Ampersand in scripts

When using OWA it is common to use ampersands to seperate parameters in constructed URLs within PLSQL packages and procedures. This is enabled in SQLPlus by first seffing "set define off" to prevent SQLPlus attempting substitution.
However, the SQL Worksheet in raptor still attempts the substitution, even if a 'set define off' command precedes the statement (I preseme the SQLPlus command is being ignored).
e.g.
htp.print('l_script_name ||'.show_page?p_page_id=' || r_page.wph_page_id ||
'&p_created_date=' || to_char(r_page.wph_created_date,'YYYYMMDDHH24MISS'))
How can I create a package procedure from a script file which includes an ampersand in a string literal ?

This is a bug, and bug 4924029 has been logged to capture and fix this issue

Similar Messages

Preference equivalents for relevant SQL*Plus set commands?

I know that the SQL*Plus set command is not supported in Raptor (as per http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/project_raptor/sql_worksheet_commands.html), but there are a number of set options that are relevant.
For example, set define (for which "set define off" is covered in Ampersand in scripts We have a number of existing SQL scripts where we have set the define character to something apart from & to avoid issues where this is a required value in the code.
Setting server output size is another option - as per set serveroutput on size unlimited .
Is there any proactive plan to provide preferences equivalent to the set options that are relevant (to either SQL scripts or the various output tabs)? Or is the exclusion of the SQL*Plus set command only for the current version and it will be included later? From the discussion on the forums so far, it seems as though you are looking at each set option as it is raised, rather than being proactive about it.
Even if Raptor does provide preferences, it would still be useful for the equivalent set commands to work. Lets say that we do get a preference for the define character - 99% of the time, scripts want this to be & - however there are some where the script wants it to be $ (or whatever). With a preference, I need to know what the script wants and change the preference before running the script and then change it back afterwards.

Hi Turloch,
When is this script executed ?
In 3.1EA2 I created a sql script where a variable is defined and set this script as you suggested.
Script:
define varname=abc
When I open a connection, a worksheet is automatically opened. I run this statements:
select '&varname' from dual;
define varname=xyz
select '&varname' from dual;
Running the first select statement results in a popup window for entering a value for the substitution variable, while I was expecting the value abc as the result of the query.
See also this blog where the login script is explained.
But in my SQL Developer 3.1EA2 64-bit on Windows 7 it doesn't work like that.
Is this a bug?
Dennis

Scripting System Preferences - Ampersand Issue

Hello,
I'm trying to make an AppleScript to quickly change a bunch of System Preferences. I've gotten most of them set up fine, but when I attempt to click the "Users & Groups" button, AppleScript can't find it.
tell application "System Preferences"
activate
          set current pane to pane "com.apple.preference.desktopscreeneffect"
end tell
tell application "System Events"
          tell process "System Preferences"
     click button "Users & Groups" of scroll area 1 of window "System Preferences"
I think it may have something to do with the ampersand in the string, but I didn't have this problem with selecting "Security & Privacy" at another point in the code. I've checked the UIElementInspector and it tells me that the title is indeed "Users & Groups" for the button, but it breaks the line after the ampersand like so (this doesn't happen with "Security & Privacy"):
<AXApplication: “System Preferences”>
<AXWindow: “System Preferences”>
<AXScrollArea>
   <AXButton: “Users &
Groups”>
Thanks in advance!

There are two problems with your script, as presented.
First, since you select the Desktop & Screen Effect preference pane in line 3, the rest of the script is doomed to fail since there is no 'window "System Preferences" - it's now called "Desktop & Screen Saver" (or whatever your localized version is called), and there is no button to click.
Assuming you resolve that (e.g. by removing the 'set current pane...' line, the second problem is hinted at by your UIElementInspector output.
You see, there is no button called 'Users & Groups'. The actual button is called
"Users &
Groups"
- yes, there is a return after the ampersand, not a space - this isn't an issue of simple text wrapping.
Therefore you want to:
                    click button "Users &
Groups" of scroll area 1 of window "System Preferences"

How to spawn processes via ampersand within bashrc startup script

How to properly "enclose" or handle the special character (& - the background character) within the bash shell's .bashrc startup file?
It does not work for these 2 examples (\& and &):
alias abc='emacs $* \&'
alias xyz='emacs $* &'
Please advise. Thanks.

Actually the problem is that the $* (or $@) is expanded when the alias is created and of course at creation time the $* is empty.
So it's not really so much
emacs & $*
as
emacs & filename
But either way you are correct that to pass a command line arg in a case like this you need to use a function.
But the fact still remains that the standard OS X emacs will block waiting for a terminal if started in the bg.
regards
Message was edited by: Frank Caggiano

How to do multiple shell scripts in AppleScript

I got some solutions from previous posts on how to run sudo in Applescript, but there is still some minor syntax issues when I try to get to the destination directory. Usually in shell script I just type
cd directory-destination
in several lines to batch process those commands, but when I work with applescript, if I do do shell script for every "cd" command, instead of getting an overall result, I would get intermediate results individually.
I read doc and learned that there might be a way to put commands together by using the & sign?
Message was edited by: ttback

An individual do shell script command runs in its own shell, so to perform multiple commands within that shell you need to combine them into a single statement. You can use the ampersand '&' operator to concatenate text strings, and the semicolon ';' to separate the commands, for example:set theFolder to "/Applications"
do shell script "cd " & theFolder & "; ls -l ."See the technical note do shell script in AppleScript.

VirtualBox clipboard issue AKA why doesn't this restart script work?

The host is Windows7, the guest is up-to-date Arch and everything I describe is for guest-to-host or host-to-guest copy and paste. The clipboard within the guest never fails. The VirtualBox Guest configuration has the clipboard set to 'bi-directional.'
I'm starting the clipboard via .xinitrc which includes the following line
VBoxClient-all &
This is what gets launched
oliver 211 1 0 15:33 ? 00:00:00 /usr/bin/VBoxClient --clipboard
It all works perfectly for an indiscriminate amount of time, then suddenly, it stops updating the buffer. If I try to copy/paste anything new, I get the last entry before it stopped working. If I restart it (by killing the process and running VBoxClient --clipboard) it works again for an indiscriminate time. Wash/rinse/repeat.
I wrote a quick script to run from cron but it's having problems
This is the script
#!/usr/bin/bash
PID="$(ps -ef|grep -i "[v]boxclient --clipboard" | awk '{print $2}')"
kill $PID && /usr/bin/VBoxClient --clipboard
exit 0
I watched the cronjob and it appears to be doing what I want but a 'ps' doesn't show it running afterwards
++ grep -i '[v]boxclient --clipboard'
++ awk '{print $2}'
++ ps -ef
+ PID=3158
+ kill 3158
+ /usr/bin/VBoxClient --clipboard
+ exit 0
I'm assuming cron runs the command in a shell that gets destroyed when the cronjob is done or something and this is tearing down the process. I've tried modifying the command with nohup and ampersands to no avail.
A fix for the underlying problem would be great but I'm assuming I'll be waiting on Oracle for that. In the meantime, if I could restart this thing periodically it would help me out a bit.
Any ideas?

I have the same problem - VBoxClient stops working and restarting it from cron does not work.
I run this from cron every 10 minutes:
(killall VBoxClient && VBoxClient-all) || VBoxClient-all
and VBoxClient is killed every time but is not launched again. How can you explain it?

Oracle 10g express edition ..ampersand substitution variable

when i enter the ampersand substitution variable and run the script in the oracle 10g express edition it is giving me the error of (ORA-01008: not all variables bound)...can someone please indicate what the problem is..
thank you

i am running the script in the browser but when i run it it does not give me the possibility to enter the value and that error which i mentioned before comes instantly
reuben

Force show (not toggle) hidden characters and threads in script

I have been working on a script to show all the extras (for the most part). I can turn on rulers and frame edges from the DOM, but can not Show Hidden Characters or Show Text Threads from the DOM. I've been working on using menuActions, but there two is a hitch. It seems that the menuActions are only available if the menu has been accessed during the current session? Not 100% on that. There is a good comment (#10) that touches on this a bit at Indiscripts :: How to Create your Own InDesign Menus.
This method works, but again only if the menu has been previously accessed... so it's not reliable:
// locale-independent (should work on non-english versions of InDesign)
// Show Hidden Characters
// FIX/TODO - Only seems to work if the Show/Hide Characters has been toggled within this session?!
var showHiddenChars = app.menuActions.item("$ID/HideHiddenCharactersCmdStr"); //The 'hide' ID String only valid when characters are hidden
var areCharsHidden = (showHiddenChars.isValid);
if (areCharsHidden == true) {
    try {showHiddenChars.invoke()} catch (givenError){alert(givenError.toString())};
else {
        //alert("Hidden characters are already shown!")
I also have a less desirable version of Showing Hidden Characters, which relies on English name property of the Menu Action. It suffers from the same issue.
//~     var acID = acID||
//~             ((t=app.menuActions.item("$ID/ShowHiddenCharactersCmdStr")).isValid&&t.id)||
//~             ((t=app.menuActions.item("$ID/HideHiddenCharactersCmdStr")).isValid&&t.id);
//~     var showHiddenChars = app.menuActions.itemByID(acID);
//~
//~     //if the name property for the menuAction is currently "Hide Hidden Characters", the characters are hidden.
//~     var areCharsHidden = (showHiddenChars.name == "Hide Hidden Characters");
//~     if (areCharsHidden == true) {
//~         try {showHiddenChars.invoke()} catch (givenError){};
//~         }
//~     else {
//~         //alert("Hidden characters are already shown!")
//~         }
Any suggestion on how to force show characters (show threads works the same way) with out having to have had accessed a menu before hand?
Thanks,
Kevin

When you have found a menu action you can remember its ID and use menuActions.itemByID() later on to retrieve it. Most action IDs are hard wired, bound to their implementing plugin. Of course there is an exception for dynamically allocated actions, e.g. script actions.
My first attempt following you is to retrieve the action name - that should trigger the internal method to update the whole action state including checked, enabled (not applicable in this case). Of course it failed, would someone please file a bug? The translated versions of strings that you'd use for the comparison are available via app.translateKeyString().
Btw you are using the wrong string - cmd strings are used for command history as seen in the undo menu. Menu strings usually have an ampersand character to indicate the underline / Alt+Key combo in Windows.
$.writeln(app.menuActions.itemByID(0x1d301).name==app.translateKeyString("$ID/Show Hidden Characters"));
$.writeln(app.menuActions.itemByID(0x1d301).name==app.translateKeyString("$ID/Hide Hidden Characters"));
app.translateKeyString("$ID/Show Hidden Characters")
Ergebnis: Verborgene Zeic&hen einblenden
app.translateKeyString("$ID/Hide Hidden Characters")
Ergebnis: &Verborgene Zeichen ausblenden
// failed test
$.writeln(app.menuActions.itemByID(0x1d301).name);
app.menuActions.itemByID(0x1d301).invoke();
$.writeln(app.menuActions.itemByID(0x1d301).name);
// output should change after invoke
Verborgene Zeichen ausblenden
Verborgene Zeichen ausblenden
As you found command strings, I also had a look at the undo history - it remained empty.
$.writeln(app.activeDocument.undoHistory.length);
Probably the setting is not persisted in the document any more, someone should have removed the command strings.
Then I realized that the output of the previous lines around the invoke had changed as it was expected originally. And I had not touched the menu since restart … but I had activated the application.
One can do that with scripting too - app.activate();
A couple of restarts later this is definitely leading somewhere.
Regarding the command, I also had a second look with a debug build of InDesign: the command is still executed, but there is a flag that binds its undo to the previous command - left as an exercise to verify.
Hmm. It is stored in the persistent document preferences in a structure internally called kDocWorkspaceBoss / ITextOptions, thus should also be exposed for scripting. Back to scripting: set a breakpoint, browse thru tons of document sub-objects, and here we are:
app.activeDocument.textPreferences.showInvisibles
Happy programming,
Dirk
Edit: when comparing the strings, you also have to strip the extra ampersand.

Ampersand in update statement to prevent substuition variable

select (company_name)
from company
where compnum = 111;
update company
set company_name = 'Jones & sons'
where compnum = 111;
(causes ampersand substitution variable message)

Hi,
If you're not using substitution variables, then give the SQL*Plus command:
SET DEFINE OFFFrom that point on, & will be treated like a normal character.
Be careful; you may call scripts later on that do use substitution variables, so you may want to turn that feature on again after you finish your INSERTS. Use:
SET DEFINE &

Ampersands in hyperlink

Hi there,
In our architecture, we have developed a perl script to authenticate user before allowing a report to be generated. Thus, all hyperlinks in a report X that would produce another report Y must point to the perl script, passing the name of the report Y as a parameter.
For maintenance purposes, I have a query that hold constants (like the URL root of the perl script, the name of the report Y, and so on). I've tried to build the hyperlink like this :
&<URLRoot>usr=&<P_USR>&rep=&<ReportName>
|
I think that the highlighted ampersand is doing problem since what is produced in HTMLCSS is something like this :
http://my.webserver.com/myPerlScript.pl?
usr=ADMIN&rep=&<ReportName>
| || || || || || || (not what I want)
Is there an escape character to tell O.R. "this is an ampersand, not the begining of a parameter"?
(As a workaround, I've defined another constant in my constants-query, Amp, whose value is '&' and I've replaced the 'real' ampersands in my query by &<Amp>. It's working but IMO it's pretty ugly ;-)
Thanks in advance!
Frederic

Here's the thing:
If submitting by form then req.getParameter(name) works fine for both types of parameter values.
If submitting by link then req.getParameter(name)
- Works for parameters with '=' in them
- Doesn't work for values with '&' in them.
I actually need to be able to parse a query string (the parameter list part of a link). However, it isn't specific to submission processing.
I want to be able to parse the string generically regardless of whether it comes from the web or whether I call it from within the code.
In short, I want to be able to take a string like Param1=Val&ue&Param2=Val=ue and split it into name/value pairs from anywhere in the code.

About variables in scripts

what type of variables used in scripts to out put data

Hi
See the script symbols
A variable in SAPscript is called a symbol. There are the following types.
System symbol (e.g. the number of the current page)
Standard symbol (usable in any document)
Program symbol (value from the print program)
Text symbol (local variable)
The value of a symbol is text for using within SAPscript code and is represented by the symbol-name enclosed by ampersands. On seeing the tell-tale ampersands in SAPscript code, you sometimes need to figure out the symbol type.
goto any PAGEWINDOW's Text elements in Script (SE71)
from the Menu-> INSERT-> Symbols
you find all symbols here
System symbols
System symbols in a SAPscript form are comparable to system fields like SY-UZEIT in an ABAP program, and include these. The graphical editor offers three types of system symbol.
1. General system symbols
See the table TTSXY. PAGE is the most widely used. The list given in our BC460 training manuals is out of date.
2. SAPscript system symbols
See the dictionary structure SAPSCRIPT. SAPSCRIPT-FORMPAGES is the most widely used.
3. ABAP system symbols
For the ABAP system field SY-UNAME, say, the symbol is SYST-UNAME. [SYST is the dictionary structure for ABAP system fields.]
Sample code:
User: &SYST-UNAME&
Page &PAGE& of &SAPSCRIPT-FORMPAGES(C3)&
Standard symbols
Standard symbols are maintained centrally (in the table TTDTG via transaction SE75) for use in any document. Menu path:
Tools
Form Printout
Administration
Settings
Some standard symbols are SAP-standard and others are custom. Curiously, table TTDTG is cross-client although SAPscript forms are not.
The value of a standard symbol has to be defined for each language used. This gives a way to make a single SAPscript form multi-lingual.
We can take advantage to an extent of the central maintenance, though there is no guarantee that the available standard symbols will used in every appropriate context.
Standard symbols complicate searching a SAPscript form, since text like Charity registration 211581 may be hiding in a standard symbol.
Text symbols
A text symbol is declared and assigned to within the SAPscript code, and so obviously applies only to the current document. The command DEFINE is used, requiring /: in the tag column, as in the following examples.
/: DEFINE &COMP_NAME& = University of Warwick
/: DEFINE &WS_RATE& = &TAX_SUMM_C&
SCRIPT COMMANDS
ADDRESS : Formatting of Address
BOTTOM, ENDBOTTOM : Define Footer text in a window
BOX, POSITION, SIZE : Boxes, Lines and Shading
CASE, ENDCASE : Case Distinction
DEFINE : Value assignment to text symbols
HEX, ENDHEX : Hexadecimal values
IF, ENDIF : Conditional text output
INCLUDE : Include other texts
NEW-PAGE : Explicit forms feed
NEW-WINDOW : Next window main
PRINT-CONTROL : Insert print control character
PROTECT...ENDPROTECT : Protect from page break
RESET : Initialize outline paragraphs
SET COUNTRY : Country-specific formating
SET DATE MASK : Formating of date fields
SET SIGN : Position of +/- sign
SET TIME MASK : Formating of time fields
STYLE : Change style
SUMMING : Summing variables
TOP : Set header text in window MAIN
<b>Reward points for useful Answers</b>
Regards
Anji

Text symbol in script

Hi All,
I am using a standard symbol in script.Insert>symbol>standard symbol,whether these symbols are speific to the program or will be available globally.i meant to ask if i use a standard symbole 'cp_prod' can i use the same in another form for different text?
Regards,
Sai

Hi
These script symbols are global
you can use them in other form also
A variable in SAPscript is called a symbol. There are the following types.
System symbol (e.g. the number of the current page)
Standard symbol (usable in any document)
Program symbol (value from the print program)
Text symbol (local variable)
The value of a symbol is text for using within SAPscript code and is represented by the symbol-name enclosed by ampersands. On seeing the tell-tale ampersands in SAPscript code, you sometimes need to figure out the symbol type.
goto any PAGEWINDOW's Text elements in Script (SE71)
from the Menu-> INSERT-> Symbols
you find all symbols here
System symbols
System symbols in a SAPscript form are comparable to system fields like SY-UZEIT in an ABAP program, and include these. The graphical editor offers three types of system symbol.
1. General system symbols
See the table TTSXY. PAGE is the most widely used. The list given in our BC460 training manuals is out of date.
2. SAPscript system symbols
See the dictionary structure SAPSCRIPT. SAPSCRIPT-FORMPAGES is the most widely used.
3. ABAP system symbols
For the ABAP system field SY-UNAME, say, the symbol is SYST-UNAME. [SYST is the dictionary structure for ABAP system fields.]
Sample code:
User: &SYST-UNAME&
Page &PAGE& of &SAPSCRIPT-FORMPAGES(C3)&
Standard symbols
Standard symbols are maintained centrally (in the table TTDTG via transaction SE75) for use in any document. Menu path:
Tools
Form Printout
Administration
Settings
Some standard symbols are SAP-standard and others are custom. Curiously, table TTDTG is cross-client although SAPscript forms are not.
The value of a standard symbol has to be defined for each language used. This gives a way to make a single SAPscript form multi-lingual.
We can take advantage to an extent of the central maintenance, though there is no guarantee that the available standard symbols will used in every appropriate context.
Standard symbols complicate searching a SAPscript form, since text like Charity registration 211581 may be hiding in a standard symbol.
Text symbols
A text symbol is declared and assigned to within the SAPscript code, and so obviously applies only to the current document. The command DEFINE is used, requiring /: in the tag column, as in the following examples.
/: DEFINE &COMP_NAME& = University of Warwick
/: DEFINE &WS_RATE& = &TAX_SUMM_C&
Reward points for useful Answers
Regards
Anji

Ampersands...

Can anyone tell me the cons of using ampersands in hyperion member names? It seems to be the source of an error message in business rules but doesn't seem to actually interfere with performance.Thanks, cbyrum

No con - Essbase allows ampersands in member names. I guess the only thing to be aware of is that substitution variables are identified by preceeding the variable with an ampersand, so if you have actual member names that start with ampersands it might be confusing to someone reading a script.Regards,Jade----------------------------------Jade ColeSenior BI ConsultantClarity [email protected]

Form Guide - Scripts

Hi
Could you please tell me if the following properties/methods/events are "compatable" with Form guides:
1) Regular Expressions
2) hAlign
I am using Adobe Livecycle Designer ES to build the form guides, and are getting this errors/warnings in connection with the above.
Thank You.

These are the errors I am getting:
The script is as follows but it keeps taking me to the line below, if I uncomment this line, it takes me to the line above. Here is the script (it contains my reqular expressions).
re = new Object();
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
re.Email = /^(?:[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,20})(?:(?:[%_.-][a-zA-Z0-9]{1,20}){1,2}@|@)(?:[a-zA-Z0-9]{1,20})(?:(?: [%_.-][a-zA-Z0-9]{1,20}){1,2}\.|\.)[a-zA-Z]{2,4}$/;
re.TelNum = /\d{6,7}/;
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: div is unexpected.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: expecting rightbrace before leftbrace.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: rightparen is unexpected.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: expecting rightbrace before leftbrace.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: expecting rightbrace before rightparen.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: expecting rightbrace before ampersand.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: rightparen is unexpected.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: expecting rightbrace before leftbrace.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: rightparen is unexpected.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: expecting rightbrace before leftbrace.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error: dot is unexpected.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");
C:\Users\Pennya\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Designer\8.1\GuideBuilder\tmpPreview.mxml(559): Error: Syntax error.
re.separatorArray = new Array ("-", ".");

Script to execute multiple select query

Hi,
What is the script to execute 5 ~ 15 select statement which will call pl sql functions simultaneously/concurrently and run it in sqlplus . I need to know the time taken by the queries to execute when there are multiple request calling the select statement.
Thanks.

I guess you can create 15 different shell scripts (on the server) which in turn call sqlplus and then call the 15 scripts in the background mode. Assuming your server is Unix, put an ampersand after your each shell script call to run in background.

Ampersand in scripts

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for