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Differences between SQL Plus and Regular SQL?

I am new to Oracle platform (I mainly use MySQL, with a small Postgres and SQL Server). I recently discovered the following position

DESC TABLE_NAME;

will only work in the SQL * Plus tool that I use to validate my queries. It will not work when I use standard PHP functions to connect to the oracle database. I need to use something like

 SELECT * FROM USER_TAB_COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'TABLE_NAME'

instead.

From what I understand, this is because the "DESC" statute is an add-in to the SQL * Plus application.

My questions

  • Do I understand correctly, or is there something more subtle?
  • What other special add-ons are there for SQL * Plus?
  • Is there a way to disable these special add-ons while I pick up speed for Oracle?
  • Any other general recommendations for the Oracle newb from the vetrans platform are welcome.
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1 answer
  • Yes. SQL * Plus is a client tool. SQL is what actually runs on the server.
  • The documentation for SQL * Plus here and here Many "extensions" are related to the presentation (for example, how wide your screen is presented).
  • Not in SQL * Plus. If you have been using SQL * Plus for a long time, you will soon find out that you NEED to change the default font, page size, column sizes, number formatting ...
  • Personally, although it’s good to know how to do something in SQL * Plus, one of the GUI client tools can be much simpler. Personally, I use SQL Squirrel for most things, as well as my favorite editor and SQL * Plus for developing PL / SQL programs.
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