Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

Name

SET VERIFY

Synopsis

The VERIFY setting controls whether or not SQL*Plus displays before and after images of each line that contains a substitution variable.

Syntax

SET VER[IFY] {OFF | ON}

Parameters

SET VER[IFY]

Is the command, which may be abbreviated SET VER.

OFF

Turns off verification.

ON

Turns on verification. Lines containing substitution variables will be displayed before and after the substitution occurs. This is the default setting.

Examples

Verification is done only on lines that are part of a SQL statement or a PL/SQL block. When substitution occurs in a SQL*Plus command, before and after images are never displayed. The following example shows what verification looks like:

SQL> DEFINE dummy_char = 'X'
SQL> SELECT * FROM dual
  2   WHERE dummy = '&&dummy_char';
old   2:  where dummy = '&&dummy_char'
new   2:  where dummy = 'X'
D
-
X

Notice that line 2, which contained the reference to the &&dummy_char substitution variable, was displayed before and after the reference to the variable was replaced by its value. If you don't like this display, you can turn it off with SET VERIFY OFF.