using SQL query on unix [duplicate] - oracle

Question

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Closed 10 years ago.
Possible Duplicate:
Select columns into local variable from sql script using shell script
im trying to write a unix script that will retrieve a parameter using sql query and run a script afterwards with this parameter.
for the time being, im just tryin to make it echo the retrieved parameter.
the sql query that works fine on toad (oracle 8) is :
select billcycle from bc_run
where billcycle not in (50,16)
and control_group_ind is null
and billseqno=6043
the above query give a number.
now the script i wrote is:
#!/bin/bash
echo "this script will print the billcycle date"
v_bc=`sqlplus -s /#bscsprod <<EOF
select billcycle from bc_run
where billcycle not in (50,16)
and control_group_ind is null
and billseqno=6043`
echo "billcycle number is $v_bc"
the result when i run the file is
billcycle number is
with no number that follows.
any ideas what's wrong ? maybe the syntax for connecting to the sql server ?
thanks
Assaf.

Answer 1

The duplicate question APC linked to shows a working example, but to clarify you have two problems. The first is non-fatal and is just that you don't have EOF, as Rembunator pointed out (though it's in the wrong place in that answer).
More importantly though you don't have a terminating ; in your query, so SQL*Plus won't execute it - it just exits with no output.
If you typed your original query in as the SQL*Plus command prompt it would leave you at a further prompt waiting for input, and then go back to a normal prompt if you just hit return again, without actually executing the query:
SQL> select billcycle from bc_run
2 where billcycle not in (50,16)
3 and control_group_ind is null
4 and billseqno=6043
5
SQL>
You also probably want at least some formatting of the output. So this should work:
v_bc=`sqlplus -s /#bscsprod <<EOF
set pagesize 0
select billcycle from bc_run
where billcycle not in (50,16)
and control_group_ind is null
and billseqno=6043;
EOF`

Answer 2

I think you should end with EOF as well:
v_bc=`sqlplus -s /#bscsprod <<EOF
select billcycle from bc_run
where billcycle not in (50,16)
and control_group_ind is null
and billseqno=6043
EOF`
Edited: Oops, as corrected by Alex Poole.