sql*plus and using & character to prompt for input; can I escape it?
Date: 1996/06/19
Message-ID: <x6afxzv65g.fsf_at_jello.csc.ti.com>#1/1
We have an SQL statement that looks something like this:
INSERT INTO TMS VALUES ('Crafts & Co.');
When I run this through sqlplus (V 7.2.2.3.0 if it makes any
difference) it says:
Enter value for co:
and waits for input. Now, I understand that this is a feature that
allows a script to prompt the user for the value of a variable. My
question is: how do I prevent this from happening? What is the
correct way to escape the special meaning of the & character here?
Why are the single quotes not enough?
I'm told that the SQL client on NT doesn't behave the same way
(meaning that the & in this context doesn't prompt the user for
anything) but haven't verified this myself.
Thanks for any explanation you can provide.
Joe