The osql utility allows you to enter Transact-SQL statements, system procedures, and script files. This utility uses ODBC to communicate with the server.
osql -U
login_id [-e] [-E] [-p] [-n] [-d
db_name] [-Q "query"]
[-q "query"]
[-c cmd_end] [-h headers] [-w column_width]
[-s col_separator]
[-t time_out] [-m error_level] [-I]
[-L] [-?] [-r {0 | 1}]
[-H wksta_name] [-P password] [-R]
[-S server_name] [-i input_file] [-o
output_file] [-u] [-a packet_size]
[-b] [-O] [-l time_out]
SET table = sysobjects
osql /q "Select * from %table%"
Use double quotation marks around the query and single quotation marks around anything embedded in the query.
The OSQLPASSWORD environment variable allows you to set a default password for the current session. Therefore, you do not have to hard code a password into batch files.
If you do not specify a password with the -P option, osql first checks for the OSQLPASSWORD variable. If no value is set, osql uses the default password, NULL. The following example sets the OSQLPASSWORD variable at a command prompt and then accesses the osql utility:
C:\>SET
OSQLPASSWORD=abracadabra
C:\>osql
If input_file is not Unicode and -u is not specified, output_file is stored in OEM format. If input_file is Unicode or -u is specified, output_file is stored in Unicode format.
It also sets the default DOS ERRORLEVEL value to -1.
The osql utility is started directly from the operating system with the case-sensitive options listed here. After starting, osql accepts SQL statements and sends them to SQL Server interactively. The results are formatted and displayed on the screen (stdout). Use QUIT or EXIT to exit from osql.
If you do not specify a username when you start osql, SQL Server checks for the environment variables and uses those; for example, osqluser=(user) or osqlserver=(server). If no environment variables are set, the workstation username is used. If you do not specify a server, the name of the workstation is used.
If neither the -U or -P options are used, SQL Server attempts to connect using Windows NT Authentication Mode. Authentication is based on the Microsoft Windows NT® account of the user running osql.
The osql utility uses the ODBC API. The utility uses the SQL Server ODBC driver default settings for the SQL Server SQL-92 connection options, except for QUOTED_IDENTIFIER. osql defaults to setting QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF. Use the -I switch to set it on. For more information, see Effects of SQL-92 Options.
In addition to Transact-SQL statements within osql, these commands are also available.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| GO | Executes all statements entered after the last GO. |
| RESET | Clears any statements you have entered. |
| ED | Calls the editor. |
| !! command | Executes an operating-system command. |
| QUIT or EXIT( ) | Exits from osql. |
| CTRL+C | Ends a query without exiting from osql. |
The command terminators GO (by default), RESET, ED, !!, EXIT, QUIT, and CTRL+C, are recognized only if they appear at the beginning of a line, immediately following the osql prompt. Anything entered on the same line after these keywords is disregarded by osql.
GO signals both the end of a batch and the execution of any cached Transact-SQL statements. When you press ENTER at the end of each input line, osql caches the statements on that line. When you press ENTER after typing GO, all of the currently cached statements are sent as a batch to SQL Server.
The current osql utility works as if there is an implied GO at the end of any script executed, so all statements in the script execute. Some earlier versions of isql would not send any statements to the server unless there was at least one GO in an input script. Any statements after the last GO would not be executed.
End a command by typing a line beginning with a command terminator. You can follow the command terminator with an integer to specify how many times the command should be run. For example, to execute this command 100 times, type:
SELECT x = 1
GO 100
The results are printed once, at the end of execution. osql does not accept more than 1000 characters per line. Large statements should be spread across multiple lines.
The user can call an editor on the current query buffer by typing ED as the first word on a line. The editor is defined in the EDITOR environment variable. The default editor is “edit”. You can specify a different editor by setting the EDITOR environment variable. For example, to make the default editor Notepad, enter at the operating-system prompt:
SET
EDITOR=notepad
Operating system commands can also be executed by starting a line with two exclamation points (!!) followed by the command. The command recall facilities of Windows NT can be used to recall and modify osql statements. The existing query buffer can be cleared by typing RESET.
When running stored procedures, osql prints a blank line between each set of results in a batch. In addition, the “0 rows affected” message does not appear when it doesn’t apply to the statement executed.
To use osql interactively, type the osql command (and any of the options) at a command prompt.
You can read in a file containing a query (such as Stores.qry) for execution by osql by typing a command similar to this:
osql /U alma /P
/i stores.qry
The file must include a command terminator(s).
You can read in a file containing a query (such as Titles.qry) and direct the results to another file by typing a command similar to this:
osql /U alma /P
/i titles.qry /o titles.res
When using osql interactively, you can read an operating system file into the command buffer with :r file_name. Do not include a command terminator in the file; enter the terminator interactively after you have finished editing.
You can include comments in a Transact-SQL statement submitted to SQL Server by osql. Two types of commenting styles are allowed: -- and /*...*/.
For more information, see Using Comments.
You can use the result of a SELECT statement as the return value from osql. The first column of the first result row is converted to a 4-byte integer (long). MS-DOS passes the low byte to the parent process or operating system error level. Windows NT passes the entire 4-byte integer. The syntax is:
EXIT(query)
For example:
EXIT(SELECT
@@ROWCOUNT)
EXIT(SELECT 5)
You can also include the EXIT parameter as part of a batch file. For example:
osql /Q
"EXIT(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM '%1')"
The osql utility passes everything between the parentheses ( ) to the server exactly as entered. If a stored system procedure selects a set and returns a value, only the selection is returned. The EXIT( ) statement with nothing between the parentheses executes everything preceding it in the batch and then exits with no return value.
There are four EXIT formats:
Does not execute the batch; quits immediately and returns no value.
Executes the batch, and then quits and returns no value.
Executes the batch, including the query, and then quits after returning the results of the query.
RAISERROR(50001, 10, 127)
This error will cause the osql script to end and the message ID 50001 will be returned to the client.
The return values -1 to -99 are reserved by SQL Server; osql defines these values:
Error encountered prior to selecting return value.
No rows found when selecting return value.
Conversion error when selecting return value.
osql displays the money and smallmoney data types with two decimal places even though SQL Server stores the value internally with four decimal places. Consider the example:
SELECT
CAST(CAST(10.3496 AS money) AS decimal(6, 4))
This statement produces a result of 10.3496, which indicates that the value is stored with all decimal places intact.