NAME

       isql — Firebird Interactive SQL shell

SYNOPSIS

       isql  [  -a ]  [ -cache bufnum ]  [ -database database ]  [ -echo ]  [ -input infile ]  [ -noautocommit ]
       [ -nowarnings ]  [ -output outfile ]  [ -password password ]  [ -page pagelen ]  [ -role  role  ]   [  -s
       sqldialect ]  [ -terminator lineterm ]  [ -user user ]  [ -x ]  [ -z ]

DESCRIPTION

       This manual page documents briefly the isql command.

       This  manual  page  was  written for the Debian distribution because the original program does not have a
       (free) manual page.  Instead, it has non-free documentation you  can  get  from  InterBase  (Borland)  or
       FireBird project sites; see at the end of the document.

       isql  is a program that allows the user to issue arbitrary SQL commands to a Firebird database as well as
       exctacting the metadata.

       isql in Debian is available under isql-fb name due to filename conflict with binary from  other  package.
       If   for   some   reason   it  is  needed  to  have  it  under  original  name  it  is  possible  to  add
       /usr/lib/firebird/bin at the beginning of PATH variable which should solve eventual problem.

OPTIONS

       isql can handle various command line options.  Most options can  be  abbreviated.  Below  are  given  the
       shortest abbreviations as well as the full versions.  A summary of options follows.

       -a
                 Extract  DDL  statements  necessary  to  re-create  database's  metadata.   The CREATE DATABASE
                 statement is surrounded by C-style comment.  Statements are printed to standard  output  unless
                 redirection is used. See -output. See -x.

       -c[ache] buffers
                 Specify default number of cache buffers to be used in connections.

       -d[atabase] database
                 Used together with -x. Specifies target database name when extracting. See -x.

       -e[cho]   Display each statement before executing it.

       -x|-ex[tract]
                 Extracts  DDL  statements  to  recreate database metadata.  The only difference with -a is that
                 -extract behaves differently if -d is also specified.

                 If no -d is specified, -x behaves exactly as -a.  If  -d  is  specified,  the  CREATE  DATABASE
                 statement is uncommented, replacing database name with database.

       -i[nput] infile
                 Reads commands from infile instead of standard input. Exits with commit after the last command.

       -m[erge_stderr]
                 Merges standard error to standard output. Useful for redirecting both streams.

       -n[oautocommit]
                 Normally,  all  DDL  statements  like  CREATE  TABLE  are automatically committed in a separate
                 transaction. This option disables the automatic commit of DDL statements.

       -nowarnings
                 Disables displaying of SQL warnings.

       -o[utput] outfile
                 All output is redirected to the given outfile.

       -page[length] n
                 Prints column headers every n output lines. Default is 20.

       -pas[sword] password
                 Uses given password as a default for connecting to the database.

       -r[ole] sqlrole
                 Uses given sqlrole as a default for connecting to the database.

       -s[qldialect] sqldialect
                 Uses given sqldialect as a default for connecting to the database.

       -t[erminator] lineterm
                 Set command line terminator. Default is semicolon (`;').

        -u[ser] username
                 Uses given username as a default for connecting to the database.

       -z        Show version string before doing anything else.

SEE ALSO

       gbak(1), gdef(1), gfix(1),  gpre(1), gsec(1),  gstat(1), qli(1).

       Additional documentation about isql and other Firebird  parts  can  be  found  on  the  Firebird  Project
       website.

       For more information about Firebird project, visit http://www.firebirdsql.org/.

AUTHOR

       This manual page was written by Damyan Ivanov (dam@modsoftsys.com) for the Debian system (but may be used
       by others). Permission is granted to use this document, with or without modifications, provided that this
       notice  is  retained. If we meet some day, and you think this stuff is worth it, you can buy me a beer in
       return.

                                                                                                         ISQL(1)