish, however, you can enter a semicolon at the end of a SQL*Plus command.

Variables that Affect Running Commands

The SQL*Plus command SETcontrols many variables—called system variables—the settings of which affect the way SQL*Plus runs your commands. System variables control a variety of conditions within SQL*Plus, including default column widths for your output, whether SQL*Plus displays the number of records selected by a command, and your page size. System variables are also called SET command variables.

The examples in this Guide are based on running SQL*Plus with the system variables at their default settings. Depending on the settings of your system variables, your output may appear slightly different than the output shown in the examples. (Your settings might differ from the default settings if you have a SQL*Plus LOGIN file on your computer.)

For more information on system variables and their default settings, see the SET command in Chapter 6. For details on the SQL*Plus LOGIN file, refer to the section "Setting Up Your SQL*Plus Environment" under "Saving Commands for Later Use" in Chapter 3 and to the SQLPLUS command in Chapter 6.

To list the current setting of a SET command variable, enter SHOWfollowed by the variable name at the command prompt. See the SHOW command in Chapter 6 for information on other items you can list with SHOW.

Saving Changes to the Database Automatically

Throughthe SQL DML commands UPDATE, INSERT, and DELETE—which can be used independently or within a PL/SQL block—specify changes you wish to make to the information stored in the database. These changes are not made permanent until you enter a SQL COMMITcommand or a SQL DCL or DDL command (such as CREATE TABLE), or use the autocommit feature. The SQL*Plus autocommit feature causes pending changes to be committed after a specified number of successful SQL DML transactions. (A SQL DML transaction is either an UPDATE, INSERT, or DELETE command, or a PL/SQL block.)

You control the autocommit feature with the SQL*Plus SETcommand's AUTOCOMMITvariable. It has these forms:

SET AUTOCOMMIT ON	Turns autocommit on.
SET AUTOCOMMIT OFF	Turns autocommit off (the default).
SET AUTOCOMMIT n	Commits changes after n SQL commands or PL/SQL blocks.

Example 2-5Turning Autocommit On

To turn the autocommit feature on, enter

SQL> SET AUTOCOMMIT ON

Until you change the setting of AUTOCOMMIT, SQL*Plus will automatically commit changes from each SQL command or PL/SQL block that specifies changes to the database. After each autocommit, SQL*Plus displays the following message:

commit complete

When the autocommit feature is turned on, you cannot roll back changes to the database.

To commit changes to the database after a number of SQL DML commands or PL/SQL blocks, for example, ten, enter

SQL> SET AUTOCOMMIT 10

SQL*Plus counts SQL DML commands and PL/SQL blocks as they are executed and commits the changes after the tenth SQL DML command or PL/SQL block.

Note: For this feature, a PL/SQL block is regarded as one transaction, regardless of the actual number of SQL commands contained within it.

To turn the autocommit feature off again, enter the following command:

SQL> SET AUTOCOMMIT OFF

To confirm that AUTOCOMMIT is now set to OFF, enter the following SHOW command:

SQL> SHOW AUTOCOMMIT
autocommit OFF

For more information, see the AUTOCOMMIT variable of the SET command in Chapter 6.

Stopping a Command while It Is Running

Supposeyou have displayed the first page of a 50 page report and decide you do not need to see the rest of it. Press [Cancel]. (Refer to Table 2 - 1 at the beginning of this chapter to see how [Cancel] is labelled on your keyboard.) SQL*Plus will stop the display and return to the command prompt.

Note: Pressing [Cancel] will not stop the printing of a file that you have sent to a printer with the OUT clause of the SQL*Plus SPOOL command. (You will learn about printing query results in Chapter 4.) You can stop the printing of a file through your operating system; see your operating system manuals for information.

Collecting Timing Statistics on Commands You Run

Use the SQL*Plus command TIMINGto collect and display data on the amount of computer resources used to run one or more commandsor blocks. TIMING collects data for an elapsed period of time, saving the data on commands run during the period in a timer. See TIMING in Chapter 6 and the Oracle installation and user's manuals provided for your operating system for more information.

To delete all timers, enter CLEAR TIMING at the command prompt.

Running Host Operating System Commands

You can execute a host operating systemcommandfrom the SQL*Plus command prompt. This is useful when you want to perform a task such as listing existing host operating system files.

To run a host operating system command, enter the SQL*Plus command HOSTfollowed by the host operating system command. For example, this SQL*Plus command runs a host command, DIRECTORY *.SQL:

SQL> HOST DIRECTORY *.SQL

When the host command finishes running, the SQL*Plus command prompt appears again.

Running SQL*Forms Forms

If the RUNFORM option was enabled during SQL*Plus installation, you can also run a SQL*Formsformfrom the SQL*Plus command prompt. To run a form, enter the SQL*Plus command RUNFORMfollowed by the form name:

SQL> RUNFORM myform


Getting Help

While you use SQL*Plus, you may find that you need to list column definitions for a table, or start and stop the display that scrolls by. You may also need to interpret error messages you receive when you enter a command incorrectly or when there is a problem with Oracle or SQL*Plus. The following sections describe how to get help for those situations.

Listing a Table Definition

To see the definitions of each column in a given table, use the SQL*Plus DESCRIBEcommand.

Example 2-6Using the DESCRIBE Command

To list the column definitions of the three columns in the sample table DEPT, enter

SQL> DESCRIBE DEPT

The following output results:

Name                            Null?    Type
------------------------------- ------- ----------
DEPTNO                          NOT NULL NUMBER(2)
DNAME                                    CHAR(14)
LOC                                      CHAR(13)

Note: DESCRIBE accesses information in the Oracle data dictionary. You can also use SQL SELECT commands to access this and other information in the database. See your Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for details.

Listing PL/SQL Definitions

To see the definition of a function or procedure, use the SQL*Plus DESCRIBE command.

Example 2-7Using the DESCRIBE Command

To list the definition of a function called AFUNC, enter

SQL> DESCRIBE afunc

The following output results:

FUNCTION afunc RETURNS NUMBER
Argument Name   Type     In/Out   Default?
--------------- -------- -------- ---------
F1              CHAR     IN
F2              NUMBER   IN

Controlling the Display

Suppose that you wish to stop and examine the contents of the screen while displaying a long reportor the definition of a table with many columns. Press [Pause].(Refer to Table 2 - 1 to see how [Pause] is labelled on your keyboard.) The display will pause while you examine it. To continue, press [Resume].

If you wish, you can use the PAUSEvariable of the SQL*Plus SETcommand to have SQL*Plus pause after displaying each screen of a query or report. Refer to SET in Chapter 6 for details.

Interpreting Error Messages

If SQL*Plus detects an error in a command, it will try to help you out by displaying an error message.

Example 2-8Interpreting an ErrorMessage

For example, if you misspell the name of a table while entering a command, an error message will tell you that the table or view does not exist:

SQL> DESCRIBE DPT
Object does not exist.

You will often be able to figure out how to correct the problem from the message alone. If you need further explanation, take one of the following steps to determine the cause of the problem and how to correct it:

•	If the error is a numbered error for the SQL*Plus COPY command, look up the message in Appendix A of this Guide.

•	If the error is a numbered error beginning with the letters "ORA", look up the message in the Oracle7 Server Messages and Codes manual or in the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system to determine the cause of the problem and how to correct it.

•	If the error is unnumbered, look up correct syntax for the command that generated the error in Chapter 6 of this Guide for a SQL*Plus command, in the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for a SQL command, or in the PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference for a PL/SQL block. Otherwise, contact your DBA.


Manipulating Commands

This chapter helps you learn to manipulate SQL*Plus commands, SQL commands, and PL/SQL blocks. It covers the following topics:

•	editing a SQL*Plus command

•	using SQL*Plus commands to list and modify the command currently stored in the buffer

•	editing commands with a system editor

•	creating and modifying command files to hold commands for later use

•	retrieving and running command files

•	saving SQL*Plus environment settings

•	writing interactive commands that include user variables and substitution variables

•	passing parameters to a command file

•	bind variables

Read this chapter while sitting at your computer and try out the examples shown. Before beginning, make sure you have access to the sample tables described in Chapter 1.


Editing Commands

Because SQL*Plus does not store SQL*Plus commands in the buffer, you edit a SQL*Plus commandentered directly to the command prompt by using [Backspace] or by re-entering the command.

You can use a number of SQL*Plus commands to edit the SQL commandor PL/SQL blockcurrently stored in the buffer. Alternatively, you can use a host operating system editor to edit the buffer contents.

Table 3 - 1 shows several SQL*Plus commands that allow you to examine or change the command in the buffer without re-entering the command.

Command	Abbreviation	Purpose
APPENDtext	A text	adds text at the end of a line
CHANGE/old/new	C /old/new	changes old to new in a line
CHANGE /text	C /text	deletes text from a line
CLEARBUFFER	CL BUFF	deletesall lines
DEL	(none)	deletes the current line
DEL n	(none)	deletes line n
DEL *	(none)	deletes the current line
DEL LAST	(none)	deletes the last line
DEL m n	(none)	deletes a range of lines (m to n)
INPUT	I	adds one or more lines
INPUT text	I text	adds a line consisting of text
LIST	L	lists all linesin the SQL buffer
LIST n	L n  or  n	lists line n
LIST *	L *	lists the current line
LIST LAST	L LAST	lists the last line
LIST m n	L m n	lists a range of lines (m to n)
Table 3 - 1.  SQL*Plus Editing Commands

You will find these commands useful if you mistype a command or wish to modify a command you have entered.

Listing the Buffer Contents

Any editing command other than LIST and DEL affects only a single line in the buffer. This line is called the current line. It is marked with an asterisk when you list the current commandor block.

Example 3-1Listing the Buffer Contents

Suppose you want to list the current command. Use the LIST command as shown below. (If you have EXITed SQL*Plus or entered another SQL command or PL/SQL block since following the steps in Example 2-3, perform the steps in that example again before continuing.)

SQL> LIST
  1  SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, JOB, SAL
  2* FROM EMP WHERE SAL < 2500

Notice that the semicolon you entered at the end of the SELECT command is not listed. This semicolonis necessary to mark the end of the command when you enter it, but SQL*Plus does not store it in the SQL buffer. This makes editing more convenient, since it means you can add a new line to the end of the buffer without removing a semicolon from the line that was previously the last.

Editing the Current Line

The SQL*Plus CHANGEcommand allows you to editthe current line. Various actions determine which lineis the current line:

•	LISTa given line to make it the current line.

•	When you LISTor RUNthe command in the buffer, the last line of the command becomes the current line. (Using the slash (/) command to run the command in the buffer does not affect the current line, however.)

•	If you get an errormessage, the line containing the error automatically becomes the current line.

Example 3-2Making an Error in Command Entry

Suppose you try to select the DEPTNO column but mistakenly enter it as DPTNO. Enter the following command, purposely misspelling DEPTNO in the first line:

SQL> SELECT DPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2 FROM EMP
  3 WHERE DEPTNO = 10;

You see this message on your screen:

SELECT DPTNO, ENAME, SAL
       *
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-0904:  invalid column name

Examine the error message; it indicates an invalid column name in line 1 of the query. The asterisk shows the point of error—the mistyped column DPTNO.

Instead of re-entering the entire command, you can correct the mistake by editing the command in the buffer. The line containing the error is now the current line. Use the CHANGE command to correct the mistake. This command has three parts, separated by slashes or any other non-alphanumeric character:

•	the word CHANGE or the letter C

•	the sequence of characters you want to change

•	the replacement sequence of characters

The CHANGE command finds the first occurrence in the current line of the character sequence to be changed and changes it to the new sequence. If you wish to re-enter an entire line, you do not need to use the CHANGE command:  re-enter the line by typing the line number followed by a space and the new text and pressing [Return].

Example 3-3Correcting the Error

To change DPTNO to DEPTNO, change the line with the CHANGE command:

SQL> CHANGE /DPTNO/DEPTNO

The corrected line appears on your screen:

1* SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL

Now that you have corrected the error, you can use the RUN command to run the command again:

SQL> RUN

SQL*Plus lists the command, and then runs it:

1  SELECT  DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
2  FROM    EMP
3* WHERE   DEPTNO = 10
 DEPTNO ENAME      SALARY
------- ---------- -------
     10 CLARK       $2,450
     10 KING        $5,000
     10 MILLER      $1,300

Note that the column SAL retains the format you gave it in Example 2-4. (If you have left SQL*Plus and started again since performing Example 2-4, the column has reverted to its original format.)

For information about the significance of case in a CHANGE command and on using wildcards to specify blocks of text in a CHANGE command, refer to CHANGE in Chapter 6.

Adding a New Line

To inserta new lineafter the current line, use the INPUTcommand.

To insert a line before line 1, enter a zero ("0") and follow the zero with text. SQL*Plus inserts the line at the beginning of the buffer and that line becomes line 1.

SQL> 0 SELECT EMPNO

Example 3-4 Adding a Line

Suppose you want to add a fourth line to the SQL command you modified in Example 3-3. Since line 3 is already the current line, enter INPUT (which may be abbreviated to I) and press [Return]. SQL*Plus prompts you for the new line:

SQL> INPUT
  4

Enter the new line. Then press [Return]. SQL*Plus prompts you again for a new line:

  4  ORDER BY SAL
  5

Press [Return] again to indicate that you will not enter any more lines, and then use RUN to verify and rerun the query.

Appending Text to a Line

To add textto the end of a linein the buffer, use the APPENDcommand:

1.	Use the LIST command (or just the line number) to list the line you want to change.

2.	Enter APPEND followed by the text you want to add. If the text you want to add begins with a blank, separate the word APPEND from the first character of the text by two blanks: one to separate APPEND from the text, and one to go into the buffer with the text.

Example 3-5 Appending Text to a Line

To append a space and the clause DESC to line 4 of the current query, first list line 4:

SQL> LIST 4
  4* ORDER BY SAL

Next, enter the following command (be sure to type two spaces between APPEND and DESC):

SQL> APPEND  DESC
  4* ORDER BY SAL DESC

Use RUN to verify and rerun the query.

Deleting Lines

To delete linesin the buffer, use the DELcommand:

1.	Use the LIST command (or just the line numbers) to list the lines you want to delete.

2.	Enter DEL with an optional clause.

Suppose you want to delete the current line to the last line inclusive. Use the DEL command as shown below.

SQL> DEL * LAST

DEL makes the following line of the buffer (if any) the current line.

For more information, see DEL in Chapter 6.

Editing Commands with a System Editor

Your host computer's operating systemhas one or more text editorsthat you can use to create and edit host system files.Text editors perform the same general functions as the SQL*Plus editing commands, but you may find them more familiar.

You can run your host operating system's default text editor without leaving SQL*Plus by entering the EDITcommand:

SQL> EDIT

EDIT loads the contents of the bufferinto your system's default text editor. You can then edit the text with the text editor's commands. When you tell the text editor to save edited text and then exit, the text is loaded back into the buffer.

Toload the buffer contents into a text editor other than the default, use the SQL*Plus DEFINEcommand to define a variable, _EDITOR, to hold the name of the editor. For example, to define the editor to be used by EDIT as EDT, enter the following command:

SQL> DEFINE _EDITOR = EDT

You can also define the editor to be used by EDIT in your user or site profile. See  "Setting Up Your SQL*Plus Environment" in Chapter 3 and DEFINE and EDIT in Chapter 6 for more information.


Saving Commands for Later Use

Through SQL*Plus, you can store one or more commands in a file, called a command file.After you create a command file, you can retrieve, edit, and run it. Use command files to save commands for use over time, especially complex commands or PL/SQL blocks.

Storing Commands in Command Files

You can store one or more SQL commands, PL/SQL blocks, and SQL*Plus commands in command files. You create a command file within SQL*Plus in one of three ways:

•	enter a command and save the contents of the buffer

•	use INPUT to enter commands and then save the buffer contents

•	use EDIT to create the file from scratch using a host system text editor

Because SQL*Plus commands are not stored in the buffer, you must use one of the latter two methods to save SQL*Plus commands.

Creating a Command File by Saving the Buffer Contents

To savethe current SQL commandor PL/SQL blockfor later use, enter theSAVEcommand. Follow the commandwith a filename:

SQL> SAVE file_name

SQL*Plus adds the extension SQL to the filename to identify it as a SQL query file. If you wish to save the command or block under a name with a different file extension, type a period at the end of the filename, followed by the extension you wish to use.

Note that within SQL*Plus, you separate the extension from the filename with a period. Your operating system may use a different character or a space to separate the filename and the extension.

Example 3-6Saving the Current Command

First, LIST the buffer contents to see your current command:

SQL> LIST
  1  SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO = 10
  4* ORDER BY SAL DESC

If the query shown is not in your buffer, re-enter the query now. Next, enter the SAVE command followed by the filename DEPTINFO:

SQL> SAVE DEPTINFO
Created file DEPTINFO

You can verify that the command fileDEPTINFO exists by entering the SQL*Plus HOSTcommand followed by your host operating system's file listing command:

SQL> HOST your_host's_file_listing_command

You can use the same method to save a PL/SQL block currently stored in the buffer.

Creating a Command File by Using INPUT and SAVE

If you use INPUTto enter your commands,you can enter SQL*Plus commands (as well as one or more SQL commands or PL/SQL blocks) into the buffer. You must enter the SQL*Plus commands first, and the SQL command(s) or PL/SQL block(s) last—just as you would if you were entering the commands directly to the command prompt.

You can also store a set of SQL*Plus commands you plan to use with many different queries by themselves in a command file.

Example 3-7Saving Commands Using INPUT and SAVE

Suppose you have composed a query to display a list of salespeople and their commissions. You plan to run it once a month to keep track of how well each employee is doing. To compose and save the query using INPUT, you must first clear the buffer:

SQL> CLEARBUFFER

Next, use INPUT to enter the command (be sure not to type a semicolon at the end of the command):

SQL> INPUT
  1  COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN
  2  COLUMN SAL HEADING SALARY FORMAT $99,999
  3  COLUMN COMM HEADING COMMISSION FORMAT $99,990
  4  SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM
  5  FROM EMP
  6  WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
  7

The zero at the end of the format model for the column COMM tells SQL*Plus to display a zero instead of a blank when the value of COMM is zero for a given row. Format models and the COLUMN command are described in more detail in Chapter 4.

Now use the SAVEcommand to store your query in a filecalled SALES with the extension SQL:

SQL> SAVE SALES
Created file SALES

Note that you do not type a semicolonat the end of the query; if you did include a semicolon, SQL*Plus would attempt to run the buffer contents. The SQL*Plus commands in the buffer would produce an error because SQL*Plus expects to find only SQL commands in the buffer. You will learn how to run a command file later in this chapter.

To input more than one SQL command, leave out the semicolons on all the SQL commands. Then, use APPEND to add a semicolon to all but the last command. (SAVE appends a slash to the end of the file automatically; this slash tells SQL*Plus to run the last command when you run the command file.)

To input more than one PL/SQL block, enter the blocks one after another without including a period or a slash on a line between blocks. Then, for each block except the last, list the last line of the block to make it current and use INPUT in the following form to insert a slash on a line by itself:

INPUT /

Creating Command Files with a System Editor

You can also create a command filewith a host operating system text editor by entering EDITfollowed by the name of the file, for example:

SQL> EDIT SALES

Like the SAVE command, EDIT adds the filename extension SQL to the name unless you type a period and a different extension at the end of the filename. When you save the command file with the text editor, it is saved back into the same file.

You must include a semicolon at the end of each SQL command and a period on a line by itself after each PL/SQL block in the file. (You can include multiple SQL commandsand PL/SQL blocks.)

When you create a command file using EDIT, you can also include SQL*Plus commands at the end of the file. You cannot do this when you create a command file using the SAVE command because SAVE appends a slash to the end of the file. This slash would cause SQL*Plus to run the command file twice, once upon reaching the semicolon at the end of the last SQL command (or the slash after the last PL/SQL block) and once upon reaching the slash at the end of the file.

Placing Comments in Command Files

You can enter commentsin a command filein one of three ways:

•	using the SQL*Plus REMARK command

•	using the SQL comment delimiters, /* ... */

•	using ANSI/ISO (American National Standards Institute/International Standards Organization) comments, --

Anything that is identified in one of these ways as a comment is not parsed or executed by SQL*Plus.

Note: You cannot enter a comment on the same line on which you enter a semicolon.

Using the REMARK Command

Use the REMARKcommand on a line by itself in the command file, followed by commentson the same line. To continue the comments on additional lines, enter additional REMARK commands. Do not place a REMARK command between different lines of a single SQL command.

REMARK Commissions report
REMARK to be run monthly.
COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN
COLUMN SAL HEADING SALARY FORMAT $99,999
COLUMN COMM HEADING COMMISSION FORMAT $99,990
REMARK Includes only salesmen.
SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM
FROM EMP
WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'

Using /*...*/

Enter the SQL commentdelimiters, /*...*/, on separate lines in your command file, on the same line as a SQL command, or on a line in a PL/SQL block. The comments can span multiple lines, but cannot be nested within one another:

/* Commissions report
to be run monthly. */
COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN
COLUMN SAL HEADING SALARY FORMAT $99,999
COLUMN COMM HEADING COMMISSION FORMAT $99,990
SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM
FROM EMP
WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN' /* Includes only salesmen. */

If you enter a SQL comment directly at the command prompt, SQL*Plus does not store the comment in the buffer.

Using --

You can use ANSI/ISO "--"style commentswithin SQL statements, PL/SQL blocks, or SQL*Plus commands. Since there is no ending delimiter, the comment cannot span multiple lines. For PL/SQL and SQL, enter the comment after a command on a line or on a line by itself:

-- Commissions report to be run monthly
DECLARE  --block for reporting monthly sales

For SQL*Plus commands, you can only include "--" style comments if they are on a line by themselves. For example, these comments are legal:

--set maximum width for LONG to 777
SET LONG 777
-- set the heading for ENAME to be SALESMAN
COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN

These comments are illegal:

SET LONG 777 -- set maximum width for LONG to 777
SET -- set maximum width for LONG to 777 LONG 777

If you entered the following SQL*Plus command, it would be treated as a comment and would not be executed:

-- SET LONG 777

Retrieving Command Files

If you want to place the contents of a command file in the buffer, you must retrieve the command from the filein which it is stored. You can retrieve a command file using the SQL*Plus command GET.

Just as you can save a query from the buffer to a file with the SAVE command, you can retrieve a query from a fileto the buffer with the GETcommand:

SQL> GET file_name

When appropriate to the operating system, SQL*Plus adds a period and the extension SQL to the filename unless you type a period at the end of the filename followed by a different extension.

Example 3-8Retrieving aCommand File

Suppose you need to retrieve the SALES file in a later session. You can retrieve the file by entering the GET command. To retrieve the file SALES, enter

SQL> GET SALES
  1  COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN
  2  COLUMN SAL HEADING SALARY FORMAT $99,999
  3  COLUMN COMM HEADING COMMISSION FORMAT $99,990
  4  SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM
  5  FROM EMP
  6* WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'

SQL*Plus retrieves the contents of the file SALES with the extension SQL into the SQL buffer and lists it on the screen. Then you can edit the command further. If the file did not contain SQL*Plus commands, you could also execute it with the RUN command.

Running Command Files

The  STARTcommand retrieves a command fileand runs the command(s) it contains. Use STARTto run a command filecontaining  SQL commands, PL/SQL blocks, and/or SQL*Plus commands. Follow the word START with the name of the file:

START file_name

If the file has the extension SQL, you need not add the period and the extension SQL to the filename.

Example 3-9Running aCommand File

To retrieve and run the command stored in SALES.SQL, enter

SQL> START SALES

SQL*Plus runs the commands in the file SALES and displays the results of the commands on your screen, formatting the query results according to the SQL*Plus commands in the file:

     EMPNO SALESMAN     SALARY COMMISSION
---------- ---------- -------- ----------
      7499 ALLEN        $1,600       $300
      7521 WARD         $1,250       $500
      7654 MARTIN       $1,250     $1,400
      7844 TURNER       $1,500         $0

To see the commands as SQL*Plus "enters" them, you can set the ECHOvariable of the SETcommand to ON. The ECHO variable controls the listing of the commands in command files run with the START, @ and @@ commands. Setting the ECHO variable to OFF suppresses the listing.

You can also use the @ ("at" sign)command to run a command file:

SQL> @SALES

The @command lists and runs the commands in the specified command filein the same manner as START. SET ECHO affects the @ command as it affects the START command.

START, @ and @@ leave the last SQL command or PL/SQL block in the command file in the buffer.

Running a Command File as You Start SQL*Plus

To run a commandfileas you start SQL*Plus, use one of the following four options:

•	Follow the SQLPLUS command with your username, a slash, your password, a space, @, and the name of the file:

SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER  @SALES

SQL*Plus starts and runs the command file.

•	Follow the SQLPLUScommandand your username with a space, @,and the name of the file:

SQLPLUS SCOTT  @SALES

SQL*Plus prompts you for your password, starts, and runs the command file.

•	Include your username as the first line of the file. Follow the SQLPLUS command with @ and the filename. SQL*Plus prompts for your password, starts, and runs the file.

•	Include your username, a slash (/), and your password as the first line of the file. Follow the SQLPLUS command with @ and the filename. SQL*Plus starts and runs the file.

Nesting Command Files

To run a series of command filesinsequence, first create a command file containing several START commands, each followed by the name of a command file in the sequence. Then run the command file containing the START commands. For example, you could include the following START commands in a command filenamed SALESRPT:

START Q1SALES
START Q2SALES
START Q3SALES
START Q4SALES
START YRENDSLS

Note: The @@ command may be useful in this example. See the @@ command in Chapter 6 for more information.

Modifying Command Files

You can modify an existing command file in two ways:

•	using the EDIT command

•	using GET, the SQL*Plus editing commands, and SAVE

To edit an existing commandfilewith the EDITcommand, follow the word EDIT with the name of the file. For example, to edit an existing filenamed PROFIT that has the extension SQL, enter the following command:

SQL> EDIT PROFIT

Remember that EDIT assumes the file extension SQL if you do not specify one.

To edit an existing fileusing GET, the SQL*Plus editing commands, and SAVE, first retrieve the file with GET, then edit the file with the SQL*Plus editing commands, and finally save the file with the SAVE command.

Note that if you want to replace the contents of an existing command file with the command or block in the buffer, you must use the SAVEcommand and follow the filename with the word REPLACE. For example:

SQL> GET MYREPORT
  1* SELECT * FROM EMP
SQL> C/*/ENAME, JOB
  1* SELECT ENAME, JOB FROM EMP
SQL> SAVE MYREPORT REPLACE
Wrote file MYREPORT

If you want to append the contents of the buffer to the end of an existing command file, use the SAVEcommand and follow the filename with the word APPEND:

SQL> SAVE file_name APPEND

Exiting from a Command File with a Return Code

If your commandfilegenerates a SQL error while running from a batchfile on the host operating system, you may want to abort the command file and exit with a return code. Use the SQL*Pluscommand WHENEVER SQLERRORto do this; see WHENEVER SQLERROR in Chapter 6 for more information.

Similarly, the WHENEVER OSERROR command may be used to exit if an operating system error occurs. See WHENEVER OSERROR in Chapter 6 for more information.

Setting Up Your SQL*Plus Environment

You may wish to set up your SQL*Plusenvironment in a particular way (such as showing the current time as part of the SQL*Plus command prompt) and then reuse those settings with each session. You can do this through a host operating system file called LOGINwith the file extension SQL (also called your User Profile). The exact name of this file is system dependent; see the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for the precise name.

You can add any SQL commands, PL/SQL blocks, or SQL*Plus commands to this file; when you start SQL*Plus, it automatically searches for your LOGIN file (first in your local directory and then on a system-dependent path) and runs the commands it finds there. (You may also have a Site Profile. See the SQLPLUS command in Chapter 6 for more information on the relationship of Site and User Profiles.)

Modifying Your LOGIN File

You can modify your LOGIN file just as you would any other command file. You may wish to add some of the following commands to the LOGIN file:

SET COMPATIBILITY	Followed by V6 or V7, sets compatibility to the version of Oracle you specify. Setting COMPATIBILITY to V6 allows you to run command files created with Version 6 of Oracle.
SET NUMFORMAT	Followed by a number format (such as $99,999), sets the default format for displaying numbers in query results.
SET PAGESIZE	Followed by a number, sets the number of lines per page.
SET PAUSE	Followed by ON, causes SQL*Plus to pause at the beginning of each page of output (SQL*Plus continues scrolling after you enter [Return]). Followed by text, sets the text to be displayed each time SQL*Plus pauses (you must also set PAUSE to ON).
SET TIME	Followed by ON, displays the current time before each command prompt.

See the SET command in Chapter 6 for more information on these and other SET command variables you may wish to set in your SQL*Plus LOGIN file.


Writing Interactive Commands

The following features of SQL*Plus make it possible for you to set up commandfilesthat allow end-user input:

•	defining user variables

•	substituting values in commands

•	using the START command to provide values

•	prompting for values

Defining User Variables

You can define variables, called user variables,for repeated use in a single command file by using the SQL*Plus command DEFINE. Note that you can also define user variablesto use in titles and to save you keystrokes (by defining a long string as the value for a variable with a short name).

Example 3-10Defining a User Variable

To define a user variable EMPLOYEE and give it the value "SMITH", enter the following command:

SQL> DEFINE EMPLOYEE = SMITH

To confirm the definition of the variable, enter DEFINE followed by the variable name:

SQL> DEFINE EMPLOYEE

SQL*Plus lists the definition:

DEFINE EMPLOYEE       = "SMITH" (CHAR)

To list all user variabledefinitions, enter DEFINE by itself at the command prompt. Note that any user variable you define explicitly through DEFINE takes only CHAR values (that is, the value you assign to the variable is always treated as a CHAR datatype). You can define a user variable of datatype NUMBER implicitly through the ACCEPT command. You will learn more about the ACCEPT command later in this chapter.

To delete a user variable, use the SQL*Plus command UNDEFINEfollowed by the variable name.

Using Substitution Variables

Suppose you want to write a query like the one in SALES (see Example 3-7) to list the employees with various jobs, not just those whose job is SALESMAN. You could do that by editing a different CHAR value into the WHERE clause each time you run the command, but there is an easier way.

By using a substitution variablein place of the value SALESMAN in the WHERE clause, you can get the same results you would get if you had written the values into the command itself.

A substitution variable is a user variablename preceded by one or two ampersands(&). When SQL*Plus encounters a substitution variable in a command, SQL*Plus executes the command as though it contained the value of the substitution variable, rather than the variable itself.

For example, if the variable SORTCOL has the value JOB and the variable MYTABLE has the value EMP, SQL*Plus executes the commands

SQL> BREAK ON &SORTCOL
SQL> SELECT &SORTCOL, SAL
  2  FROM &MYTABLE
  3  ORDER BY &SORTCOL;

as if they were

SQL> BREAK ON JOB
SQL> SELECT JOB, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  ORDER BY JOB;

(The BREAK command suppresses duplicate values of the column named in SORTCOL; BREAK is discussed in Chapter 4.)

Where and How to Use Substitution Variables

You can use substitution variablesanywhere in SQL and SQL*Plus commands, except as the first word entered at the command prompt. When SQL*Plus encounters an undefined substitution variable in a command, SQL*Plus prompts you for the value.

You can enter any string at the prompt, even one containing blanks and punctuation. If the SQL command containing the reference should have quote marks around the variable and you do not include them there, the user must include the quotes when prompted.

SQL*Plus reads your response from the keyboard, even if you have redirected terminal input or output to a file. If a terminal is not available (if, for example, you run the command file in batch mode), SQL*Plus uses the redirected file.

After you enter a value at the prompt, SQL*Plus lists the line containing the substitution variable twice:  once before substituting the value you enter and once after substitution. You can suppress this listing by setting the SETcommand variable VERIFYto OFF.

Example 3-11Using Substitution Variables

Create a command filenamed STATS, to be used to calculate a subgroup statistic (the maximum value) on a numeric column:

SQL> CLEAR BUFFER
SQL> INPUT
  1  SELECT   &GROUP_COL,
  2           MAX(&NUMBER_COL) MAXIMUM
  3  FROM     &TABLE
  4  GROUP BY &GROUP_COL
  5
SQL> SAVE STATS
Created file STATS

Now run the command file STATS and respond as shown below to the prompts for values:

SQL>  @STATS
Enter value for group_col: JOB
old   1: SELECT   &GROUP_COL,
new   1: SELECT   JOB,
Enter value for number_col: SAL
old   2:          MAX(&NUMBER_COL) MAXIMUM
new   2:          MAX(SAL) MAXIMUM
Enter value for table: EMP
old   3: FROM     &TABLE
new   3: FROM     EMP
Enter value for group_col: JOB
old   4: GROUP BY &GROUP_COL
new   4: GROUP BY JOB

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

JOB           MAXIMUM
---------- ----------
ANALYST          3000
CLERK            1300
MANAGER          2975
PRESIDENT        5000
SALESMAN         1600

If you wish to append characters immediately after a substitution variable, use a period to separate the variable from the character. For example:

SQL> SELECT * FROM EMP WHERE EMPNO='&X.01';
Enter value for X:  123

will be interpreted as

SQL> SELECT * FROM EMP WHERE EMPNO='12301';

Avoiding Unnecessary Prompts for Values

Supposeyouwanted to expand the file STATS to include the minimum, sum, and average of the "number" column. You may have noticed that SQL*Plus prompted you twice for the value of GROUP_COL and once for the value of NUMBER_COL in Example 3-11, and that each GROUP_COL or NUMBER_COL had a single ampersand in front of it. If you were to add three more functions—using a single ampersand before each—to the command file, SQL*Plus would prompt you a total of four times for the value of the number column.

You can avoid being reprompted for the group and number columns by adding a second ampersand in front of each GROUP_COL and NUMBER_COL in STATS. SQL*Plus automatically DEFINEs any substitution variable preceded by two ampersands, but does not DEFINE those preceded by only one ampersand. When you have DEFINEd a variable, SQL*Plus substitutes the value of variable for each substitution variablereferencing variable (in the form &variable or &&variable). SQL*Plus will not prompt you for the value of variable in this session until you UNDEFINE variable.

Example 3-12Using Double Ampersands

To expand the command file STATS using double ampersands and then run the file, first suppress the display of each line before and after substitution:

SQL> SET VERIFY OFF

Now retrieve and edit STATS by entering the following commands:

SQL> GET STATS
  1  SELECT &GROUP_COL,
  2         MAX(&NUMBER_COL) MAXIMUM
  3  FROM   &TABLE
  4  GROUP BY &GROUP_COL
SQL> 2
  2*  MAX(&NUMBER_COL) MAXIMUM
SQL> APPEND ,
  2*  MAX(&NUMBER_COL) MAXIMUM,
SQL> C /&/&&
  2*  MAX(&&NUMBER_COL) MAXIMUM,
SQL> I
  3i  MIN(&&NUMBER_COL) MINIMUM,
  4i  SUM(&&NUMBER_COL) TOTAL,
  5i  AVG(&&NUMBER_COL) AVERAGE
  6i
SQL> 1
  1* SELECT &GROUP_COL,
SQL> C /&/&&
  1* SELECT &&GROUP_COL,
SQL> 7
  7*  GROUP BY &GROUP_COL
SQL> C /&/&&
  7*  GROUP BY &&GROUP_COL
SQL> SAVE STATS2
created file STATS2

Finally, run the command file STATS2 and respond to the prompts for values as follows:

SQL> START STATS2
Enter value for group_col: JOB
Enter value for number_col: SAL
Enter value for table: EMP

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

JOB           MAXIMUM    MINIMUM      TOTAL    AVERAGE
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------  ---------
ANALYST          3000       3000       6000       3000
CLERK            1300        800       4150     1037.5
MANAGER          2975       2450       8275 2758.33333
PRESIDENT        5000       5000       5000       5000
SALESMAN         1600       1250       5600       1400

Note that you were prompted for the values of NUMBER_COL and GROUP_COL only once. If you were to run STATS2 again during the current session, you would be prompted for TABLE (because its name has a single ampersand and the variable is therefore not DEFINEd) but not for GROUP_COL or NUMBER_COL (because their names have double ampersands and the variables are therefore DEFINEd).

Before continuing, set the system variable VERIFY back to ON:

SQL> SET VERIFY ON

Restrictions

You cannot use substitution variablesin the buffer editing commands, APPEND, CHANGE, DEL, and INPUT, nor in other commands where substitution would be meaningless, such as REMARK. The buffer editing commands, APPEND, CHANGE, and INPUT, treat text beginning with "&" or "&&" literally, as any other text string.

System Variables

The following system variables, specified with the SQL*Plus SET command, affect substitution variables:

SET DEFINE	Defines the substitution character (by default the ampersand "&") and turns substitution on and off.
SET ESCAPE	Defines an escape character you can use before the substitution character. The escape character instructs SQL*Plus to treat the substitution character as an ordinary character rather than as a request for variable substitution. The default escape character is a backslash (\).
SET VERIFY ON	Lists each line of the command file before and after substitution.
SET CONCAT	Defines the character that separates the name of a substitution variable or parameter from characters that immediately follow the variable or parameter—by default the period (.).

Refer to SET in Chapter 6 for more information on these system variables.

Passing Parameters through the START Command

You can bypass the prompts for valuesassociated with substitution variables by passing values to parametersin a command filethrough the STARTcommand.

You do this by placing an ampersand(&) followed by a numeral in the command file in place of a substitution variable. Each time you run this command file, START replaces each &1 in the file with the first value (called an argument) after STARTfilename, then replaces each &2 with the second value, and so forth.

For example, you could include the following commands in a command file called MYFILE:

SELECT * FROM EMP
WHERE JOB='&1'
AND SAL=&2

In the following START command, SQL*Plus would substitute CLERK for &1 and 7900 for &2 in the command file MYFILE:

SQL> START MYFILE CLERK 7900

When you use arguments with the START command, SQL*Plus DEFINEs each parameter in the command file with the value of the appropriate argument.

Example 3-13Passing Parameters through START

To create a new command file based on SALES that takes a parameter specifying the job to be displayed, enter

SQL> GET SALES
  1  COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN
  2  COLUMN SAL HEADING SALARY FORMAT $99,999
  3  COLUMN COMM HEADING COMMISSION FORMAT $99,990
  4  SELECT EMPNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM
  5  FROM EMP
  6* WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
SQL> CHANGE /SALESMAN/&1
  6* WHERE  JOB = '&1'
SQL> 1
  1* COLUMN ENAME HEADING SALESMAN
SQL> CHANGE /SALESMAN/&1
  1* COLUMN ENAME HEADING &1
SQL> SAVE ONEJOB
Created file ONEJOB

Now run the command with the parameter CLERK:

SQL> START ONEJOB CLERK

SQL*Plus lists the line of the SQL command that contains the parameter, before and after replacing the parameter with its value, and then displays the output:

old    3: WHERE JOB = '&1'
new    3: WHERE JOB = 'CLERK'
    EMPNO CLERK          SALARY COMMISSION
--------- ---------- ---------- ----------
     7369 SMITH            $800
     7876 ADAMS          $1,100
     7900 JAMES            $950
     7934 MILLER         $1,300

You can use any number of parameters in a command file. Within a command file, you can refer to each parameter any number of times, and can include the parameters in any order.

Note: You cannot use parameters when you run a command with RUN or slash (/). You must store the command in a command file and run it with START or @.

Before continuing, return the column ENAME to its original heading by entering the following command:

SQL> COLUMN ENAME CLEAR

Communicating with the User

Three SQL*Plus commands—PROMPT, ACCEPT, and PAUSE—help you communicate with the end user. These commands enable you to send messages to the screen and receive input from the user, including a simple [Return]. You can also use PROMPT and ACCEPT to customize the prompts for values SQL*Plus automatically generates for substitution variables.

Prompting for and Accepting User Variable Values

Through PROMPTand ACCEPT, you can send messages to the end user and accept values as end-user input. PROMPT simply displays a messageyou specify on-screen; use it to give directions or information to the user. ACCEPT prompts the user for a valueand stores it in the user variableyou specify. Use PROMPT in conjunction with ACCEPT when your prompt for the value spans more than one line.

Example 3-14 Prompting for and Accepting Input

To direct the user to supply a report title and to store the input in the variable MYTITLE for use in a subsequent query, first clear the buffer:

SQL> CLEAR BUFFER

Next, set up a command file as shownbelow:

SQL> INPUT
  1  PROMPT Enter a title up to 30 characters long.
  2  ACCEPT MYTITLE PROMPT 'Title:  '
  3  TTITLE LEFT MYTITLE SKIP 2
  4  SELECT * FROM DEPT
  5
SQL> SAVE PROMPT1
Created file PROMPT1

The TTITLE command sets the top title for your report. This command is covered in detail in Chapter 4.

Finally, run the command file, responding to the prompt for the title as shown:

SQL> START PROMPT1
Enter a title up to 30 characters long.
Title:  Department Report as of 1/1/95

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

Department Report as of 1/1/95
    DEPTNO DNAME          LOC
---------- -------------- -------------
        10 ACCOUNTING     NEW YORK
        20 RESEARCH       DALLAS
        30 SALES          CHICAGO
        40 OPERATIONS     BOSTON

Before continuing, turn the TTITLE command you entered in the command file off as shown below:

SQL> TTITLE OFF

Customizing Prompts for Substitution Variable Values

If you want to customize the prompt for a substitution variable value, use PROMPTand ACCEPTin conjunction with the substitution variable, as shown in the following example.

Example 3-15Using PROMPT and ACCEPT in Conjunction with Substitution Variables

As you have seen in Example 3-14, SQL*Plus automatically generates a prompt for a value when you use a substitution variable. You can replace this prompt by including PROMPT and ACCEPT in the command file with the query that references the substitution variable. To create such a file, enter the commands shown:

SQL> CLEAR BUFFER
buffer cleared
SQL> INPUT
  1  PROMPT Enter a valid employee number
  2  PROMPT For example:  7123, 7456, 7890
  3  ACCEPT ENUMBER NUMBER PROMPT 'Emp. no.:  '
  4  SELECT ENAME, MGR, JOB, SAL
  5  FROM EMP
  6  WHERE EMPNO = &ENUMBER
  7
SQL> SAVE PROMPT2
Created file PROMPT2

Next, run the command file. SQL*Plus prompts for the value of ENUMBER using the text you specified with PROMPT and ACCEPT:

SQL> START PROMPT2
Enter a valid employee number
For example:  7123, 7456, 7890
Emp. No.:

Try entering characters instead of numbers to the prompt for "Emp. No.":

Emp. No.:  ONE
"ONE" is not a valid number
Emp. No.:

Because you specified NUMBERafter the variable name in the ACCEPTcommand, SQL*Plus will not accept a non-numeric value. Now enter a number:

Emp. No.:  7521
old   3: WHERE EMPNO = &ENUMBER
new   3: WHERE EMPNO =       7521

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

ENAME             MGR JOB           SALARY
---------- ---------- --------- ----------
WARD             7698 SALESMAN      $1,250

Sending a Message and Accepting [Return] as Input

If you want to display a message on the user's screen and then have the user enter [Return] after reading the message, use the SQL*Plus command PAUSE. For example, you might include the following lines in a command file:

PROMPT Before continuing, make sure you have your account card.
PAUSE Press RETURN to continue.

Clearing the Screen

If you want to clear the screenbefore displaying a report (or at any other time), include the SQL*Plus CLEARcommand with its SCREENclause at the appropriate point in your command file, using the following format:

CLEAR SCREEN

Before continuing to the next chapter, reset all columns to their original formats and headings by entering the following command:

SQL> CLEAR COLUMNS


Using Bind Variables

Suppose that you want to be able to display the variables you use in your PL/SQL subprograms in SQL*Plus or use the same variables in multiple subprograms. If you declare a variable in a PL/SQL subprogram, you cannot display that variable in SQL*Plus. Use a bind variable in PL/SQL to access the variable from SQL*Plus.

Bind variables are variables you create in SQL*Plus and then reference in PL/SQL. If you create a bind variable in SQL*Plus, you can use the variable as you would a declared variable in your PL/SQL subprogram and then access the variable from SQL*Plus. You can use bind variables for such things as storing return codes or debugging your PL/SQL subprograms.

Because bind variables are recognized by SQL*Plus, you can display their values in SQL*Plus or reference them in other PL/SQL subprograms that you run in SQL*Plus.

Creating Bind Variables

You create bind variables in SQL*Plus with the VARIABLE command. For example

VARIABLE ret_val NUMBER

This command creates a bind variable named ret_val with a datatype of NUMBER. See VARIABLE in Chapter 6. (To list all of the bind variables created in a session, type VARIABLE without any arguments.)

Referencing Bind Variables

You reference bind variables in PL/SQL by typing a colon (:) followed immediately by the name of the variable. For example

:ret_val := 1;

This command assigns a value to the bind variable named ret_val.

Displaying Bind Variables

To display the value of a bind variable in SQL*Plus, you use the SQL*Plus PRINT command. For example

PRINT ret_val

This command displays a bind variable named ret_val. See PRINT in Chapter 6.

Example 3-16 Creating, Referencing, and Displaying Bind Variables

To declare a local bind variable named id with a datatype of NUMBER, enter

VARIABLE id NUMBER

Next, put a value of "1" into the bind variable you have just created:

BEGIN
:id := 1;
END;

If you want to display a list of values for the bind variable named id, enter

PRINT id

Try creating some new departments using the variable:

EXECUTE :id := dept_management.new('ACCOUNTING','NEW YORK')
EXECUTE :id := dept_management.new('RESEARCH','DALLAS')
EXECUTE :id := dept_management.new('SALES','CHICAGO')
EXECUTE :id := dept_management.new('OPERATIONS','BOSTON')
PRINT id
COMMIT

Note: dept_management.new refers to a PL/SQL function, "new", in a package (dept_management). The function "new" adds the department data to a table.


Formatting Query Results

This chapter explains how to format your query results to produce a finished report. This chapter covers the following topics:

•	changing column headings

•	formatting NUMBER, CHAR, VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR), LONG, DATE, and Trusted Oracle columns

•	copying, listing, and resetting column display attributes

•	suppressing duplicate values and inserting space for clarity

•	calculating and printing summary lines (totals, averages, minimums, maximums, and more)

•	listing and removing spacing and summary line definitions

•	setting page dimensions

•	placing titles at the top and bottom of each page

•	displaying column values and the current date or page number in your titles

•	listing and suppressing page title definitions

•	sending query results to a file or printer

Read this chapter while sitting at your computer and try out the examples shown. Before beginning, make sure you have access to the sample tables described in Chapter 1.


Formatting Columns

Through the SQL*Plus COLUMNcommand, you can change the column headings and reformat the columndata in your query results.

Changing Column Headings

When displaying column headings, you can either use the default heading or you can change it using the COLUMN command. The sections below describe how the default headings are derived and how you can alter them with the COLUMN command.

Default Headings

SQL*Plus uses column or expression names as default column headingswhen displaying query results. Column names are often short and cryptic, however, and expressions can be hard to understand.

Changing Default Headings

Youcan define a more useful column heading with the HEADINGclause of the COLUMNcommand, in the format shown below:

COLUMN column_name HEADING column_heading

See the COLUMN command in Chapter 6 for more details.

Example 4-1Changing a Column Heading

To produce a report from EMP with new headings specified for DEPTNO, ENAME, and SAL, enter the following commands:

SQL> COLUMN DEPTNO HEADING Department
SQL> COLUMN ENAME HEADING Employee
SQL> COLUMN SAL HEADING Salary
SQL> COLUMN COMM HEADING Commission
SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL, COMM
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN';

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

Department Employee     Salary Commission
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
        30 ALLEN            1600        300
        30 WARD             1250        500
        30 MARTIN           1250       1400
        30 TURNER           1500          0

Note: The new headings will remain in effect until you enter different headings, reset each column's format, or exit from SQL*Plus.

To change a column headingto two or more words, enclose the new heading in single or double quotation marks when you enter the COLUMN command. To display a column headingon more than one line, use a vertical bar (|) where you want to begin a new line. (You can use a character other than a vertical bar by changing the setting of the HEADSEPvariable of the SETcommand. See SET in Chapter 6 for more information.)

Example 4-2Splitting a Column Heading

To give the column ENAME the heading EMPLOYEE NAME and to split the new heading onto two lines, enter

SQL> COLUMN ENAME HEADING 'Employee|Name'

Now rerun the query with the slash (/) command:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

           Employee
Department Name           Salary Commission
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
        30 ALLEN            1600        300
        30 WARD             1250        500
        30 MARTIN           1250       1400
        30 TURNER           1500          0

To change the character used to underline each column heading, set the UNDERLINEvariable of the SETcommand to the desired character.

Example 4-3Setting the Underline Character

To change the character used to underline headings to an equal sign and rerun the query, enter the following commands:

SQL> SET UNDERLINE =
SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following results:

           Employee
Department Name           Salary Commission
========== ========== ========== ==========
        30 ALLEN            1600        300
        30 WARD             1250        500
        30 MARTIN           1250       1400
        30 TURNER           1500          0

Now change the underline character back to a dash:

SQL> SET UNDERLINE '-'

Note: You must enclose the dash in quotation marks; otherwise, SQL*Plus interprets the dash as a hyphen indicating you wish to continue the command on another line.

Formatting NUMBER Columns

When displaying NUMBER columns, you can either accept the SQL*Plus default display width or you can change it using the COLUMN command. The sections below describe the default display and how you can alter the default with the COLUMN command.

Default Display

A NUMBER column's width equals the width of the heading or the width of the FORMAT plus one space for the sign, whichever is greater. If you do not explicitly use FORMAT, then the column's width will always be at least the value of SET NUMWIDTH.

SQL*Plus normally displays numbers with as many digits as are required for accuracy, up to a standard display width determined by the value of the NUMWIDTH variable of the SET command (normally 10).

You can choose a different format for any NUMBERcolumnby using a format model in a COLUMNcommand. A format model is a representation of the way you want the numbers in the column to appear, using 9's to represent digits.

Changing the Default Display

The COLUMN command identifies the column you want to format and the model you want to use, as shown below:

COLUMNcolumn_name FORMATmodel

Use format modelsto add commas, dollar signs, angle brackets (around negative values), and/or leading zeros to numbers in a given column. You can also round the values to a given number of decimal places, display minus signs to the right of negative values (instead of to the left), and display values in exponential notation.

To use more than one format model for a single column, combine the desired models in one COLUMN command (see Example 4-4). For a complete list of format models and further details, see the COLUMN command in Chapter 6.

Example 4-4 Formatting a NUMBER Column

To display SAL with a dollarsign, acomma, and the numeralzeroinstead of a blank for any zero values, enter the followingcommand:

SQL> COLUMN SAL FORMAT $99,990

Now rerun the current query:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

           Employee
Department Name           Salary Commission
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
       30  ALLEN         $1,600         300
       30  WARD          $1,250         500
       30  MARTIN        $1,250        1400
       30  TURNER        $1,500           0

Use a zero in your format model, as shown above, when you use other formats such as a dollar sign and wish to display a zero in place of a blank for zero values.

Note: The format model will stay in effect until you enter a new one, reset the column's format, or exit from SQL*Plus.

Formatting CHAR, VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR), LONG, DATE, and Trusted Oracle Columns

When displaying CHAR, VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR), LONG, DATE, and Trusted Oracle columns, you can either accept the SQL*Plus default display width or you can change it using the COLUMN command. The sections below describe the defaults and how you can alter the defaults with the COLUMN command.

Default Display

The default width of CHARand VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR) columns is the width of the column in the database. (VARCHAR2 requires Oracle7.)

The display width of LONGcolumnsdefaults to the value of the LONGCHUNKSIZEvariable of the SETcommand.

For Oracle7, the default width and format of unformatted DATE columns in SQL*Plusis derived from the NLS parameters in effect. Otherwise, the default format width is A9. With Oracle Version 6, the default width for DATE columns is nine characters. For more information on formatting DATE columns, see the FORMAT clause of the COLUMN command in Chapter 6.

The default display width for the Trusted Oracle datatypes MLSLABEL and RAW MLSLABEL is the width defined for the column in the database or the width of the column heading, whichever is longer. (Note that the default display width for a Trusted Oracle column named ROWLABEL is 15.)

Note: The default justification for CHAR, VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR), LONG, DATE, and Trusted Oracle columns is left justification.

Changing the Default Display

You can change the displayed width of a CHAR, VARCHAR2(VARCHAR), LONG,  DATE,or Trusted Oraclecolumn by using the COLUMNcommand with a format model consisting of the letter A (for alphanumeric) followed by a number representing the width of the column in characters.

Within the COLUMN command, identify the column you want to format and the model you want to use:

COLUMNcolumn_name FORMATmodel

If you specify a width shorter than the columnheading, SQL*Plus truncates the heading. If you specify a width for a LONG column, SQL*Plus uses the LONGCHUNKSIZE or the specified width, whichever is smaller, as the column width. See the COLUMN command in Chapter 6 for more details.

Example 4-5 Formatting a Character Column

To set the width of the column ENAME to four characters and rerun the current query, enter

SQL> COLUMN ENAME FORMAT A4
SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the results:

           Empl
Department Name     Salary Commission
---------- ---- ---------- ----------
       30  ALLE     $1,600        300
           N

       30  WARD     $1,250        500
       30  MART     $1,250       1400
           IN

       30  TURN     $1,500          0
           ER

Note: The format model will stay in effect until you enter a new one, reset the column's format, or exit from SQL*Plus. ENAME could be a CHAR or VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR) column.

If the WRAPvariable of the SETcommand is set to ON (its default value), the employee nameswrap to the next line after the fourth character, as shown in Example 4-5. If WRAP is set to OFF, the namesare truncated (cut off) after the fourth character.

The system variable WRAP controls all columns; you can override the setting of WRAP for a given column through theWRAPPED, WORD_WRAPPED, andTRUNCATEDclauses of theCOLUMNcommand. See COLUMN in Chapter 6 for more information on these clauses. You will use the WORD_WRAPPED clause of COLUMN later in this chapter.

Note: The column heading is truncated regardless of the setting of WRAP or any COLUMN command clauses.

Now return the column to its previous format:

SQL> COLUMN ENAME FORMAT A10

Copying Column Display Attributes

When you want to give more than one columnthe same display attributes, you can reduce the length of the commands you must enter by using the LIKEclause of the COLUMNcommand. The LIKE clause tells SQL*Plus to copy the display attributes of a previously defined column to the new column, except for changes made by other clauses in the same command.

Example 4-6Copying a Column's Display Attributes

To give the column COMM the same display attributes you gave to SAL, but to specify a different heading, enter the following command:

SQL> COLUMN COMM LIKE SAL HEADING Bonus

Rerun the query:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

           Employee
Department Name           Salary      Bonus
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
        30 ALLEN          $1,600       $300
        30 WARD           $1,250       $500
        30 MARTIN         $1,250     $1,400
        30 TURNER         $1,500         $0

Listing and Resetting Column Display Attributes

To list the current display attributes for a given column, use the COLUMNcommand followed by the column name only, as shown below:

COLUMN column_name

To list the current display attributes for all columns, enter the COLUMNcommand with no column names or clauses after it:

COLUMN

To reset the display attributes for a columnto their default values, use the CLEARclause of the COLUMNcommand as shown below:

COLUMN column_name CLEAR

To reset the attributes for all columns, use the COLUMNSclause of the CLEARcommand.

Example 4-7Resetting Column Display Attributes to their Defaults

To reset all columns' display attributes to their default values, enter the following command:

SQL> CLEAR COLUMNS
columns cleared

You may wish to place the command CLEAR COLUMNS at the beginning of every command file to ensure that previously entered COLUMN commands will not affect queries you run in a given file.

Suppressing and Restoring Column Display Attributes

You can suppress and restore the display attributes you have given a specific column. To suppress a column'sdisplay attributes, enter a COLUMNcommand in the following form:

COLUMNcolumn_name OFF

The OFF clause tells SQL*Plus to use the default display attributes for the column, but does not remove the attributes you have defined through the COLUMN command. To restore the attributes you defined throughCOLUMN, use the ON clause:

COLUMNcolumn_name ON

Printing a Line of Characters after Wrapped Column Values

As you have seen, by default SQL*Plus wraps column values to additional lines when the value does not fit within the column width. If you want to insert a record separator(a line of charactersor a blank line) after each wrapped line of output (or after every row), use the RECSEPand RECSEPCHARvariables of the SETcommand.

RECSEP determines when the line of characters is printed:  you set RECSEP to EACH to print after every line, to WRAPPED to print after wrapped lines, and to OFF to suppress printing. The default setting of RECSEP is WRAPPED.

RECSEPCHAR sets the character printed in each line. You can set RECSEPCHAR to any character.

You may wish to wrap whole words to additional lines when a columnvalue wraps to additional lines. To do so, use the WORD_WRAPPEDclause of the COLUMNcommand as shown below:

COLUMN column_name WORD_WRAPPED

Example 4-8Printing a Line of Characters after Wrapped Column Values

To print a line of dashes after each wrapped column value, enter the following commands:

SQL> SET RECSEP WRAPPED
SQL> SET RECSEPCHAR '-'

Now restrict the width of the column LOC and tell SQL*Plus to wrap whole words to additional lines when necessary:

SQL> COLUMN LOC FORMAT A7 WORD_WRAPPED

Finally, enter and run the following query:

SQL> SELECT * FROM DEPT;

SQL*Plus displays the results:

    DEPTNO DNAME           LOC
---------- --------------- ----------
        10 ACCOUNTING      NEW
                           YORK
-------------------------------------------------
        20 RESEARCH        DALLAS
        30 SALES           CHICAGO
        40 OPERATIONS      BOSTON

If you set RECSEP to EACH, SQL*Plus prints a line of characters after every row (after every department, for the above example).

Before continuing, set RECSEP to OFF to suppress the printing of record separators:

SQL> SET RECSEP OFF


Clarifying Your Report with Spacing and Summary Lines

When you use an ORDER BYclause in your SQLSELECTcommand, rows with the same value in the ordered column (or expression) are displayed together in your output. You can make this outputmore useful to the user by using the SQL*Plus BREAKand COMPUTE commands to create subsets of records and add space and/or summary lines after each subset.

The column you specify in a BREAKcommand is called a break column. By including the break column in your ORDER BY clause, you create meaningful subsets of records in your output. You can then add formatting to the subsets within the same BREAK command, and add a summary line (containing totals, averages, and so on) by specifying the break column in a COMPUTEcommand.

For example, the following query, without BREAK or COMPUTE commands,

SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE SAL < 2500
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

produces the following unformatted results:

  DEPTNO  ENAME             SAL
--------  ----------  ---------
      10  CLARK            2450
      10  MILLER           1300
      20  SMITH             800
      20  ADAMS            1100
      30  ALLEN            1600
      30  JAMES             950
      30  TURNER           1500
      30  WARD             1250
      30  MARTIN           1250

To make this report more useful, you would use BREAK to establish  DEPTNO as the break column. Through BREAK you could suppress duplicate values in DEPTNO and place blank lines or begin a new page between departments. You could use BREAK in conjunction with COMPUTE to calculate and print summary lines containing the total (and/or average, maximum, minimum, standard deviation, variance, or count of rows of) salary for each department and for all departments.

Suppressing Duplicate Values in Break Columns

The BREAKcommand suppressesduplicate values by default in the column or expression you name. Thus, to suppress the duplicate values in a column specified in an ORDER BY clause, use the BREAK command in its simplest form:

BREAKON break_column

Note: Whenever you specify a column or expression in a BREAKcommand, use an ORDER BY clause specifying the same column or expression. If you do not do this, the breaks may appear to occur randomly.

Example 4-9 Suppressing Duplicate Values in a Break Column

To suppress the display of duplicate department numbers in the query results shown above, enter the following commands:

SQL> BREAK ON DEPTNO
SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE SAL < 2500
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SQL*Pus displays the following output:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ----------- ---------
        10 CLARK            2450
           MILLER           1300
        20 SMITH             800
           ADAMS            1100
        30 ALLEN            1600
           JAMES             950
           TURNER           1500
           WARD             1250
           MARTIN           1250

Inserting Space when a Break Column's Value Changes

You can insert blank lines or begin a new page each time the value changes in the break column. To insert n blank lines, use the BREAKcommand in the following form:

BREAKON break_column SKIPn

To skip a page, use the command in this form:

BREAKON break_column SKIP PAGE

Example 4-10Inserting Space when a Break Column's Value Changes

To place one blank line between departments, enter the following command:

SQL> BREAK ON DEPTNO SKIP 1

Now rerun the query:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the results:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ----------- ---------
        10 CLARK            2450
           MILLER           1300

        20 SMITH             800
           ADAMS            1100

        30 ALLEN            1600
           JAMES             950
           TURNER           1500
           WARD             1250
           MARTIN           1250

Inserting Space after Every Row

You may wish to insert blank lines or a blank page after every row. To skip n lines after every row, use BREAKin the following form:

BREAKON ROWSKIPn

To skip a page after every row, use

BREAKON ROW SKIP PAGE

Note: SKIP PAGE does not cause a physical page break unless you have also specified NEWPAGE 0.

Using Multiple Spacing Techniques

Supposeyou have more than one column in your ORDER BY clause and wish to insert space when each column's value changes. Each BREAKcommand you enter replaces the previous one. Thus, if you want to use different spacing techniques in one report or insert space after the value changes in more than one ordered column, you must specify multiple columns and actions in a single BREAKcommand.

Example 4-11 Combining Spacing Techniques

First, add another column to the current query:

SQL> L
  1  SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE SAL < 2500
  4* ORDER BY DEPTNO
SQL> 1 SELECT DEPTNO, JOB, ENAME, SAL
SQL> 4 ORDER BY DEPTNO, JOB

Now, to skip a page when the value of DEPTNO changes and one line when the value of JOB changes, enter the following command:

SQL> BREAK ON DEPTNO SKIP PAGE ON JOB SKIP 1

To show that SKIP PAGE has taken effect, create a TTITLE with a page number, enter

SQL> TTITLE COL 35 FORMAT 9 'Page:' SQL.PNO

Run the new query to see the results:

SQL> /

                                  Page: 1
    DEPTNO JOB       ENAME             SAL
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
        10 CLERK     MILLER            300

           MANAGER   CLARK            2450

                                  Page: 2
    DEPTNO JOB       ENAME             SAL
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
        20 CLERK     SMITH             800
                     ADAMS            1100

                                  Page: 3
    DEPTNO JOB       ENAME             SAL
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
        30 CLERK     JAMES             950

           SALESMAN  ALLEN            1600
                     TURNER           1500
                     WARD             1250
                     MARTIN           1250

Listing and Removing Break Definitions

You can list your current break definitionby entering the BREAKcommand with no clauses:

BREAK

You can removethe current break definition by entering the CLEARcommand with the BREAKSclause:

CLEAR BREAKS

You may wish to place the command CLEAR BREAKS at the beginning of every command file to ensure that previously entered BREAK commands will not affect queries you run in a given file.

Computing Summary Lines when a Break Column's Value Changes

If youorganize the rows of a report into subsets with the BREAKcommand, you can perform various computations on the rowsin each subset. You do this with the functions of the SQL*Plus COMPUTEcommand. Use the BREAK and COMPUTEcommands together in the following forms:

BREAK ON break_column
COMPUTEfunction LABEL label_name OFcolumn column column
... ONbreak_column

You can include multiple break columns and actions, such as skipping lines in the BREAK command, as long as the column you name after ON in the COMPUTE command also appears after ON in the BREAK command. To include multiple break columns and actions in BREAK when using it in conjunction with COMPUTE, use these commands in the following forms:

BREAK ON break_column_1 SKIP PAGE ON break_column_2 SKIP 1
COMPUTE function LABEL label_name OF column column column
... ON break_column_2

The COMPUTE command has no effect without a corresponding BREAK command.

You can COMPUTE on NUMBER columns and, in certain cases, on all types of columns. See COMPUTE in Chapter 6 for details.

The following table lists compute functions and their effects:

Function	Effect
SUM	Computesthe sum of the values in the column.
MINIMUM	Computesthe minimum value in the column.
MAXIMUM	Computesthe maximum value in the column.
AVG	Computesthe average of the values in the column.
STD	Computesthe standard deviation of the values in the column.
VARIANCE	Computesthe variance of the values in the column.
COUNT	Computesthe number of non-null values in the column.
NUMBER	Computesthe number of rows in the column.
Table 4 - 1.  Compute Functions

The function you specify in the COMPUTE command applies to all columns you enter after OF and before ON. The computed values print on a separate line when the value of the ordered column changes.

Labels for ON REPORT and ON ROW computations appear in the first column; otherwise, they appear in the column specified in the ON clause.

You can change the compute label by using COMPUTE LABEL. If you do not define a label for the computed value, SQL*Plus prints the unabbreviated function keyword.

The compute label can be suppressed by using the NOPRINT option of the COLUMN command on the break column. See the COMPUTE command in Chapter 6 for more details.

Example 4-12 Computing and Printing Subtotals

To compute the total of SAL by department, first list the current BREAK definition:

SQL> BREAK
break on DEPTNO skip 0 page nodup
           on JOB skip 1 nodup

Now enter the following COMPUTE command and run the current query:

SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DEPTNO
SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

    DEPTNO JOB       ENAME             SAL
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
        10 CLERK     MILLER           1300

           MANAGER   CLARK            2450
********** *********            ----------
sum                                   3750

    DEPTNO JOB       ENAME             SAL
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
        20 CLERK     SMITH             800
                     ADAMS            1100
********** *********            ----------
sum                                   1900

    DEPTNO JOB       ENAME             SAL
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
        30 CLERK     JAMES             950

           SALESMAN  ALLEN            1600
                     TURNER           1500
                     WARD             1250
                     MARTIN           1250
********** *********            ----------
sum                                   6550

To compute the sum of salaries for departments 10 and 20 without printing the compute label:

SQL> COLUMN DUMMY NOPRINT
SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DUMMY
SQL> BREAK ON DUMMY SKIP 1
SQL> SELECT DEPTNO DUMMY, DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO <= 20
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        10 KING             5000
        10 CLARK            2450
        10 MILLER           1300
                      ----------
                            8750

        20 JONES            2975
        20 FORD             3000
        20 SMITH             800
        20 SCOTT            3000
        20 ADAMS            1100
                      ----------
                           10875

To compute the salaries at the end of the report:

SQL> COLUMN DUMMY NOPRINT
SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DUMMY
SQL> BREAK ON DUMMY
SQL> SELECT NULL DUMMY, DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO <= 20
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        10 KING             5000
        10 CLARK            2450
        10 MILLER           1300
        20 JONES            2975
        20 FORD             3000
        20 SMITH             800
        20 SCOTT            3000
        20 ADAMS            1100
                      ----------
                           19625

Note: The format of the column SAL controls the appearance of the sum of SAL, as well as the individual values of SAL. When you establish the format of a NUMBER column, you must allow for the size of sums you will include in your report.

Computing Summary Lines at the End of the Report

You can calculate and print summary linesbased on all values in a column by using BREAKand COMPUTEin the following forms:

BREAKON REPORT
COMPUTEfunction LABEL label_name OF column column column
... ON REPORT

Example 4-13 Computing and Printing a Grand Total

To calculate and print the grand total of salaries for all salesmen and change the compute label, first enter the following BREAK and COMPUTE commands:

SQL> BREAK ON REPORT
SQL> COMPUTE SUM LABEL TOTAL OF SAL ON REPORT

Next, enter and run a new query:

SQL> SELECT ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3 WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN';

SQL*Plus displays the results:

ENAME           SAL
---------- --------
ALLEN          1600
WARD           1250
MARTIN         1250
TURNER         1500
********** --------
TOTAL          5600

To printa grand total (or grand average, grand maximum, and so on) in addition to subtotals (or sub-averages, and so on), include a break column and an ON REPORT clause in your BREAKcommand. Then, enter one COMPUTEcommand for the break column and another to compute ON REPORT:

BREAK ON break_column ON REPORT
COMPUTE function LABEL label_name OF column ON break_column
COMPUTE function LABEL label_name OF column ON REPORT

Computing Multiple Summary Values and Lines

You can compute and print the same type of summaryvalue on different columns. To do so, enter a separate COMPUTEcommand for each column.

Example 4-14 Computing the Same Type of Summary Value on Different Columns

To print the total of salaries and commissions for all salesmen, first enter the following COMPUTE command:

SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL COMM ON REPORT

You do not have to enter a BREAK command; the BREAK you entered in Example 4-13 is still in effect. Now, add COMM to the current query:

SQL> 1 SELECT ENAME, SAL, COMM

Finally, run the revised query to see the results:

SQL> /

ENAME           SAL       COMM
---------- -------- ----------
ALLEN          1600        300
WARD           1250        500
MARTIN         1250       1400
TURNER         1500          0
********** -------- ----------
sum            5600       2200

You can also print multiple summary lineson the same break column. To do so, include the function for each summary line in the COMPUTEcommand as follows:

COMPUTE function LABEL label_name function
  LABEL label_name function LABEL label_name ...
  OF column ON break_column

If you include multiple columns after OF and before ON, COMPUTE calculates and prints values for each column you specify.

Example 4-15 Computing Multiple Summary Lines on the Same Break Column

To compute the average and sum of salaries for the sales department, first enter the following BREAK and COMPUTE commands:

SQL> BREAK ON DEPTNO
SQL> COMPUTE AVG SUM OF SAL ON DEPTNO

Now, enter and run the following query:

SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO = 30
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO, SAL;

SQL*Plus displays the results:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        30 JAMES             950
           WARD             1250
           MARTIN           1250
           TURNER           1500
           ALLEN            1600
           BLAKE            2850
**********            ----------
avg                   1566.66667
sum                         9400

Listing and Removing COMPUTE Definitions

You can list your current COMPUTEdefinitions by entering the COMPUTE command with no clauses:

COMPUTE

You can remove all the COMPUTE definitions by entering the CLEARcommand with the COMPUTESclause.

Example 4-16 Removing COMPUTE Definitions

To remove all COMPUTEdefinitions and the accompanying BREAK definition, enter the following commands:

SQL> CLEAR BREAKS
breaks cleared
SQL> CLEAR COMPUTES
computes cleared

You may wish to place the commands CLEAR BREAKS and CLEAR COMPUTES at the beginning of every command file to ensure that previously entered BREAK and COMPUTE commands will not affect queries you run in a given file.


Defining Page Titles and Dimensions

The word page refers to a screenful of information on your display or a page of a spooled (printed) report. You can place top and bottom titles on each page, set the number of lines per page, and determine the width of each line.

Setting the Top and Bottom Titles

As you have already seen, you can set a titleto display at the top of each page of a report. You can also set a title to display at the bottom of each page. The TTITLEcommand defines the top title; the BTITLEcommand defines the bottom title.

A TTITLE or BTITLE command consists of the command name TTITLE or BTITLE followed by one or more clauses specifying a position or format and a CHAR value you wish to place in that position or give that format. You can include multiple sets of clauses and CHAR values:

TTITLE position_clause(s) char_value position_clause(s) char_value ...

or

BTITLE position_clause(s) char_value position_clause(s) char_value ...

The most often used clauses of TTITLEand BTITLE are summarized in the following table. For descriptions of all TTITLE and BTITLE clauses, see the discussion of TTITLE in Chapter 6.

Clause	Example	Description
COLn	COL 72	Makes the next CHAR value appear in the specified column of the line.
SKIPn	SKIP 2	Skips to a new line n times. If n is greater than 1, n-1 blank lines appear before the next CHAR value.
LEFT	LEFT	Left-aligns the following CHAR value.
CENTER	CENTER	Centers the following CHAR value.
RIGHT	RIGHT	Right-aligns the following CHAR value.
Table 4 - 2.  Often-Used Clauses of TTITLE and BTITLE

Example 4-17Placing a Top and Bottom Title

To put titles at the top and bottom of each page of a report, enter

SQL> TTITLE CENTER -
>    'ACME WIDGET SALES DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL REPORT'
SQL> BTITLE CENTER 'COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL'

Now run the current query:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

              ACME WIDGET SALES DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL REPORT
    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        30 JAMES             950
        30 WARD             1250
        30 MARTIN           1250
        30 TURNER           1500
        30 ALLEN            1600
        30 BLAKE            2850

                             COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

Positioning Title Elements

The report in the preceding exercise might look more attractive if you give the company name more emphasis and place the type of report and the department name on either end of a separate line. It may also help to reduce the linesize and thus center the titlesmore closely around the data.

You can accomplish these changes by adding some clauses to the TTITLEcommand and by resetting the system variable LINESIZE, as the following example shows.

Example 4-18 Positioning Title Elements

To redisplay the personnel report with a repositioned top title, enter the following commands:

SQL> TTITLE CENTER 'A C M E  W I D G E T' SKIP 1 -
>  CENTER ================ SKIP 1 LEFT 'PERSONNEL REPORT' -
>  RIGHT 'SALES DEPARTMENT' SKIP 2
SQL> SET LINESIZE 60
SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the results:

                 A C M E  W I D G E T
                 ====================
PERSONNEL REPORT                        SALES DEPARTMENT

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        30 JAMES             950
        30 WARD             1250
        30 MARTIN           1250
        30 TURNER           1500
        30 ALLEN            1600
        30 BLAKE            2850
                      COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

The LEFT, RIGHT, and CENTERclauses place the following values at the beginning, end, and center of the line. The SKIPclause tells SQL*Plus to move down one or more lines.

Note that there is no longer any space between the last row of the results and the bottom title. The last line of the bottom title prints on the last line of the page. The amount of space between the last row of the report and the bottom titledepends on the overall page size, the number of lines occupied by the top title, and the number of rows in a given page. In the above example, the top title occupies three more lines than the top title in the previous example. You will learn to set the number of lines per page later in this chapter.

To always print n blank lines before the bottom title, use the SKIPn clause at the beginning of the BTITLEcommand. For example, to skip one line before the bottom title in the example above, you could enter the following command:

BTITLE SKIP 1 CENTER 'COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL'

Indenting a Title Element

You can use the COLclause in TTITLEor BTITLE to indent the titleelement a specific number of spaces. For example, COL 1 places the following values in the first character position, and so is equivalent to LEFT, or an indent of zero. COL 15 places the title element in the 15th character position, indenting it 14 spaces.

Exercise 4-19Indenting a Title Element

To print the company name left-aligned with the report name indented five spaces on the next line, enter

SQL> TTITLE LEFT 'ACME WIDGET' SKIP 1 -
>  COL 6 'SALES DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL REPORT' SKIP 2

Now rerun the current query to see the results:

SQL> /
ACME WIDGET
     SALES DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL REPORT

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        30 JAMES             950
        30 WARD             1250
        30 MARTIN           1250
        30 TURNER           1500
        30 ALLEN            1600
        30 BLAKE            2850

                       COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

Entering Long Titles

If you need to enter a title greater than 500 characters in length, you can use the SQL*Plus command DEFINE to place the text of each line of the title in a separate user variable:

SQL> DEFINE LINE1 = 'This is the first line...'
SQL> DEFINE LINE2 = 'This is the second line...'
SQL> DEFINE LINE3 = 'This is the third line...'

Then, reference the variables in your TTITLE or BTITLE command as follows:

SQL> TTITLE CENTER LINE1 SKIP 1 CENTER LINE2 SKIP 1 -
>    CENTER LINE3

Displaying the Page Number and other System-Maintained Values in Titles

You can display the current page numberand other system-maintainedvalues in yourtitleby entering a system value name as a title element, for example:

TTITLE LEFT system-maintained_value_name

There are five system-maintained values you can display in titles, the most commonly used of which is SQL.PNO(the current page number). Refer to the TTITLE command in Chapter 6 for a list of system-maintained values you can display in titles.

Example 4-20 Displaying the Current Page Number in a Title

To display the current page number at the top of each page, along with the company name, enter the following command:

SQL> TTITLE LEFT 'ACME WIDGET' RIGHT 'PAGE:' SQL.PNO SKIP 2

Now rerun the current query:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following results:

ACME WIDGET                               PAGE:         1

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        30 JAMES             950
        30 WARD             1250
        30 MARTIN           1250
        30 TURNER           1500
        30 ALLEN            1600
        30 BLAKE            2850

                      COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

Note that SQL.PNO has a format ten spaces wide. You can change this format with the FORMATclause of TTITLE(or BTITLE).

Example 4-21 Formatting a System-Maintained Value in a Title

Tocloseup the space between the word PAGE: and the page number, re-enter the TTITLE command as shown:

SQL> TTITLE LEFT 'ACME WIDGET' RIGHT 'PAGE:' FORMAT 999 -
> SQL.PNO SKIP 2

Now rerun the query:

SQL> /

SQL*Plus displays the following results:

ACME WIDGET                                        PAGE:  1

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        30 JAMES             950
        30 WARD             1250
        30 MARTIN           1250
        30 TURNER           1500
        30 ALLEN            1600
        30 BLAKE            2850

                      COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

Listing, Suppressing, and Restoring Page Title Definitions

To list a page titledefinition, enter the appropriate title command with no clauses:

TTITLE
BTITLE

To suppress a titledefinition, enter:

TTITLEOFF
BTITLE OFF

These commands cause SQL*Plus to cease displaying titles on reports, but do not clear the current definitions of the titles.You may restore the current definitions by entering

TTITLEON
BTITLE ON

Displaying Column Values in Titles

Youmay wish to create a master/detail reportthat displays a changing master columnvalue at the top of each page with the detail query results for that value below. You can reference a column value in a top title by storing the desired value in a variable and referencing the variable in a TTITLEcommand. Use the following form of the COLUMNcommand to define the variable:

COLUMN column_name NEW_VALUEvariable_name

You must include the master column in an ORDER BYclause and in a BREAKcommand using the SKIP PAGE clause.

Example 4-22Creating a Master/Detail Report

Suppose you want to create a report that displays two different managers' employee numbers, each at the top of a separate page, and the people reporting to the manager on the same page as the manager's employee number. First create a variable, MGRVAR, to hold the value of the current manager's employee number:

SQL> COLUMN MGR NEW_VALUE MGRVAR NOPRINT

Because you will display the managers' employee numbers in the title, you do not want them to print as part of the detail. The NOPRINTclause you entered above tells SQL*Plus not to print the columnMGR.

Next, include a label and the value in your page title, enter the proper BREAK command, and suppress the bottom title from the last example:

SQL> TTITLE LEFT 'Manager: ' MGRVAR SKIP 2
SQL> BREAK ON MGR SKIP PAGE
SQL> BTITLE OFF

Finally, enter and run the following query:

SQL> SELECT MGR, ENAME, SAL, DEPTNO
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE MGR IN (7698, 7839)
  3  ORDER BY MGR;

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

Manager:      7698

ENAME           SAL     DEPTNO
---------- -------- ----------
ALLEN          1600         30
WARD           1250         30
TURNER         1500         30
MARTIN         1250         30
JAMES           950         30

Manager:      7839

ENAME           SAL     DEPTNO
---------- -------- ----------
JONES          2975         20
BLAKE          2850         30
CLARK          2450         10

If you want to print the value of a columnat the bottom of the page, you can use the COLUMNcommand in the following form:

COLUMNcolumn_name OLD_VALUEvariable_name

SQL*Plus prints the bottom title as part of the process of breaking to a new page—after finding the new value for the master column. Therefore, if you simply referenced the NEW_VALUE of the master column, you would get the value for the next set of detail. OLD_VALUE remembers the value of the master column that was in effect before the page break began.

Displaying the Current Date in Titles

You can, of course, dateyour reports by simply typing a value in the title. This is satisfactory for ad hoc reports, but if you want to run the same report repeatedly, you would probably prefer to have the date automatically appear when the report is run. You can do this by creating a variable to hold the current date.

To create the variable (in this example named _DATE), you can add the following commands to your SQL*Plus LOGINfile:

SETTERMOUTOFF
BREAKON TODAY
COLUMNTODAYNEW_VALUE_DATE
SELECTTO_CHAR(SYSDATE, 'fmMonth DD, YYYY') TODAY
FROM DUAL;
CLEAR BREAKS
SET TERMOUT ON

When you start SQL*Plus, these commands place the value of SYSDATE(the current date) into a variable named _DATE. To display the current date, you can reference _DATE in a title as you would any other variable.

The date format model you include in the SELECT command in your LOGIN file determines the format in which SQL*Plus displays the date. See your Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for more information on date format models. For more information about the LOGIN file, see "Modifying Your LOGIN File" in Chapter 3.

You can also enter these commands interactively at the command prompt; see COLUMN in Chapter 6 for an example.

Setting Page Dimensions

Typically, a page of a report contains the number of blank line(s) set in the NEWPAGE variable of the SET command, a top title, column headings, your query results, and a bottom title. SQL*Plus displays a report that is too long to fit on one page on several consecutive pages, each with its own titles and column headings. The amount of data SQL*Plus displays on each page depends on the current page dimensions.

The default pagedimensionsused by SQL*Plus are shown below:

•	number of lines before the top title: 1

•	number of lines per page, from the top title to the  bottom of the page: 24

•	number of characters per line: 80

Youcan change these settings to match the size of your computer screen or, for printing, the size of a sheet of paper.

You can change the page lengthwith the system variable PAGESIZE. For example, you may wish to do so when you print a report, since printed pages are customarily 66 lines long.

To set the number of lines between the beginning of each page and the top title, use the NEWPAGEvariable of the SETcommand:

SET NEWPAGE number_of_lines

If you set NEWPAGE to zero, SQL*Plus skips zero lines and displays and prints a formfeedcharacter to begin a new page. On most types of computer screens, the formfeed character clears the screen and moves the cursor to the beginning of the first line. When you print a report, the formfeed character makes the printer move to the top of a new sheet of paper, even if the overall page length is less than that of the paper.

To set the number of lines on a page, use the PAGESIZEvariable of the SETcommand:

SET PAGESIZE number_of_lines

You may wish to reduce the linesize to center a title properly over your output, or you may want to increase linesize for printing on wide paper. You can change the linewidth using the LINESIZEvariable of the SETcommand:

SET LINESIZE number_of_characters

Example 4-23Setting Page Dimensions

To set the page size to 66 lines, clear the screen (or advance the printer to a new sheet of paper) at the start of each page, and set the linesize to 32, enter the following commands:

SQL> SET PAGESIZE 66
SQL> SET NEWPAGE 0
SQL> SET LINESIZE 32

Now enter and run the following commands to see the results:

SQL> TTITLE CENTER 'ACME WIDGET PERSONNEL REPORT' SKIP 1 -
> CENTER '10-JAN-89' SKIP 2
SQL> COLUMN DEPTNO HEADING DEPARTMENT
SQL> COLUMN ENAME HEADING EMPLOYEE
SQL> COLUMN SAL FORMAT $99,999 HEADING SALARY
SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SQL*Plus displays a formfeed followed by the query results:

  ACME WIDGET PERSONNEL REPORT
              10-JAN-89

DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE       SALARY
---------- ---------- ----------
        10 CLARK          $2,450
        10 KING           $5,000
        10 MILLER         $1,300
        20 SMITH            $800
        20 ADAMS          $1,100
        20 FORD           $3,000
        20 SCOTT          $3,000
        20 JONES          $2,975
        30 ALLEN          $1,600
        30 BLAKE          $2,850
        30 MARTIN         $1,250
        30 JAMES            $950
        30 TURNER         $1,500
        30 WARD           $1,250

Now reset PAGESIZE, NEWPAGE, and LINESIZE to their default values:

SQL> SET PAGESIZE 24
SQL> SET NEWPAGE 1
SQL> SET LINESIZE 80

To list the current values of these variables, use the SHOWcommand:

SQL> SHOW PAGESIZE
pagesize 24
SQL> SHOW NEWPAGE
newpage 1
SQL> SHOW LINESIZE
linesize 80

Through the SQL*Plus command SPOOL, you can store you query results in a file or print them on your computer's default printer.

Sending Results to a File

To store the resultsof a query in a file—and still display them on the screen—enter the SPOOL command in the following form:

SPOOLfile_name

SQL*Plus stores all information displayed on the screen after you enter the SPOOL command in the file you specify.


Storing and Printing Query Results

Send your query results to a file when you want to edit them with a word processor before printing or include them in a letter, memo, or other document.

To store the results of a query in a file—and still display them on the screen—enter the SPOOL command in the following form:

SPOOL file_name

If you do not follow the filename with a period and an extension, SPOOL adds a default file extension to the filename to identify it as an output file. The default varies with the host operating system; on most hosts it is LST or LIS. See the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for more information.

SQL*Plus continues to spool information to the file until you turn spooling off, using the following form of SPOOL:

SPOOLOFF

Creating a Flat File

When moving data between different software products, it is sometimes necessary to use a "flat" file (an operating system file with no escape characters, headings, or extra characters embedded). For example, if you do not have SQL*Net, you need to create a flat file for use with SQL*Loader when moving data from Oracle Version 6 to Oracle7.

To create a flat file with SQL*Plus, you first must enter the following SET commands:

SET NEWPAGE 0
SET SPACE 0
SET LINESIZE 80
SET PAGESIZE 0
SET ECHO OFF
SET FEEDBACK OFF
SET HEADING OFF

After entering these commands, you use the SPOOL command as shown in the previous section to create the flat file.

The SET COLSEP command may be useful to delineate the columns. For more information, see the SET command in Chapter 6.

Sending Results to a Printer

To print query results, spool them to a file as described in the previous section. Then, instead of using SPOOL OFF, enter the command in the following form:

SPOOLOUT

SQL*Plus stops spooling and copies the contents of the spooled file to your host computer's standard (default) printer. SPOOL OUT does not delete the spool file after printing.

Example 4-24Sending Query Results to a Printer

To generate a final report and spool and print the results, create a command filenamed EMPRPT containing the following commands.

First, use EDIT to create the command file with your host operating system text editor. (Do not use INPUT and SAVE, or  SQL*Plus will add a slash to the end of the file and will run the command file twice—once as a result of the semicolon and once due to the slash.)

SQL> EDIT EMPRPT

Next, enter the following commands into the file, using your text editor:

SPOOL TEMP
CLEAR COLUMNS
CLEAR BREAKS
CLEAR COMPUTES

COLUMN DEPTNO HEADING DEPARTMENT
COLUMN ENAME HEADING EMPLOYEE
COLUMN SAL HEADING SALARY FORMAT $99,999

BREAK ON DEPTNO SKIP 1 ON REPORT
COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DEPTNO
COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON REPORT

SET PAGESIZE 21
SET NEWPAGE 0
SET LINESIZE 30

TTITLE CENTER 'A C M E  W I D G E T' SKIP 2 -
LEFT 'EMPLOYEE REPORT' RIGHT 'PAGE:' -
FORMAT 999 SQL.PNO SKIP 2

BTITLE CENTER 'COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL'

SELECT DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
FROM EMP
ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SPOOL OUT

If you do not want to see the output on your screen, you can also add SET TERMOUT OFF to the beginning of the file and SET TERMOUT ON to the end of the file. Save the file (you automatically return to SQL*Plus). Now, run the command file EMPRPT:

SQL> @EMPRPT

SQL*Plus displays the output on your screen (unless you set TERMOUT to OFF), spools it to the file TEMP, and sends the contents of TEMP to your default printer:

         A C M E  W I D G E T

EMPLOYEE REPORT      PAGE:   1

DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE     SALARY
---------- ---------- --------
        10 CLARK        $2,450
           KING         $5,000
           MILLER       $1,300
**********            --------
sum                     $8,750

        20 SMITH          $800
           ADAMS        $1,100
           FORD         $3,000
           SCOTT        $3,000
           JONES        $2,975

**********            --------
sum                    $10,875

         COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL

         A C M E  W I D G E T

EMPLOYEE REPORT      PAGE:   2

DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE     SALARY
---------- ---------- --------
        30 ALLEN        $1,600
           BLAKE        $2,850
           MARTIN       $1,250
           JAMES          $900
           TURNER       $1,500
           WARD         $1,250
**********            --------
sum                     $9,400
**********            --------
sum                    $29,025

         COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL


Accessing SQL Databases

This chapter explains how to access databases through SQL*Plus, and discusses the following topics:

•	connecting to the default database

•	connecting to a remote database

•	copying data between different databases

•	copying data between tables on the same database

Read this chapter while sitting at your computer and try out the example shown. Before beginning, make sure you have access to the sample tables described in Chapter 1.


Connecting to the Default Database

In order to access data in a given database, you must first connect to the database. When you start SQL*Plus, you normally connect to your default Oracledatabaseunder the username andpassword you enter while starting. Once you have logged in, you can connect under a different usernamewith the SQL*Plus CONNECTcommand. The usernameand passwordmust be valid for the database.

For example, to connect the username TODD to the default database using the password FOX, you could enter

SQL> CONNECT TODD/FOX

If you omit the username and password, SQL*Plus prompts you for them. You also have the option of typing only the username following CONNECT and omitting the password (SQL*Plus then prompts for the password). Because CONNECT first disconnects you from your current database, you will be left unconnected to any database if you use an invalid username and password in your CONNECT command.

You can disconnect the username currently connected to Oraclewithout leavingSQL*Plus by entering the SQL*Plus command DISCONNECTat the SQL*Plus command prompt.

The default database is configured at an operating system level by setting operating system environment variables, symbols or, possibly, by editing an Oracle specific configuration file. Refer to your Oracle documentation for your operating system for more information.


Connecting to a Remote Database

Many large installations run Oracle on more than one computer. Such computers are often connected in a network, which permits programs on different computers to exchange data rapidly and efficiently. Networked computers can be physically near each other, or can be separated by large distances and connected by telecommunication links.

Databases on other computers or databases on your host computer other than your default database are called remote databases.You can access remote databases if the desired database has SQL*Net and both databases have compatible network drivers.

You can connect to a remote database in one of two ways:

•	from within SQL*Plus, using the CONNECT command

•	as you start SQL*Plus, using the SQLPLUS command

Connecting to a Remote Database from within SQL*Plus

To connectto a remote database using CONNECT, include a SQL*Net database specification in the CONNECT command in one of the following forms (the usernameand password you enter must be valid for the databasetowhich you wish to connect):

•	CONNECT SCOTT@database_specification

•	CONNECT SCOTT/TIGER@database_specification

SQL*Plus prompts you for a passwordas needed, and connects you to the specified database. This database becomes the default database until you CONNECT again to another database, DISCONNECT, or leave SQL*Plus.

When you connect to a remote database in this manner, you can use the complete range of SQL and SQL*Plus commands and PL/SQL blocks on the database.

The exact string you enter for the databasespecificationdepends upon the SQL*Net protocolyour computer uses. For more information, see CONNECT in Chapter 6 and the SQL*Net manual appropriate for your protocol, or contact your DBA.

Connecting to a Remote Database as You Start SQL*Plus

To connect to a remote database when you start SQL*Plus, include the SQL*Net databasespecificationin your SQLPLUScommand in one of the followingforms:

•	SQLPLUS SCOTT@database_specification

•	SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER@database_specification

You must use a usernameandpasswordvalid for the remote database and substitute the appropriate database specificationfor the remote database. SQL*Plus prompts you for username and password as needed, starts SQL*Plus, and connects you to the specified database. This database becomes the default database until you CONNECT to another database, DISCONNECT, or leave SQL*Plus.

Once again, you can manipulate tables in the remote database directly after you connect in this manner.

Note: Do not confuse the @ symbol of the connect string with the @ command used to run a command file.


Copying Data from One Database to Another

Use the SQL*Plus COPYcommand to copydatabetween databasesand between tableson the same database. With the COPY command, you can copy data between databases in the following ways:

•	copy data from a remote database to your local database

•	copy data from your local (default) database to a remote database (on most systems)

•	copy data from one remote database to another remote database (on most systems)

Note: In general, the COPY command was designed to be used for copying data between Oracle and non-Oracle databases. You should use SQL commands (CREATE TABLE AS and INSERT) to copy data between Oracle databases.

Understanding COPY Command Syntax

Youenter the COPY command in the following form:

COPY FROM database TO database action -
  destination_table (column_name, column_name, -
  column_name ...) USING query

Here is asampleCOPYcommand:

COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@BOSTONDB -
  TO TODD/FOX@CHICAGODB -
  CREATE NEWDEPT (DNUMBER, DNAME, CITY)-
  USING SELECT * FROM DEPT

To specify a database in the FROMor TOclause, you must have a validusernameand passwordfor the local and remote database(s) and know the appropriate databasespecification(s).COPY obeys Oracle security, so the username you specify must have been granted access to tables for you to have access to tables. For information on what databases are available to you, contact your DBA.

When you copy to your local database from a remote database, you can omit the TO clause. When you copy to a remote database from your local database, you can omit the FROM clause. When you copy between remote databases, you must include both clauses.

The COPYcommand behaves differently based on whether the destination tablealready exists and on the action clause you enter (CREATE in the example above). See "Controlling Treatment of the Destination Table" later in this chapter.

By default, the copiedcolumns have the same names in the destination table that they have in the source table. If you want to give new names to the columnsin the destination table, enter the new names in parentheses after the destination table name. If you enter any column names, you must enter a name for every column you are copying.

Note: To enable the copying of data between Oracle and non-Oracle databases, NUMBER columns are changed to DECIMAL columns in the destination table. Hence, if you are copying between Oracle databases, a NUMBER column with no precision will be changed to a DECIMAL(38) column. When copying between Oracle databases, you should use SQL commands (CREATE TABLE AS and INSERT) or you should ensure that your columns have a precision specified.

The USINGclause specifies a querythat namesthe source table and specifiesthe data that COPYcopies to the destination table. You can use any form of the SQL SELECTcommand to select the data that the COPY command copies.

Here is an example of a COPYcommand that copies only two columns from the source table, and copies only those rows in which the value of DEPTNO is 30:

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@BOSTONDB -
>  REPLACE EMPCOPY2 -
>  USING SELECT ENAME, SAL -
>  FROM EMPCOPY -
>  WHERE DEPTNO = 30

You may find it easier to enter and edit long COPY commands in command files rather than trying to enter them directly at the command prompt.

Controlling Treatment of the Destination Table

You control the treatment of the destination tableby entering one of four control clauses—REPLACE, CREATE, INSERT, or APPEND.

The REPLACEclausenames the table to be createdin the destination database and specifies the following actions:

•	If the destination table already exists, COPY drops the existing table and replaces it with a table containing the copied data.

•	If the destination table does not already exist, COPY creates it using the copied data.

You can use the CREATEclause to avoid accidentally writing over an existing table. CREATEspecifies the following actions:

•	If the destination table already exists, COPY reports an error and stops.

•	If the destination table does not already exist, COPY creates the table using the copied data.

Use INSERTto insertdata into an existing table. INSERT specifies the following actions:

•	If the destination table already exists, COPY inserts the copied data in the destination table.

•	If the destination table does not already exist, COPY reports an error and stops.

Use APPENDwhen you want to insertdata in an existing table, or create a new table if the destination table does not exist. APPEND specifies the following actions:

•	If the destination table already exists, COPY inserts the copied data in the destination table.

•	If the table does not already exist, COPY creates the table and then inserts the copied data in it.

Example 5-1Copying from a Remote Database to Your Local Database Using CREATE

To copy EMP from a remote database into a table called EMPCOPY on  your own database, enter the following command:

Note: See your DBA for an appropriate username, password, and databasespecificationfor a remote computer that contains a copy of EMP.

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@BOSTONDB -
>  CREATE EMPCOPY -
>  USING SELECT * FROM EMP

SQL*Plus displays the following messages:

Array fetch/bind size is 20. (arraysize is 20)
Will commit when done. (copycommit is 0)
Maximum long size is 80. (long is 80)

SQL*Plus then creates the table EMPCOPY, copies the rows, and displays the following additional messages:

Table EMPCOPY created.
 14 rows selected from SCOTT@BOSTONDB.
 14 rows inserted into EMPCOPY.
 14 rows committed into EMPCOPY at DEFAULT HOST connection.

In this COPY command, the FROM clause directs COPY to connect you to the database with the specification D:BOSTON-MFG as SCOTT, with the password TIGER.

Notice that you do not need a semicolon at the end of the command; COPY is a SQL*Plus command, not a SQL command, even though it contains a query. Because most COPY commands are longer than one line, you must use a hyphen (-), optionally preceded by a space, at the end of each line except the last.

Interpreting the Messages that COPY Displays

The first three messages displayed by COPYshow the values of SET command variables that affect the COPYoperation. The most important one is LONG, which limits the length of a LONG column's value. (LONG is a datatype, similar to CHAR.) If the source table contains a LONG column, COPY truncates values in that column to the length specified by the system variable LONG.

The variable ARRAYSIZElimitsthe number of rows that SQL*Plus fetches from the database at one time. This number of rows makes up a batch. The variable COPYCOMMITsetsthe number of batches after which COPY commits changes to the database. (If you set COPYCOMMIT to zero, COPY commits changes only after all batches are copied.) For more information on the variables of the SET command, including how to change their settings, see SET in Chapter 6.

After listing the three system variables and their values, COPY tells you if a table was dropped, created, or updated during the copy. Then COPY lists the number of rows selected, inserted, and committed.

Specifying Another User's Table

You can refer to another user's tablein a COPYcommand by qualifying the table name with the username, just as you would in your local database, or in a query with a database link.

For example, to make a local copy of a table named DEPT, owned by the username ADAMS on the database associated with the SQL*Net connect string BOSTONDB, you would enter

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@BOSTONDB -
>  CREATE EMPCOPY2 -
>  USING SELECT * FROM ADAMS.DEPT

Of course, you could get the same result by instructing COPY to log in to the remote database as ADAMS. You cannot do that, however, unless you know the password associated with the username ADAMS.


Copying Data between Tables on One Database

You can copydatafrom one tableto another in a single database(local or remote). To copy between tables in your local database, specify your own usernameand passwordand the databasespecificationfor your local database in either a FROM or a TO clause (omit the other clause):

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@MYDATABASE -
>  INSERT EMPCOPY2 -
>  USING SELECT * FROM EMP

To copy between tables on a remote database, include the same username, password, and database specification in the FROM and TO clauses:

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@BOSTONDB -
>  TO SCOTT/TIGER@BOSTONDB -
>  INSERT EMPCOPY2 -
>  USING SELECT * FROM EMP


Reference


Command Reference

This chapter contains descriptions of SQL*Plus commands, listed alphabetically. Use this chapter for reference only. Each description contains the following parts:

Purpose	Discusses the basic use(s) of the command.
Syntax	Shows how to enter the command. Refer to Chapter 1 for an explanation of the syntax notation.
Terms and Clauses	Describes the function of each term or clause appearing in the syntax.
Usage Notes	Provides additional information on how the command works and on uses of the command.
Examples	Gives one or more examples of the command.

A summary table that lists and briefly describes SQL*Plus commands precedes the individual command descriptions.

To access online help for SQL*Plus commands, you can type HELP followed by the command name at the SQL command prompt. For example:

SQL> HELP ACCEPT

If you get a response that help is unavailable, consult your database administrator. See the HELP command for more information.

You can continue a long SQL*Plus commandby typing a hyphenat the end of the line and pressing [Return]. If you wish, you can type a space before typing the hyphen. SQL*Plus displays a right angle-bracket (>) as a prompt for each additional line.

You do not need to end a SQL*Plus commandwith a semicolon. When you finish entering the command, you can just press [Return]. If you wish, however, you can enter a semicolon at the end of a SQL*Plus command.


SQL*Plus CommandSummary

Command	Description
@	Runs the specified command file.
@@	Runs a nested command file.
/	Executes the SQL command or PL/SQL block.
ACCEPT	Reads a line of input and stores it in a given user variable.
APPEND	Adds specified text to the end of the current line in the buffer.
BREAK	Specifies where and how formatting will change in a report, or lists the current break definition.
BTITLE	Places and formats a specified title at the bottom of each report page, or lists the current BTITLE definition.
CHANGE	Changes text on the current line in the buffer.
CLEAR	Resets or erases the current value or setting for the specified option, such as BREAKS or COLUMNS.
COLUMN	Specifies display attributes for a given column, or lists the current display attributes for a single column or for all columns.
COMPUTE	Calculates and prints summary lines, using various standard computations, on subsets of selected rows, or lists all COMPUTE definitions.
CONNECT	Connects a given username to Oracle.
COPY	Copies data from a query to a table in a local or remote database.
DEFINE	Specifies a user variable and assigns it a CHAR value, or lists the value and variable type of a single variable or all variables.
DEL	Deletes one or more lines of the buffer.
DESCRIBE	Lists the column definitions for the specified table, view, or synonym or the specifications for the specified function or procedure.
DISCONNECT	Commits pending changes to the database and logs the current username off Oracle, but does not exit SQL*Plus.
EDIT	Invokes a host operating system text editor on the contents of the specified file or on the contents of the buffer.
EXECUTE	Executes a single PL/SQL statement.
EXIT	Terminates SQL*Plus and returns control to the operating system.
GET	Loads a host operating system file into the SQL buffer.
HELP	Accesses the SQL*Plus help system.
HOST	Executes a host operating system command without leaving SQL*Plus.
INPUT	Adds one or more new lines after the current line in the buffer.
LIST	Lists one or more lines of the SQL buffer.
PAUSE	Displays an empty line followed by a line containing text, then waits for the user to press [Return], or displays two empty lines and waits for the user's response.
PRINT	Displays the current value of a bind variable.
PROMPT	Sends the specified message or a blank line to the user's screen.
REMARK	Begins a comment in a command file.
RUN	Lists and executes the SQL command or PL/SQL block currently stored in the SQL buffer.
RUNFORM	Invokes a SQL*Forms application from within SQL*Plus.
SAVE	Saves the contents of the SQL buffer in a host operating system file (a command file).
SET	Sets a system variable to alter the SQL*Plus environment for your current session.
SHOW	Shows the value of a SQL*Plus system variable or the current SQL*Plus environment.
SPOOL	Stores query results in an operating system file and, optionally, sends the file to a printer.
SQLPLUS	Starts SQL*Plus from the operating system prompt.
START	Executes the contents of the specified command file.
TIMING	Records timing data for an elapsed period of time, lists the current timer's title and timing data, or lists the number of active timers.
TTITLE	Places and formats a specified title at the top of each report page, or lists the current TTITLE definition.
UNDEFINE	Deletes one or more user variables that you defined either explicitly (with the DEFINE command) or implicitly (with an argument to the START command).
VARIABLE	Declares a bind variable that can be referenced in PL/SQL.
WHENEVER OSERROR	Exits SQL*Plus if an operating system command generates an error.
WHENEVER SQLERROR	Exits SQL*Plus if a SQL command or PL/SQL block generates an error.


@ ("at" sign)

Purpose

Runs the specified command file.

Syntax

@ file_name[.ext] [arg...]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Representsthe command fileyou wish to run. If you omit ext, SQL*Plus assumes the default command-file extension (normally SQL). For information on changing the default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of the SET command in this chapter.
When you enter @ file_name.ext, SQL*Plus searches for a file with the filename and extension you specify in the current default directory. If SQL*Plus does not find such a file, SQL*Plus will search a system-dependent path to find the file. Some operating systems may not support the path search. Consult the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for specific information related to your operating system environment.

arg...	Representdata items you wish to pass to parametersin the command file.If you enter one or more arguments, SQL*Plus substitutes the values into the parameters(&1, &2, and so forth) in the command file. The first argument replaces each occurrence of &1, the second replaces each occurrence of &2, and so forth.
The @ command DEFINEs the parameters with the values of the arguments; if you run the command file again in this session, you can enter new arguments or omit the arguments to use the current values.

For more information on using parameters, refer to the subsection "Passing Parameters through the START Command" under "Writing Interactive Commands" in Chapter 3.

Usage Notes

You can include in a command file any command you would normally enter interactively (typically, SQL, SQL*Plus commands, or PL/SQL blocks).

An EXIT or QUIT command used in a command file terminates SQL*Plus.

The @command functions similarly to START.

If the START command is disabled (see "Disabling SQL*Plus, SQL, and PL/SQL Commands" in Appendix E), this will also disable the @ command. See START in this chapter for information on the START command.

SQL*Plus removes the SQLTERMINATOR (a semicolon by default) before the @ command is issued. A workaround for this is to add another SQLTERMINATOR. See the SQLTERMINATOR variable of the SET command in this chapter for more information.

Example

To run a command filenamed PRINTRPT with the extension SQL, enter

SQL> @PRINTRPT

To run a command filenamed WKRPT with the extension QRY, enter

SQL> @WKRPT.QRY


@@ (double "at" sign)

Purpose

Runs a nested command file. This command is identical to the @ ("at" sign) command except that it looks for the specified command file in the same path as the command file from which it was called.

Syntax

@@ file_name[.ext]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Representsthe nested command fileyou wish to run. If you omit ext, SQL*Plus assumes the default command-file extension (normally SQL). For information on changing the default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of the SET command in this chapter.
When you enter @@file_name.ext within a command file, SQL*Plus searches for a file with the filename and extension you specify in the same path as the command file. If SQL*Plus does not find such a file, SQL*Plus will search a system-dependent path to find the file. Some operating systems may not support the path search. Consult the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for specific information related to your operating system environment.

Usage Notes

You can include in a command file any command you would normally enter interactively (typically, SQL or SQL*Plus commands).

An EXIT or QUIT command used in a command file terminates SQL*Plus.

The @@command functions similarly to START.

If the START command is disabled, this will also disable the @@ command. See START in this chapter for further information on the START command.

SQL*Plus removes the SQLTERMINATOR (a semicolon by default) before the @@ command is issued. A workaround for this is to add another SQLTERMINATOR. See the SQLTERMINATOR variable of the SET command in this chapter for more information.

Example

Suppose that you have the following command filenamed PRINTRPT:

SELECT * FROM EMP
@EMPRPT
@@ WKRPT

When you START PRINTRPT and it reaches the @ command, it looks for the command filenamed EMPRPT in the current working directory and runs it. When PRINTRPT reaches the @@ command, it looks for the command filenamed WKRPT in the same path as PRINTRPT and runs it.


/ (slash)

Purpose

Executes the SQL commandor PL/SQL block currently stored in the SQL buffer.

Syntax

/

Usage Notes

You can enter a slash (/) at the command prompt or at a line number prompt of a multi-line command.

The slash command functions similarly to RUN, but does not list the command in the buffer on your screen.

Executing a SQL command or PL/SQL block using the slash command will not cause the current line number in the SQL buffer to change unless the command in the buffer contains an error. In that case, SQL*Plus changes the current line number to the number of the line containing the error.

Example

To see the SQL command(s) you will execute, you can list the contents of the buffer:

SQL> LIST
  1* SELECT ENAME, JOB FROM EMP WHERE ENAME = 'JAMES'

Enter a slash (/) at the command prompt to execute the command in the buffer:

SQL> /

For the above query, SQL*Plus displays the following output:

ENAME      JOB
---------- ---------
JAMES      CLERK


ACCEPT

Purpose

Reads a line of inputand stores it in a given user variable.

Syntax

ACC[EPT] variable [NUM[BER]|CHAR|DATE] [FOR[MAT] format]   [DEF[AULT] default] [PROMPT text|NOPR[OMPT]] [HIDE]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

variable	Represents the name of the variable in which you wish to store a value. If variable does not exist, SQL*Plus creates it.
NUM[BER]	Makes the datatype of variable the datatype NUMBER. If the reply does not match the datatype, ACCEPT gives an error message and prompts again.
CHAR	Makes the datatype of variable the datatype CHAR. The maximum CHAR length limit is 240 bytes. If a multi-byte character set is used, one CHAR may be more than one byte in size.
DATE	Makes reply a valid DATE format. If the reply is not a valid DATE format, ACCEPT gives an error message and prompts again. The datatype is CHAR.
FOR[MAT]	Specifies the input format for the reply. If the reply does not match the specified format, ACCEPT gives an error message and prompts again for a reply. The format element must be a text constant such as A10 or 9.999. See the COLUMN command in this chapter for a complete list of format elements.
Oracle date formats such as 'dd/mm/yy' are valid when the datatype is DATE. DATE without a specified format defaults to the Oracle NLS_DATE_FORMAT of the current session. See the Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide and the SQL Language Reference Guide for information on Oracle date formats.

DEF[AULT]	Sets the default value if a reply is not given. The reply must be in the specified format if defined.
PROMPT text	Displays text on-screen before accepting the value of variable from the user.
NOPR[OMPT]	Skips a line and waits for input without displaying a prompt.
HIDE	Suppresses the display as you type the reply.

To display or reference variables, use the DEFINE command. See the DEFINE command in this chapter for more information.

Examples

To display the prompt "Password:  ", place the reply in a CHAR variable named PSWD, and suppress the display, enter

SQL> ACCEPT pswd CHAR PROMPT 'Password:  ' HIDE

To display the prompt "Enter weekly salary:  " and place the reply in a NUMBER variable named SALARY with a default of 000.0, enter

SQL> ACCEPT salary NUMBER FORMAT '999.99' DEFAULT '000.0' -
>       PROMPT 'Enter weekly salary:  '

To display the prompt "Enter date hired:  " and place the reply in a DATE variable named HIRED with the format "dd/mm/yy" and a default of "01/01/94", enter

SQL> ACCEPT hired DATE FORMAT 'dd/mm/yy' DEFAULT '01/01/94'-
>       PROMPT 'Enter date hired:  '

To display the prompt "Enter employee lastname:  " and place the reply in a CHAR variable named LASTNAME, enter

SQL> ACCEPT lastname CHAR FORMAT 'A20' -
>       PROMPT 'Enter employee lastname:  '


APPEND

Purpose

Adds specified textto the end of the current linein the SQL buffer.

Syntax

A[PPEND] text

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

text	Represents the text you wish to append. If you wish to separate text from the preceding characters with a space, enter two spaces between APPEND and text.
To APPEND text that ends with a semicolon, end the command with two semicolons (SQL*Plus interprets a single semicolon as an optional command terminator).

Examples

To append a space and the column name DEPT to the second line of the buffer, make that line the current line by listing the line as follows:

SQL> 2
  2* FROM EMP,

Now enter APPEND:

SQL> APPEND  DEPT
SQL> 2
  2* FROM EMP, DEPT

Notice the double space between APPEND and DEPT. The first space separates APPEND from the characters to be appended; the second space becomes the first appended character.

To append a semicolon to the line, enter

SQL> APPEND ;;

SQL*Plus appends the first semicolon to the line and interprets the second as the terminator for the APPEND command.


BREAK

Purpose

Specifies where and how formatting will change in a report, such as

•	suppressing display of duplicate values for a given column

•	skipping a line each time a given column value changes

•	printingCOMPUTEd figures each time a given column value changes or at the end of the report (see also the COMPUTE command)

Also lists the current BREAK definition.

Syntax

BRE[AK] [ON report_element [action [action]]] ...

where:

report_element	Requires the following syntax:
{column|expr|ROW|REPORT}

action	Requires the following syntax:
[SKI[P] n|[SKI[P]] PAGE] [NODUP[LICATES]|DUP[LICATES]]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

ON column [action [action]]	When you include action(s), specifies action(s) for SQL*Plus to take whenever a break occurs in the specified column (called the break column). (column cannot have a table or view appended to it. To achieve this, you can alias the column in the SQL statement.) A break is one of three events:
•	a change in the value of a column or expression

•	the output of a row

•	the end of a report

When you omit action(s), BREAK ON column suppresses printing of duplicate values in column and marks a place in the report where SQL*Plus will perform the computation you specify in a corresponding COMPUTE command.

You can specify ON column one or more times. If you specify multipleON clauses, as in

SQL> BREAK ON DEPTNO SKIP PAGE ON JOB -
>  SKIP 1 ON SAL SKIP 1

the first ON clause represents the outermost break (in this case, ON DEPTNO) and the last ON clause represents the innermost break (in this case, ON SAL). SQL*Plus searches each row of output for the specified break(s), starting with the outermost break and proceeding—in the order you enter the clauses—to the innermost. In the example, SQL*Plus searches for a change in the value of DEPTNO, then JOB, then SAL.

Next, SQL*Plus executes actions beginning with the action specified for the innermost break and proceeding in reverse order toward the outermost break (in this case, from SKIP 1 for ON SAL toward SKIP PAGE for ON DEPTNO). SQL*Plus executes each action up to and including the action specified for the first occurring break encountered in the initial search.

If, for example, in a given row the value of JOB changes—but the values of DEPTNO and SAL remain the same—SQL*Plus skips two lines before printing the row (one as a result of SKIP 1 in the ON SAL clause and one as a result of SKIP 1 in the ON JOB clause).

Whenever you use ON column, you should also use an ORDER BYclause in the SQL SELECTcommand. Typically, the columns used in the BREAK command should appear in the same order in the ORDER BY clause (although all columns specified in the ORDER BY clause need not appear in the BREAK command). This prevents breaks from occurring at meaningless points in the report. The following SELECT command produces meaningful results:

SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, JOB, SAL, ENAME
  2  FROM EMP
  3  ORDER BY DEPTNO, JOB, SAL, ENAME;

All rows with the same DEPTNO print together on one page, and within that page all rows with the same JOB print in groups. Within each group of jobs, jobs with the same SAL print in groups. Breaks in ENAME cause no action because ENAME does not appear in the BREAK command.

ON expr [action [action]]	When you include action(s), specifies action(s) for SQL*Plus to take when the value of the expression changes.
When you omit action(s), BREAK ON expr suppresses printing of duplicate values of expr and marks a place in the report where SQL*Plus will perform the computation you specify in a corresponding COMPUTE command.

You can use an expression involving one or more table columns or an alias assigned to a report column in a SQL SELECTor SQL*Plus COLUMNcommand. If you use an expression in a BREAK command, you must enter expr exactly as it appears in the SELECT command. If the expression in the SELECT command is a+b, for example, you cannot use b+a or (a+b) in a BREAK command to refer to the expression in the SELECT command.

The information given above for ON column also applies to ON expr.

ON ROW [action [action]]	When you include action(s), specifies action(s) for SQL*Plus to take when a SQL SELECTcommand returns a row. The ROW break becomes the innermost break regardless of where you specify it in the BREAK command. You should always specify an action when you BREAK on a row.
ON REPORT [action]	Marks a place in the report where SQL*Plus will perform the computation you specify in a corresponding COMPUTE command. Use BREAKON REPORT in conjunction with COMPUTE to print grand totals or other "grand" computed values.
The REPORT break becomes the outermost break regardless of where you specify it in the BREAK command.

Note that SQL*Plus will not skip a page at the end of a report, so you cannot use BREAK ON REPORT SKIP PAGE.

Refer to the following list for a description of each action:

SKI[P] n	Skips n lines before printing the row where the break occurred.
[SKI[P]] PAGE	Skips the number of lines that are defined to be a page before printing the row where the break occurred. The number of lines per page can be set via the PAGESIZE clause of the SET command. Note that PAGESIZE only changes the number of lines that SQL*Plus considers to be a page. Therefore, SKIP PAGE may not always cause a physical page break, unless you have also specified NEWPAGE 0. Note also that if there is a break after the last row of data to be printed in a report, SQL*Plus will not skip the page.
NODUP[LICATES]	Prints blanks rather than the value of a break column when the value is a duplicate of the column's value in the preceding row.
DUP[LICATES]	Prints the value of a break column in every selected row.

Enter BREAKwith no clauses to list the current break definition.

Usage Notes

Each new BREAK command you enter replaces the preceding one.

To remove the BREAK command, use CLEAR BREAKS.

Example

To produce a report that prints duplicate job values, prints the average of SAL and inserts one blank line when the value of JOB changes, and additionally prints the sum of SAL and inserts another blank line when the value of DEPTNO changes, you could enter the following commands. (The example selects departments 10 and 30 and the jobs of clerk and salesman only.)

SQL> BREAK ON DEPTNO SKIP 1 ON JOB SKIP 1 DUPLICATES
SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DEPTNO
SQL> COMPUTE AVG OF SAL ON JOB
SQL> SELECT DEPTNO, JOB, ENAME, SAL FROM EMP
  2  WHERE JOB IN ('CLERK', 'SALESMAN')
  3  AND DEPTNO IN (10, 30)
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO, JOB;

The following output results:

DEPTNO    JOB       ENAME            SAL
--------- --------- ---------- ---------
       10 CLERK     MILLER          1300
          *********            ---------
          avg                       1300

**********                    ----------
sum                                 1300

       30 CLERK     JAMES           1045
          *********           ----------
          avg                       1045

          SALESMAN  ALLEN           1760
          SALESMAN  MARTIN          1375
          SALESMAN  TURNER          1650
          SALESMAN  WARD            1375
          *********           ----------
          avg                       1540

**********                    ----------
sum                                 7205


BTITLE

Purpose

Places and formats a specified titleat the bottom of each reportpage or lists the current BTITLE definition.

For a description of the old form of BTITLE, see Appendix F.

Syntax

BTI[TLE] [printspec [text|variable] ...]|[OFF|ON]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the TTITLE command for additional information on terms and clauses in the BTITLE command syntax.

Enter BTITLE with no clauses to list the current BTITLEdefinition.

Usage Notes

If you do not enter a printspec clause before the first occurrence of text, BTITLE left justifies the text. SQL*Plus interprets BTITLE in the new form if a valid printspec clause (LEFT, SKIP, COL, and so on) immediately follows the command name.

Examples

To set a bottom title with CORPORATE PLANNING DEPARTMENT on the left and a date on the right, enter

SQL> BTITLE LEFT 'CORPORATE PLANNING DEPARTMENT' -
> RIGHT '11 Mar 1988'

To set a bottom title with CONFIDENTIAL in column 50, followed by six spaces and a date, enter

SQL> BTITLE COL 50 'CONFIDENTIAL' TAB 6 '11 Mar 88'


CHANGE

Purpose

Changes the first occurrence of text on the current line in the buffer.

Syntax

C[HANGE] sepchar old [sepchar [new [sepchar]]]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

sepchar	Represents any non-alphanumeric character such as "/" or "!". Use a sepchar that does not appear in old or new. You can omit the space between CHANGE and the first sepchar.
old	Represents the text you wish to change. CHANGE ignores case in searching for old. For example,
CHANGE /aq/aw

will find the first occurrence of "aq", "AQ", "aQ", or "Aq" and change it to "aw". SQL*Plus inserts the new text exactly as you specify it.

If old is prefixed with "...", it matches everything up to and including the first occurrence of old. If it is suffixed with "...", it matches the first occurrence of old and everything that follows on that line. If it contains an embedded "...", it matches everything from the preceding part of old through the following part of old.

new	Represents the text with which you wish to replace old. If you omit new and, optionally, the second and third sepchars, CHANGE deletes old from the current line of the buffer.

Usage Notes

CHANGE changes the first occurrence of the existing specified text on the current line of the buffer to the new specified text. The current line is marked with an asterisk (*) in the LIST output.

You can also use CHANGE to modify a line in the buffer that has generated an Oracle error. SQL*Plus sets the buffer's current line to the line containing the error so that you can make modifications.

To re-enter an entire line, you can type the line number followed by the new contents of the line. If you specify a line number larger than the number of lines in the buffer and follow the number with text, SQL*Plus adds the text in a new line at the end of the buffer. If you specify zero ("0") for the line number and follow the zero with text, then SQL*Plus inserts the line at the beginning of the buffer (that line becomes line 1).

Examples

Assume the current line of the buffer contains the following text:

4* WHERE JOB IS IN ('CLERK','SECRETARY','RECEPTIONIST')

Enter the following command:

SQL> C /RECEPTIONIST/GUARD/

The text in the buffer changes as follows:

4* WHERE JOB IS IN ('CLERK','SECRETARY','GUARD')

Or enter the following command:

SQL> C /'CLERK',.../'CLERK')/

The original line changes to

4* WHERE JOB IS IN ('CLERK')

Or enter the following command:

SQL> C /(...)/('COOK','BUTLER')/

The original line changes to

4* WHERE JOB IS IN ('COOK','BUTLER')

You can replace the contents of an entire line using the line number. This entry

SQL> 2  FROM EMP e1

causes the second line of the buffer to be replaced with

FROM EMP e1

Note that entering a line number followed by a string will replace the line regardless of what text follows the line number. Thus,

SQL> 2  c/old/new/

will change the second line of the buffer to be

2* c/old/new/


CLEAR

Purpose

Resets or erases the current value or setting for the specified option.

Syntax

CL[EAR] option ...

where option represents one of the following clauses:

BRE[AKS]
BUFF[ER]
COL[UMNS]
COMP[UTES]
SCR[EEN]
SQL
TIMI[NG]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

BRE[AKS]	Removes the break definitionset by the BREAKcommand.
BUFF[ER]	Clears text from the buffer. CLEAR BUFFER has the same effect as CLEAR SQL, unless you are using multiple buffers (see SET BUFFER in Appendix F).
COL[UMNS]	Resets column display attributes set by the COLUMN command to default settings for all columns. To reset display attributes for a single column, use the CLEAR clause of the COLUMN command.
COMP[UTES]	Removes all COMPUTE definitions set by the COMPUTEcommand.
SCR[EEN]	Clears your screen.
SQL	Clears the text from SQL buffer. CLEAR SQL has the same effect as CLEAR BUFFER, unless you are using multiple buffers (see SET BUFFER in Appendix F).
TIMI[NG]	Deletes all timers created by the TIMINGcommand.

Examples

To clear breaks, enter

SQL> CLEAR BREAKS

To clear column definitions, enter

SQL> CLEAR COLUMNS


COLUMN

Purpose

Specifies display attributes for a given column, such as

•	text for the column heading

•	alignment of the column heading

•	format for NUMBER data

•	wrapping of column data

Also lists the current display attributes for a single column or all columns.

Syntax

COL[UMN] [{column|expr} [option ...]]

where option represents one of the following clauses:

ALI[AS] alias
CLE[AR]
FOLD_A[FTER]
FOLD_B[EFORE]
FOR[MAT] format
HEA[DING] text
JUS[TIFY] {L[EFT]|C[ENTER]|C[ENTRE]|R[IGHT]}
LIKE {expr|alias}
NEWL[INE]
NEW_V[ALUE] variable
NOPRI[NT]|PRI[NT]
NUL[L] text
OLD_V[ALUE] variable
ON|OFF
WRA[PPED]|WOR[D_WRAPPED]|TRU[NCATED]

Terms and Clauses

Enter COLUMNfollowed by column or expr and no other clauses to list the current display attributes for only the specified column or expression. Enter COLUMNwith no clauses to list all current columndisplay attributes.

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

{column|expr}	Identifies the data item (typically, the name of a column) in a SQL SELECTcommand to which the column command refers. If you use an expression in a COLUMN command, you must enter expr exactly as it appears in the SELECT command. If the expression in the SELECT command is a+b, for example, you cannot use b+a or (a+b) in a COLUMN command to refer to the expression in the SELECT command.
If you select columns with the same name from different tables, a COLUMN command for that column name will apply to both columns. That is, a COLUMN command for the column ENAME applies to all columns named ENAME that you reference in this session. COLUMN ignores table name prefixes in SELECT commands. Also, spaces are ignored unless the name is placed in double quotes.

To format the columns differently, assign a unique alias to each column within the SELECT command itself (do not use the ALIAS clause of the COLUMN command) and enter a COLUMN command for each column's alias.

ALI[AS] alias	Assigns a specifiedalias to a column, which can be used to refer to the column in BREAK, COMPUTE, and other COLUMN commands.
Note: A SQL*Plus alias is different from a SQL alias. See the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for further information on the SQL alias.

CLE[AR]	Resets the display attributes for the columnto default values.
To reset the attributes for all columns, use the CLEAR COLUMNS command.

FOLD_A[FTER]	Inserts a carriage return after the column heading and after each row in the column. SQL*Plus does not insert an extra carriage return after the last column in the SELECT list.
FOLD_B[EFORE]	Inserts a carriage return before the column heading and before each row of the column. SQL*Plus does not insert an extra carriage return before the first column in the SELECT list.
FOR[MAT] format	Specifies the display format of the column. The format specification must be a text constant such as A10 or $9,999—not a variable.
Character Columns The default width of CHAR and VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR) columns is the width of the column in the database. SQL*Plus formats CHAR and VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR) data left-justified. If a value does not fit within the column width, SQL*Plus wraps or truncates the character string depending on the setting of SET WRAP. The width cannot exceed 32,767 or the value set with SET MAXDATA. (VARCHAR2 requires Oracle7.)

A LONGcolumn's width defaults to the value of SET LONGCHUNKSIZE or SET LONG, whichever one is smaller.

A Trusted Oracle column of datatype MLSLABEL or RAW MLSLABEL defaults to the width defined for the column in the database or the length of the column's heading, whichever is longer. The default display width for a Trusted Oracle column of datatype ROWLABEL is 15.

To change the width of a CHAR,VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR), LONG, or Trusted Oracle column to n, use FORMAT An. (A stands for alphanumeric.) If you specify a width shorter than the column heading, SQL*Plus truncates the heading.If you specify a width for a LONG column, SQL*Plus uses the LONGCHUNKSIZE or the specified width, whichever is smaller, as the column width.

DATE Columns For Oracle7, the default width and format of unformatted DATE columns in SQL*Plus is derived from the NLS parameters in effect. Otherwise, the default width is A9. In Oracle7, the NLS parameters may be set in your database parameter file or may be environment variables or an equivalent platform-specific mechanism. They may also be specified for each session with the ALTER SESSION command. (See the documentation for the Oracle7 Server for a complete description of the NLS parameters).

You can change the format of any DATE column using the SQL function TO_CHAR in your SQL SELECT statement. You may also wish to use an explicit COLUMN FORMAT command to adjust the column width.

When you use SQL functions like TO_CHAR, Oracle automatically allows for a very wide column.

To change the width of a DATE column to n, use the COLUMN command with FORMAT An. If you specify a width shorter than the column heading, the heading is truncated.

NUMBER Columns To change a NUMBER column's width, use FORMAT followed by an element as specified in Table 6 - 1.

Element	Example(s)	Description
9	9999	Number of "9"s specifies number of significant digits returned. Blanks are displayed for leading zeroes and for a value of zero.
0	0999 9990	Displays a leading zero or a value of zero in this position as a 0, rather than as a blank.
$	$9999	Prefixes value with dollar sign.
B	B9999	Displays a zero value as blank, regardless of "0"s in the format model.
MI	9999MI	Displays "-" after a negative value. For a positive value, a trailing space is displayed.
S	S9999	Returns "+" for positive values and "-" for negative values in this position.
PR	9999PR	Displays a negative value in <angle brackets>. For a positive value, a leading and trailing space is displayed.
D	99D99	Displays the decimal character in this position, separating the integral and fractional parts of a number.
G	9G999	Displays the group separator in this position.
C	C999	Displays the ISO currency symbol in this position.
L	L999	Displays the local currency symbol in this position.
, (comma)	9,999	Displays a comma in this position.
. (period)	99.99	Displays a period (decimal point) in this position, separating the integral and fractional parts of a number.
V	999V99	Multiplies value by 10n, where n is the number of "9"s after the "V".
EEEE	9.999EEEE	Displays value in scientific notation (format must contain exactly four "E"s).
RN or rn	RN	Displays upper- or lowercase Roman numerals. Value can be an integer between 1 and 3999.
DATE	DATE	Displays value as a date in MM/DD/YY format; used to format NUMBER columns that represent Julian dates.

Table 6 - 1.  Number Formats

The MI and PR format elements can only appear in the last position of a number format model. The S format element can only appear in the first or last position.

If a number format model does not contain the MI, S or PR format elements, negative return values automatically contain a leading negative sign and positive values automatically contain a leading space.

A number format model can contain only a single decimal character (D) or period (.), but it can contain multiple group separators (G) or commas (,). A group separator or comma cannot appear to the right of a decimal character or period in a number format model.

SQL*Plus formats NUMBER data right-justified. A NUMBER column's width equals the width of the heading or the width of the FORMAT plus one space for the sign, whichever is greater. If you do not explicitly use FORMAT, then the column's width will always be at least the value of SET NUMWIDTH.

If a value does not fit within the column width, SQL*Plus indicates overflow by displaying a # (pound sign) in place of each digit the width allows.

With all number formats, SQL*Plus rounds each value to the specified number of significant digits.

HEA[DING] text	Defines a columnheading. If you do not use a HEADING clause, the column's heading defaults to column or expr. If text containsblanks or punctuation characters, you must enclose it with single or double quotes. Each occurrenceof the HEADSEP character (by default, '|') begins a new line. For example,
COLUMN ENAME HEADING 'Employee |Name'

would produce a two-line column heading. See the HEADSEP variable of the SET command in this chapter for information on changing the HEADSEP character.

JUS[TIFY] {L[EFT]|C[ENTER]|C[ENTRE]|R[IGHT]}	Aligns the heading. If you do not use a JUSTIFY clause, headings for NUMBER columns default to RIGHT and headings for other column types default to LEFT.
LIKE {expr|alias}	Copiesthe display attributes of another column or expression (whose attributes you have already defined with another COLUMN command). LIKE copies only attributes not defined by another clause in the current COLUMN command.
NEWL[INE]	Starts a new line before displaying the column's value. NEWLINE has the same effect as FOLD_BEFORE.
NEW_V[ALUE] variable	Specifiesa variable to hold a columnvalue. You can reference the variable inTTITLEcommands. Use NEW_VALUE to display column values orthedatein the top title. You must include the column in a BREAK command with the SKIP PAGE action. The variable name cannot contain a pound sign (#).
NEW_VALUE is useful for master/detail reportsin which there is a new master record for each page. For master/detail reporting, you must also include the column in the ORDER BY clause. See the example at the end of this command description.

For information on displaying a column value in the bottom title, see COLUMN OLD_VALUE. Refer to TTITLE for more information on referencing variables in titles. See COLUMN FORMAT for details on formatting and valid format models.

NOPRI[NT]|PRI[NT]	Controls the printing of the column (the column heading and all the selected values). NOPRINTturnsthe printing of the column off. PRINTturnsthe printing of the column on.
NUL[L] text	Controls the text SQL*Plus displays for null values in the given column. The default is a white space. SET NULL controls the text displayed for all null values for all columns, unless overridden for a specific column by the NULL clause of the COLUMN command.
OLD_V[ALUE] variable	Specifiesa variable to hold a column value.You can reference the variable inBTITLEcommands. Use OLD_VALUE to display column values in the bottom title. You must include the column in a BREAK command with the SKIP PAGE action.
OLD_VALUE is useful for master/detail reportsin which there is a new master record for each page. For master/detail reporting, you must also include the column in the ORDER BY clause.

For information on displaying a column value in the top title, see COLUMN NEW_VALUE. Refer to TTITLE for more information on referencing variables in titles.

ON|OFF	Controls the status of display attributes for a column. OFFdisables the attributes for a columnwithout affecting the attributes' definition. ONreinstates the attributes.
WRA[PPED]|WOR[D_WRAPPED]|TRU[NCATED]	Specifies how SQL*Plus will treat a CHAR, VARCHAR2, LONG, or DATE string that is too wide for a column. WRAPPED wrapsthe string within the column bounds, beginning new lines when required. When WORD_WRAP is enabled, SQL*Plus left justifies each new line, skipping all leading whitespace (for example, returns, newline characters, tabs and spaces), including embedded newline characters. Embedded whitespace not on a line boundary is not skipped. TRUNCATED truncatesthe string at the end of the first line of display.

Usage Notes

You can enter any number of COLUMN commands for one or more columns. All column attributes set for each column remain in effect for the remainder of the session, until you turn the column OFF, or until you use the CLEAR COLUMN command. Thus, the COLUMN commands you enter can control a column's display attributes for multiple SQL SELECT commands.

When you enter multiple COLUMN commands for the same column, SQL*Plus applies their clauses collectively. If several COLUMN commands apply the same clause to the same column, the last one entered will control the output.

Examples

To make the ENAME column 20 characters wide and display EMPLOYEE NAME on two lines at the top, enter

SQL> COLUMN ENAME FORMAT A20 HEADING 'EMPLOYEE |NAME'

To format the SAL column so that it shows millions of dollars, rounds to cents, uses commas to separate thousands, and displays $0.00 when a value is zero, you would enter

SQL> COLUMN SAL FORMAT $9,999,990.99

To assign the alias NET to a column containing a long expression, to display the result in a dollar format, and to display <NULL> for null values, you might enter

SQL> COLUMN SAL+COMM+BONUS-EXPENSES-INS-TAX ALIAS NET
SQL> COLUMN NET FORMAT $9,999,999.99 NULL '<NULL>'

Note that the example divides this column specification into two commands. The first defines the alias NET, and the second uses NET to define the format.

Also note that in the first command you must enter the expression exactly as you entered it (or will enter it) in the SELECT command. Otherwise, SQL*Plus cannot match the COLUMN command to the appropriate column.

To wrap long values in a column named REMARKS, you can enter

SQL> COLUMN REMARKS FORMAT A20 WRAP

For example:

CUSTOMER   DATE      QUANTITY REMARKS
---------- --------- -------- --------------------
123        25-AUG-86      144 This order must be s
                              hipped by air freigh
                              t to ORD

If you replace WRAP with WORD_WRAP, REMARKS looks like this:

CUSTOMER   DATE      QUANTITY REMARKS
---------- --------- -------- ---------------------
123        25-AUG-86      144 This order must be
                              shipped by air freight
                              to ORD

If you specify TRUNCATE, REMARKS looks like this:

CUSTOMER   DATE      QUANTITY REMARKS
---------- --------- -------- --------------------
123        25-AUG-86      144 This order must be s

Inorder to print the currentdateand the name of each job in the top title, enter the following. (For details on creating a date variable, see "Displaying the Current Date in Titles" under "Defining Page Titles and Dimensions" in Chapter 4.)

SQL> COLUMN JOB NOPRINT NEW_VALUEJOBVAR
SQL> COLUMN TODAY  NOPRINT NEW_VALUE DATEVAR
SQL> BREAK ON JOB SKIP PAGE ON TODAY
SQL> TTITLE CENTER 'Job Report' RIGHT DATEVAR  SKIP 2 -
>    LEFT 'Job:     ' JOBVAR SKIP 2
SQL> SELECT TO_CHAR(SYSDATE, 'MM/DD/YY') TODAY,
  2  ENAME, JOB, MGR, HIREDATE, SAL, DEPTNO
  3  FROM EMP WHERE JOB IN ('CLERK', 'SALESMAN')
  4  ORDER BY JOB, ENAME;

Your two page report would look similar to the following report, with "Job Report" centered within your current linesize:

                    Job Report             08/01/94

Job:     CLERK

ENAME          MGR HIREDATE          SAL     DEPTNO
---------- ------- --------- ----------- ----------
ADAMS         7788 14-JAN-87        1100         20
JAMES         7698 03-DEC-81         950         30
MILLER        7782 23-JAN-82        1300         10
SMITH         7902 17-DEC-80         800         20

                    Job Report             08/01/94

Job:     CLERK

ENAME          MGR HIREDATE          SAL     DEPTNO
---------- ------- --------- ----------- ----------
ALLEN         7698 20-JAN-81        1600         30
MARTIN        7698 03-DEC-81         950         30
MILLER        7782 23-JAN-82        1300         10
SMITH         7902 17-DEC-80         800         20

To change the default format of DATE columns to 'YYYY-MM-DD', you can enter

SQL> ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'YYYY-MM-DD';

The following output results:

Session altered

To display the change, enter a SELECT statement, such as:

SQL> SELECT HIREDATE
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE EMPNO = 7839;

The following output results:

HIREDATE
----------
1981-11-17

See the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for information on the ALTER SESSION command.

Note that in a SELECT statement, some SQL calculations or functions, such as TO_CHAR, may cause a column to be very wide. In such cases, use the FORMAT option to alter the column width.


COMPUTE

Purpose

Calculatesand prints summary lines, using various standard computations, on subsets of selected rows, or lists all COMPUTE definitions. (For details on how to create summaries, see "Clarifying Your Report with Spacing and Summary Lines" in Chapter 4.)

Syntax

COMP[UTE] [function [LAB[EL] text] ...   OF {expr|column|alias} ...   ON {expr|column|alias|REPORT|ROW} ...]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

function ...	Represents one of the functions listed in Table 6-2. If you specify more than one function, use spaces to separate the functions.
Function	Computes	Applies to Datatypes
AVG	Average of non-null values	NUMBER
COU[NT]	Count of non-null values	all types
MAX[IMUM]	Maximum value	NUMBER, CHAR,VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR)
MIN[IMUM]	Minimum value	NUMBER, CHAR,VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR)
NUM[BER]	Count of rows	all types
STD	Standard deviation of non-null values	NUMBER
SUM	Sum of non-null values	NUMBER
VAR[IANCE]	Variance of non-null values	NUMBER
Table 6 - 2.  COMPUTE Functions
LAB[EL] text	Defines the label to be printed for the computed value. If no LABEL clause is used, text defaults to the unabbreviated function keyword. If text contains spaces or punctuation, you must enclose it with single quotes. The label prints left justified and truncates to the column width or linesize, whichever is smaller. The maximum length of a label is 500 characters.
The label for the computed value appears in the break column specified. To suppress the label, use the NOPRINT option of the COLUMN command on the break column.

If you repeat a function in a COMPUTE command, SQL*Plus issues a warning and uses the first occurrence of the function.

With ON REPORT and ON ROW computations, the label appears in the first column listed in the SELECT statement. The label can be suppressed by using a NOPRINT column first in the SELECT statement. When you compute a function of the first column in the SELECT statement ON REPORT or ON ROW, then the computed value appears in the first column and the label is not displayed. To see the label, select a dummy column first in the SELECT list.

OF {expr|column|alias}...	Specifies the column(s) or expression(s) you wish to use in the computation. (column cannot have a table or view appended to it. To achieve this, you can alias the column in the SQL statement.) You must also specify these columns in the SQL SELECTcommand, or SQL*Plus will ignore the COMPUTE command.
If you use a SQL SELECT list alias, you must use the SQL alias in the COMPUTE command, not the column name. If you use the column name in this case, SQL*Plus will ignore the COMPUTE command.

If you do not want the computed values of a column to appear in the output of a SELECT command, specify that column in a COLUMN command with a NOPRINT clause. Use spaces to separate multiple expressions, columns, or aliases within the OF clause.

In the OF clause,you can refer to an expression or function reference in the SELECT statement by placing the expression or function reference in double quotes. Column names and aliases do not need quotes.

ON {expr|column|alias|REPORT|ROW} ...	Specifies the event SQL*Plus will use as a break. (column cannot have a table or view appended to it. To achieve this, you can alias the column in the SQL statement.) COMPUTE prints the computed value and restarts the computation when the event occurs (that is, when the value of the expression changes, a new ROW is fetched, or the end of the report is reached).
If multiple COMPUTE commands reference the same column in the ON clause, only the last COMPUTE command applies.

To reference aSQL SELECT expression or function reference in an ON clause, place the expression or function reference in quotes. Column names and aliases do not need quotes.

Enter COMPUTE without clauses to list all COMPUTE definitions.

Usage Notes

In order for the computations to occur, the following conditions must all be true:

•	One or more of the expressions, columns, or column aliases you reference in the OF clause must also be in the SELECT command.

•	The expression, column, or column alias you reference in the ON clause must occur in the SELECT command and in the most recent BREAKcommand.

•	If you reference either ROW or REPORT in the ON clause, also reference ROW or REPORT in the most recent BREAK command.

To remove all COMPUTE definitions, use the CLEAR COMPUTES command.

Examples

To subtotal the salary for the "clerk", "analyst", and "salesman" job classifications with a compute label of "TOTAL", enter

SQL> BREAK ON JOB SKIP 1
SQL> COMPUTE SUM LABEL 'TOTAL' OF SAL ON JOB
SQL> SELECT JOB, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE JOB IN ('CLERK', 'ANALYST', 'SALESMAN')
  4  ORDER BY JOB, SAL;

The following output results:

JOB       ENAME             SAL
--------- ---------- ----------
ANALYST   SCOTT            3000
          FORD             3000
*********            ----------
TOTAL                      6000

CLERK     SMITH             800
          JAMES             950
          ADAMS            1100
          MILLER           1300
*********            ----------
TOTAL                      4150

SALESMAN  WARD             1250
          MARTIN           1250
          TURNER           1500
          ALLEN            1600
*********            ----------
TOTAL                      5600

To calculate the total of salaries less than 1,000 on a report, enter

SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON REPORT
SQL> BREAK ON REPORT
SQL> COLUMN DUMMY HEADING ''
SQL> SELECT '   ' DUMMY, SAL, EMPNO
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE SAL < 1000
  4  ORDER BY SAL;

The following output results:

           SAL       EMPNO
--- ---------- -----------
           800        7369
           950        7900
    ----------
sum       5350

To compute the average and maximum salary for the accounting and sales departments, enter

SQL> BREAK ON DNAME SKIP 1
SQL> COMPUTE AVG LABEL 'Dept Average' -
>            MAX LABEL 'Dept Maximum' -
>       OF SAL ON DNAME
SQL> SELECT DNAME, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM DEPT, EMP
  3  WHERE DEPT.DEPTNO = EMP.DEPTNO
  4  AND DNAME IN ('ACCOUNTING', 'SALES')
  5  ORDER BY DNAME;

The following output results:

DNAME          ENAME             SAL
-------------- ---------- ----------
ACCOUNTING     CLARK            2450
               KING             5000
               MILLER           1300
**************            ----------
Dept Average              2916.66667
Dept Maximum                    5000

SALES          ALLEN            1600
               WARD             1250
               JAMES             950
               TURNER           1500
               MARTIN           1250
               BLAKE            2850
**************            ----------
Dept Average              1566.66667
Dept Maximum                    2850

To compute the sum of salaries for departments 10 and 20 without printing the compute label:

SQL> COLUMN DUMMY NOPRINT
SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DUMMY
SQL> BREAK ON DUMMY SKIP 1
SQL> SELECT DEPTNO DUMMY, DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO <= 20
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        10 KING             5000
        10 CLARK            2450
        10 MILLER           1300
                      ----------
                            8750

        20 JONES            2975
        20 FORD             3000
        20 SMITH             800
        20 SCOTT            3000
        20 ADAMS            1100
                      ----------
                           10875

If, instead, you do not want to print the label, only the salary total at the end of the report:

SQL> COLUMN DUMMY NOPRINT
SQL> COMPUTE SUM OF SAL ON DUMMY
SQL> BREAK ON DUMMY
SQL> SELECT NULL DUMMY, DEPTNO, ENAME, SAL
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO <= 20
  4  ORDER BY DEPTNO;

SQL*Plus displays the following output:

    DEPTNO ENAME             SAL
---------- ---------- ----------
        10 KING             5000
        10 CLARK            2450
        10 MILLER           1300
        20 JONES            2975
        20 FORD             3000
        20 SMITH             800
        20 SCOTT            3000
        20 ADAMS            1100
                      ----------
                           19625


CONNECT

Purpose

Connectsa given usernametoOracle.

Syntax

CONN[ECT] [logon]

where:

logon	Requires the following syntax: username[/password][@database_specification]|/

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

username[/password]	Represent the usernameand passwordwith which you wish to connect to Oracle. If you omit username and password, SQL*Plus prompts you for them. If you enter a slash (/) or simply enter [Return] to the prompt for username, SQL*Plus logs you in using a default logon (see "/" below).
If you omit only password, SQL*Plus prompts you for password. When prompting, SQL*Plus does not display password on your terminal screen.

/	Represents a defaultlogon using operating system authentication. You cannot enter a database_specification if you use a default logon. In a default logon, SQL*Plus typically attempts to log you in using the username OPS$name, where name is your operating system username. See the Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide for information about operating system authentication.
database specification	Consists of a SQL*Net connection string. The exact syntax depends upon the SQL*Net communications protocol your Oracle installation uses. For more information, refer to the SQL*Net manual appropriate for your protocol or contact your DBA. SQL*Plus does not prompt for a databasespecification, but uses your default databaseif you do not include a specification.

Usage Notes

CONNECT commits the current transaction to the database, disconnects the current username from Oracle, and reconnects with the specified username.

Examples

To connect across SQL*Net using username SCOTT and password TIGER to the database known by the SQL*Net alias as FLEETDB, enter

SQL> CONNECT SCOTT/TIGER@FLEETDB

To connect using username SCOTT, letting SQL*Plus prompt you for the password, enter

SQL> CONNECT SCOTT


COPY

Purpose

Copies the data from a query to a tablein a localor remotedatabase.

Syntax

COPY {FROM username[/password]@database_specification|   TO username[/password]@database_specification|   FROM username[/password]@database_specification   TO username[/password]@database_specification}   {APPEND|CREATE|INSERT|REPLACE} destination_table   [(column, column, column ...)] USING query

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

username[/password]	Represent the Oracleusername/password youwish to COPY FROM and TO. In the FROM clause, username/password identifies the source of the data; in the TO clause, username/password identifies the destination. If you do not specify password in either the FROM clause or the TO clause, SQL*Plus will prompt you for it. SQL*Plus suppresses the display of your response to these prompts.
database_specification	Consists of a SQL*Net connection string. You must include a database_specification clause in the COPY command. In the FROM clause, database_specification represents the database at the source; in the TO clause, database_specification represents the database at the destination. The exact syntax depends upon the SQL*Net communications protocol your Oracle installation uses. For more information, refer to the SQL*Net manual appropriate for your protocol or contact your DBA.
destination_table	Represents the table you wish to create or to which you wish to add data.
(column, column, column, ...)	Specifies the names of the columnsin  destination_table. You must enclose a name in double quotes if it contains lowercase letters or blanks.
If you specify columns, the number of columns must equal the number of columns selected by the query. If you do not specify any columns, the copied columns will have the same names in the destination table as they had in the source if COPY creates destination_table.

USING query	Specifies a SQLquery(SELECTcommand) determiningwhichrows and columns COPY copies.
FROM username[/password]@database_specification	Specifies the username, password, and database  that contains the data to be copied. If you omit the FROM clause, the source defaults to the database to which SQL*Plus is connected (that is, the database that other commands address). You must include a FROM clause to specify a source database other than the default.
TO username[/password]@database_specification	Specifies the database containing the destination table. If you omit the TO clause, the destination defaults to the database to which SQL*Plus is connected (that is, the database that other commands address). You must include a TO clause to specify a destination database other than the default.
APPEND	Insertsthe rows from query into destination_table if the table exists. If destination_table does not exist, COPY creates it.
CREATE	Inserts the rows from query into destination_table after first creating the table. If destination_table already exists, COPY returns an error.
INSERT	Inserts the rows from query into destination_table. If destination_table does not exist, COPY returns an error. When using INSERT, the USING query must select one column for each column in the destination_table.
REPLACE	Replaces destination_table and its contents with the rows from query. If destination_table does not exist, COPY creates it. Otherwise, COPY drops the existing table and replaces it with a table containing the copied data.

Usage Notes

To enable the copying of data between Oracle and non-Oracle databases, NUMBER columns are changed to DECIMAL columns in the destination table. Hence, if you are copying between Oracle databases, a NUMBER column with no precision will be changed to a DECIMAL(38) column. When copying between Oracle databases, you should use SQL commands (CREATE TABLE AS and INSERT) or you should ensure that your columns have a precision specified.

The SQL*Plus SET variable LONG limits the length of LONG columns that you copy. If any LONG columns contain data longer than the value of LONG, COPY truncates the data.

SQL*Plus performs a commit at the end of each successful COPY. If you set the SQL*Plus SET variable COPYCOMMITto a positive value n, SQL*Plus performs a commit after copying every n batches of records. The SQL*Plus SET variable ARRAYSIZEdetermines the size of a batch.

Some operating environments require that database specifications be placed in double quotes.

Examples

The following command copies the entire EMP table to a table named WESTEMP. Note that the tables are located in two different databases. If WESTEMP already exists, SQL*Plus replaces the table and its contents. The columns in WESTEMP have the same names as the columns in the source table, EMP.

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@HQ TO JOHN/CHROME@WEST -
> REPLACE WESTEMP -
> USING SELECT * FROM EMP

The following command copies selected records from EMP to the database to which SQL*Plus is connected. SQL*Plus creates SALESMEN through the copy. SQL*Plus copies only the columns EMPNO and ENAME, and at the destination names them EMPNO and SALESMAN.

SQL> COPY FROM SCOTT/TIGER@HQ -
> CREATE SALESMEN (EMPNO,SALESMAN) -
> USING SELECT EMPNO, ENAME FROM EMP -
> WHERE JOB='SALESMAN'


DEFINE

Purpose

Specifies a user variable and assigns it a CHAR value, or lists the value and variable type of a single variable or all variables.

Syntax

DEF[INE] [variable]|[variable = text]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

variable	Represents the user variable whose value you wish to assign or list.
text	Represents the CHAR value you wish to assign to variable. Enclose text in single quotes if it contains punctuation or blanks.
variable = text	Defines (names) a user variable and assigns it a CHAR value.

Enter DEFINE followed by variable to list the value and type of variable. Enter DEFINE with no clauses to list the values and types of all user variables.

Usage Notes

DEFINEd variables retain their values until one of the following events occurs:

•	you enter a new DEFINE command referencing the variable

•	you enter an UNDEFINEcommand referencing the variable

•	you enter an ACCEPTcommand referencing the variable

•	you reference the variable in the NEW_VALUE or OLD_VALUE clause of the COLUMNcommand and reference the column in a subsequent SQL SELECTcommand

•	you EXIT SQL*Plus

Whenever you run a stored query or command file, SQL*Plus substitutes the value of variable for each substitution variablereferencing variable (in the form &variable or &&variable). SQL*Plus will not prompt you for the value of variable in this session until you UNDEFINE variable.

Note that you can use DEFINEto define the variable, _EDITOR, which establishes the host system editor invoked by the SQL*Plus EDIT command.

If you continue the value of a DEFINEd variable on multiple lines (using the SQL*Plus command continuation character), SQL*Plus replaces each continuation character and carriage return you enter with a space in the resulting variable. For example, SQL*Plus interprets

SQL> DEFINE TEXT = 'ONE-
> TWO-
> THREE'

as

SQL> DEFINE TEXT = 'ONE TWO THREE'

Examples

To assign the value MANAGER to the variable POS, type:

SQL> DEFINE POS = MANAGER

If you execute a command that contains a reference to &POS, SQL*Plus will substitute the value MANAGER for &POS and will not prompt you for a POS value.

To assign the CHAR value 20 to the variable DEPTNO, type:

SQL> DEFINE DEPTNO = 20

Even though you enter the number 20, SQL*Plus assigns a CHAR value to DEPTNO consisting of two characters, 2 and 0.

To list the definition of DEPTNO, enter

SQL> DEFINE DEPTNO
DEFINE DEPTNO          = "20" (CHAR)

This result shows that the value of DEPTNO is 20.


DEL

Purpose

Deletes one or more lines of the buffer.

Syntax

DEL [n|n m|n *|n LAST|*|* n|* LAST|LAST]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

n	Deletes linen.
n m	Deletes linesn through m.
n *	Deletes line n through the current line.
n LAST	Deletes line n through the last line.
*	Deletesthecurrentline.
* n	Deletes the current line through line n.
* LAST	Deletes the current line through the last line.
LAST	Deletes the lastline.

Enter DEL with no clauses to delete the current line of the buffer.

Usage Notes

DEL makes the following line of the buffer (if any) the current line. You can enter DEL several times to delete several consecutive lines.

Note: DEL is a SQL*Plus command and DELETE is a SQL command. For more information about the SQL DELETE command, see the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual.

Examples

Assume the SQL buffer contains the following query:

1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO
2  FROM EMP
3  WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
4* ORDER BY DEPTNO

To make the line containing the WHERE clause the current line, you could enter

SQL> LIST 3
  3* WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'

followed by

SQL> DEL

The SQL buffer now contains the following lines:

1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO
2  FROM EMP
3* ORDER BY DEPTNO

To delete the second line of the buffer, enter

SQL> DEL 2

The SQL buffer now contains the following lines:

1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO
2* ORDER BY DEPTNO


DESCRIBE

Purpose

Liststhe column definitions for the specified table, view, or synonym or the specifications for the specified function or procedure.

Syntax

DESC[RIBE] {[user.]table[@database_link_name] [column]|   [user.]object[.subobject]}

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

user	Represents the user who owns table or object. If you omit user, SQL*Plus assumes you own table or object.
table	Represents the table, view, or synonym you wish to describe.
database_link_name	Consists ofthedatabase link name corresponding to the database where table exists. For more information on which privileges allow access to another table in a different schema, refer to the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual.
column	Represents the column in table you wish to describe.
object	Represents the function or procedure you wish to describe. If you want to describe a procedure that is in a package, object is the name of the package.
subobject	Represents the function or procedure in a package you wish to describe.

Usage Notes

The descriptionfor tables, views, and synonyms contains the following information:

•	each column's name

•	whether or not null values are allowed (NULL or NOT NULL) for each column

•	datatype of columns, for example, NUMBER, CHAR, VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR), LONG, DATE, MLSLABEL, RAW MLSLABEL, RAW, LONGRAW, or ROWID

•	precision of columns (and scale, if any, for a numeric column)

When you do a DESCRIBE, VARCHAR columns are returned with a type of VARCHAR2.

The descriptionfor functions and procedures contains the following information:

•	the type of PL/SQL object (function or procedure)

•	the name of the function or procedure

•	the type of value returned (for functions)

•	the argument names, types, whether they are input or output, and default values, if any

Example

To describe the table EMP, enter

SQL> DESCRIBE EMP

DESCRIBE lists the following information:

Name                           Null?    Type
------------------------------ -------- ------------
EMPNO                          NOT NULL NUMBER(4)
ENAME                                   CHAR(10)
JOB                                     JOB(9)
MGR                                     NUMBER(4)
HIREDATE                                DATE
SAL                                     NUMBER(7,2)
COMM                                    NUMBER(7,2)
DEPTNO                                  NUMBER(2)

To describe a procedure called CUSTOMER_LOOKUP, enter

SQL> DESCRIBE customer_lookup

DESCRIBE lists the following information:

PROCEDURE customer_lookup
Argument Name          Type     In/Out   Default?
---------------------- -------- -------- ---------
CUST_ID                NUMBER   IN
CUST_NAME              VARCHAR2 OUT

To describe the procedure APROC in the package APACK, enter

SQL> DESCRIBE apack.aproc

DESCRIBE lists the following information:

PROCEDURE apack.aproc
Argument Name          Type     In/Out   Default?
---------------------- -------- -------- ---------
P1                     CHAR     IN
P2                     NUMBER   IN


DISCONNECT

Purpose

Commitspending changes to the databaseand logs the current username out of Oracle, but does not exit SQL*Plus.

Syntax

DISC[ONNECT]

Usage Notes

Use DISCONNECT within a command file to prevent user access to the database when you want to log the user out of Oracle but have the user remain in SQL*Plus. Use EXIT or QUIT to log out of Oracle and return control to your host computer's operating system.

Example

Your command file might begin with a CONNECT command and end with a DISCONNECT, as shown below.

SQL> GET MYFILE
  1  CONNECT ...
     .
     .
     .
     .
15* DISCONNECT


EDIT

Purpose

Invokesa host operating systemtext editoron the contents of the specified fileor on the contents of the buffer.

Syntax

ED[IT] [file_name[.ext]]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Represents the file you wish to edit (typically a commandfile).

Enter EDIT with no filename to edit the contents of the SQL bufferwith the host operating system text editor.

Usage Notes

If you omit the file extension, SQL*Plus assumes the default command-file extension (normally SQL). For information on changing the default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of the SET command in this chapter.

The user variable, _EDITOR, contains the name of the text editor invoked by EDIT. You can change the text editor by changing the value of _EDITOR. See DEFINE for information about changing the value of a user variable. If _EDITOR is undefined, EDIT attempts to invoke the default host operating system editor.

EDIT alone places the contents of the SQL buffer in a file by default named AFIEDT.BUF (in your current working directory) and invokes the text editor on the contents of the file. If the file AFIEDT.BUF already exists, it is overwritten with the contents of the buffer. You can change the default filename by using the SET EDITFILE command. For more information about setting a default filename for the EDIT command, see the EDITFILE variable of the SET command in this chapter.

Note: The default file, AFIEDT.BUF, may have a different name on some operating systems.

If you do not specify a filename and the buffer is empty, EDIT returns an error message.

To leave the editing session and return to SQL*Plus, terminate the editing session in the way customary for the text editor. When you leave the editor, SQL*Plus loads the contents of the file into the buffer.

Example

To edit the file REPORT with the extension SQL using your host operating system text editor, enter

SQL> EDIT REPORT


EXECUTE

Purpose

Executesa single PL/SQL statement. The EXECUTE command is often useful when you want to execute a PL/SQL statement that references a stored procedure. For more information on PL/SQL, see your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference.

Syntax

EXEC[UTE] statement

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

statement	Represents a PL/SQL statement.

Usage Notes

If your EXECUTE command cannot fit on one line because of the PL/SQL statement, use the SQL*Plus continuation character (a hyphen) as shown in the example below.

The length of the command and the PL/SQL statement cannot exceed the length defined by SET LINESIZE.

Examples

The following EXECUTE command assigns a value to a bind variable:

SQL> EXECUTE :n := 1

The following EXECUTE command runs a PL/SQL statement that references a stored procedure:

SQL> EXECUTE -
:ID := EMP_MANAGEMENT.HIRE('BLAKE','MANAGER','KING',2990,'SALES')

Note that the value returned by the stored procedure is being placed in a bind variable, :ID. For information on how to create a bind variable, see the VARIABLE command in this chapter.


EXIT

Purpose

Terminates SQL*Plus and returns control to the operating system.

Syntax

{EXIT|QUIT} [SUCCESS|FAILURE|WARNING|n|variable]   [COMMIT|ROLLBACK]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

{EXIT|QUIT}	Can be used interchangeably (QUITis a synonym for EXIT).
n	Represents an integer you specify as the return code.
variable	Represents a user-defined or system variable (but not a bind variable), such as SQL.SQLCODE. EXIT variable exits with the value of variable as the return code.
SUCCESS	Exits normally.
FAILURE	Exits with a return code indicating failure.
WARNING	Exits with a return code indicating warning.
COMMIT	Saves pending changes to the database before exiting.
ROLLBACK	Executes a ROLLBACK statement and abandons pending changes to the database before exiting.

EXIT with no clauses commits and exits with a value of SUCCESS.

Usage Notes

EXIT allows you to specify an operating system return code. This allows you to run SQL*Plus command files in batch mode and to detect programmatically the occurrence of an unexpected event. The manner of detection is operating system specific. See the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for details.

The key words SUCCESS, WARNING, and FAILURE represent operating-system-dependent values. On some systems, WARNING and FAILURE may be indistinguishable.

Note: SUCCESS, FAILURE, and WARNING are not reserved words.

The range of operating system return codes is also restricted on some operating systems. This limits the portability of EXIT n and EXIT variable between platforms. For example, on UNIX there is only one byte of storage for return codes; therefore, the range for return codes is limited to zero to 255.

If you make a syntax error in the EXIT options or use a non-numeric variable, SQL*Plus performs an EXIT FAILURE COMMIT.

For information on exiting conditionally, see the WHENEVER SQLERROR and WHENEVER OSERROR commands later in this chapter.

Example

The following example commits all uncommitted transactions and returns the error code of the last executed SQL command or PL/SQL block:

SQL> EXIT SQL.SQLCODE

The location of the return code depends on your system. Consult your DBA for information concerning how your operating system retrieves data from a program. See TTITLE in this chapter for more information on SQL.SQLCODE.


GET

Purpose

Loadsa host operating system fileinto the SQL buffer.

Syntax

GET file_name[.ext] [LIS[T]|NOL[IST]]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Representsthe file you wish to load (typically a command file).
LIS[T]	Lists the contents of the file.
NOL[IST]	Suppresses the listing.

Usage Note

If you do not specify a file extension, SQL*Plus assumes the default command-file extension (normally SQL). For information on changing the default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of the SET command in this chapter.

If part of the filename you are specifying contains the word list or the word file, you need to put the name in double quotes.

The operating system file should contain a single SQL statement or PL/SQL block. The statement should not be terminated with a semicolon.

If a SQL*Plus command or more than one SQL statement or PL/SQL block is loaded into the SQL buffer from an operating system file, an error occurs when the RUN or slash (/) command is used to execute the buffer.

The GET command can be used to load files created with the SAVE command. See the SAVE command in this chapter for more information.

Example

To load a file called YEARENDRPT with the extension SQL into the buffer, type

SQL> GET YEARENDRPT


HELP

Purpose:

Accesses the SQL*Plus help system.

Syntax

HELP [topic]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

topic	Represents a SQL*Plus help topic. This can be a SQL*Plus command (e.g., COLUMN), a SQL statement (e.g., INSERT), a PL/SQL statement (e.g., IF), or another topic in the help system (e.g., comparison operators).

Enter HELP without topic to get help on the help system.

Usage Notes

You can only enter one topic after HELP. You can abbreviate the topic (e.g., COL for COLUMN). However, if you enter only an abbreviated topic and the abbreviation is ambiguous, SQL*Plus will display help for all topics that match the abbreviation. For example, if you entered

SQL> HELP COMP

SQL*Plus would display help on COMPUTE followed by help on comparison operators.

If you get a response indicating that help is not available, consult your database administrator.

Example

To see a list of SQL*Plus commands and PL/SQL and SQL statements, enter

SQL> HELP COMMANDS


HOST

Purpose

Executesa host operating system commandwithout leaving SQL*Plus.

Syntax

HO[ST] [command]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

command	Represents a host operating system command.

Enter HOST without command to display an operating system prompt. You can then enter multiple operating system commands. For information on returning to SQL*Plus, refer to the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.

Usage Notes

With some operating systems, you can use a "$" (VMS), "!" (UNIX), or another character instead of HOST. See the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for details.

You may not have access to the HOST command, depending on your operating system. See the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system or ask your DBA for more information.

SQL*Plus removes the SQLTERMINATOR (a semicolon by default) before the HOST command is issued. A workaround for this is to add another SQLTERMINATOR. See the SQLTERMINATOR variable of the SET command in this chapter for more information on the SQLTERMINATOR.

Example

To execute an operating system command, ls *.sql, enter

SQL> HOST ls *.sql


INPUT

Purpose

Adds one or more new linesof text after the current line in the buffer.

Syntax

I[NPUT] [text]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

text	Represents the text you wish to add. To add a single line, enter the text of the line after the command INPUT, separating the text from the command with a space. To begin the line with one or more spaces, enter two or more spaces between INPUT and the first non-blank character of text.

To add several lines, enter INPUT with no text. INPUTprompts you for each line. To leave INPUT, enter a null (empty) line.

Usage Notes

If you enter a line number at the command prompt larger than the number of lines in the buffer, and follow the number with text, SQL*Plus adds the text in a new lineat the end of the buffer. If you specify zero (0) for the line number and follow the zero with text, then SQL*Plus inserts the lineat the beginning of the buffer (that line becomes line 1).

Examples

Assume the SQL buffer contains the following command:

1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO, SAL, COMM
2  FROM EMP

To add an ORDER BY clause to the query, enter

SQL> LIST 2
  2* FROM   EMP
SQL> INPUT ORDER BY ENAME

LIST 2 ensures that line 2 is the current line. INPUT adds a new line containing the ORDER BY clause after the current line. The SQL buffer now contains the following lines:

1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO, SAL, COMM
2  FROM  EMP
3* ORDER BY ENAME

To add a two-line WHERE clause, enter

SQL> LIST 2
  2* FROM EMP
SQL> INPUT
  3  WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
  4  AND COMM  500
  5

INPUT prompts you for new lines until you enter an empty line. The SQL buffer now contains the following lines:

1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO, SAL, COMM
2  FROM EMP
3  WHERE JOB = 'SALESMAN'
4  AND COMM  500
5  ORDER BY ENAME


LIST

Purpose

Listsone or more lines of the SQL buffer.

Syntax

L[IST] [n|n m|n *|n LAST|*|* n|* LAST|LAST]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

n	Lists linen.
n m	Lists linesn through m.
n *	Lists line n through the current line.
n LAST	Lists line n through the last line.
*	Liststhecurrentline.
* n	Lists the current line through line n.
* LAST	Lists the current line through the last line.
LAST	Lists the lastline.

Enter LIST with no clauses to list all lines.

Usage Notes

The lastline listedbecomes the new current line (marked by an asterisk).

Example

To list the contents of the buffer, enter

SQL> LIST

You will see a listing of all lines in the buffer, similar in form to the following example:

  1  SELECT ENAME, DEPTNO, JOB
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE JOB = 'CLERK'
  4* ORDER BY DEPTNO

The asterisk indicates that line 4 is the current line.

To list the second line only, enter

SQL> LIST 2

You will then see this:

  2* FROM EMP

To list the current line (now line 2) to the last line, enter

SQL> LIST * LAST

You will then see this:

  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE JOB = 'CLERK'
  4* ORDER BY DEPTNO


PAUSE

Purpose

Displaysan empty line followed by a line containing text, then waits for the user to press [Return], or displays two empty lines and waits for the user's response.

Syntax

PAU[SE] [text]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the clause or term:

text	Represents the text you wish to display.

Enter PAUSE followed by no text to display two empty lines.

Usage Notes

Because PAUSE always waits for the user's response, it is best to use a message that tells the user explicitly to press [Return].

PAUSE reads input from the terminal (if a terminal is available) even when you have designated the source of the command input as a file.

For information on pausing between pages of a report, see the PAUSE variable of the SET command later in this chapter.

Example

To print "Adjust paper and press RETURN to continue." and to have SQL*Plus wait for the user to press [Return], you might include the following PAUSE command in a command file:

SET PAUSE OFF
PAUSE Adjust paper and press RETURN to continue.
SELECT ...


PRINT

Purpose

Displaysthe current value of bind variables. For more information on bind variables, see your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference.

Syntax

PRI[NT] variable ...

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the clause or term:

variable ...	Represents the names of the bind variables whose values you wish to display.

Usage Notes

To display automatically bind variables referenced in a successful PL/SQL block or used in an EXECUTE command, use the AUTOPRINT clause of the SET command. For more information, see the SET command in this chapter.

Bind variables are created using the VARIABLE command. For more information, see the VARIABLE command in this chapter.

You can control the formatting of the PRINT output just as you would query output. For more information, see the formatting techniques described in Chapter 4.

Example

The following example illustrates a PRINT command:

SQL> VARIABLE n NUMBER
SQL> BEGIN
  2   :n := 1;
  3  END;
SQL> PRINT n
         N
----------
         1


PROMPT

Purpose

Sendsthe specified messageor a blank line to the user's screen.

Syntax

PROMPT [text]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

text	Represents the text of the message you wish to display. If you omit text, PROMPT displays a blank line on the user's screen.

Usage Notes

You can use this command in command files to give information to the user.

Example

The following example shows the use of PROMPT in conjunction with ACCEPT in a command file called ASKFORDEPT. ASKFORDEPT contains the following SQL*Plus and SQL commands:

PROMPT
PROMPT Please enter a valid department
PROMPT For example:  10, 20, 30, 40
ACCEPT NEWDEPT NUMBER PROMPT 'DEPT:> '
SELECT DNAME FROM DEPT
WHERE DEPTNO = &NEWDEPT

Assume you run the file using START or @:

SQL> @ASKFORDEPT

SQL*Plus displays the following prompts:

Please enter a valid department
For example:  10, 20, 30, 40
DEPT:>

You can enter a department number at the prompt DEPT:>. By default, SQL*Plus lists the line containing &NEWDEPT before and after substitution, and then displays the department name corresponding to the number entered at the DEPT:> prompt.


REMARK

Purpose

Begins a commentin a command file.SQL*Plus does not interpret the comment as a command.

Syntax

REM[ARK]

Usage Notes

The REMARK command must appear at the beginning of a line, and the comment ends at the end of the line. A line cannot contain both a comment and a command.

For details on entering comments in command files using the SQL comment delimiters, /* ... */, or the ANSI/ISO comment delimiter, -- ..., refer to "Placing Comments in Command Files" in Chapter 3.

Example

The following command file contains some typical comments:

REM COMPUTE uses BREAK ON REPORT to break on end of table.
BREAK ON REPORT
COMPUTE SUM OF "DEPARTMENT 10" "DEPARTMENT 20" -
"DEPARTMENT 30" "TOTAL BY JOB" ON REPORT
REM Each column displays the sums of salaries by job for
REM one of the departments 10, 20, 30.
SELECT JOB,
       SUM( DECODE( DEPTNO, 10, SAL, 0)) "DEPARTMENT 10",
       SUM( DECODE( DEPTNO, 20, SAL, 0)) "DEPARTMENT 20",
       SUM( DECODE( DEPTNO, 30, SAL, 0)) "DEPARTMENT 30",
       SUM(SAL) "TOTAL BY JOB"
FROM EMP
GROUP BY JOB


RUN

Purpose

Lists and executes the SQL commandor PL/SQL block currently stored in the SQL buffer.

Syntax

R[UN]

Usage Notes

RUN causes the last line of the SQL buffer to become the current line.

The slash command (/)functions similarly to RUN, but does not list the command in the SQL buffer on your screen.

Example

Assume the SQL buffer contains the following query:

SELECT DEPTNO FROM DEPT

To RUN the query, enter

SQL> RUN

The following output results:

1* SELECT DEPTNO FROM DEPT

    DEPTNO
----------
        10
        20
        30
        40


RUNFORM

Purpose

Invokes a SQL*Forms applicationfrom within SQL*Plus.

Note: You have access to this command only if your site chose this option while installing SQL*Plus.

Syntax

RUNFORM [options] form_name

Usage Notes

The RUNFORM syntax is the same in both SQL*Plus and SQL*Forms.  If you are already in SQL*Plus, you can invoke a form more quickly in this manner than by invoking a form from the system prompt because you avoid a separate Oracle logon. See your SQL*Forms Operator's Guide for details on the correct syntax.

Note that when you use RUNFORM from within SQL*Plus, you may not specify a username/password (you retain your current connection to Oracle). If you wish to use a different username/password, use the SQL*Plus CONNECT command to connect to the desired Oracle username prior to issuing the RUNFORM command.

Example

To run a form named MYFORM, enter

SQL> RUNFORM MYFORM


SAVE

Purpose

Savesthe contentsof the SQL bufferina host operating system file (a commandfile).

Syntax

SAV[E] file_name[.ext] [CRE[ATE]|REP[LACE]|APP[END]]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Specifies the command filein which you wish to save the buffer's contents.
CRE[ATE]	Creates the file if the file does not exist.
REP[LACE]	Replaces the contents of an existing file. If the file does not exist, REPLACE creates the file.
APP[END]	Adds the contents of the buffer to the end of the file you specify.

Usage Notes

If you do not specify an extension, SQL*Plus assumes the default command-file extension (normally SQL). For information on changing this default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of the SET command in this chapter.

If you wish to SAVE a file under a name identical to a SAVE command clause (CREATE, REPLACE, or APPEND), you must specify a file extension.

When you SAVE the contents of the SQL buffer, SAVE adds a line containing a slash (/) to the end of the file.

If the filename you specify is the word file, you need to put the name in single quotes.

Example

To save the contents of the buffer in a filenamed DEPTSALRPT with the extension SQL, enter

SQL> SAVE DEPTSALRPT

To save the contents of the buffer in a filenamed DEPTSALRPT with the extension OLD, enter

SQL> SAVE DEPTSALRPT.OLD


SET

Purpose

Sets a system variable to alter the SQL*Plus environment for your current session, such as

•	the display width for NUMBER data

•	the display width for LONG data

•	enabling or disabling the printing of column headings

•	the number of lines per page

Syntax

SET system_variable value

where system_variable value represents a system variablefollowed by a value, as shown below:

ARRAY[SIZE] {20|n}
AUTO[COMMIT] {OFF|ON|IMM[EDIATE]|n}
AUTOP[RINT] {OFF|ON}
BLO[CKTERMINATOR] {.|c}
CLOSECUR[SOR] {OFF|ON}
CMDS[EP] {;|c|OFF|ON}
COLSEP {_|text}
COM[PATIBILITY] {V6|V7|NATIVE}
CON[CAT] {.|c|OFF|ON}
COPYC[OMMIT] {0|n}
COPYTYPECHECK {OFF|ON}
CRT crt
DEF[INE] {'&'|c|OFF|ON}
ECHO {OFF|ON}
EDITF[ILE] [path] file_name[.ext]
EMBEDDED {OFF|ON}
ESC[APE] {\|c|OFF|ON}
FEED[BACK] {6|n|OFF|ON}
FLAGGER {OFF|ENTRY|INTERMED[IATE]|FULL}
FLU[SH] {OFF|ON}
HEA[DING] {OFF|ON}
HEADS[EP] {||c|OFF|ON}
LIN[ESIZE] {80|n}
LONG {80|n}
LONGC[HUNKSIZE] {80|n}
MAXD[ATA] n
NEWP[AGE] {1|n}
NULL text
NUMF[ORMAT] format
NUM[WIDTH] {10|n}
PAGES[IZE] {24|n}
PAU[SE] {OFF|ON|text}
RECSEP {WR[APPED]|EA[CH]|OFF}
RECSEPCHAR {_|c}
SERVEROUT[PUT] {OFF|ON} [SIZE n]
SHOW[MODE] {OFF|ON}
SQLC[ASE] {MIX[ED]|LO[WER]|UP[PER]}
SQLCO[NTINUE] {> |text}
SQLN[UMBER] {OFF|ON}
SQLPRE[FIX] {#|c}
SQLP[ROMPT] {SQL>|text}
SQLT[ERMINATOR] {;|c|OFF|ON}
SUF[FIX] {SQL|text}
TAB {OFF|ON}
TERM[OUT] {OFF|ON}
TI[ME] {OFF|ON}
TIMI[NG] {OFF|ON}
TRIM[OUT] {OFF|ON}
TRIMS[POOL] {ON|OFF}
UND[ERLINE] {-|c|ON|OFF}
VER[IFY] {OFF|ON}
WRA[P] {OFF|ON}

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term, clause, or system variable:

ARRAY[SIZE] {20|n}	Sets the number ofrows—called a batch—that SQL*Plus will fetch from the database at one time. Valid values are 1 to 5000. A large value increases the efficiency of queries and subqueries that fetch many rows, but requires more memory. Values over approximately 100 provide little added performance. ARRAYSIZE has no effect on the results of SQL*Plus operations other than increasing efficiency.
AUTO[COMMIT] {OFF|ON|IMM[EDIATE]|n}	Controls when Oracle commits pending changes to the database. ON commits pending changes to the database after Oracle executes each successful INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE command or PL/SQL block. OFF suppresses automatic committing so that you must commit changes manually (for example, with the SQL command COMMIT). IMMEDIATE functions in the same manner as the ON option. n commits pending changes to the database after Oracle executes n successful SQL INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE commands or PL/SQL blocks. n cannot be less than zero or greater than 2,000,000,000. The statement counter is reset to zero after successful completion of
•	n INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE commands or PL/SQL blocks

•	a commit

•	a rollback

•	a SET AUTOCOMMIT command

Note: For this feature, a PL/SQL block is considered one transaction, regardless of the actual number of SQL commands contained within it.

AUTOP[RINT] {OFF|ON}	Sets the automatic PRINTing of bind variables. ON or OFF controls whether SQL*Plus automatically displays bind variables (referenced in a successful PL/SQL block or used in an EXECUTE command). For more information about displaying bind variables, see the PRINT command in this chapter.
BLO[CKTERMINATOR] {.|c}	Sets the non-alphanumeric character used to end PL/SQL blocksto c. To execute the block, you must issue a RUN or / (slash) command.
CLOSECUR[SOR] {OFF|ON}	Sets the cursor usage behavior. ON or OFF sets whether or not the cursor will close and reopen after each SQL statement. This feature may be useful in some circumstances to release resources in the database server.
CMDS[EP] {;|c|OFF|ON}	Sets the non-alphanumeric character used to separate multiple SQL*Plus commands entered on one line to c. ON or OFF controls whether you can enter multiple commands on a line; ON automatically sets the command separator character to a semicolon (;).
COLSEP { |text}	Sets the text to be printed between SELECTed columns. If the COLSEP variable contains blanks or punctuation characters, you must enclose it with single quotes. The default value for text is a single space.
In multi-line rows, the column separator does not print between columns that begin on different lines. The column separator does not appear on blank lines produced by BREAK ... SKIP n and does not overwrite the record separator. See SET RECSEP in this chapter for more information.

COM[PATIBILITY] {V6|V7|NATIVE}	Specifies the version of Oracle to which you are currently connected. Set COMPATIBILITY to V6 for Oracle Version 6 or V7 for Oracle7. Set COMPATIBILITY to NATIVE if you wish the database to determine the setting (for example, if connected to Oracle7, compatibility would default to V7). COMPATIBILITY must be correctly set for the version of Oracle to which you are connected; otherwise, you will be unable to run any SQL commands. Note that you can set COMPATIBILITY to V6 when connected to Oracle7. This enables you to run Oracle Version 6 SQL against Oracle7.
Setting COMPATIBILITY to V6 and V7 affects how SQL*Plus handles character data. Setting COMPATIBILITY to V6 causes SQL*Plus to treat CHAR column values as variable-length character strings. Setting COMPATIBILITY to V7 causes SQL*Plus to treat CHAR column values as fixed-length character strings and VARCHAR2 (VARCHAR) column values as variable-length character strings. See the Oracle7 Server documentation for a list of changes from Version 6 to Oracle7.

CON[CAT] {.|c|OFF|ON}	Sets the character you can use to terminate a substitution variablereference if you wish to immediately follow the variable with a character that SQL*Plus would otherwise interpret as a part of the substitution variable name. SQL*Plus resets the value of CONCAT to a period when you switch CONCAT on.
COPYC[OMMIT] {0|n}	Controls the number of batches after which the COPY command commits changes to the database.  COPY commitsrows to the destination database each time it copies n row batches. Valid values are zero to 5000. You can set the size of a batch with the ARRAYSIZE variable. If you set COPYCOMMIT to zero, COPY performs a commit only at the end of a copy operation.
COPYTYPECHECK {OFF|ON}	Sets the suppression of the comparison of datatypes while inserting or appending to tables with the COPY command. This is to facilitate copying to DB2, which requires that a CHAR be copied to a DB2 DATE.
CRT crt	Changes thedefault CRT file used in the SQL*Plus RUNFORM command. To return to the original default (before CRT was set), set CRT to nothing by entering two double quotes ("") for crt.
If you want to use NEW.CRT during a form invocation on a system where the default CRT is OLD.CRT, you can either invoke the form by

SQL> RUNFORM -c NEW form_name

or

SQL> SET CRT NEW
SQL> RUNFORM  form_name

The second method stores the CRT option so that you do not need to respecify it for subsequent RUNFORM commands during the same SQL*Plus session.

DEF[INE] {&|c|OFF|ON}	Sets the character used to prefix substitution variables to c. ON or OFF controls whether SQL*Plus will scan commands for substitution variables and replace them with their values. ON changes the value of c back to the default '&', not the most recently used character. The setting of DEFINE to OFF overrides the setting of the SCAN variable. For more information on the SCAN variable, see the SET SCAN command in  Appendix F
ECHO {OFF|ON}	Controls whether the START command lists each command in a command file as the command is executed. ON lists the commands; OFF suppresses the listing.
EDITF[ILE] file_name[.ext]	Sets the default filename for the EDIT command. For more information about the EDIT command, see EDIT in this chapter.
You can include a path and/or file extension. For information on changing the default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of this command. The default filename and maximum filename length are operating system specific.

EMBEDDED {OFF|ON}	Controls where on a page each report begins. OFF forces each report to start at the top of a new page. ON allows a report to begin anywhere on a page. Set EMBEDDED to ON when you want a report to begin printing immediately following the end of the previously run report.
Note: When you use SET EMBEDDED ON and change the pagesize with SET PAGESIZE n, SQL*Plus finishes the current page using the existing pagesize setting and, if required, begins a new page with the new pagesize setting.

Note: When you use a BTITLE with SET EMBEDDED ON, the second and subsequent SELECT statements will always begin on a new page. This is because SQL*Plus has no input read ahead. Since SQL*Plus cannot anticipate whether you will enter another SELECT statement or, for example, EXIT, SQL*Plus has to complete processing all output from the first SELECT statement before it reads the next command. This processing includes printing the BTITLE. Therefore, given two SELECT statements, SQL*Plus prints the final BTITLE of the first SELECT statement before it processes the second. The second SELECT statement will then begin at the top of a new page.

ESC[APE] {\|c|OFF|ON}	Defines the character you enter as the escape character. OFF undefines the escape character. ON enables the escape character. ON changes the value of c back to the default "\".
You can use the escape character before the substitution character (set through SET DEFINE) to indicate that SQL*Plus should treat the substitution character as an ordinary character rather than as a request for variable substitution.

FEED[BACK] {6|n|OFF|ON}	Displays the number of records returned by a query when a query selects at least n records. ON or OFF turns this display on or off. Turning feedback ON sets n to 1. Setting feedback to zero is equivalent to turning it OFF.
FLAGGER {OFF|ENTRY|INTERMED[IATE]|FULL}	Checks to make sure that SQL statements conform to the ANSI/ISO SQL92 standard. If any non-standard constructs are found, the Oracle Server flags them as errors and displays the violating syntax. This is the equivalent of the SQL language ALTER SESSION SET FLAGGER command.
You may execute SET FLAGGER even if you are not connected to a database. FIPS flagging will remain in effect across SQL*Plus sessions until a SET FLAGGER OFF (or ALTER SESSION SET FLAGGER = OFF) command is successful or you exit SQL*Plus.

When FIPS flagging is enabled, SQL*Plus displays a warning for the CONNECT, DISCONNECT, and ALTER SESSION SET FLAGGER commands, even if they are successful.

The SET FLAGGER and ALTER SESSION SET FLAGGER commands require Oracle7 Release 7.1 or greater.

FLU[SH] {OFF|ON}	Controls when output is sent to the user's display device. OFF allows the host operating system to buffer output. ON disables buffering.
Use OFF only when you run a command file non-interactively (that is, when you do not need to see output and/or prompts until the command file finishes running). The use of FLUSH OFF may improve performance by reducing the amount of program I/O.

HEA[DING] {OFF|ON}	Controls printing of column headingsin reports. ON prints column headingsin reports; OFF suppresses column headings.
HEADS[EP] {||c|OFF|ON}	Defines the character you enter as the heading separator character. The heading separator character cannot be alphanumeric or white space. You can use the heading separator character in the COLUMN command and in the old forms of BTITLE and TTITLE to divide a column heading or title onto more than one line. ON or OFF turns heading separation on or off. When heading separation is OFF, SQL*Plus prints a heading separator character like any other character. ON changes the value of c back to the default "\".
LIN[ESIZE] {80|n}	Sets the total number of characters that SQL*Plus displays on one line before beginning a new line. It also controls the position of centered and right-aligned text in TTITLE and BTITLE. You can define LINESIZE as a value from 1 to a maximum that is system dependent. Refer to the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.
LONG {80|n}	Sets maximum width (in characters) for displaying and copying LONG values. For Oracle7, the maximum value of n is 2 gigabytes. For Oracle Version 6, the maximum is 32,767.
LONGC[HUNKSIZE] {80|n}	Sets the size (in characters) of the increments in which SQL*Plus retrieves a LONG value. When retrieving a LONG value, you may want to retrieve it in increments rather than all at once because of memory size restrictions. Valid values are 1 to whatever has been set with MAXDATA. LONGCHUNKSIZE applies only to Oracle7.
MAXD[ATA] n	Sets the maximum total row width that SQL*Plus can process. The default and maximum values of n are system dependent. Consult the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system or your DBA for details.
NEWP[AGE] {1|n}	Sets the number of blank lines to be printed between the beginning of each page and the top title. A value of zero sends a formfeedbetween pages and clears the screen on most terminals.
NULL text	Sets the textthat represents a null value in the result of a SQL SELECT command. Use the NULL clause of the COLUMN command to override the setting of the NULL variable for a given column.
NUMF[ORMAT] format	Sets the default format for displayingnumbers. Enter a number format for format. For number format descriptions, see the FORMAT clause of the COLUMN command in this chapter.
NUM[WIDTH] {10|n}	Sets the default width for displaying numbers.
PAGES[IZE] {24|n}	Setsthe number of lines in each page. You can set PAGESIZE to zero to suppress all headings, page breaks, titles, the initial blank line, and other formatting information.
PAU[SE] {OFF|ON|text}	Allows you to control scrolling of your terminal when running reports. ON causes SQL*Plus to pause at the beginning of each page of report output. You must press [Return] after each pause. The text you enter specifies the text to be displayed each time SQL*Plus pauses. If you enter multiple words, you must enclose text in single quotes.
You can embed terminal-dependent escape sequences in the PAUSE command. These sequences allow you to create inverse video messages or other effects on terminals that support such characteristics.

RECSEP {WR[APPED]|EA[CH]|OFF}RECSEPCHAR { |c}	Displayor print record separators. A record separator consists of a single line of the RECSEPCHAR (record separating character) repeated LINESIZE times.
RECSEPCHAR defines the record separating character. A single space is the default.

RECSEP tells SQL*Plus where to make the record separation. For example, if you set RECSEP to WRAPPED, SQL*Plus prints a record separator only after wrapped lines. If you set RECSEP to EACH, SQL*Plus prints a record separator following every row. If you set RECSEP to OFF, SQL*Plus does not print a record separator.

SERVEROUT[PUT] {OFF|ON} [SIZE n]	Controls whether to display the output (that is, DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE) of stored procedures or PL/SQL blocks in SQL*Plus. OFF suppresses the output of DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE; ON displays the output.
SIZE sets the number of bytes of the output that can be buffered within the Oracle7 Server. The default for n is 2000. n cannot be less than 2000 or greater than 1,000,000.

Output is always formatted in the same way as using WORD_WRAPPED on a column. See the COLUMN command in this chapter for more information on WORD_WRAPPED.

Note: The output is displayed synchronously after the stored procedure or PL/SQL block has been executed by the Oracle7 Server.

For more information on DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE, see your Oracle7 Server Application Developer's Guide.

SHOW[MODE] {OFF|ON}	Controls whether SQL*Plus lists the old and new settings of a SQL*Plus system variablewhen you change the setting with SET. ON lists the settings; OFF suppresses the listing. SHOWMODE ON has the same behavior as the obsolete SHOWMODE BOTH.
SQLC[ASE] {MIX[ED]|LO[WER]|UP[PER]}	Converts the case of SQL commands and PL/SQL blocks just prior to execution. SQL*Plus converts all text within the command, including quoted literals and identifiers, as follows:
•	uppercase if SQLCASE equals UPPER

•	lowercase if SQLCASE equals LOWER

•	unchanged if SQLCASE equals MIXED

SQLCASE does not change the SQL buffer itself.

SQLCO[NTINUE] {> |text}	Sets the character sequence SQL*Plus displays as a prompt after you continue a SQL*Plus command on an additional line using a hyphen (-).
SQLN[UMBER] {OFF|ON}	Sets the prompt for the second and subsequent lines of a SQL command or PL/SQL block. ON sets the prompt to be the line number. OFF sets the prompt to the value of SQLPROMPT.
SQLPRE[FIX] {#|c}	Sets the SQL*Plus prefix character. While you are enteringa SQL command or PL/SQL block, you can enter a SQL*Plus command on a separate line, prefixed by the SQL*Plus prefix character. SQL*Plus will execute the command immediately without affecting the SQL command or PL/SQL block that you are entering. The prefix character must be a non-alphanumeric character.
SQLP[ROMPT] {SQL>|text}	Sets the SQL*Plus command prompt.
SQLT[ERMINATOR] {;|c|OFF|ON}	Sets the character used to end and execute SQL commandsto c. OFF means that SQL*Plus recognizes no command terminator; you terminate a SQL command by entering an empty line. ON resets the terminator to the default semicolon (;).
SUF[FIX] {SQL|text}	Sets the default file extension that SQL*Plus uses in commands that refer to command files. SUFFIX does not control extensions for spool files.
TAB {OFF|ON}	Determines how SQL*Plus formats white space in terminal output.OFF uses spaces to format white space in the output. ON uses the TAB character. TAB settings are every eight characters. The default value for TAB is system dependent.
Note: This option applies only to terminal output. Tabs will not be placed in output files.

TERM[OUT] {OFF|ON}	Controls the display of output generated by commands executed from a command file. OFF suppresses the display so that you can spool output from a command file without seeing the output on the screen. ON displays the output. TERMOUT OFF does not affect output from commands you enter interactively.
TI[ME] {OFF|ON}	Controls the display of the current time. ON displays the current time before each command prompt. OFF suppresses the time display.
TIMI[NG] {OFF|ON}	Controls the display of timing statistics. ON displays timing statistics on each SQL command or PL/SQL blockrun. OFF suppresses timing of each command. For information about the data SET TIMING ON displays, see the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.Refer to the TIMING command for information on timing multiple commands.
TRIM[OUT] {OFF|ON}	Determines whether SQL*Plus allows trailing blanks at the end of each displayed line. ON removes blanks at the end of each line, improving performance especially when you access SQL*Plus from a slow communications device. OFF allows SQL*Plus to display trailing blanks. TRIMOUT ON does not affect spooled output.
TRIMS[POOL] {ON|OFF}	Determines whether SQL*Plus allows trailing blanks at the end of each spooled line. ON removes blanks at the end of each line. OFF allows SQL*Plus to include trailing blanks. TRIMSPOOL ON does not affect terminal output.
UND[ERLINE] {-|c|ON|OFF}	Sets the character used to underline column headingsin SQL*Plus reports to c. ON or OFF turns underlining on or off. ON changes the value of c back to the default "-".
VER[IFY] {OFF|ON}	Controls whether SQL*Plus lists the text of a SQL statement or PL/SQL command before and after SQL*Plus replaces substitution variables with values. ON lists the text; OFF suppresses the listing.
WRA[P] {OFF|ON}	Controls whether SQL*Plus truncates the display of a SELECTed row if it is too long for the current line width. OFF truncatesthe SELECTed row; ON allows the SELECTed row to wrapto the next line.
Use the WRAPPED and TRUNCATED clauses of the COLUMN command to override the setting of WRAP for specific columns.

Usage Notes

SQL*Plus maintains system variables (also called SET command variables) to allow you to establish a particular environment for a SQL*Plus session. You can change these system variables with the SET command and list them with the SHOW command.

SET ROLE and SET TRANSACTION are SQL commands (see the  Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for more information). When not followed by the keywords TRANSACTION or ROLE, SET is assumed to be a SQL*Plus command.

Examples

The following examples show sample uses of selected SET command variables.

CMDSEP

To specify a TTITLE and format a column on the same line:

SQL> SET CMDSEP +
SQL> TTITLE LEFT 'SALARIES' + COLUMN SAL FORMAT $9,999
SQL> SELECT ENAME, SAL FROM EMP
  2  WHERE JOB = 'CLERK';

The following output results:

SALARIES
ENAME          SAL
---------- -------
SMITH         $800
ADAMS       $1,100
JAMES         $950
MILLER      $1,300

COLSEP

To set the column separator to "|":

SQL> SET COLSEP '|'
SQL> SELECT ENAME, JOB, DEPTNO
  2  FROM EMP
  3  WHERE DEPTNO = 20;

The following output results:

ENAME     |JOB      |    DEPTNO
-------------------------------
SMITH     |CLERK    |        20
JONES     |MANAGER  |        20
SCOTT     |ANALYST  |        20
ADAMS     |CLERK    |        20
FORD      |ANALYST  |        20

COMPATIBILITY

To run a command file, SALARY.SQL, created with Version 6 of Oracle, enter

SQL> SET COMPATIBILITY V6
SQL> START SALARY

After running the file, reset compatibility to V7 to run command files created with Oracle7:

SQL> SET COMPATIBILITY V7

Alternatively, you can add the command SET COMPATIBILITY V6 to the beginning of the command file, and reset COMPATIBILITY to V7 at the end of the file.

ESCAPE

If you define the escape character as an exclamation point (!), then

SQL> SET ESCAPE !
SQL> ACCEPT v1 PROMPT 'Enter !&1:'

displays this prompt:

Enter &1:

HEADING

To suppress the display of column headings in a report, enter

SQL> SET HEADING OFF

If you then run a SQL SELECT command,

SQL> SELECT ENAME, SAL FROM EMP
  2  WHERE JOB = 'CLERK';

the following output results:

ADAMS            1100
JAMES             950
MILLER           1300

LONG

To set the maximum width for displaying and copying LONG values to 500, enter

SQL> SET LONG 500

The LONG data will wrap on your screen; SQL*Plus will not truncate until the 501st character.

LONGCHUNKSIZE

To set the size of the increments in which SQL*Plus retrieves LONG values to 100 characters, enter

SQL> SET LONGCHUNKSIZE 100

The LONG data will be retrieved in increments of 100 characters until the entire value is retrieved or the value of SET LONG is reached.

SERVEROUTPUT

To enable the display of DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE, enter

SQL> SET SERVEROUTPUT ON

The following example shows what happens when you execute an anonymous procedure with SET SERVEROUTPUT ON:

SQL> BEGIN
  2  DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Task is complete');
  3  END;
  4  /
Task is complete.

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

The following example shows what happens when you create a trigger with SET SERVEROUTPUT ON:

SQL> CREATE TRIGGER SERVER_TRIG BEFORE INSERT OR UPDATE -
>    OR DELETE
  2  ON SERVER_TAB
  3  BEGIN
  4  DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Task is complete.');
  5  END;
  6  /
Trigger created.
SQL> INSERT INTO SERVER_TAB VALUES ('TEXT');
Task is complete.
1 row created.

SQLCONTINUE

To set the SQL*Plus command continuation prompt to an exclamation point followed by a space, enter

SQL> SET SQLCONTINUE '! '

SQL*Plus will prompt for continuation as follows:

SQL> TTITLE 'YEARLY INCOME' -
! RIGHT SQL.PNO SKIP 2 -
! CENTER 'PC DIVISION'
SQL>

SUFFIX

To set the default command-file extension to UFI, enter

SQL> SET SUFFIX UFI

If you then enter

SQL> GET EXAMPLE

SQL*Plus will look for a filenamed EXAMPLE with an extension of UFI instead of EXAMPLE with an extension of SQL.


SHOW

Purpose

Showsthe value of a SQL*Plus system variable or the current SQL*Plus environment.

Syntax

SHO[W] option

where option represents one of the following terms or clauses:

system_variable
ALL
BTI[TLE]
ERR[ORS] [{FUNCTION|PROCEDURE|PACKAGE|PACKAGE BODY|
   TRIGGER|VIEW} name]
LABEL
LNO
PNO
REL[EASE]
SPOO[L]
SQLCODE
TTI[TLE]
USER

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

system_variable	Represents any system variable set by the SET command.
ALL	Lists the settings of all SHOW options, except ERRORS and LABEL, in alphabetical order.
BTI[TLE]	Shows the current BTITLE definition.
ERR[ORS] [{FUNCTION|PROCEDURE|PACKAGE|PACKAGE BODY|   TRIGGER|VIEW} name]	Shows the compilation errors of a stored procedure (includes stored functions, procedures, and packages). After you use the CREATE command to create a stored procedure, a message is displayed if the stored procedure has any compilation errors. To see the errors, you use SHOW ERRORS.
When you specify SHOW ERRORS with no arguments, SQL*Plus shows compilation errors for the most recently created or altered stored procedure. When you specify the type (function, procedure, package, package body, trigger, or view) and the name of the PL/SQL stored procedure, SQL*Plus shows errors for that stored procedure. For more information on compilation errors, see your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference.

SHOW ERRORS output displays the line and column number of the error (LINE/COL) as well as the error itself (ERROR). LINE/COL and ERROR have default widths of 8 and 65, respectively. You can alter these widths using the COLUMN command.

LABEL	Shows the security level for the current session. For more information, see your Trusted Oracle Administrator's Guide.
LNO	Shows the current line number (the position in the current page of the display and/or spooled output).
PNO	Shows the current page number.
REL[EASE]	Shows the release number of Oracle that SQL*Plus is accessing.
SPOO[L]	Shows whether output is being spooled.
SQLCODE	Shows the value of SQL.SQLCODE (the SQL return code of the most recent operation).
TTI[TLE]	Shows the current TTITLE definition.
USER	Shows the username under which you are currently accessing SQL*Plus.

Example

To list the current LINESIZE, enter

SQL> SHOW LINESIZE

If the current linesize equals 80 characters, SQL*Plus will give the following response:

linesize 80

The following example illustrates how to create a stored procedure and then show its compilation errors:

SQL> CREATE PROCEDURE ASSIGNVL AS BEGIN zzzzzzz; END;
  2 /
Warning: Procedure created with compilation errors.
SQL> SHOW ERRORS PROCEDURE ASSIGNVL

LINE/COL  ERROR
--------  -------------------------------------------------
1/30      PLS-00313: 'zzzzzzz' not declared in this scope
1/30      PL/SQL: Statement ignored

Note: Since the procedure ASSIGNVL was the most recently created/altered stored procedure, you could just type SHOW ERRORS with no arguments to see its compilation errors.


SPOOL

Purpose

Storesqueryresultsin an operating system file and, optionally, sends the file to a printer.

Syntax

SPO[OL] [file_name[.ext]|OFF|OUT]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Represents the nameof the file to which you wish to spool. SPOOL followed by file_name begins spooling displayed output to the named file. If you do not specify an extension, SPOOL uses a default extension (LST or LIS on most systems).
OFF	Stops spooling.
OUT	Stops spooling and sends the file to your host computer's standard (default) printer.

Enter SPOOL with no clauses to list the current spooling status.

Usage Notes

To spool output generated by commands in a command file without displaying the output on the screen, use SET TERMOUT OFF. SET TERMOUT OFF does not affect output from commands run interactively.

Examples

To record your displayed output in a filenamed DIARY using the default file extension, enter

SQL> SPOOL DIARY

To stop spooling and print the file on your default printer, type

SQL> SPOOL OUT


SQLPLUS

Purpose

StartsSQL*Plusfrom the operatingsystemprompt.

Syntax

SQLPLUS [[-S[ILENT]] [logon] [start]]|-?

where:

logon	Requires the following syntax:
username[/password][@database_specification]|/|/NOLOG

start	Allows you to enter the name of a commandfileand arguments. SQL*Plus passes the arguments to the command file as though you executed the file using the SQL*Plus START command. The start clause requires the following syntax:
@file_name[.ext][arg ...]

See the START command in this chapter for more information.

Terms and Clauses

You have the option of entering logon. If you do not specify logon and do specify start, SQL*Plus assumes that the first line of the command file contains a valid logon. If neither start nor logon are specified, SQL*Plus prompts for logon information.

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

username[/password]	Represent the usernameand password with which you wish to start SQL*Plus and connect to Oracle. If you omit username and password, SQL*Plus prompts you for them. If you enter a slash (/) or simply enter [Return] to the prompt for username, SQL*Plus logs you in using a default logon (see "/" below).
If you omit only password, SQL*Plus prompts you for password. When prompting, SQL*Plus does not display password on your terminal screen.

/	Represents a defaultlogon using operating system authentication. You cannot enter a database_specification if you use a default logon. In a default logon, SQL*Plus typically attempts to log you in using the username OPS$name, where name is your operating system username. See the Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide for information about operating system authentication.
/NOLOG	Establishes no initial connection to Oracle. Before issuing any SQL commands, you must issue a CONNECT command to establish a valid logon. Use /NOLOG when you want to have a SQL*Plus command file prompt for the username, password, or database specification. The first line of this command file is not assumed to contain a logon.
database_specification	Consists of a SQL*Net connection string. The exact syntax depends upon the SQL*Net communications protocol your Oracle installation uses. For more information, refer to the SQL*Net manual appropriate for your protocol or contact your DBA.
-S[ILENT]	Suppresses all SQL*Plus information and prompt messages, including the command prompt, the echoing of commands, and the banner normally displayed when you start SQL*Plus. Use SILENT to invoke SQL*Plus within another program so that the use of SQL*Plus is invisible to the user.
-?	Makes SQLPLUS displayits currentversion and level number and then returns control to the operating system. Do not enter a space between the hyphen (-) and the question mark (?).

Usage Notes

The SQL*Plus command may be known by a different name under some operating systems, for example, plus32. See your SQL*Plus installation documentation for further information on your specific operating system.

SQL*Plus supports a Site Profile, a SQL*Plus command file created by the database administrator. This file is generally named GLOGIN with an extension of SQL. SQL*Plus executes this command file whenever any user starts SQL*Plus and SQL*Plus establishes the Oracle connection. The Site Profile allows the DBA to set up SQL*Plus environment defaults for all users at a particular site; users cannot directly access the Site Profile. The default name and location of the Site Profile depend on your system. Site Profiles are described in more detail in the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.

SQL*Plus also supports a User Profile, executed after the Site Profile. SQL*Plus searches for a filenamed LOGIN with the extension SQL in your current directory. If SQL*Plus does not find the file there, SQL*Plus will search a system-dependent path to find the file. Some operating systems may not support this path search.

If you fail to log in successfully to SQL*Plus because your username or password is invalid or some other error, SQL*Plus will return an error status equivalent to an EXIT FAILURE command. See the EXIT command in this chapter for further information.

Examples

To start SQL*Plus with username SCOTT and password TIGER, enter

SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER

To start SQL*Plus, as above, and to make POLICY the default database (where POLICY is a valid SQL*Net database connection string), enter

SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER@POLICY

To start SQL*Plus with username SCOTT and password TIGER and run a command filenamed STARTUP with the extension SQL, enter

SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER @STARTUP

Note the space between TIGER and @STARTUP.


START

Purpose

Executesthe contents of the specified command file.

Syntax

STA[RT] file_name[.ext] [arg ...]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

file_name[.ext]	Representsthe commandfileyou wish to execute. The file can contain any command that you can run interactively.
If you do not specify an extension, SQL*Plus assumes the default command-file extension (normally SQL). For information on changing this default extension, see the SUFFIX variable of the SET command in this chapter.

When you enter START file_name.ext, SQL*Plus searches for a file with the filename and extension you specify in the current default directory. If SQL*Plus does not find such a file, SQL*Plus will search a system-dependent path to find the file. Some operating systems may not support the path search. Consult the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system for specific information related to your operating system environment.

arg ...	Representdata items you wish to pass to parametersin the command file. If you enter one or more arguments, SQL*Plus substitutes the values into the parameters(&1, &2, and so forth) in the command file. The first argument replaces each occurrence of &1, the second replaces each occurrence of &2, and so forth.
The START command DEFINEs the parameters with the values of the arguments; if you START the command file again in this session, you can enter new arguments or omit the arguments to use the old values.

For more information on using parameters, refer to the subsection "Passing Parameters through the START Command" under "Writing Interactive Commands" in Chapter 3.

Usage Notes

The @ ("at" sign)and @@ (double "at" sign)commands function similarly to START. Disabling the START command in the Product User Profile also disables the @ and @@ commands. See the @ and @@ commands in this chapter for further information on these commands.

The EXIT or QUIT commands in a command file terminate SQL*Plus.

Example

A filenamed PROMOTE with the extension SQL, used to promote employees, might contain the following command:

SELECT * FROM EMP
WHERE MGR=&1 AND JOB='&2' AND SAL>&3;

To run this command file, enter

SQL> START PROMOTE 7280 CLERK 950

SQL*Plus then executes the following command:

SELECT * FROM EMP
WHERE MGR=7280 AND JOB='CLERK' AND SAL>950;


TIMING

Purpose

Recordstiming data for an elapsed period of time, lists the current timer's name and timing data, or lists the number of active timers.

Syntax

TIMI[NG] [START text|SHOW|STOP]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

START text	Sets up a timer and makes text the name of the timer. You can have more than one active timer by STARTing additional timers before STOPping the first; SQL*Plus nests each new timer within the preceding one. The timer most recently STARTed becomes the current timer.
SHOW	Lists the current timer's name and timing data.
STOP	Lists the current timer's name and timing data, then deletesthe timer. If any other timers are active, the next most recently STARTed timer becomes the current timer.

Enter TIMING with no clauses to list the number of active timers.

Usage Notes

You can use this data to do a performance analysis on any commands or blocks run during the period.

For information about the data TIMING displays, see the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system.Refer to SET TIMING ON for information on automatically displaying timing data after each SQL command or PL/SQL block you run.

To delete all timers, use the CLEAR TIMING command.

Examples

To create a timer named SQL_TIMER, enter

SQL> TIMING START SQL_TIMER

To list the current timer's title and accumulated time, enter

SQL> TIMING SHOW

To list the current timer's title and accumulated time and to remove the timer, enter

SQL> TIMING STOP


TTITLE

Purpose

Places and formatsa specified titleatthe top of each report page or lists the current TTITLE definition. The old form of TTITLE is used if only a single word or string in quotes follows the TTITLE command.

For a description of the old form of TTITLE, see TTITLE in Appendix F.

Syntax

TTI[TLE] [printspec [text|variable] ...]|[OFF|ON]

where printspec represents one or more of the following clauses used to place and format the text:

COL n
S[KIP] [n]
TAB n
LE[FT]
CE[NTER]
R[IGHT]
BOLD
FORMAT text

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause. These terms and clauses also apply to the BTITLE command.

text	Represents the title text. Enter text in single quotes if you wish to place more than one word on a single line.
variable	Represents a user variableor any of the following system-maintainedvalues:
•	SQL.LNO (current line number)

•	SQL.PNO (current page number)

•	SQL.RELEASE (current Oracle release number)

•	SQL.SQLCODE (current error code)

•	SQL.USER (current username)

To print one of these values, reference the appropriate variable in the title. You can format variable with the FORMAT clause.

OFF	Turns the titleoff (suppresses its display) without affecting its definition.
ON	Turns the titleon (restores its display). When you define a top title, SQL*Plus automatically sets TTITLE to ON.
COL n	Indentstocolumn n of the current line (backward if column n has been passed). "Column" in this context means print position, not table column.
S[KIP] [n]	Skips to the start of a new line n times; if you omit n, one time; if you enter zero for n, backward to the start of the current line.
TAB n	Skips forward n columns (backward if you enter a negative value for n). "Column" in this context means print position, not table column.
LE[FT],CE[NTER], andR[IGHT]	Left-align, center, and right-align data on the current line respectively. SQL*Plus aligns following data items as a group, up to the end of the printspec or the next LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT, or COL command. CENTER and RIGHT use the SET LINESIZE value to calculate the position of the data item that follows.
BOLD	Prints data in bold print. SQL*Plus represents bold print on your terminal by repeating the data on three consecutive lines. On some operating systems, SQL*Plus may instruct your printer to print bolded text on three consecutive lines, instead of bold.
FORMAT text	Specifies a format model that determines the format of following data items, up to the next FORMAT clause or the end of the command. The format model must be a text constant such as A10 or $999. See COLUMN FORMAT for more information on formatting and valid format models.
If the datatype of the format model does not match the datatype of a given data item, the FORMAT clause has no effect on that item.

If no appropriate FORMAT model precedes a given data item, SQL*Plus prints NUMBER values according to the format specified by SET NUMFORMAT or, if you have not used SET NUMFORMAT, the default format. SQL*Plus prints DATE values according to the default format.

Refer to the FORMAT clause of the COLUMN command in this chapter for more information on default formats.

Usage Notes

If you do not enter a printspec clause before the first occurrence of text, TTITLE left justifies the text. SQL*Plus interprets TTITLE in the new form if a valid printspec clause (LEFT, SKIP, COL, and so on) immediately follows the command name.

Enter TTITLE with no clauses to list the currentTTITLEdefinition.

See COLUMN NEW_VALUE for information on printing column and DATE values in the top title.

You can use any number of constants and variables in a printspec. SQL*Plus displays the constants and variables in the order you specify them, positioning and formatting each constant or variable as specified by the printspec clauses that precede it.

The length of the title you specify with TTITLE cannot exceed 2400 characters.

The continuation character (a hyphen) will not be recognized inside a single-quoted title text string. To be recognized, the continuation character must appear outside of the quotes, as follows:

SQL> TTITLE CENTER 'Summary Report for' -
> 'the Month of May'

Examples

To define "Monthly Analysis" as the top title and to left-align it, to center the date, to right-align the page numberwith a three-digit format, and to display "Data in Thousands" in the center of the next line, enter

SQL> TTITLE LEFT 'Monthly Analysis' CENTER '11 Mar 88' -
> RIGHT 'Page:' FORMAT 999 SQL.PNO SKIP CENTER -
> 'Data in Thousands'

The following title results:

Monthly Analysis               11 Mar 88           Page:   1
                            Data in Thousands

To suppress the top title display without changing its definition, enter

SQL> TTITLE OFF


UNDEFINE

Purpose

Deletes one or more user variables that you defined either explicitly (with the DEFINE command) or implicitly (with an argument to the START command).

Syntax

UNDEF[INE] variable ...

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following for a description of the term or clause:

	variable Represents the name of the user variable you wish to delete. One or more user variables may be deleted in the same command.

Example

To undefine a user variable named POS, enter

SQL> UNDEFINE POS

To undefine two user variables named MYVAR1 and MYVAR2, enter

SQL> UNDEFINE MYVAR1 MYVAR2


VARIABLE

Purpose

Declaresa bind variable that can then be referenced in PL/SQL. For more information on bind variables, see "Using Bind Variables" in Chapter 3. For more information about PL/SQL, see your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference.

VARIABLE without arguments displays a list of all the variables declared in the session. VARIABLE followed only by a variable name lists that variable.

Syntax

VAR[IABLE] [variable [NUMBER|CHAR|CHAR (n)|VARCHAR2 (n)|   REFCURSOR]]

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

variable	Represents the name of the bind variable you wish to create.
NUMBER	Creates a variable of type NUMBER with a fixed length.
CHAR	Creates a variable of type CHAR (character) with a length of one.
CHAR (n)	Creates a variable of type CHAR with a maximum length of n, up to 255.
VARCHAR2 (n)	Creates a variable of type VARCHAR2 with a maximum length of n, up to 2000.
REFCURSOR	Creates a variable of type REFCURSOR.

Usage Notes

Bind variables may be used as parameters to stored procedures, or may be directly referenced in anonymous PL/SQL blocks.

To display the value of a bind variable created with VARIABLE, use the PRINT command. For more information, see the PRINT command in this chapter.

To automatically display the value of a bind variable created with VARIABLE, use the SET AUTOPRINT command. For more information, see the SET AUTOPRINT command in this chapter.

Bind variables cannot be used in the COPY command or SQL statements, except in PL/SQL blocks. Instead, use substitution variables.

SQL*Plus REFCURSOR bind variables may be used to reference PL/SQL 2.2 Cursor Variables, allowing PL/SQL output to be formatted by SQL*Plus. For more information on PL/SQL Cursor Variables, see your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference.

When you execute a VARIABLE command, SQL*Plus opens a cursor for each REFCURSOR bind variable. SQL*Plus closes the cursor after completing a PRINT statement for that bind variable, or on exit. Subsequent PL/SQL blocks referencing the REFCURSOR bind variable in an OPEN ... FOR statement will automatically open the cursor. For more information on the PL/SQL auto-open feature, see your PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference.

SQL*Plus formatting commands such as BREAK, COLUMN, COMPUTE and SET may be used to format the output from PRINTing a REFCURSOR.

A REFCURSOR bind variable may not be PRINTed more than once without re-executing the PL/SQL OPEN ... FOR statement.

Examples

The following example illustrates creating a bind variable and then setting it to the value returned by a function:

SQL> VARIABLE id NUMBER
SQL> BEGIN
  2    :id := emp_management.hire
  3      ('BLAKE','MANAGER','KING',2990,'SALES');
  4  END;

The bind variable named id can be displayed with the PRINT command or used in subsequent PL/SQL subprograms.

The following example illustrates automatically displaying a bind variable:

SQL> SET AUTOPRINT ON
SQL> VARIABLE a REFCURSOR
SQL> BEGIN
  2  OPEN :a FOR SELECT * FROM DEPT ORDER BY DEPTNO;
  3  END;
  4  /

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

DEPTNO   DNAME         LOC
-------- ------------- -------------
      10 ACCOUNTING    NEW YORK
      20 RESEARCH      DALLAS
      30 SALES         CHICAGO
      40 OPERATIONS    BOSTON

In the above example, there is no need to issue a PRINT command to display the variable.

The following example creates some variables and then lists them:

SQL> VARIABLE id NUMBER
SQL> VARIABLE txt CHAR (20)
SQL> VARIABLE myvar REFCURSOR
SQL> VARIABLE
variable id
datatype NUMBER

variable txt
datatype CHAR(20)

variable myvar
datatype REFCURSOR

The following example lists a single variable:

SQL> VARIABLE txt
variable txt
datatype CHAR(20)

The following example illustrates producing a report listing individual salaries and computing the departmental and total salary cost:

SQL> VARIABLE RC REFCURSOR
SQL> DECLARE
  2  TYPE EMPSALTYPE IS RECORD (DNAME VARCHAR2(14),
  3            ENAME VARCHAR2(10),
  4            SAL NUMBER(7));
  5  TYPE RCT IS REF CURSOR RETURN EMPSALTYPE;
  6  LOC_RC RCT;
  7  BEGIN
  8  LOC_RC := :RC;
  9  OPEN LOC_RC FOR SELECT DNAME, ENAME, SAL
 10            FROM EMP, DEPT
 11            WHERE EMP.DEPTNO = DEPT.DEPTNO
 12            ORDER BY EMP.DEPTNO, ENAME;
 13  END;
 14  /

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SQL> SET PAGESIZE 100 FEEDBACK OFF
SQL> TTITLE LEFT '*** Departmental Salary Bill ***' SKIP 2
SQL> COLUMN SAL FORMAT $999,990.99 HEADING 'Salary'
SQL> COLUMN DNAME HEADING 'Department'
SQL> COLUMN ENAME HEADING 'Employee'
SQL> COMPUTE SUM LABEL 'Subtotal:' OF SAL ON DNAME
SQL> COMPUTE SUM LABEL 'Total:' OF SAL ON REPORT
SQL> BREAK ON DNAME SKIP 1 ON REPORT SKIP 1
SQL> PRINT RC

*** Departmental Salary Bill ***

Department     Employee     Salary
-------------- ------------ ----------
ACCOUNTING     CLARK         $2,450.00
               KING          $5,000.00
               MILLER        $1,300.00
**************              ----------
Subtotal:                    $8,750.00

RESEARCH       ADAMS         $1,100.00
               FORD          $3,000.00
               JONES         $2,975.00
               SCOTT         $3,000.00
               SMITH           $800.00
**************              ----------
                            $10,875.00

SALES          ALLEN         $1,600.00
               BLAKE         $2,850.00
               JAMES           $950.00
               MARTIN        $1,250.00
               TURNER        $1,500.00
               WARD          $1,250.00
**************              ----------
Subtotal:                    $9,400.00

                            ----------
Total:                      $29,025.00


WHENEVER OSERROR

Purpose

ExitsSQL*Plusif an operatingsystem erroroccurs (such as a file I/O error).

Syntax

WHENEVER OSERROR {EXIT [SUCCESS|FAILURE|n|variable]   [COMMIT|ROLLBACK]|CONTINUE [COMMIT|ROLLBACK|NONE]}

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

EXIT [SUCCESS|FAILURE|n|variable]	Directs SQL*Plus to exit as soon as an operating system error is detected. You can also specify that SQL*Plus return a success or failure code, the operating system failure code, or a number or variable of your choice. See EXIT in this chapter for details.
CONTINUE	Turns off the EXIT option.
COMMIT	Directs SQL*Plus to execute a COMMIT before exiting or continuing and save pending changes to the database.
ROLLBACK	Directs SQL*Plus to execute a ROLLBACK before exiting or continuing and abandon pending changes to the database.
NONE	Directs SQL*Plus to take no action before continuing.

Usage Notes

If you do not enter the WHENEVER OSERROR command, the default behavior of SQL*Plus is to continue and take no action when an operating system error occurs.

Examples

The commands in the following command filecause SQL*Plus to exit and COMMIT any pending changes if a failure occurs when writing to the output file:

WHENEVER OSERROR EXIT SQL.OSCODE COMMIT
SPOOL MYLOG
UPDATE EMP SET SAL = SAL*1.1
COPY TO SCOTT/TIGER@HQDB -
REPLACE EMP -
USING SELECT * FROM EMP
SPOOL OUT
SELECT SAL FROM EMP


WHENEVER SQLERROR

Purpose

Exits SQL*Plus if a SQLcommandor PL/SQL block generates an error.

Syntax

WHENEVER SQLERROR {EXIT [SUCCESS|FAILURE|WARNING|n|variable]   [COMMIT|ROLLBACK]|CONTINUE [COMMIT|ROLLBACK|NONE]}

Terms and Clauses

Refer to the following list for a description of each term or clause:

EXIT [SUCCESS|FAILURE|WARNING|n|variable]	Directs SQL*Plus to exit as soon as it detects a SQL command or PL/SQL block error (but after printing the error message). The EXIT clause of WHENEVER SQLERROR follows the same syntax as the EXIT command. See EXIT in this chapter for details.
CONTINUE	Turns off the EXIT option.
COMMIT	Directs SQL*Plus to execute a COMMIT before exiting or continuing and save pending changes to the database.
ROLLBACK	Directs SQL*Plus to execute a ROLLBACK before exiting or continuing and abandon pending changes to the database.
NONE	Directs SQL*Plus to take no action before continuing.

Usage Notes

The WHENEVER SQLERROR command is triggered by SQL command or PL/SQL block errors, and not by SQL*Plus command errors.

If you do not enter the WHENEVER SQLERROR command, the default behavior of SQL*Plus is to continue and take no action when a SQL error occurs.

Examples

The commands in the following command filecause SQL*Plus to exit before the COPY command and return the SQL error code if the SQL UPDATE command fails:

WHENEVER SQLERROR EXIT SQL.SQLCODE
UPDATE EMP SET SAL = SAL*1.1
COPY TO SCOTT/TIGER@D:BETHESDA -
REPLACE EMP -
USING SELECT * FROM EMP
WHENEVER SQLERROR CONTINUE


COPY Command Messages and Codes

This appendix lists error messages generated by the COPYcommand. For error messages generated by Oracle, refer to the Oracle7 Server Messages Manual.

CPY0002:

Illegal or missing APPEND, CREATE, INSERT, or REPLACE option

Cause:

An internal COPY function has invoked COPY with a create option (flag) value that is out of range.

Action:

Please contact your Oracle Customer Support representative.

CPY0003:

Internal Error: logical host number out of range

Cause:

An internal COPY function has been invoked with a logical host number value that is out of range.

Action:

Please contact your Oracle Customer Support representative.

CPY0004:

Source and destination table and column names don't match

Cause:

On an APPEND operation or an INSERT (when the table exists), at least one column name in the destination table does not match the corresponding column name in the optional column name list or in the SELECT command.

Action:

Respecify the COPY command, making sure that the column names and their respective order in the destination table match the column names and column order in the optional column list or in the SELECT command.

CPY0005:

Source and destination column attributes don't match

Cause:

On an APPEND operation or an INSERT (when the table exists), at least one column in the destination table does not have the same datatype as the corresponding column in the SELECT command.

Action:

Respecify the COPY command, making sure that the datatypes for items being selected agree with the destination. You can use TO_DATE, TO_CHAR, and TO_NUMBER to make conversions.

CPY0006:

Select list has more columns than destination table

Cause:

On an APPEND operation or an INSERT (when the table exists), the number of columns in the SELECT command is greater than the number of columns in the destination table.

Action:

Respecify the COPY command, making sure that the number of columns being selected agrees with the number in the destination table.

CPY0007:

Select list has fewer columns than destination table

Cause:

On an APPEND operation or INSERT (when the table exists), the number of columns in the SELECT command is less than the number of columns in the destination table.

Action:

Respecify the COPY command, making sure that the number of columns being selected agrees with the number in the destination table.

CPY0008:

More column list names than columns in the destination table

Cause:

On an APPEND operation or an INSERT (when the table exists), the number of columns in the column name list is greater than the number of columns in the destination table.

Action:

Respecify the COPY command, making sure that the number of columns in the column list agrees with the number in the destination table.

CPY0009:

Fewer column list names than columns in the destination table

Cause:

On an APPEND operation or an INSERT (when the table exists), the number of columns in the column name list is less than the number of columns in the destination table.

Action:

Respecify the COPY command, making sure that the number of columns in the column list agrees with the number in the destination table.


Release 3.2 Enhancements

SQL*Plus Release 3.2 provides a number of enhancements over previous releases of SQL*Plus. This appendix describes the enhancements for SQL*Plus Release 3.2.


SQL*Plus Release 3.2 Enhancements

SQL*Plus Release 3.2 is a superset of SQL*Plus Release 3.1.

To exploit SQL*Plus Release 3.2 fully, you need Oracle7 Release 7.2. SQL*Plus Release 3.2 gives you the following capabilities:

•	The ACCEPT command has three new clauses, DATE, FORMAT, and DEFAULT.

•	The COMPUTE command has an optional LABEL clause. This clause defines the label to be printed for the computed value.

•	The DEL command has added functionality. DEL now deletes a range of lines from the SQL buffer.

•	If you fail to log in successfully to SQL*Plus because your username or password is invalid or some other error, SQL*Plus returns an error status equivalent to an EXIT FAILURE command.

•	The PRINT command now has the option of printing multiple variables in the same command.

•	The SHOW ALL command lists all options in alphabetical order.

•	The SET AUTOCOMMIT can now commit after a specified number of statements.

•	The SET command now has an AUTOPRINT clause. The AUTOPRINT clause sets whether SQL*Plus automatically displays all bind variables referenced in a successful PL/SQL block or used in an EXECUTE command.

•	The SET command now has a COLSEP clause. The COLSEP clause sets the text to be printed between SELECTed columns.

•	The SET command now has an EDITFILE clause. The EDITFILE clause sets the default filename for the EDIT command.

•	The SET command now has a TRIMSPOOL clause. The TRIMSPOOL clause determines whether SQL*Plus allows trailing blanks at the end of each spooled line.

•	The UNDEFINE VARIABLE command has the option of undefining multiple user variables in the same command.

•	The VARIABLE command now has a REFCURSOR clause. The REFCURSOR clause creates a variable of type REFCURSOR.


SQL*Plus Limits

Table C-1, on the following page, lists the limit, or maximum value, of each of the SQL*Pluselements shown. The limits shown are valid for most operating systems.

Item	Limit
filename length	system dependent
username length	30 bytes
user variable name length	30 bytes
user variable value length	240 characters
command-line length	2500 characters
length of a LONG value entered through SQL*Plus	LINESIZE value
LINESIZE	system dependent
LONGCHUNKSIZE value (requires Oracle7)	MAXDATA value
MAXDATA value	system dependent
output line size	system dependent
line size after variable substitution	3,000 characters (internal only)
number of characters in a COMPUTE command label	500 characters
number of lines per SQL command	500 (assuming 80 characters per line)
maximum PAGESIZE	50,000 lines
total row width	60,000 characters for VMS; otherwise, 32,767 characters
maximum ARRAYSIZE	5000 rows
maximum number of nested command files	20 for VMS, CMS, Unix;  otherwise, 5
maximum page number	99,999
maximum PL/SQL error message size	2K (Oracle7) 512 Bytes (Oracle Version 6)
maximum ACCEPT character string length	240 Bytes

Table C - 1.


SQL Command List

Table D-1, on the following page, lists major SQL commands.Refer to the Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference Manual for full documentation of these commands.

Major SQL Commands and Clauses
ALTER	LOCK TABLE
ANALYZE*	NOAUDIT
AUDIT	RENAME
COMMENT	REVOKE
COMMIT	ROLLBACK
CREATE	SAVEPOINT
DELETE	SELECT
DROP	SET ROLE*
EXPLAIN	SET TRANSACTION
GRANT	TRUNCATE*
INSERT	UPDATE
* Requires Oracle7

Table D - 1.  SQL Command List


Security

This appendix describes the available methods for controlling access to database tables and SQL*Plus commands. The available methods for security fall into two broad categories:

•	SQL*Plus PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE table

•	roles


PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE Table

Various Oracle products use PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE, a table in the SYSTEM account, to provide product-level security that supplements the user-level security provided by the SQL GRANT and REVOKE commands and user roles. (SET ROLE requires Oracle7.)

Overview

DBAs can use PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE to disable certain SQL and SQL*Plus commands in the SQL*Plus environment on a per-user basis. SQL*Plus—not Oracle—enforces this security. DBAs can even restrict access to the GRANT, REVOKE, and SET ROLE commands to control users' ability to change their database privileges.

You can create PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE by running the command file named V7PUP with the extension SQL. The exact format of the file extension and the location of the file are system dependent. See the Oracle installation and user's manual(s) provided for your operating system or your DBA for more information.

SQL*Plus reads restrictions from PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE when a user logs in to SQL*Plus and maintains those restrictions for the duration of the session. Changes to PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE will only take effect the next time the affected users log in to SQL*Plus.

Table Structure

The PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE table consists of the following columns:

PRODUCT	NOT NULL CHAR (30)
USERID	CHAR(30)
ATTRIBUTE	CHAR(240)
SCOPE	CHAR(240)
NUMERIC_VALUE	NUMBER(15,2)
CHAR_VALUE	CHAR(240)
DATE_VALUE	DATE
LONG_VALUE	LONG

Description and Use of Columns

Refer to the following list for the descriptions and use of each column in the PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE table:

Product	Must contain the product name (in this case "SQL*Plus"). You cannot enter wildcards or NULL in this column. Also notice that the product name SQL*Plus must be specified in mixed case, as shown, in order to be recognized.
Userid	Must contain the username (in uppercase) of the user for whom you wish to disable the command. To disable the command for more than one user, use SQL wild cards (%) or make multiple entries. Thus, all of the following entries are valid:
•	SCOTT

•	CLASS1

•	CLASS% (all users whose names start with CLASS)

•	% (all users)

Attribute	Must contain the name (in uppercase) of the SQL, SQL*Plus, or PL/SQL command you wish to disable (for example, GET). If you are disabling a role, it must contain the character string "ROLES". You cannot enter a wildcard. See "Administration" below for a list of SQL and SQL*Plus commands you can disable. See "Roles" below for information on how to disable a role.
Scope	SQL*Plus ignores this column. It is recommended that you enter NULL in this column. Other products may store specific file restrictions or other data in this column.
Numeric_Value	SQL*Plus ignores this column. It is recommended that you enter NULL in this column. Other products may store numeric values in this column.
Char_Value	Must contain the character string"DISABLED" to disable a SQL, SQL*Plus, or PL/SQL command. If you are disabling a role, it must contain the name of the role you wish to disable. You cannot use a wildcard. See "Roles" below for information on how to disable a role.
Date_Value	SQL*Plus ignores this column. It is recommended that you enter NULL in this column. Other products may store DATE values in this column.
Long_Value	SQL*Plus ignores this column. It is recommended that you enter NULL in this column. Other products may store LONG values in this column.

Administration

The DBA username SYSTEM owns and has all privileges on PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE. (When SYSTEM logs in, SQL*Plus does not read PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE. Therefore, no restrictions apply to user SYSTEM.)  Other Oracle usernames should have only SELECT access to this table, which allows a view of restrictions of that username and those restrictions assigned to PUBLIC. The command file PUPBLD, when run, grants SELECT access on PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE to PUBLIC.

Disabling SQL*Plus, SQL, and PL/SQL Commands

To disable a SQL or SQL*Plus command for a given user, insert a row containing the user's username in the Userid column, the command name in the Attribute column, and DISABLED in the Char_Value column.

The Scope, Numeric_Value, and Date_Value columns should contain NULL. For example:

PRODUCT--------	USERID------	ATTRIBUTE---------	SCOPE-----	NUMERIC VALUE-------	CHAR VALUE-------	DATE VALUE-------
SQL*Plus	SCOTT	HOST			DISABLED
SQL*Plus	%	INSERT			DISABLED
SQL*Plus	%	UPDATE			DISABLED
SQL*Plus	%	DELETE			DISABLED

To re-enable commands, delete the row containing the restriction.

You can disable the following SQL*Plus commands:

•	EDIT

•	EXECUTE

•	EXIT

•	GET

•	HOST (or your operating system's alias for HOST, such as $ on VMS and ! on UNIX)

•	QUIT

•	RUN

•	SAVE

•	SET (see note below)

•	SPOOL

•	START

Note: Disabling the SQL*Plus SET command will also disable the SQL SET ROLE and SET TRANSACTION commands. Disabling the SQL*Plus START command will also disable the SQL*Plus @ and @@ commands.

You can also disable the following SQL commands:

•	ALTER

•	ANALYZE (requires Oracle7)

•	AUDIT

•	CONNECT

•	CREATE

•	DELETE

•	DROP

•	GRANT

•	INSERT

•	LOCK

•	NOAUDIT

•	RENAME

•	REVOKE

•	SELECT

•	SET ROLE (requires Oracle7)

•	SET TRANSACTION

•	TRUNCATE (requires Oracle7)

•	UPDATE

•	VALIDATE (only for Oracle V6)

You can also disable the following PL/SQL commands:

•	BEGIN

•	DECLARE

Note: Disabling BEGIN and DECLARE does not prevent the use of the SQL*Plus EXECUTE command. EXECUTE must be disabled separately.

Disabling SET ROLE

From SQL*Plus, users can submit any SQL command. In certain situations, this can cause security problems. Unless you take proper precautions, a user could use SET ROLE to access privileges obtained via an application role. With these privileges, they might issue SQL statements from SQL*Plus that could wrongly change database tables.

To prevent application users from accessing application roles in SQL*Plus, you can use PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE to disable the SET ROLE command. This allows a SQL*Plus user only those privileges associated with the roles enabled when they started SQL*Plus. For more information about the creation and usage of user roles, see your Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference and Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide.

Disabling Roles

To disable a role for a given user, insert a row in PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE containing the user's username in the Userid column, "ROLES" in the Attribute column, and the role name in the Char_Value column.

Note: When you enter "PUBLIC" or "%" for the Userid column, you disable the role for all users. You should only use "%" or "PUBLIC" for roles which are granted to "PUBLIC". If you try to disable a role that has not been granted to a user, none of the roles for that user are disabled.

The Scope, Numeric_Value, and Date_Value columns should contain NULL. For example:

PRODUCT--------	USERID------	ATTRIBUTE---------	SCOPE-----	NUMERIC VALUE-------	CHAR VALUE-------	DATE VALUE-------
SQL*Plus	SCOTT	ROLES			ROLE1
SQL*Plus	PUBLIC	ROLES			ROLE2

During login, these table rows are translated into the command

SET ROLE ALL EXCEPT ROLE1, ROLE2

To ensure that the user does not use the SET ROLE command to change their roles after login, you can disable the SET ROLE command. See "Disabling SET ROLE" earlier in this appendix.

To re-enable roles, delete the row containing the restriction.


Roles

To provide for the security of your database tables in Oracle7 using SQL commands, you can create and control access to roles. By creating a role and then controlling who has access to it, you can ensure that only certain users have access to particular database privileges.

Overview

Roles are created and used with the SQL CREATE, GRANT, and SET commands:

•	To create a role, you use the CREATE command. You can create roles with or without passwords.

•	To grant access to roles, you use the GRANT command. In this way, you can control who has access to the privileges associated with the role.

•	To access roles, you use the SET ROLE command. If you created the role with a password, the user must know the password in order to access the role.

For more information about roles, see your Oracle7 Server SQL Language Reference, your Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide, and your Oracle7 Server Concepts Manual.


SQL*Plus Commands from Earlier Releases

This appendix covers earlier versions of some SQL*Plus commands. These older commands still function within SQL*Plus, but SQL*Plus provides newer commands that have improved functionality.


BTITLE (old form)

Purpose

Displays a title at the bottom of each report page.

Syntax

BTI[TLE] text

Usage Notes

The old form of BTITLE offers formatting features more limited than those of the new form, but provides compatibility with UFI (a predecessor of SQL*Plus). The old form defines the bottom title as an empty line followed by a line with centered text. Refer to TTITLE (old form) in this appendix for more details.


COLUMN DEFAULT

Purpose

Resets the display attributes for a given column to default values.

Syntax

COL[UMN] {column|expr} DEF[AULT]

Usage Notes

Has the same effect as COLUMN CLEAR.


DOCUMENT

Purpose

Begins a block of documentation in a command file.

Syntax

DOC[UMENT]

Usage Notes

For information on the current method of inserting comments in a command file, refer to the section "Placing Comments in Command Files" under "Saving Commands for Later Use" in Chapter 3 and to REMARK in Chapter 6.

After you type DOCUMENT and enter [Return], SQL*Plus displays the prompt DOC> in place of SQL> until you end the documentation. The "pound" character (#) on a line by itself ends the documentation.

If you have set DOCUMENT to OFF, SQL*Plus suppresses the display of the block of documentation created by the DOCUMENT command. (See SET DOCUMENT later in this appendix.)


NEWPAGE

Purpose

Advances spooled output n lines beyond the beginning of the next page.

Syntax

NEWPAGE [1|n]

Usage Notes

Refer to the NEWPAGE variable of the SET command in Chapter 6 for information on the current method for advancing spooled output.


SET BUFFER

Purpose

Makes the specified buffer the current buffer.

Syntax

SET BUF[FER] {buffer|SQL}

Usage Notes

Initially, the SQL buffer is the current buffer. SQL*Plus does not require the use of multiple buffers; the SQL buffer alone should meet your needs.

If the buffer name you enter does not already exist, SET BUFFER defines (creates and names) the buffer. SQL*Plus deletes the buffer and its contents when you exit SQL*Plus.

Running a query automatically makes the SQL buffer the current buffer. To copy text from one buffer to another, use the GET and SAVE commands. To clear text from the current buffer, use CLEAR BUFFER. To clear text from the SQL buffer while using a different buffer, use CLEAR SQL.


SET DOCUMENT

Purpose

Displays or suppresses blocks of documentation created by the DOCUMENT command.

Syntax

SET DOC[UMENT] {OFF|ON}

Usage Notes

SET DOCUMENT ON causes blocks of documentation to be echoed to the screen. Set DOCUMENT OFF suppresses the display of blocks of documentation.

See DOCUMENT in this appendix for information on the DOCUMENT command.


SET SCAN

Purpose

Controls scanning for the presence of substitution variables and parameters. OFF suppresses processing of substitution variables and parameters; ON allows normal processing.

Syntax

SET SCAN {OFF|ON}

Usage Notes

ON functions in the same manner as SET DEFINE ON.


SET SPACE

Purpose

Sets the number of spaces between columns in output. The maximum value of n is 10.

Syntax

SET SPACE {1|n}

Usage Notes

The SET SPACE 0 and SET COLSEP '' commands have the same effect. This command is obsoleted by SET COLSEP, but you can still use it for backward compatibility. You may prefer to use COLSEP because the SHOW command recognizes COLSEP and does not recognize SPACE.


SET TRUNCATE

Purpose

Controls whether SQL*Plus truncates or wraps a data item that is too long for the current line width.

Syntax

SET TRU[NCATE] {OFF|ON}

Usage Notes

ON functions in the same manner as SET WRAP OFF, and vice versa. You may prefer to use WRAP because the SHOW command recognizes WRAP and does not recognize TRUNCATE.


TTITLE (old form)

Purpose

Displays a title at the top of each report page.

Syntax

TTI[TLE] text

Usage Notes

The old form of TTITLE offers formatting features more limited than those of the new form, but provides compatibility with UFI (a predecessor of SQL*Plus). The old form defines the top title as a line with the date left-aligned and the page number right-aligned, followed by a line with centered text and then a blank line.

The text you enter defines the title TTITLE will display.

SQL*Plus centers text based on the size of a line as determined by SET LINESIZE. A separator character (|) begins a new line; two line separator characters in a row (||) insert a blank line. You can change the line separator character with SET HEADSEP.

You can control the formatting of page numbers in the old forms of TTITLE and BTITLE by defining a variable named "_page". The default value of _page is the formatting string "page &P4". To alter the format, you can DEFINE _page with a new formatting string as follows:

SQL> SET ESCAPE / SQL> DEFINE _page = 'Page /&P2'

This formatting string will print the word "page" with an initial capital letter and format the page number to a width of two. You can substitute any text for "page" and any number for the width. You must set escape so that SQL*Plus does not interpret the ampersand (&) as a substitution variable. See the ESCAPE variable of the SET command in Chapter 6 for more information on setting the escape character.

SQL*Plus interprets TTITLE in the old form if a valid new-form clause does not immediately follow the command name.

If you want to use CENTER with TTITLE and put more than one word on a line, you should use the new form of TTITLE documented in the Reference portion of this Guide.

Example

To use the old form of TTITLE to set a top title with a left-aligned date and right-aligned page number on one line followed by SALES DEPARTMENT on the next line and PERSONNEL REPORT on a third line, enter

SQL> TTITLE 'SALES DEPARTMENT|PERSONNEL REPORT'


GLOSSARY


A

account    An authorized user of an operating system or a product (such as Oracle Server or SQL*Forms). Depending on the operating system, may be referred to as ID, User ID, login, etc. Accounts are often created and controlled by a system administrator.

alias    In SQL, a temporary name assigned to a table, view, column, or value within a SQL statement, used to refer to that item later in the same statement or in associated SQL*Plus commands.

alignment    The way in which data is positioned in a field. It may be positioned to the left, right, center, flush/left, flush/right, or flush/center of the defined width of a field.

anonymous block    A PL/SQL program unit that has no name and does not require the explicit presence of the BEGIN and END keywords to enclose the executable statements.

argument   A data item following the command-file name in a START command. The argument supplies a value for a parameter in the command file.

array processing    Processing performed on multiple rows of data rather than one row at a time. In some Oracle utilities such as SQL*Plus, Export/Import, and the precompilers, users can set the size of the array; increasing the array size often improves performance.

ASCII   A convention for using digital data to represent printable characters. ASCII is an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

autocommit   A feature unique to SQL*Plus that enables SQL*Plus to automatically commit changes to the database after every successful execution of a SQL command or PL/SQL block. Setting the AUTOCOMMIT variable of the SET command to ON enables this feature. Setting the AUTOCOMMIT variable to n enables this feature after every n successful INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE commands or PL/SQL blocks.


B

bind reference    A reference to a parameter used to replace a single literal value (e.g., a character string, number, or date) appearing anywhere in a PL/SQL construct or a SQL SELECT statement. For a bind reference, you must precede the parameter name with a colon (:).

bind variable    A variable in a SQL statement that must be replaced with a valid value, or the address of a value, in order for the statement to successfully execute.

bit    The smallest unit of data. A bit only has two possible values, 0 or 1. Bits can be combined into groups of eight called bytes; each byte represents a single character of data. See also byte.

block   In PL/SQL, a group of SQL and PL/SQL commands related to each another through procedural logic.

body   A report region that contains the bulk of the report (text, graphics, data, and computations).

break    An event, such as a change in the value of an expression, that occurs while SQL*Plus processes a query or report. You can direct SQL*Plus to perform various operations, such as printing subtotals, whenever specified breaks occur.

break column   A column in a report that causes a break when its value changes and for which the user has defined break operations.

break group    A group containing one or more break columns.

break hierarchy    The order in which SQL*Plus checks for the occurrence of breaks and triggers the corresponding break operations.

break order    Indicates the order in which to display a break column's data. Valid options are Ascending and Descending.

break report    A report that divides rows of a table into "sets", based on a common value in the break column.

buffer   An area where the user's SQL statements or PL/SQL blocks are temporarily stored. The SQL buffer is the default buffer. You can edit or execute commands from multiple buffers; however, SQL*Plus does not require the use of multiple buffers.

byte    A group of eight sequential bits that represents a letter, number, or symbol (i.e., character). Treated as a unit of data by a computer.


C

CHAR datatype   An Oracle datatype provided for ANSI/ISO compatibility. A CHAR column is a fixed-length column and can contain any printable characters, such as A, 3, &, or blanks, and can have from 1 to 255 characters or can be null.

character   A single location on a computer system capable of holding one alphabetic character or numeric digit. One or more characters are held in a field. One or more fields make up a record, and one or more records may be held in a file or database table.

character string   A group of sequential letters, numerals, or symbols, usually comprising a word or name, or portion thereof.

clause   A part of a SQL statement that does not constitute the full statement; for example, a "WHERE clause".

client   A user, software application, or computer that requests the services, data, or processing of another application or computer (the "server"). In a two-task environment, the client is the user process. In a network environment, the client is the local user process and the server may be local or remote.

column   A vertical space in a database table that represents a particular domain of data. A column has a column name and a specific datatype. For example, in a table of employee information, all of the employees' dates of hire would constitute one column. A record group column represents a database column.

column expression   An expression in a SELECT statement that defines which database column(s) are retrieved. It may be a column name or a valid SQL expression referencing a column name.

column heading   A heading created for each column appearing in a report.

command   An instruction to or request of a program, application, operating system, or other software, to perform a particular task. Commands may be single words or may require additional phrases, variously called arguments, options, parameters, and qualifiers. Unlike statements, commands execute as soon as you enter them. ACCEPT, CLEAR, and COPY are examples of commands in SQL*Plus.

command file   A file containing a sequence of commands that you can otherwise enter interactively. The file is saved for convenience and re-execution. Command files are often called by operating-system specific names. In SQL*Plus, you can execute the command file with the START, @ or @@ commands.

command line   A line on a computer display on which typed in commands appear. An example of a command line is the area next to the DOS prompt on a personal computer. See also prompt.

command prompt   The text, by default SQL>, with which SQL*Plus requests your next command.

comment   A language construct for the inclusion of explanatory text in a program, the execution of which remains unaffected.

commit   To make permanent changes to data (inserts, updates, deletes) in the database. Before changes are committed, both the old and new data exist so that changes can be stored or the data can be restored to its prior state.

computation   Used to perform runtime calculations on data fetched from the database. These calculations are a superset of the kinds of calculations that can be done directly with a SELECT statement. See also formula column.

computed column   See computation.

configuration   In SQL*Net, the set of instructions for preparing network communications, as outlined in the SQL*Net documentation.

configuration files    Files that are used to identify and characterize the components of a network. Configuration is largely a process of naming network components and identifying relationships among those components.

connect   To identify yourself to Oracle by entering your username and password in order to gain access to the database. In SQL*Plus, the CONNECT command allows you to log off Oracle and then log back on with a specified username.

connect string   The set of parameters, including a protocol, that SQL*Net uses to connect to a specific Oracle instance on the network.

current line   In an editor, such as the SQL*Plus editor, the line in the current buffer that editing commands will currently affect.


D

database   A set of operating system files, treated as a unit, in which an Oracle Server stores a set of data dictionary tables and user tables. A database requires three types of files: database files, redo log files, and control files.

database administrator (DBA)   (1) A person responsible for the operation and maintenance of an Oracle Server or a database application. The database administrator monitors its use in order to customize it to meet the needs of the local community of users. (2) An Oracle username that has been given DBA privileges and can perform database administration functions. Usually the two meanings coincide. There may be more than one DBA per site.

database link    An object stored in the local database that identifies a remote database, a communication path to the remote database, and optionally, a username and password for it. Once defined, a database link can be used to perform queries on tables in the remote database. Also called DBlink. In SQL*Plus, you can reference a database link in a DESCRIBE or COPY command.

database object   Something created and stored in a database. Tables, views, synonyms, indexes, sequences, clusters, and columns are all examples of database objects.

database specification   An alphanumeric code that identifies a database, used to specify the database in SQL*Net operations and to define a database link. In SQL*Plus, you can reference a database specification in a COPY, CONNECT, or SQLPLUS command.

database string   A string of SQL*Net parameters used to indicate the network prefix, the host system you want to connect to, and the system ID of the database on the host system.

Data Control Language (DCL)   The category of SQL statements that control access to the data and to the database. Examples are the GRANT and REVOKE statements. Occasionally DCL statements are grouped with DML statements.

Data Definition Language (DDL)   The category of SQL statements that define or delete database objects such as tables or views. Examples are the CREATE, ALTER, and DROP statements.

data dictionary   A comprehensive set of tables and views automatically created and updated by the Oracle Server, which contains administrative information about users, data storage, and privileges. It is installed when Oracle is initially installed and is a central source of information for the Oracle Server itself and for all users of Oracle. The tables are automatically maintained by Oracle. It is sometimes referred to as the catalog.

Data Manipulation Language (DML)   The category of SQL statements that query and update the database data. Common DML statements are SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE. Occasionally DCL statements are grouped with DML statements.

data security   The mechanisms that control the access and use of the database at the object level. For example, data security includes access to a specific schema object and the specific types of actions allowed for each user on the object (e.g., user SCOTT can issue SELECT and INSERT statements but not DELETE statements using the EMP table). It also includes the actions, if any, that are audited for each schema object.

datatype   (1) A standard form of data. The Oracle datatypes are CHAR, VARCHAR2, DATE, NUMBER, LONG, RAW, and LONG RAW; however, the Oracle Server recognizes and converts other standard datatypes. (2) A named set of fixed attributes that can be associated with an item as a property. Data typing provides a way to define the behavior of data.

DATE datatype   A standard Oracle datatype used to store date and time data. Standard date format is DD-MMM-YY, as in 01-JAN-89. A DATE column may contain a date and time between January 1, 4712 BC to December 31, 4712 AD.

DBA   See Database Administrator.

DCL   See Data Control Language.

DDL   See Data Definition Language.

default   A clause or option value that SQL*Plus uses if you do not specify an alternative.

default database   See local database.

directory   On some operating systems, a named storage space for a group of files. It is actually one file that lists a set of files on a particular device.

display format   See format.

display width   The number of characters or spaces allowed to display the values for an output field.

DML   See Data Manipulation Language (DML).

DUAL table   A standard Oracle database table named DUAL, which contains exactly one row. The DUAL table is useful for applications that require a small "dummy" table (the data is irrelevant) to guarantee a known result, such as "true."


E

editor   A program that creates or modifies files.

end user   The person for whom a system is being developed; for example, an airline reservations clerk is an end user of an airline reservations system. See also SQL*Plus.

error message   A message from a computer program (e.g., SQL*Plus) informing you of a potential problem preventing program or command execution.

expression   A formula, such as SALARY + COMMISSION, used to calculate a new value from existing values. An expression can be made up of column names, functions, operators, and constants. Formulas are found in commands or SQL statements.

extension   On some operating systems, the second part of the full file specification. Several standard file extensions are used to indicate the type or purpose of the file, as in file extensions of SQL, LOG, LIS, EXE, BAT, and DIR. Called file type on some operating systems.


F

file   A collection of data treated as a unit, such as a list, document, index, note, set of procedures, etc. Generally used to refer to data stored on magnetic tapes or disks. See also filename, extension, and file type.

filename   The name component of a file specification. A filename is assigned by either the user or the system when the file itself is created. See also extension and file type.

file type   On some operating systems, the part of the filename that usually denotes the use or purpose of the file. See extension.

format   Columns contain information in one of four types; users can specify how they want a query to format information it retrieves from character, number, date, or long columns. For example, they can choose to have information of type date appear as 14/08/90, or Tuesday Fourteenth August 1990, or any other valid date format.

format model   A clause element that controls the appearance of a value in a report column. You specify predefined format models in the COLUMN, TTITLE, and BTITLE commands' FORMAT clauses. You can also use format models for DATE columns in SQL date conversion functions, such as TO_DATE.

form feed   A control character that, when executed, causes the printer to skip to the top of a new sheet of paper (top of form). When SQL*Plus displays a form feed on most terminals, the form feed clears the screen.

formula column   Manually-created column that gets its data from a PL/SQL procedure, function, or expression, user exit, SQL statement, or any combination of these.

function   A PL/SQL subprogram that executes an operation and returns a value at the completion of the operation. A function can be either built-in or user-named. Contrast with procedure.


H

heading   In SQL*Plus, text that names an output column, appearing above the column. See also column heading.

host computer   The computer from which you run SQL*Plus.


J

Julian date   An algorithm for expressing a date in integer form, using the SQL function JDATE. Julian dates allow additional arithmetic functions to be performed on dates.

justification   See alignment.


L

label  Defines the label to be printed for the computed value in the COMPUTE command. The maximum length of a COMPUTE label is 500 characters.

local database   The database that SQL*Plus connects to when you start SQL*Plus, ordinarily a database on your host computer. Also called a default database. See also remote database.

log in (or log on)   To perform a sequence of actions at a terminal that establishes a user's communication with the operating system and sets up default characteristics for the user's terminal session.

log off (or log out)   To terminate interactive communication with the operating system, and end a terminal session.

logon string   A user-specified command line, used to run an application that is connected to either a local or remote database. The logon string either explicitly includes a connect string or implicitly uses a default connect string.

LONG datatype   One of the standard Oracle datatypes. A LONG column can contain any printable characters such as A, 3, &, or a blank, and can have any length from 0 to 2 Gigabytes.


N

network    A group of two or more computers linked together through hardware and software to allow the sharing of data and/or peripherals.

null    A value that means, "a value is not applicable" or "the value is unknown". Nulls are not equal to any specific value, even to each other. Comparisons with nulls are always false.

NULL value   The absence of a value.

NUMBER datatype   A standard Oracle datatype. A NUMBER column can contain a number, with or without a decimal point and a sign, and can have from 1 to 105 decimal digits (only 38 digits are significant).


O

operating system   The system software that manages a computer's resources, performing basic tasks such as allocating memory and allowing computer components to communicate.

Oracle RDBMS   The relational database management system (RDBMS) developed by Oracle Corporation. Components of the RDBMS include the kernel and various utilities for use by database administrators and database users.

Oracle Server   The relational database management system (RDBMS) sold by Oracle Corporation. Components of Oracle Server include the kernel and various utilities for use by DBAs and database users.

output   Results of a report after it is run. Output can be displayed on a screen, stored in a file, or printed on paper.

output file   File to which the computer transfers data.


P

packages   A method of encapsulating and storing related procedures, functions, and other package constructs together as a unit in the database. While packages provide the database administrator or application developer organizational benefits, they also offer increased functionality and database performance.

page   A screen of displayed data or a sheet of printed data in a report.

parameter   A substitution variable consisting of an ampersand followed by a numeral (&1, &2, etc.). You use parameters in a command file and pass values into them through the arguments of the START command.

password   A secondary identification word (or string of alphanumeric characters) associated with a username. A password is used for data security and known only to its owner. Passwords are entered in conjunction with an operating system login ID, Oracle username, or account name in order to connect to an operating system or software application (such as the Oracle database). Whereas the username or ID is public, the secret password ensures that only the owner of the username can use that name, or access that data.

PL/SQL   The Oracle procedural language extension of SQL. PL/SQL combines the ease and flexibility of SQL with the procedural functionality of a structured programming language, such as IF ...THEN, WHILE, and LOOP. Even when PL/SQL is not stored in the database, applications can send blocks of PL/SQL to the database rather than individual SQL statements, thereby reducing network traffic.

procedure   A set of SQL and PL/SQL statements grouped together as an executable unit to perform a very specific task. Procedures and functions are nearly identical; the only difference between the two is that functions always return a single value to the caller, while procedures do not return a value to the caller.

prompt   (1) A message from a computer program that instructs you to enter data or take some other action. (2) Word(s) used by the system as a cue to assist a user's response. Such messages generally ask the user to respond by typing some information in the adjacent field. See also command line.


Q

query   A SQL SELECT statement that retrieves data, in any combination, expression, or order. Queries are read-only operations; they do not change any data, they only retrieve data. Queries are often considered to be DML statements.

query results   The data retrieved by a query.


R

RAW datatype   A standard Oracle datatype, a RAW data column may contain data in any form, including binary. You can use RAW columns for storing binary (non-character) data.

RDBMS (Relational Database Management System)   An Oracle Version 6 (and earlier) term. Refers to the software used to create and maintain the system, as well as the actual data stored in the database. See also Relational Database Management System, Server, Oracle Server and Oracle RDBMS.

record   A synonym for row; one row of data in a database table, having values for one or more columns.

Relational Database Management System (RDBMS)   An Oracle Version 6 (and earlier) term. A computer program designed to store and retrieve shared data. In a relational system, data is stored in tables consisting of one or more rows, each containing the same set of columns. Oracle is a relational database management system. Other types of database systems are called hierarchical or network database systems.

remark   In SQL*Plus, a comment you can insert into a command file with the REMARK command.

remote computer   A computer on a network other than the local computer.

remote database   A database other than your default database, which may reside on a remote computer; in particular, one that you reference in the CONNECT, COPY, and SQLPLUS commands.

report   (1) The results of a query. (2) Any output, but especially output that has been formatted for quick reading. In particular, output from SQL*Plus, SQL*Report, or SQL*ReportWriter.

reserved word   (1) A word that has a special meaning in a particular software or operating system. (2) In SQL, a set of words reserved for use in SQL statements; you cannot use a reserved word as the name of a database object.

roles   Named groups of related privileges that are granted to users or other roles.

rollback   To discard pending changes made to the data in the current transaction using the SQL ROLLBACK command. You can roll back a portion of a transaction by identifying a savepoint.

row   (1) Synonym for record; one row of data in a database table, having values for one or more columns. Also called tuple. (2) One set of field values in the output of a query. See also column.


S

security level   The combination of a hierarchical classification and a set of non-hierarchical compartments that represent the sensitivity of information.

select   To fetch rows from one or more database tables using a query (the SQL statement SELECT).

SELECT list   The list of items that follow the keyword SELECT in a query. These items may include column names, SQL functions, constants, pseudo-columns, calculations on columns, and aliases. The number of columns in the result of the query will match the number of items in the SELECT list.

SELECT statement   A SQL statement that specifies which rows and columns to fetch from one or more tables or views. See also SQL statement.

Server   Oracle software that handles the functions required for concurrent, shared data access to an Oracle database. The server portion receives and processes SQL and PL/SQL statements originating from client applications. The computer that manages the server portion must be optimized for its duties.

session   The time after a username connects to an Oracle database and before disconnecting, and the events that happen in that time.

SET command variable   See system variable.

spooling   Sending or saving output to a disk storage area. Often used in order to print or transfer files. The SQL*Plus SPOOL command controls spooling.

SQL (Structured Query Language)   The internationally accepted standard for relational systems, covering not only query but also data definition, manipulation, security and some aspects of referential integrity. See also Data Manipulation (DML) language, Data Definition (DDL) language, and Data Control (DCL) language.

SQL buffer   The default buffer containing your most recently entered SQL command or PL/SQL block. SQL*Plus commands are not stored in the SQL buffer.

SQL command   See SQL statement.

SQL script   A file containing SQL statements that you can run in SQL*Plus to perform database administration quickly and easily.

SQL statement   A complete command or statement written in the SQL language. Synonymous with statement (SQL).

SQL*Forms   A non-procedural tool for creating, maintaining, and running full-screen, interactive applications (called "forms") in order to see and change data in an Oracle database. A fourth-generation language for creating interactive screens for use in block-mode, character-mode or bit mapped environments. It has a define time and a runtime component.

SQL*Loader   An Oracle tool used to load data from operating system files into Oracle database tables.

SQL*Net   An Oracle product that works with Oracle Server and enables two or more computers that run the Oracle Server to exchange data through a third-party network. SQL*Net supports distributed processing and distributed database capability. SQL*Net is an "open system" because it is independent of the communications protocol, and users can interface SQL*Net to many network environments.

SQL*Plus   An interactive SQL-based language for data manipulation, data definition and the definition of access rights for an Oracle database. Often used as an end-user reporting tool.

statement (SQL)   A SQL statement, and analogous to a complete sentence, as opposed to a phrase. Portions of SQL statements or commands are called expressions, predicates, or clauses.  See also SQL statement.

string   Any sequence of words or characters on a line.

substitution variable   In SQL*Plus, a variable name or numeral preceded by one or two ampersands (&). Substitution variables are used in a command file to represent values to be provided when the command file is run.

subtotal   In a report, a total of values in a number column, taken over a group of rows that have the same value in a break field.  See also summary.

summary   Summaries, or summary columns, are used to compute subtotals, grand totals, running totals, and other summarizations of the data in a report.

summary line   A line in a report containing totals, averages, maximums, or other computed values. You create summary lines through the BREAK and COMPUTE commands.

syntax   The orderly system by which commands, qualifiers, and parameters are combined to form valid command strings.

system administrator   A person responsible for operation and maintenance of the operating system of a computer.

system editor   The text editor provided by the operating system.

SYSTEM username   One of two standard DBA usernames automatically created with each database (the other is SYS). The Oracle user SYSTEM is created with the password MANAGER. The SYSTEM username is the preferred username for DBAs to use when performing database maintenance.

system variable   A variable that indicates status or environment, which is given a default value by Oracle or SQL*Plus. Examples are LINESIZE and PAGESIZE. Use the SQL*Plus commands SHOW and SET to see and alter system variables.


T

table   The basic unit of storage in a relational database management system. A table represents entities and relationships, and consists of one or more units of information (rows), each of which contains the same kinds of values (columns). Each column is given a column name, a datatype (such as CHAR, VARCHAR2, DATE, or NUMBER), and a width (the width may be predetermined by the datatype, as in DATE). Once a table is created, valid rows of data can be inserted into it. Table information can then be queried, deleted, or updated. To enforce defined business rules on a table's data, integrity constraints and triggers can also be defined for a table.

table alias   A temporary substitute name for a table, defined in a query and only good during that query. If used, an alias is set in the FROM clause of a SELECT statement and may appear in the SELECT list. See also alias.

text editor   A program run under your host computer's operating system that you use to create and edit host system files and SQL*Plus command files containing SQL commands, SQL*Plus commands, and/or PL/SQL blocks.

timer   An internal storage area created by the TIMING command.

title   One or more lines that appears at the top or bottom of each report page. You establish and format titles through the TTITLE and BTITLE commands.

transaction   A logical unit of work that comprises one or more SQL statements executed by a single user. According to the ANSI/ISO SQL standard, with which Oracle is compatible, a transaction begins with the user's first executable SQL statement. A transaction ends when it is explicitly committed or rolled back by the user.

truncate   To discard or lose one or more characters from the beginning or end of a value, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

Trusted Oracle7   Oracle Corporation's multi-level secure database management system product. It is designed to provide the high level of secure data management capabilities required by organizations processing sensitive or classified information. Trusted Oracle7 is compatible with Oracle base products and applications, and supports all of the functionality of standard Oracle7. In addition, Trusted Oracle7 enforces mandatory access control, including data labeling, across a wide range of multi-level secure operating system environments.

type   A column contains information in one of four types: character, date, number or long. The operations users can perform on the contents of a column depend on the type of information it contains. See also format.


U

USERID   A command line argument that allows you to specify your Oracle username and password with an optional SQL*Net address.

username   The name by which a user is known to the Oracle server and to other users. Every username is associated with a private password, and both must be entered to connect to an Oracle database. See also account.

user variable   A variable defined and set by you explicitly with the DEFINE command or implicitly with an argument to the START command.


V

VARCHAR   An Oracle Corporation datatype. Specifically, this datatype functions identically to the Oracle7 VARCHAR2 datatype (see definition below). However, Oracle Corporation recommends that you use VARCHAR2 instead of VARCHAR because Oracle Corporation may change the functionality of VARCHAR in the future.

VARCHAR2   An Oracle Corporation datatype. Specifically, it is a variable-length, alpha-numeric string with a maximum length of 2000 characters. If data entered for a column of type VARCHAR2 is less than 2000 no spaces will be padded;  the data is stored with a length as entered. If data entered is more than 2000, an error occurs. (Note: This datatype is identical to the Oracle Version 6 CHAR datatype, except that its maximum length is 2000 instead of 255.)

variable   A named object that holds a single value. SQL*Plus uses bind substitution, system, and user variables.


W

width   The width of a column, parameter, or layout object. Width is measured in characters; a space is a character.

wrapping   A reporting or output feature in which a portion of text is moved to a new line when the entire text does not fit on one line.