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Preprocessing Dynamic Commands That May or May Not Be Queries

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You need special techniques to handle dynamic commands which may be either queries or non-queries. In a program that accepts both query and non-query SQL commands, you first PREPARE the command, then use the DESCRIBE command in conjunction with the SQLDA, the data structure that lets you identify whether a command is a query. The PREPARE command must appear physically in your source program before the EXECUTE or DECLARE CURSOR command that uses the name you assign to the dynamic command in the PREPARE command.

The sqld field of the SQLDA is set to 0 if the dynamic command is not a query and to a positive integer if it is a query. The SQLDA data structure is used in any program that may host a dynamic query.

In the following example, if the command is not a query, you branch to NonQuery and use the EXECUTE or EXECUTE IMMEDIATE command to execute it. If it is a query, you branch to Query, where you declare a cursor, open it, then use FETCH to retrieve qualifying rows.

   EXEC SQL PREPARE ThisCommand FROM :DynamicCommand;



   EXEC SQL DESCRIBE ThisCommand INTO SQLDA;



      The SQLDA.SQLD field of the SQLDA is set to 0 if the dynamic command

      is not a query and to a positive integer if it is a query. The

      SQLDA is a special data structure used in any program that may host

      a dynamic query. The data structure is fully defined in this

      section under "Setting Up the SQLDA." 



   if SQLDA.SQLD = 0 then NonQuery;



      The command is not a query and the EXECUTE or

      EXECUTE IMMEDIATE command is used to execute it.



   else if SQLDA.SQLD > 0 then Query;



      The command is a query and a cursor is used

      to retrieve qualifying rows.

To handle a command entirely unknown at programming time, you accept the command into the host variable. In the following example, an SQL command is accepted into a host variable named DynamicCommand, which is declared large enough to accommodate the largest expected dynamic command. User input is accepted into DynamicClause and concatenated in DynamicCommand until the user enters a semicolon.

   var

     EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;

     DynamicCommand    := String[1024];

     EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;

     DynamicClause     := String[80];

     Pos               := SmallInt;

   .

   .

   writeln ('Enter an SQL command or clause > ');

   writeln;

   DynamicCommand := '';

   repeat

     prompt('> ');

     readln(DynamicClause);

     if DynamicClause <> '/' then

       begin

         DynamicCommand := DynamicCommand + ' ' + DynamicClause;

         Pos := StrPos(DynamicClause, ';');

         if Pos <> 0 then DynamicClause := '/';

       end

       else

         DynamicCommand := '/';

   until DynamicClause = '/';

   .

   .

   EXEC SQL PREPARE SQLCommand FROM :DynamicCommand;

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