Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide

START

The START command functions the same way as the @ command, and is used to execute a SQL*Plus script file:

STA[RT] script_file [argument...]

where:

STA[RT]

Is the command, which may be abbreviated to STA.

script_file

Is the name of the file you want to execute, and may include the path and the extension. The default extension is SQL. If you do not specify a path, SQL*Plus will look for the file first in the current working directory, then search each directory listed in the SQLPATH environment variable. See Chapter 11 for information about customizing the search path.

argument

Is an argument you wish to pass to the script. You may pass as many arguments as you like. Arguments must be separated from each other by at least one space. Arguments may be enclosed in quotes, and should be if they contain spaces. Either single or double quotes may be used, at your discretion. Your script may reference the first argument as &1, the second as &2, and so forth.