Command Summary

The following sections contains a summary of EDB*Plus commands.

ACCEPT

The ACCEPT command displays a prompt and waits for the user’s keyboard input. The value input by the user is placed in the specified variable.

ACC[EPT ] variable

The following example creates a new variable named my_name, accepts a value of John Smith, then displays the value using the DEFINE command.

SQL> ACCEPT my_name
Enter value for my_name: John Smith
SQL> DEFINE my_name
DEFINE MY_NAME = "John Smith"

APPEND

APPEND is a line editor command that appends the given text to the end of the current line in the SQL buffer.

A[PPEND ] text

In the following example, a SELECT command is built-in the SQL buffer using the APPEND command. Note that two spaces are placed between the APPEND command and the WHERE clause in order to separate dept and WHERE by one space in the SQL buffer.

SQL> APPEND SELECT * FROM dept
SQL> LIST
1 SELECT * FROM dept
SQL> APPEND WHERE deptno = 10
SQL> LIST
1 SELECT * FROM dept WHERE deptno = 10

CHANGE

CHANGE is a line editor command performs a search-and-replace on the current line in the SQL buffer.

C[HANGE ] FROM [ TO ]

If TO/ is specified, the first occurrence of text FROM in the current line is changed to text TO. If TO/ is omitted, the first occurrence of text FROM in the current line is deleted.

The following sequence of commands makes line 3 the current line, then changes the department number in the WHERE clause from 20 to 30.

SQL> LIST
1 SELECT empno, ename, job, sal, comm
2 FROM emp
3 WHERE deptno = 20
4* ORDER BY empno
SQL> 3
3* WHERE deptno = 20
SQL> CHANGE /20/30/
3* WHERE deptno = 30
SQL> LIST
1 SELECT empno, ename, job, sal, comm
2 FROM emp
3 WHERE deptno = 30
4* ORDER BY empno

CLEAR

The CLEAR command removes the contents of the SQL buffer, deletes all column definitions set with the COLUMN command, or clears the screen.

CL[EAR ] [ BUFF[ER ] | SQL | COL[UMNS ] | SCR[EEN ] ]  BUFFER | SQL

Clears the SQL buffer.

COLUMNS

Removes column definitions.

SCREEN

Clears the screen. This is the default if no options are specified.

COLUMN

The COLUMN command controls output formatting. The formatting attributes set by using the COLUMN command remain in effect only for the duration of the current session.

COL[UMN ]
[ column
{ CLE[AR ] |
{ FOR[MAT ] spec |
HEA[DING ] text |
{ OFF | ON }
} [...]
}
]

If the COLUMN command is specified with no subsequent options, formatting options for current columns in effect for the session are displayed.

If the COLUMN command is followed by a column name, then the column name may be followed by one of the following:

1. No other options

2. CLEAR

3. Any combination of FORMAT, HEADING, and one of OFF or ON

column

Name of a column in a table to which subsequent column formatting options are to apply. If no other options follow column, then the current column formatting options if any, of column are displayed.

CLEAR

The CLEAR option reverts all formatting options back to their defaults for column. If the CLEAR option is specified, it must be the only option specified.

spec

Format specification to be applied to column. For character columns, spec takes the following format:

n

n is a positive integer that specifies the column width in characters within which to display the data. Data in excess of n will wrap around with the specified column width.

For numeric columns, spec is comprised of the following elements.

Table ‑ Numeric Column Format Elements

Element	Description
$	Display a leading dollar sign.
,	Display a comma in the indicated position.
.	Marks the location of the decimal point.
0	Display leading zeros.
9	Number of significant digits to display.

If loss of significant digits occurs due to overflow of the format, then all #’s are displayed.

text

Text to be used for the column heading of column.

OFF | ON

If OFF is specified, formatting options are reverted back to their defaults, but are still available within the session. If ON is specified, the formatting options specified by previous COLUMN commands for column within the session are re-activated.

The following example shows the effect of changing the display width of the job column.

SQL> SET PAGESIZE 9999
SQL> COLUMN job FORMAT A5
SQL> COLUMN job
COLUMN JOB ON
FORMAT A5
wrapped
SQL> SELECT empno, ename, job FROM emp;

EMPNO ENAME      JOB
----- ---------- -----

7369  SMITH      CLERK
799   ALLEN      SALES
                 MAN
7521  WARD       SALES
                 MAN
7566  JONES      MANAG
                 ER
7654  MARTIN     SALES
                 MAN
7698  BLAKE      MANAG
                 ER
7782  CLARK      MANAG
                 ER
7788  SCOTT      ANALY
                 ST
7839  KING       PRESI
                 DENT
7844  TURNER     SALES
                 MAN
7876  ADAMS      CLERK
7900  JAMES      CLERK
7902  FORD       ANALY
                 ST
7934  MILLER     CLERK

14 rows retrieved.

The following example applies a format to the sal column.

SQL> COLUMN sal FORMAT $99,999.00
SQL> COLUMN
COLUMN JOB ON
FORMAT A5
wrapped
COLUMN SAL ON
FORMAT $99,999.00
wrapped
SQL> SELECT empno, ename, job, sal FROM emp;

EMPNO ENAME      JOB   SAL
----- ---------- ----- -----------
7369  SMITH      CLERK $800.00
7499  ALLEN      SALES $1,600.00
                 MAN
7521  WARD       SALES $1,250.00
                 MAN
7566  JONES      MANAG $2,975.00
                 ER
7654  MARTIN     SALES $1,250.00
                 MAN
7698  BLAKE      MANAG $2,850.00
                 ER
7782  CLARK      MANAG $2,450.00
                 ER
7788  SCOTT      ANALY $3,000.00
                 ST
7839  KING       PRESI $5,000.00
                 DENT
7844  TURNER     SALES $1,500.00
                 MAN
7876  ADAMS      CLERK $1,100.00
7900  JAMES      CLERK $950.00
7902  FORD       ANALY $3,000.00
                 ST
7934  MILLER     CLERK $1,300.00

14 rows retrieved.

CONNECT

Change the database connection to a different user and/or connect to a different database. There must be no white space between any of the parameters following the CONNECT command.

CON[NECT] username [/password][@{ connectstring | variable }]

Where:

username is a database username with which to connect to the database.

password is the password associated with the specified username. If a password is not provided, but a password is required for authentication, a search is made for a password file, first in the home directory of the Linux operating system account invoking EDB*Plus (or in the %APPDATA%\postgresql\ directory for Windows) and then at the location specified by the PGPASSFILE environment variable. The password file is .pgpass on Linux hosts and pgpass.conf on Windows hosts. The following is an example on a Windows host:

C:\Users\Administrator\AppData\Roaming\postgresql\pgpass.conf

If a password file cannot be located, or it does not have an entry matching the EDB*Plus connection parameters, then EDB*Plus will prompt for the password. For more information about password files, see the PostgreSQL core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/libpq-pgpass.html

Note: When a password is not required, EDB*Plus does not prompt for a password such as when the trust authentication method is specified in the pg_hba.conf file. For more information about the pg_hba.conf file and authentication methods, see the PostgreSQL core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/static/auth-pg-hba-conf.html

connectstring is the database connection string. See Section 2.2 for further information on the database connection string.

variable is a variable defined in the login.sql file that contains a database connection string. The login.sql file can be found in the edbplus subdirectory of the Advanced Server home directory.

In the following example, the database connection is changed to database edb on the localhost at port 5445 with username smith.

SQL> CONNECT smith/mypassword@localhost:5445/edb
Disconnected from EnterpriseDB Database.
Connected to EnterpriseDB 13.0.1 (localhost:5445/edb) AS smith

From within the session shown above, the connection is changed to username enterprisedb. Also note that the host defaults to the localhost, the port defaults to 5444 (which is not the same as the port previously used), and the database defaults to edb.

SQL> CONNECT enterprisedb/password
Disconnected from EnterpriseDB Database.
Connected to EnterpriseDB 13.0.1 (localhost:5444/edb) AS enterprisedb

DEFINE

The DEFINE command creates or replaces the value of a user variable (also called a substitution variable).

DEF[INE ] [ <variable> [ = <text> ] ]

If the DEFINE command is given without any parameters, all current variables and their values are displayed.

If DEFINE variable is given, only variable is displayed with its value.

DEFINE variable = text assigns text to variable. text may be optionally enclosed within single or double quotation marks. Quotation marks must be used if text contains space characters.

The following example defines two variables, dept and name.

SQL> DEFINE dept = 20
SQL> DEFINE name = 'John Smith'
SQL> DEFINE
DEFINE EDB = "localhost:5445/edb"
DEFINE DEPT = "20"
DEFINE NAME = "John Smith"

Note: The variable EDB is read from the login.sql file located in the edbplus subdirectory of the Advanced Server home directory.

DEL

DEL is a line editor command that deletes one or more lines from the SQL buffer.

DEL [ n | n m | n * | n L[AST ] | n | L[AST ] | L[AST ] ]

The parameters specify which lines are to be deleted from the SQL buffer. Two parameters specify the start and end of a range of lines to be deleted. If the DEL command is given with no parameters, the current line is deleted.

n

n is an integer representing the nth line

n m

n and m are integers where m is greater than n representing the nth through the mth lines

• Current line

LAST

Last line

In the following example, the fifth and sixth lines containing columns sal and comm, respectively, are deleted from the SELECT command in the SQL buffer.

SQL> LIST
1 SELECT
2 empno
3 ,ename
4 ,job
5 ,sal
6 ,comm
7 ,deptno
8* FROM emp
SQL> DEL 5 6
SQL> LIST
1 SELECT
2 empno
3 ,ename
4 ,job
5 ,deptno
6\* FROM emp

DESCRIBE

The DESCRIBE command displays:

• A list of columns, column data types, and column lengths for a table or view

• A list of parameters for a procedure or function

• A list of procedures and functions and their respective parameters for a package.

The DESCRIBE command will also display the structure of the database object referred to by a synonym. The syntax is:

DESC[RIBE] [ <schema>.] <object>

schema

Name of the schema containing the object to be described.

object

Name of the table, view, procedure, function, or package to be displayed, or the synonym of an object.

DISCONNECT

The DISCONNECT command closes the current database connection, but does not terminate EDB*Plus.

DISC[ONNECT ]

EDIT

The EDIT command invokes an external editor to edit the contents of an operating system file or the SQL buffer.

ED[IT ] [ <filename> [.<ext> ] ]

<filename> [.<ext> ]

filename is the name of the file to open with an external editor. ext is the filename extension. If the filename extension is sql, then the .sql extension may be omitted when specifying filename. EDIT always assumes a .sql extension on filenames that are specified with no extension. If the filename parameter is omitted from the EDIT command, the contents of the SQL buffer are brought into the editor.

EXECUTE

The EXECUTE command executes an SPL procedure from EDB*Plus.

EXEC[UTE ] <spl_procedure> [ ([ <parameters> ]) ]

spl_procedure

The name of the SPL procedure to be executed.

parameters

Comma-delimited list of parameters. If there are no parameters, then a pair of empty parentheses may optionally be specified.

EXIT

The EXIT command terminates the EDB*Plus session and returns control to the operating system. QUIT is a synonym for EXIT. Specifying no parameters is equivalent to EXIT SUCCESS COMMIT.

{ EXIT | QUIT }
[ SUCCESS | FAILURE | WARNING | <value> | <variable> ]
[ COMMIT | ROLLBACK ]SUCCESS | FAILURE |WARNING]

Returns an operating system dependent return code indicating successful operation, failure, or warning for SUCCESS, FAILURE, and WARNING, respectively. The default is SUCCESS.

value

An integer value that is returned as the return code.

variable

A variable created with the DEFINE command whose value is returned as the return code.

COMMIT | ROLLBACK

If COMMIT is specified, uncommitted updates are committed upon exit. If ROLLBACK is specified, uncommitted updates are rolled back upon exit. The default is COMMIT.

GET

The GET command loads the contents of the given file to the SQL buffer.

GET filename[.<ext> ] [ LIS[T ] | NOL[IST ] ]

filename [.<ext> ]

filename is the name of the file to load into the SQL buffer. ext is the filename extension. If the filename extension is sql, then the .sql extension may be omitted when specifying filename. GET always assumes a .sql extension on filenames that are specified with no extension.

LIST | NOLIST

If LIST is specified, the content of the SQL buffer is displayed after the file is loaded. If NOLIST is specified, no listing is displayed. The default is LIST.

HELP

The HELP command obtains an index of topics or help on a specific topic. The question mark (?) is synonymous with specifying HELP.

{ HELP | ? } { INDEX | <topic> }

INDEX

Displays an index of available topics.

topic

The name of a specific topic – e.g., an EDB*Plus command, for which help is desired.

HOST

The HOST command executes an operating system command from EDB*Plus.

HO[ST ] [<os_command>]

os_command

The operating system command to be executed. If you do not provide an operating system command, EDB*Plus pauses execution and opens a new shell prompt. When the shell exits, EDB*Plus resumes execution.

INPUT

The INPUT line editor command adds a line of text to the SQL buffer after the current line.

I[NPUT ] <text>

The following sequence of INPUT commands constructs a SELECT command.

SQL> INPUT SELECT empno, ename, job, sal, comm
SQL> INPUT FROM emp
SQL> INPUT WHERE deptno = 20
SQL> INPUT ORDER BY empno
SQL> LIST
1 SELECT empno, ename, job, sal, comm
2 FROM emp
3 WHERE deptno = 20
4* ORDER BY empno

LIST

LIST is a line editor command that displays the contents of the SQL buffer.

L[IST] [ n | n m | n * | n L[AST] | * | * n | * L[AST] | L[AST] ]

The buffer does not include a history of the EDB*Plus commands.

n

n represents the buffer line number.

n m

n m displays a list of lines between n and m.

n *

n * displays a list of lines that range between line n and the current line.

n L[AST]

n L[AST] displays a list of lines that range from line n through the last line in the buffer.

*

* displays the current line.

* n

* n displays a list of lines that range from the current line through line n.

* L[AST]

* L[AST] displays a list of lines that range from the current line through the last line.

L[AST]

L[AST] displays the last line.

PASSWORD

Use the PASSWORD command to change your database password.

PASSW[ORD] [<user_name>]

You must have sufficient privileges to use the PASSWORD command to change another user’s password. The following example demonstrates using the PASSWORD command to change the password for a user named acctg:

SQL> PASSWORD acctg
Changing password for acctg
New password:
New password again:
Password successfully changed.

PAUSE

The PAUSE command displays a message, and waits for the user to press ENTER.

PAU[SE] [<optional_text>]

optional_text specifies the text that will be displayed to the user. If the optional_text is omitted, Advanced Server will display two blank lines. If you double quote the optional_text string, the quotes will be included in the output.

PROMPT

The PROMPT command displays a message to the user before continuing.

PRO[MPT] [<message_text>]

message_text specifies the text displayed to the user. Double quote the string to include quotes in the output.

QUIT

The QUIT command terminates the session and returns control to the operating system. QUIT is a synonym for EXIT.

QUIT
[SUCCESS | FAILURE | WARNING | value> | <sub_variable>]
[COMMIT | ROLLBACK]``

The default value is QUIT SUCCESS COMMIT.

REMARK

Use REMARK to include comments in a script.

REM[ARK] [<optional_text>]

You may also use the following convention to include a comment:

*
* This is an example of a three line comment.
*

SAVE

Use the SAVE command to write the SQL Buffer to an operating system file.

SAV[E] <file_name> [CRE[ATE] | REP[LACE] | APP[END]]

file_name

file_name specifies the name of the file (including the path) where the buffer contents are written. If you do not provide a file extension, .sql is appended to the end of the file name.

CREATE

Include the CREATE keyword to create a new file. A new file is created only if a file with the specified name does not already exist. This is the default.

REPLACE

Include the REPLACE keyword to specify that Advanced Server should overwrite an existing file.

APPEND

Include the APPEND keyword to specify that Advanced Server should append the contents of the SQL buffer to the end of the specified file.

The following example saves the contents of the SQL buffer to a file named`` example.sql``, located in the temp directory:

SQL> SAVE C:example.sql CREATE File “example.sql” written.

SET

Use the SET command to specify a value for a session level variable that controls EDB*Plus behavior. The following forms of the SET command are valid:

SET AUTOCOMMIT

Use the SET AUTOCOMMIT command to specify commit behavior for Advanced Server transactions.

SET AUTO[COMMIT] {ON | OFF | IMMEDIATE | <statement_count>}

Please note that EDB*Plus always automatically commits DDL statements.

ON

Specify ON to turn autocommit behavior on.

OFF

Specify OFF to turn autocommit behavior off.

IMMEDIATE

IMMEDIATE has the same effect as ON.

statement_count

Include a value for statement_count to instruct EDB*Plus to issue a commit after the specified count of successful SQL statements.

SET COLUMN SEPARATOR

Use the SET COLUMN SEPARATOR command to specify the text that Advanced Server displays between columns.

SET COLSEP <column_separator>

The default value of column_separator is a single space.

SET ECHO

Use the SET ECHO command to specify if SQL and EDB*Plus script statements should be displayed onscreen as they are executed.

SET ECHO {ON | OFF}

The default value is OFF.

SET FEEDBACK

The SET FEEDBACK command controls the display of interactive information after a SQL statement executes.

SET FEED[BACK] {ON | OFF | row_threshold}

row_threshold

Specify an integer value for row_threshold. Setting row_threshold to 0 is same as setting FEEDBACK to OFF. Setting row_threshold equal 1 effectively sets FEEDBACK to ON.

SET FLUSH

Use the SET FLUSH command to control display buffering.

SET FLU[SH] {ON | OFF}

Set FLUSH to OFF to enable display buffering. If you enable buffering, messages bound for the screen may not appear until the script completes. Please note that setting FLUSH to OFF will offer better performance.

Set FLUSH to ON to disable display buffering. If you disable buffering, messages bound for the screen appear immediately.

SET HEADING

Use the SET HEADING variable to specify if Advanced Server should display column headings for SELECT statements.

SET HEA[DING] {ON | OFF}

SET HEAD SEPARATOR

The SET HEADSEP command sets the new heading separator character used by the COLUMN HEADING command. The default is ‘|’.

SET HEADS[EP]

SET LINESIZE

Use the SET LINESIZE command to specify the width of a line in characters.

SET LIN[ESIZE] <width_of_line>

width_of_line

The default value of width_of_line is 132.

SET NEWPAGE

Use the SET NEWPAGE command to specify how many blank lines are printed after a page break.

SET NEWP[AGE] <lines_per_page>

lines_per_page

The default value of lines_per_page is 1.

SET NULL

Use the SET NULL command to specify a string that is displayed to the user when a NULL column value is displayed in the output buffer.

SET NULL <null_string>

SET PAGESIZE

Use the SET PAGESIZE command to specify the number of printed lines that fit on a page.

SET PAGES[IZE] <line_count>

Use the line_count parameter to specify the number of lines per page.

SET SQLCASE

The SET SQLCASE command specifies if SQL statements transmitted to the server should be converted to upper or lower case.

SET SQLC[ASE] {MIX[ED] | UP[PER] | LO[WER]}

UPPER

Specify UPPER to convert the command text to uppercase.

LOWER

Specify LOWER to convert the command text to lowercase.

MIXED

Specify MIXED to leave the case of SQL commands unchanged. The default is MIXED.

SET PAUSE

The SET PAUSE command is most useful when included in a script; the command displays a prompt and waits for the user to press Return.

SET PAU[SE] {ON | OFF}

If SET PAUSE is ON, the message Hit ENTER to continue… will be displayed before each command is executed.

SET SPACE

Use the SET SPACE command to specify the number of spaces to display between columns:

SET SPACE <number_of_spaces>

SET SQLPROMPT

Use SET SQLPROMPT to set a value for a user-interactive prompt:

SET SQLP[ROMPT] "<prompt>"

By default, SQLPROMPT is set to “SQL> “

SET TERMOUT

Use the SET TERMOUT command to specify if command output should be displayed onscreen.

SET TERM[OUT] {ON | OFF}

SET TIMING

The SET TIMING command specifies if Advanced Server should display the execution time for each SQL statement after it is executed.

SET TIMI[NG] {ON | OFF}

SET TRIMSPOOL

Use the SET TRIMSPOOL command to remove trailing spaces from each line in the output file specified by the SPOOL command.

SET TRIMS[POOL] {ON | OFF}

The default value is OFF.

SET VERIFY

Specifies if both the old and new values of a SQL statement are displayed when a substitution variable is encountered.

SET VER[IFY] { ON | OFF }

SHOW

Use the SHOW command to display current parameter values.

SHO[W] {ALL | ``parameter_name}``

Display the current parameter settings by including the ALL keyword:

SQL> SHOW ALL
autocommit OFF
colsep " "
define "&"
echo OFF
FEEDBACK ON for 6 row(s).
flush ON
heading ON
headsep "|"
linesize 78
newpage 1
null " "
pagesize 14
pause OFF
serveroutput OFF
spool OFF
sqlcase MIXED
sqlprompt "SQL> "
sqlterminator ";"
suffix ".sql"
termout ON
timing OFF
verify ON
USER is "enterprisedb"
HOST is "localhost"
PORT is "5444"
DATABASE is "edb"
VERSION is "13.0.0"

Or display a specific parameter setting by including the parameter_name in the SHOW command:

SQL> SHOW VERSION
VERSION is "13.0.0"

SPOOL

The SPOOL command sends output from the display to a file.

SP[OOL] <output_file> | OFF

Use the output_file parameter to specify a path name for the output file.

START

Use the START command to run an EDB*Plus script file; START is an alias for @ command.

STA[RT] <script_file>

Specify the name of a script file in the script_file parameter.

UNDEFINE

The UNDEFINE command erases a user variable created by the DEFINE command.

UNDEF[INE] <variable_name> [ <variable_name>...]

Use the variable_name parameter to specify the name of a variable or variables.

WHENEVER SQLERROR

The WHENEVER SQLERROR command provides error handling for SQL errors or PL/SQL block errors. The syntax is:

WHENEVER SQLERROR
{CONTINUE[COMMIT|ROLLBACK|NONE]
|EXIT[SUCCESS|FAILURE|WARNING|<n>|<sub_variable>]
[COMMIT|ROLLBACK]}

If Advanced Server encounters an error during the execution of a SQL command or PL/SQL block, EDB*Plus performs the action specified in the WHENEVER SQLERROR command:

Include the CONTINUE clause to instruct EDB*Plus to perform the specified action before continuing.

Include the COMMIT clause to instruct EDB*Plus to COMMIT the current transaction before exiting or continuing.

Include the ROLLBACK clause to instruct EDB*Plus to ROLLBACK the current transaction before exiting or continuing.

Include the NONE clause to instruct EDB*Plus to continue without committing or rolling back the transaction.

Include the EXIT clause to instruct EDB*Plus to perform the specified action and exit if it encounters an error.

Use the following options to specify a status code that EDB*Plus will return before exiting:

[SUCCESS|FAILURE|WARNING|<n>|<sub_variable>]

Please note that EDB*Plus supports substitution variables, but does not support bind variables.