SQL*Plus User's Guide for Windows Platforms

Preface

Welcome to SQL*Plus User's Guide for Windows Platforms, Release 3.3. This guide incorporates information for three separate Oracle products -- SQL*Plus for Windows NT (Version 3.51 and 4.0), SQL*Plus for Windows 95, and SQL*Plus for Windows (Version 3.1) -- into one book. Its title is not intended to suggest a single SQL*Plus product that will run on all three platforms.

Audience

This guide is for all users who wish to install and use SQL*Plus, Oracle Corporation's SQL extension, in the Microsoft Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows 3.1 graphical environments.

Prerequisites

You should be familiar with your computer and its operating system. For example, you should know the commands for deleting and copying files and understand the concepts of the search path, subdirectories, and path names.

You should also understand the fundamentals of the Microsoft Windows platform that you are using, such as Program Manager and File Manager in Windows NT and Windows 3.1 or Taskbar and Windows Explorer in Windows 95, and the elements of an application window.

Structure

This manual contains the following sections:

Chapter 1: Introduction	Introduction to SQLPlus for Windows NT, SQLPlus for Windows 95, and SQL*Plus for Windows 3.1.
Chapter 2: Using SQLPlus*	Describes how to use SQL*Plus from the command line interface and from the graphical user interface.
Chapter 3: SQLPlus in the Windows NT/95 Environment*	Operating system-specific information for Windows NT/95 environments.
Chapter 4: SQLPlus in the Windows 3.1 Environment*	Operating system-specific information for Windows 3.1 environments.
Appendix A: Customizing Windows NT/95 Operating System Parameters	Describes parameters used by SQL*Plus in the Windows NT and Windows 95 environment and describes how to customize your Oracle configuration by changing parameter values.
Appendix B: Customizing Windows 3.1 Operating System Parameters	Describes parameters used by SQL*Plus in the Windows 3.1 environment and describes how to customize your Oracle configuration by changing parameter values.

Conventions Used in this Guide

The following conventions are used in this manual:

Convention	Meaning
Monospace text	Indicates text that must be typed exactly as shown. set echo off
All uppercase plain	Indicate command names, SQL reserved words and keywords as in ALTER DATABASE. All uppercase plain is also used for directory names and file names. ORANT\DATABASE\INITORCL.ORA
Italics	Indicate a value that you must provide. For example, if a command asks you to type filename, you must type the actual name of the file. Italics are also used for emphasis in the text and to indicate the titles of other manuals.
Horizontal ellipsis . .	Indicate that parts of the statement or command not directly related to the example have been omitted. CHKVAL fieldname value 1 value 2... valueN
Vertical bar \|	Represents an `or' option between several options. You must enter only one of the options. Do not enter the vertical bar. The set of alternative choices is enclosed by curly braces if one of the items is required, or by square brackets if the item is an optional alternative.
Curly braces {}	Enclose required items. You must choose one of the alternatives. ..DEFINE { macro1 \| macro2 }
Square brackets [ ]	Enclose optional items. You can choose one or none of the alternatives. cvtcrt termname [outfile] Square brackets also indicate a function key, for example [Enter].
C:\>	Represents the Windows NT/95/3.1 command prompt of the current hard disk drive. Your prompt may differ and may, at times, reflect the subdirectory in which you are working.
Backslash (\) before a directory name	Indicates that the directory is a subdirectory. For example, \DATABASE.
Symbols	Symbols other than brackets and vertical bars must be entered in commands exactly as shown.

Related Publications

This guide references the following Oracle documentation:

SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference
SQL*Plus Quick Reference
Oracle7 Server Messages
Oracle7 Server SQL Reference
PL/SQL User's Guide and Reference

These documents, this guide, and other reference materials are available in HTML format. To view these documents, you must install the Oracle Documentation. Oracle Information Navigator is automatically installed on your system when you install Oracle Documentation. To view documentation, start Oracle Information Navigator (by double-clicking the Oracle Documentation icon in your Oracle program group [Windows NT and Windows 3.1], or by choosing Oracle Documentation in the Oracle program group [on your Windows 95 taskbar]).

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