Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide

ACCEPT

The ACCEPT command is used to get input from a user. It causes SQL*Plus to display a prompt and wait for the user to type something in response. You can read about ACCEPT in Chapter 4 and in Chapter 7.

ACC[EPT] user_variable [NUM[BER]|CHAR|DATE] 
       [FOR[MAT] format_specification] 
       [DEF[AULT] default_value] 
       [PROMPT prompt_text|NOPR[OMPT]] 
       [HIDE]

where:

ACC[EPT]

Tells SQL*Plus you want to prompt the user for a value and that you want the value stored in the specified user variable. The command may be abbreviated to ACC.

user_variable

Is the variable you want to define. Do not include leading ampersands. If your script uses “&table_name” for a substitution variable, you should use “table_name” here.

NUM[BER]|CHAR|DATE

Is the type of data you are after. The default is CHAR, which allows the user to type in anything as a response. Use NUMBER to force the user to enter a number, and DATE when you want a date.

FOR[MAT] format_specification

Is a format specification, which may optionally be enclosed in quotes. ACCEPT will reject any input that does not conform to the specification. An error message will be displayed and the prompt reissued. Specifying a format makes the most sense when dealing with numeric and date data, and SQL*Plus is actually somewhat loose in enforcing the format. Chapter 7 delves into this aspect of the ACCEPT command in detail. Format elements are described in Appendix B.

DEF[AULT] default_value

Specifies a default value to assign to the variable. This is used if the user ...