Entering and Executing SQL Statements and Commands

To enter and execute SQL statements or commands, enter the statement or command at the SQL prompt. At the end of a SQL statement, put a semi-colon (;) and then press the Enter key to execute the statement. For example:

SQL> SELECT * FROM employees;

If the statement does not fit on one line, enter the first line and press the Enter key. Continue entering lines, and terminate the last line with a semi-colon (;). For example:

SQL> SELECT employee_id, first_name, last_name
2 FROM employees
3 WHERE employee_id >= 105 AND employee_id <= 110;

The output from the previous SELECT statement is similar to:

EMPLOYEE_ID FIRST_NAME           LAST_NAME
----------- -------------------- -----------------------
        105 David                Austin
        106 Valli                Pataballa
        107 Diana                Lorentz
        108 Nancy                Greenberg
        109 Daniel               Faviet
        110 John                 Chen
6 rows selected.

Note that a terminating semi-colon (;) is optional with SQL Command Line commands, such as DESCRIBE o r SET, but required with SQL statements.