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

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