Starting SQL*Plus and Getting Help, 2 of 3

Starting SQL*Plus Using the SQLPLUS Command

You use the SQLPLUS command at the operating system prompt to start SQL*Plus:

SQLPLUS [ [option] [logon] [start] ]

where:

option

has the following syntax:
- | -? | [ [-M[ARKUP] "mark_options"] [-R[ESTRICT] {1|2|3}] [-S[ILENT]] ]

mark_options has the following syntax:
HTML [ON|OFF] [HEAD text] [BODY text] [ENTMAP {ON|OFF}] [SPOOL {ON|OFF}] [PRE[FORMAT] {ON|OFF}]

logon

has the following syntax:
username[/password][@net_service_name] | / | /NOLOG

start

has the following syntax:
@file_name[.ext] [arg ...]

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:

-
-?
-M[ARKUP]
HTML [ON|OFF]
HEADtext
BODYtext
ENTMAP {ON|OFF}
SPOOL {ON|OFF}
PRE[FORMAT] {ON|OFF}
-R[ESTRICT] {1|2|3}
-S[ILENT]
username[/password]
net_service_name
/
/NOLOG
@file_name[.ext] [arg ...]

Command	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
EDIT	disabled	disabled	disabled
GET			disabled
HOST, !	disabled	disabled	disabled
SAVE		disabled	disabled
SPOOL		disabled	disabled
START, @, @@			disabled
STORE		disabled	disabled

The SQLPLUS command may be known by a different name under some operating systems, for example, PLUS81. See your SQL*Plus installation documentation for further information on your operating system.

Setting Up the Site Profile

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.

Setting Up the User Profile

SQL*Plus also supports a User Profile, executed after the Site Profile. SQL*Plus searches for a file named 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.

Receiving a Return Code

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.

Example 7-1 Starting SQLPlus*

To start SQL*Plus with username SCOTT and password TIGER, enter

SQL> SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER

To start SQL*Plus, as above, and to make POLICY the default database (where POLICY is a valid Net8 database connection string), enter

SQL> SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER@POLICY

To start SQL*Plus with username SCOTT and password TIGER and run a command file named STARTUP with the extension SQL, enter

SQL> SQLPLUS SCOTT/TIGER @STARTUP

Note the space between TIGER and @STARTUP.

To start SQL*Plus with HTML ON, so that output can be viewed on a web browser, enter

SQL> SQLPLUS -M "HTML ON" SCOTT/TIGER

To start SQL*Plus with no access to the EDIT and HOST commands during the session, enter

SQL> SQLPLUS -R 1 SCOTT/TIGER

Example 7-2 Displaying the SQLPLUS syntax

To display the syntax of the SQLPLUS command, enter

SQL> SQLPLUS -

SQL*Plus displays the following

Usage: SQLPLUS [ [<option>] [<logon>] [<start>] ]
where <option> ::= - | -? | [ [-M <o>] [-R <n>] [-S] ]
      <logon>  ::= <username>[/<password>][@<connect_string>] | / |/NOLOG
      <start>  ::= @<filename>[.<ext>] [<parameter> ...]
        - displays the usage syntax
        -? displays the SQL*Plus version banner
        -M <o> uses HTML markup options <o>
        -R <n> uses restricted mode <n>
        -S uses silent mode

option	has the following syntax: - \| -? \| [ [-M[ARKUP] "mark_options"] [-R[ESTRICT] {1\|2\|3}] [-S[ILENT]] ]
	mark_options has the following syntax: HTML [ON\|OFF] [HEAD text] [BODY text] [ENTMAP {ON\|OFF}] [SPOOL {ON\|OFF}] [PRE[FORMAT] {ON\|OFF}]
logon	has the following syntax: username[/password][@net_service_name] \| / \| /NOLOG
start	has the following syntax: @file_name[.ext] [arg ...]