The way you're doing it sqlplus is trying to parse the SQL as a command line argument, which will not work.
Try these: 1. echo "select * from dual;" | sqlplus scott/tiger 2. sqlplus scott/tiger <<EOF select * from dual; EOF Jared On Monday 03 December 2001 21:10, Viraj Luthra wrote: > Hello all, > > Why cannot I do :- > > sqlplus -s scott/tiger select * from emp; > > or sqlplus -s scott/tiger "select * from emp;" > > Both the cases I get :- > > Usage: SQLPLUS [<option>] [<user>[/<password>] [@<host>]] > [@<startfile> [<parm1>] [<parm2>] ...] > where <option> ::= { -s | -? } > -s for silent mode and -? to obtain version number > > > What is wrong above? I need to run the query from command line. How do I > modify this :- > > sqlplus -s scott/tiger select * from emp; > > > Rgds, -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Jared Still INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).