SQL*Plus®

Release Notes

Release 12.1

E18402-06

April 2013

About these Release Notes

This document summarizes requirements, differences between SQL*Plus and its documented functionality, new features in this release and support information.

It contains the following topics:

Documentation Accessibility

Certification

New Features in SQL*Plus

New Features in Previous Releases

Bugs Fixed

Support

Desupport Notices

Documentation Accessibility

For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=docacc.

Access to Oracle Support

Oracle customers have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired.

Certification

SQL*Plus is certified against the operating systems set out in the operating-system specific Oracle Database documentation.

SQL*Plus is certified against Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) and all supported versions of the Oracle Server.

New Features in SQL*Plus

SQL*Plus Release 12.1.0.1 is a superset of SQL*Plus Release 11.2.

This section describes new features introduced in this release of SQL*Plus. Some features may be affected by the SQLPLUSCOMPATIBILITY setting. See the SET SQLPLUSCOMPATIBILITY Matrix in chapter 12, "SQL*Plus Command Reference" in the SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference.

Support for Implicit Results

SQL*Plus can now iteratively return results from a PL/SQL Statement without using a local ref cursor.

Last Login Time

SQL*Plus now displays the time you last logged on by default. This security feature can be turned off with a SQLPLUS command option -nologintime.

Displaying Invisible Columns

SQL*Plus has a new SET command, SET COLINVI[SIBLE] to allow invisible column information to be viewed with the SQL*Plus DESCRIBE command. This feature is intended to assist in database development, and only expose new content when ready.

Pluggable Database Support

New STARTUP command options now support pluggable databases.

There are three new SHOW command options to display information about pluggable databases: SHOW CON_ID, SHOW CON_NAME and SHOW PDBS.

New Administrative Privileges

The SQLPLUS and CONNECT commands now support the new user privileges SYSBACKUP |SYSDG |SYSKM as well as the existing SYSASM |SYSDBA |SYSOPER privileges.

New Features in Previous Releases

This section lists new features introduced to SQL*Plus in previous releases.

New Features in SQL*Plus 11.2 Production

SET XMLOPTIMIZATIONCHECK

Editions Option

SET EXITCOMMIT

FAILOVER Option removed. FAN Events in an Oracle RAC Database are now permanently enabled on UNIX/Linux.

Known Problem

SHUTDOWN followed by STARTUP after a CONNECT using a service name results in segmentation (15937869)

Work Around: Reconnect to the database locally or with an SID.

Bugs Fixed

The following section lists bugs fixed in SQL*Plus. Numbers in parentheses following the problem description refer to bug numbers in the Oracle Bug Database.

Bugs Fixed in SQL*Plus Release 12.1

SQL*Plus now correctly executes a sql script that contains a WHENEVER SQLERROR EXIT clause (10375866)

SPERRORLOG now displays entire statement (9559937)

SQL*Plus commands now display correctly in PRODUCT_USER_PROFILE (9298298)

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE no longer hangs after session becomes defunct (8299200)

INSERT now correctly reports all rows inserted (7047565)

Internal fixes (9587813, 9575131, 8832471, 8670263, 8244438, 7629280, 6862613)

Bugs Fixed in SQL*Plus Release 11.2.0.2

SPERRORLOG now correctly displays the full statement (9559937)

SQL*Plus unexpected termination in NLS environment fixed. (9575131)

SQL*Plus WHENEVER commands can now be disabled. (9298298)

Wildcard behavior in EDIT documented. (9046816)

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE no longer hangs. (8299200)

Internal changes (9587831, 9587716, 9587244, 9370232, 9437352, 9379339, 9370460, 9370232, 9328006, 9226453, 9299444, 9226453, 7676775)

Support

For SQL*Plus support, contact your local Oracle Support Services Center.

Desupport Notices

This section gives advance notice of the desupport of SQL*Plus commands and interfaces. It is not official notice of desupport dates, nor is it intended to replace the Oracle obsolescence process. This information provides you with advance warning that Oracle Corporation intends to desupport these features/interfaces in upcoming releases.

Windows Graphical User Interface

The SQL*Plus for Windows graphical user interface (GUI) was desupported in SQL*Plus Release 11.1. In Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) or later, Oracle recommends using one of the following:

SQL*Plus command line

Oracle Application Express

Oracle SQL Developer

iSQL*Plus User Interface

The iSQL*Plus user interface was desupported in SQL*Plus Release 11.1. In Oracle Database 11g Release 1 (11.1) or later, Oracle recommends using one of the following:

SQL*Plus command line

Oracle Application Express

Oracle SQL Developer

SQL*Plus Release Notes, Release 12.1

E18402-06

Copyright © 1996, 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

This software and related documentation are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted in your license agreement or allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate, broadcast, modify, license, transmit, distribute, exhibit, perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by any means. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of this software, unless required by law for interoperability, is prohibited.

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If you find any errors, please report them to us in writing.

If this is software or related documentation that is delivered to the U.S. Government or anyone licensing it on behalf of the U.S. Government, the following notice is applicable:

U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS: Oracle programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, delivered to U.S. Government end users are "commercial computer software" pursuant to the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific supplemental regulations. As such, use, duplication, disclosure, modification, and adaptation of the programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, shall be subject to license terms and license restrictions applicable to the programs. No other rights are granted to the U.S. Government.

This software or hardware is developed for general use in a variety of information management applications. It is not developed or intended for use in any inherently dangerous applications, including applications that may create a risk of personal injury. If you use this software or hardware in dangerous applications, then you shall be responsible to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure its safe use. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates disclaim any liability for any damages caused by use of this software or hardware in dangerous applications.

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Intel and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. AMD, Opteron, the AMD logo, and the AMD Opteron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

This software or hardware and documentation may provide access to or information on content, products, and services from third parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to third-party content, products, and services. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of third-party content, products, or services.

Oracle Legal Notices

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 1994-2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Trademark Notice

Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Intel and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. AMD, Opteron, the AMD logo, and the AMD Opteron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group.

License Restrictions Warranty/Consequential Damages Disclaimer

This software and related documentation are provided under a license agreement containing restrictions on use and disclosure and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except as expressly permitted in your license agreement or allowed by law, you may not use, copy, reproduce, translate, broadcast, modify, license, transmit, distribute, exhibit, perform, publish, or display any part, in any form, or by any means. Reverse engineering, disassembly, or decompilation of this software, unless required by law for interoperability, is prohibited.

Warranty Disclaimer

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice and is not warranted to be error-free. If you find any errors, please report them to us in writing.

Restricted Rights Notice

If this is software or related documentation that is delivered to the U.S. Government or anyone licensing it on behalf of the U.S. Government, the following notice is applicable:

U.S. GOVERNMENT END USERS: Oracle programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, delivered to U.S. Government end users are "commercial computer software" pursuant to the applicable Federal Acquisition Regulation and agency-specific supplemental regulations. As such, use, duplication, disclosure, modification, and adaptation of the programs, including any operating system, integrated software, any programs installed on the hardware, and/or documentation, shall be subject to license terms and license restrictions applicable to the programs. No other rights are granted to the U.S. Government.

Hazardous Applications Notice

This software or hardware is developed for general use in a variety of information management applications. It is not developed or intended for use in any inherently dangerous applications, including applications that may create a risk of personal injury. If you use this software or hardware in dangerous applications, then you shall be responsible to take all appropriate fail-safe, backup, redundancy, and other measures to ensure its safe use. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates disclaim any liability for any damages caused by use of this software or hardware in dangerous applications.

Third-Party Content, Products, and Services Disclaimer

This software or hardware and documentation may provide access to or information on content, products, and services from third parties. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to third-party content, products, and services. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to your access to or use of third-party content, products, or services.

Alpha and Beta Draft Documentation Notice

If this document is in preproduction status:

This documentation is in preproduction status and is intended for demonstration and preliminary use only. It may not be specific to the hardware on which you are using the software. Oracle Corporation and its affiliates are not responsible for and expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind with respect to this documentation and will not be responsible for any loss, costs, or damages incurred due to the use of this documentation.