Ref : SQL Command Line -

Question

Hi Experts,
I've started using SQL Command Line to write queries. But the problem is ,i'm not able to format the o/p properly.
select * from v$sqlarea;When i executed this query, the output came in very unreadable format and covered the entire Editor window.
Can anybody please prove me some tips to improve the readability?
Thanks in Advance,
Ranit B.

Answer 1

>
Thanks... I'll keep these in mind.
>
That isn't what you need to do to learn how to get formatted output. You need to actually try things. You learn by doing, not by reading.
Start simple. Use the query in the doc example. See how messy the output is with no formatting. Then use the formatting in that example. See the difference it makes.
Then do the same with your query. Just use two or three columns. See how messy the output is when you don't specify formatting. Then try different formats and see what effect it has.
Once you have done that you will notice that you now get the nice output you want but in order to get it you have to spend time looking up what the column names and datatypes are and hand-coding a bunch of formatting.
You can make that job easier in a couple of ways. One way is to create a script that contains the formatting and query and then just execute that script when you want to run that query.
The second way is more complex but more flexible. You can add parameters to your script that control which columns get used, how many rows will get returned and how to sort the output. Then you can either pass the parameters manually every time you run the script, have the script prompt you for the parameters or just create several versions of the script that do things different ways.
SB's advice may have seemed simplistic but unless you start building your own 'toolkit' you will never advance to the stage where you can do those things easily. There are just too many permutations to try to remember them all when you need to. You need to start creating the building blocks that you can use to build on and create more complex combinations.
I have one question for you. Will you commit to trying that doc example and then trying similar formatting for your own query?