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Introducing SQL*Plus

This chapter provides introductory information to help you get started with SQL*Plus for Windows NT and Windows 95/98.

Specific topics discussed are:

• Overview
• Basic Concepts
• Who Can Use SQL*Plus?
• Installing SQL*Plus

Overview

You can use the SQL*Plus program in conjunction with the SQL database language and its procedural language extension, PL/SQL. The SQL database language allows you to store and retrieve data in Oracle databases. 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

SQL*Plus for Windows NT and Windows 95/98 provides both a command line interface and a graphical user interface (GUI).

Basic Concepts

The following definitions explain concepts central to SQL*Plus:

Concept	Definition
command	An instruction you give SQL*Plus or Oracle.
SQL command	A command to execute SQL statements.
SQL*Plus command	A command to execute SQL*Plus statements.
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.
SQL buffer	A buffer to store the last SQL statement that has been executed in SQL*Plus.
screen buffer	A buffer to store the data in the SQL*Plus application window.

 

For definitions of other concepts that are relevant to SQL*Plus, see the glossary in SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference.

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*Plus command 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

Installing SQL*Plus

The CD-ROM insert that accompanies your product CD-ROM contains the following information:

• System requirements for SQL*Plus
• Instructions on how to install SQL*Plus

Installation of SQL*Plus version 8.0 does not overwrite previous versions of SQL*Plus that are installed. Therefore, more than one version of SQL*Plus can exist on the same computer. However, you may want to remove any previous versions.

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