NAME

       isql, iusql - unixODBC interactive SQL command-line tools

SYNOPSIS

       isql DSN [USER [PASSWORD]] [options]

       iusql DSN [USER [PASSWORD]] [options]

       iusql "ConnectionString" [options]

DESCRIPTION

       isql and iusql are command-line tools allowing users to execute SQL interactively or in batches.

       The  tools  provide  several  useful  features, including an option to generate output wrapped in an HTML
       table.

       iusql is the same as isql but includes built-in Unicode support.  Some data sources only work with iusql.
       An important difference between the two tools is that isql connects using SQLConnect and  iusql  connects
       using SQLDriverConnect.

ARGUMENTS

       DSN    The  Data  Source Name (DSN) used to connect to the SQL database. unixODBC looks for the specified
              DSN in /etc/odbc.ini and $HOME/.odbc.ini, with the latter taking precedence.

              When searching the configuration files, unixODBC looks for a bare name. If the DSN begins  with  a
              semicolon,  it  is  treated as a connection string. The connection string can contain a DSN and/or
              other semicolon-separated parameters.

       USER   Specifies the database user or role under which the connection should be made.

              This parameter overrides any UID specified in the data source configuration files.

       PASSWORD
              Password required to access the database for the specified USER.

              This parameter overrides any PASSWORD specified in the data source configuration files.

              When using iusql, passwords containing semicolons should be escaped with braces  (curly  brackets)
              and terminated with a semicolon. Refer to the Examples section below for syntax.

       "ConnectionString"
              A  connection  string  starting  with  DSN=,  DRIVER=  or  FILEDSN=  will  be  passed unchanged to
              SQLDriverConnect. This option allows for the use of more complex syntax  in  a  connection  string
              than would otherwise be possible by just using DSN, UID and PWD.

              It  also  (and  this was the main reason for its inclusion) allows passwords to contain semicolons
              without having to add complex escape syntax to the existing code.

OPTIONS

       -b     Run 'isql' in non-interactive batch mode. In this mode,  'isql'  processes  from  standard  input,
              expecting one SQL command per line.

       -dDELIMITER
              Delimit columns with the specified delimiter.

       -xHEX  Delimit columns with the character represented in hexadecimal by HEX. The hexadecimal code must be
              in the format 0xNN (e.g. 0x09 for the TAB character).

       -w     Format the result as an HTML table.

       -c     Output  the  names of the columns on the first row. This option can only be used with the -d or -x
              options.

       -mNUM  Limit the column display width to NUM characters.

       -lLOCALE
              Set the character locale to LOCALE.

       -q     Wrap the character fields in double quotes.

       -3     Use calls from ODBC version 3.

       -n     Process multiple lines of SQL, terminated with the GO command.

       -e     Use SQLExecDirect instead of Prepare.

       -k     Use SQLDriverConnect.

       -v     Enable verbose mode, fully describing all errors. This option is useful for debugging.

       --version
              Display the program version.

       -LNUM  Set the maximum number of characters displayed from a character field to NUM.  The  default  value
              is 300 characters.

COMMANDS

       This section briefly describes some isql and iusql run-time commands.

       help
              List all tables in the database.

       help table
              List all columns in the table.

       help help
              List all help options.

EXAMPLES

       A bare DSN:

              $ iusql WebDB MyID MyPWD -w -b < My.sql

              Connects  to  the  WebDB  DSN  as user MyID with password MyPWD, then executes the commands in the
              My.sql file and returns the results wrapped in an HTML table.

              Each line in My.sql must only contain one SQL command, except for the last  line,  which  must  be
              blank (unless the -n option is specified).

       A DSN in a connection string:

              Note the leading semicolon on the connection string.

              $ iusql ";DSN=WebDB" MyID MyPWD -w -b < My.sql

              Options in the DSN may be overridden in the connection string:

              $ iusql ";DSN=WebDB;Driver=PostgreSQL ODBC;UID=MyID;PASSWORD=secret;Debug=1;CommLog=1" -v

       A string DSN:

              A string DSN may be provided in its entirety, with no file DSN reference at all:

              $ iusql ";Driver=PostgreSQL Unicode;UID=MyID;PASSWORD=secret" -v

       A password containing a semicolon (iusql):

              $ iusql WebDB MyID '{My;PWD};'

              $ iusql 'DSN=WebDB;UID=MyID;PWD={My;PWD};'

TROUBLESHOOTING

       Cryptic error messages

              Re-run  isql  or  iusql  with the -v flag to get more information from errors, and/or enable Trace
              mode in odbcinst.ini.

       Missing driver definition

              Check that the driver name specified by the Driver entry in the odbc.ini data-source definition is
              present in odbcinst.ini and exactly matches the odbcinst.ini [section name].

       Unloadable or incompatible driver

              If the ODBC driver is properly specified for the data source, it is possible that  the  driver  is
              not  loadable.  Check for mix-ups between Unicode and ANSI drivers, and verify the driver paths in
              the odbcinst.ini [section name].

       Unicode data sources with ANSI clients

              Some data sources are Unicode-only and require the use of iusql.  If isql reports
                [IM002][unixODBC][Driver Manager]Data source name not found and no default driver specified
                [ISQL]ERROR: Could not SQLConnect
              but the data source and driver required are listed by
                odbcinst -q -d
              and
                odbcinst -q -s
              then try iusql.

FILES

       /etc/odbc.ini
              Configuration file containing system-wide Data Source Name (DSN) definitions. See odbc.ini(5)  for
              more information.

       $HOME/.odbc.ini
              Configuration  file  containing  user-specific Data Source Name (DSN) definitions. See odbc.ini(5)
              for more information.

SEE ALSO

       unixODBC(7), odbcinst(1), odbc.ini(5)

       "The unixODBC Administrator Manual (HTML)"

AUTHORS

       The authors of unixODBC are Peter Harvey <pharvey@codebydesign.com> and Nick Gorham <nick@lurcher.org>.

       For a full list of contributors, refer to the AUTHORS file.

COPYRIGHT

       unixODBC is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License. For details about the license, see  the
       COPYING file.

version 2.3.12                                   Thu 14 Jan 2021                                         isql(1)