Command-line parameters

Given these two SQL*Plus scripts, stored in files named as indicated:

• parent.sql prompt before &1 &2 &3 start child &1 &3 prompt after &1 &2 &3
• child.sql prompt child &1 &2

SQL*Plus behaves as follows:

    SQL> start parent Arg1 Arg2 Arg3
    before Arg1 Arg2 Arg3
    child Arg1 Arg3
    after Arg1 Arg3 Arg3

I expected that command-line parameters
would be local to the script where they
are invoked. But SQL*Plus seems to keep a single set of command-line parameters
that is shared by all scripts, dynamically, so that the parameters to one script can be modified by a child of that script.

I fixed my script by assigning the input parameters to bind variables immediately on entry to the script. But this is
hardly a general solution.

Is this a bug or a feature? How could
this behavior ever be useful?

Phil Received on Tue Mar 09 2004 - 08:21:49 CST