isql
Section: unixODBC manual pages (1)
Updated: Thu 14 Jan 2021
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NAME
isql, iusql - unixODBC interactive SQL command-line tools
SYNOPSIS
isql DSN [USER [PASSWORD]] [options]
DESCRIPTION
isql and iusql are command-line tools allowing users to execute SQL
interactively or in batches.
The tools provide several useful features, including an option to generate
output wrapped in an HTML table.
iusql is the same as isql but includes built-in Unicode support.
Some data sources only work with iusql.
ARGUMENTS
- DSN
-
The Data Source Name (DSN) used to connect to the SQL database. unixODBC looks
for the specified DSN in /etc/odbc.ini and $HOME/.odbc.ini, with the latter
taking precedence.
When searching the configuration files, unixODBC looks for a bare name. If the
DSN begins with a semicolon, it is treated as a connection string. The connection
string can contain a DSN and/or other semicolon-separated parameters.
- USER
-
Specifies the database user or role under which the connection should be made.
This parameter overrides any UID specified in the data source
configuration files.
- PASSWORD
-
Password required to access the database for the specified USER.
This parameter overrides any PASSWORD specified in the data source
configuration files.
OPTIONS
- -b
-
Run 'isql' in non-interactive batch mode. In this mode, 'isql' processes from
standard input, expecting one SQL command per line.
- -dDELIMITER
-
Delimit columns with the specified delimiter.
- -xHEX
-
Delimit columns with the character represented in hexadecimal by HEX. The
hexadecimal code must be in the format 0xNN (e.g. 0x09 for the TAB character).
- -w
-
Format the result as an HTML table.
- -c
-
Output the names of the columns on the first row. This option can only be used
with the -d or -x options.
- -mNUM
-
Limit the column display width to NUM characters.
- -lLOCALE
-
Set the character locale to LOCALE.
- -q
-
Wrap the character fields in double quotes.
- -3
-
Use calls from ODBC version 3.
- -n
-
Process multiple lines of SQL, terminated with the GO command.
- -e
-
Use SQLExecDirect instead of Prepare.
- -k
-
Use SQLDriverConnect.
- -v
-
Enable verbose mode, fully describing all errors. This option is useful for debugging.
- --version
-
Display the program version.
- -LNUM
-
Set the maximum number of characters displayed from a character field to NUM.
The default value is 300 characters.
COMMANDS
This section briefly describes some isql and iusql run-time commands.
help
-
List all tables in the database.
help table
-
List all columns in the table.
help help
-
List all help options.
EXAMPLES
- A bare DSN:
-
$ iusql WebDB MyID MyPWD -w -b < My.sql
Connects to the WebDB DSN as user MyID with password MyPWD, then executes the
commands in the My.sql file and returns the results wrapped in an HTML table.
Each line in My.sql must only contain one SQL command, except for the last
line, which must be blank (unless the -n option is specified).
- A DSN in a connection string:
-
Note the leading semicolon on the connection string.
$ iusql ";DSN=WebDB" MyID MyPWD -w -b < My.sql
Options in the DSN may be overridden in the connection string:
$ iusql ";DSN=WebDB;Driver=PostgreSQL ODBC;UID=MyID;PASSWORD=secret;Debug=1;CommLog=1" -v
- A string DSN:
-
A string DSN may be provided in its entirety, with no file DSN reference at all:
$ iusql ";Driver=PostgreSQL Unicode;UID=MyID;PASSWORD=secret" -v
TROUBLESHOOTING
- Cryptic error messages
-
Re-run isql or iusql with the -v flag to get more information
from errors, and/or enable Trace mode in odbcinst.ini.
- Missing driver definition
-
Check that the driver name specified by the Driver entry in the
odbc.ini data-source definition is present in odbcinst.ini and
exactly matches the odbcinst.ini [section name].
- Unloadable or incompatible driver
-
If the ODBC driver is properly specified for the data source, it is possible
that the driver is not loadable. Check for mix-ups between Unicode and ANSI
drivers, and verify the driver paths in the odbcinst.ini [section name].
- Unicode data sources with ANSI clients
-
Some data sources are Unicode-only and require the use of iusql.
If isql reports
[IM002][unixODBC][Driver Manager]Data source name not found and no default driver specified
[ISQL]ERROR: Could not SQLConnect
but the data source and driver required are listed by
odbcinst -q -d
and
odbcinst -q -s
then try iusql.
FILES
/etc/odbc.ini
-
Configuration file containing system-wide Data Source Name (DSN)
definitions. See
odbc.ini(5)
for more information.
$HOME/.odbc.ini
-
Configuration file containing user-specific Data Source Name (DSN)
definitions. See
odbc.ini(5)
for more information.
SEE ALSO
unixODBC(7),
odbcinst(1),
odbc.ini(5)
"The unixODBC Administrator Manual (HTML)"
AUTHORS
The authors of unixODBC are Peter Harvey <pharvey@codebydesign.com> and
Nick Gorham <nick@lurcher.org>.
For a full list of contributors, refer to the AUTHORS file.
COPYRIGHT
unixODBC is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License. For details
about the license, see the COPYING file.
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- ARGUMENTS
-
- OPTIONS
-
- COMMANDS
-
- EXAMPLES
-
- TROUBLESHOOTING
-
- FILES
-
- SEE ALSO
-
- AUTHORS
-
- COPYRIGHT
-
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Time: 23:58:46 GMT, March 28, 2024