SQL*Plus Example

Exceeding Maximum Length Limit

Imagine you have a more complex SQL script file named long_script.sql with a large query:

long_script.sql File

SELECT * FROM employees WHERE salary > 50000 AND department_id IN
 (SELECT department_id FROM departments WHERE location_id = 'XYZ') 
AND
 hire_date < TO_DATE('2022-01-01', 'YYYY-MM-DD') 
AND ... (continued)

And you attempt to run the following SQL*Plus command:

sqlplus system/manager@orcl @long_script.sql

In this case, the total length of the SQL*Plus command, along with the connection details, and the lengthy SQL script, might exceed the maximum limit imposed by the operating system. If the length surpasses the limit, you could encounter an error similar to:

bash: /bin/sqlplus: Argument list too long

This error indicates that the total length of the command line argument has exceeded the maximum allowed, and the command cannot be executed.

To avoid this issue, it’s recommended to store complex and lengthy SQL commands or queries in separate script files and execute them using SQL*Plus.

SQL*Plus is a command-line tool for Oracle Database that allows users to interact with the database using SQL and PL/SQL commands.

Here, we will discuss the SQL*Plus commands, and understand how to use the SQL*Plus command-line argument.