HOLD

Identify parameters with an ampersand (&) and a number from 1 through 100. For example:

   isql=>  HOLD SELECT &1 FROM &2 WHERE &3;

You substitute values for the parameters when you issue the START command. Parameters assigned the same number are all assigned the same value. Refer to the START command for more information.

When commands are in the command buffer, you can operate on them with the following ISQL commands:

   CHANGE

   RECALL CURRENT

   START

   STORE

The command buffer can hold as many as 32K bytes.

The following ISQL operations replace the contents of the command buffer:

   HOLD

   RECALL FILE

   RECALL HISTORY

When scanning a HOLD command, ISQL deletes any escape character and treats the character following an escape character as a simple character. Therefore, if an escape character is to appear in the command buffer, you must use three escape characters instead of one (that is, the escape character and the following character must each be escaped). The escape character and semicolon are still required between commands when multiple commands are placed in the command buffer.

The following shows the correspondence between what you want to place in the command buffer and what you must type in with the HOLD command:

   To put this in command buffer:

             Type this:



   SYSTEM cat isqlpro\; date;          HOLD system cat isqlpro\\\; date;

   SYSTEM cat isqlpro; info t1;        HOLD system cat isqlpro\; info t1;

   SELECT * from t1 where c = '\\';    HOLD select * from t1 where c = '\\\\';