Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Note:
This is not a precise interpretation of Backus-Naur Form, where
curly braces usually represent zero or more. In this topic, curly braces repre-
sent one or more iterations, never zero.
It's time to look at some of the tools you can use for executing SQL
commands.
1.6
SQL Tools
Oracle has provided a user-friendly interactive tool for running SQL since
its first release. The SQL*Plus tool today has four variations from which to
choose:
SQL*Plus Command Line
. Use this when you don't have a Win-
dows interface, such as when using telnet to reach a remote UNIX
database server.
SQL*Plus Windows
. Use this in a Windows-capable environment
(can be invoked using a network name from a client or directly on
the database server, regardless of the operating system).
SQL*Plus Worksheet
. This comes as part of Oracle Enterprise Man-
ager, a Windows-like user interface created to support the database
administrator and simplify many tasks.
iSQL*Plus
. This gives you the same interface as SQL*Plus Windows,
except it runs in a Web browser. Use this to run SQL commands and
automatically generate a report in HTML format.
The next sections show you how to start up all four of these tools and
try them out with some SQL commands. Any of the SQL tools can be
used.
1.6.1
SQL*Plus in Command-Line Mode
This is the most basic SQL interface you can use. It requires only a com-
mand line to run, which makes it useful for very quick access via a remote
dial-up connection or perhaps when a database is shut down.
