Oracle SQLPlus [Electronic resources] : The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition نسخه متنی

5.2 Saving Your Work

Consider
saving all the commands to produce a report in a script file. I
can't remember ever producing an ad hoc report that
was generated just once. Often, I don't see
formatting issues until after the first printing. Other times a
client will look at a report and immediately think of one or two
things to add. By saving your work in a file, you will be prepared
when the request for that same report, or one similar to it, comes
again.

The only time I ever print a report by typing the commands
interactively into SQL*Plus is when the query is simple and I
don't care how the output is formatted. In such a
case, if I'm in a hurry, I may simply spool off the
output from a SELECT statement, print it, and live with the incorrect
pagination, lack of titles, and lack of column formatting.

Saving your work in a file also protects you from simple mistakes and
minor catastrophes. If you've typed 20 formatting
commands into SQL*Plus and your computer locks up,
you've lost your work. You'll have
to restart your computer and then attempt to remember all those
commands. If you are working on a long SQL query, and that query
exists only in the SQL buffer, a simple thing like typing COMMIT will
clobber itsomething I've done many times
myself. Save yourself some work by saving your work.