SQL Plus Commands

[Kashif Manzoor]

SQL*Plus commands allow a user to manipulate and submit SQL statements. Specifically, they enable a user to:

Enter, edit, store, retrieve, and run SQL statements
List the column definitions for any table
Format, perform calculations on, store, and print query results in the form of reports
Access and copy data between SQL databases
The following is a list of SQL*Plus commands and their functions. The most commonly used commands are emphasized in italics:

/ - Execute the current SQL statement in the buffer - same as RUN ACCEPT - Accept a value from the user and place it into a variable
APPEND - Add text to the end of the current line of the SQL statement in the buffer
AUTOTRACE - Trace the execution plan of the SQL statement and gather statistics
BREAK - Set the formatting behavior for the output of SQL statements
BTITLE - Place a title on the bottom of each page in the printout from a SQL statement
CHANGE - Replace text on the current line of the SQL statement with new text
CLEAR - Clear the buffer
COLUMN - Change the appearance of an output column from a query
COMPUTE - Does calculations on rows returned from a SQL statement
CONNECT - Connect to another Oracle database or to the same Oracle database under a different user name
COPY - Copy data from one table to another in the same or different databases
DEL - Delete the current line in the buffer
DESCRIBE - List the columns with datatypes of a table
EDIT - Edit the current SQL statement in the buffer using an external editor such as vi or emacs
EXIT - Exit the SQL*Plus program
GET - Load a SQL statement into the buffer but do not execute it
HELP - Obtain help for a SQL*Plus command (In some installations)
HOST - Drop to the operating system shell
INPUT - Add one or more lines to the SQL statement in the buffer
LIST - List the current SQL statement in the buffer
QUIT - Exit the SQL*Plus program
REMARK - Place a comment following the REMARK keyword
RUN - Execute the current SQL statement in the buffer
SAVE - Save the current SQL statement to a script file
SET - Set a variable to a new value
SHOW - Show the current value of a variable
SPOOL - Send the output from a SQL statement to a file
START - Load a SQL statement located in a script file and then run that SQL statement
TIMING - Used to time the execution of SQL statements for performance analysis
TTITLE - Place a title on the top of each page in the printout from a SQL statement
UNDEFINE - Delete a user defined variable