This book is divided into eleven chapters and two appendixes. The chapters are task-oriented and show you how you can use SQL*Plus to perform common tasks such as printing a report, or extracting data to a file. The appendixes contain reference material, such as a list of all SQL*Plus commands.
Chapter 1, goes into more detail about what SQL*Plus really is and why you should master it. It gives you a taste of the many different tasks SQL*Plus can be used for. A short history of SQL*Plus is included, as well as a description of the database used for many of the examples in this book, particularly the reporting examples.
Chapter 2, shows you how to start SQL*Plus, enter, execute, and edit commands. This is basic information you need to know.
Chapter 3, explains the reporting features of SQL*Plus, and also presents a step-by-step method for creating a report that has worked very well for me.
Chapter 4, explains the basic scripting capabilities of SQL*Plus. Primarily, this chapter shows how SQL*Plus substitution variables work, and how you can use them to your advantage. In addition, it covers the subject of getting input from a user, and shows you how to control the output the user sees as the script is executed.
Chapter 5, shows how you can use SQL*Plus to extract data from an Oracle database and place it into a text file suitable for loading into another program such as a spreadsheet. This text file may be delimited, by commas, for example, or it may consist of fixed-width columns. The chapter ends with an example showing how SQL*Loader may be used to load that same data into another Oracle database.
Chapter 6, shows how you can query Oracle’s data dictionary tables in order to see the structure of commonly-used database objects, such as tables and indexes.
Chapter 7, builds on Chapter 4, but covers some advanced, and sometimes unusual, scripting techniques. This chapter introduces bind variables, and explains how they are different from user variables. This chapter also shows some creative techniques you can use to add some limited branching, and even some looping, to your SQL*Plus scripts.
Chapter 8, presents the SQL*Plus features that support the tuning of SQL statements. Also covered in this chapter is Oracle’s EXPLAIN PLAN command, which lets you get a look at the execution strategy that the Oracle optimizer will use for any given SQL statement.
Chapter 9, introduces a security feature that a database administrator can use to limit what a user can do with SQL*Plus. The product user profile allows you to turn off specific SQL and SQL*Plus commands for one user or a group of users. It can also be used to limit a user’s access to certain roles while connected via SQL*Plus.
Chapter 10, covers the new administrative commands that have been added to SQL*Plus beginning with version 8.1 (available with Oracle8i). These commands are the same ones that the Server Manager product implements. They have been added to SQL*Plus in preparation for Server Manager’s demise.
Chapter 11, shows a number of ways in which you may customize your SQL*Plus environment. The site and user profiles are explained, as well as several registry settings that affect users on Windows 95, 98, and NT.
Appendix A, contains syntax diagrams for all SQL*Plus commands.
Appendix B, describes the various format elements that may be used to build up format strings to be used with commands, such as COLUMN and ACCEPT, that format output or accept user input.