Is there a good alternative to SQL*PLUS for Oracle?

Question

I am not a fan of using SQL*PLUS as an interface to Oracle. I usually use yasql, but it hasn\'t been updated since 2005 and can do with some improvements. A quick Google searc

Answer 1

I just use socat to add readline support to sqlplus. History and a working backspace key actually turn sqlplus into a pretty decent tool.

In my .bashrc:

function sqlplus {
        socat READLINE,history=$HOME/.sqlplus_history EXEC:"$ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlplus $(echo $@ | sed 's/\([\:]\)/\\\1/g')",pty,setsid,ctty
        status=$?
}

You might see alternatives that alias sqlplus to socat, but you will quickly discover that doing so prevents you from invoking sqlplus with its various command line options.

CAVEAT: Be sure to set $HOME/.sqlplus_history permissions to 0600. Passwords that you type end up in the history file. You might also consider adding cat /dev/null > $HOME/.sqlplus_history to your .bash_logout.

Answer 2

I like SQL Developer. It's free, has an intuitive UI, and runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. It also supports many sql*plus commands and supports version control

Answer 3

If it's command-line you want, I'd recommend rlwrap to go with sqlplus; it gives you line-editing capabilities and command history, making sqlplus a somewhat usable tool.

Answer 4

It depends what you are looking for. If it is a GUI query tool, then Oracle have their free SQL Developer product (though it has a hefty footprint). There's a few free cross-database ones too. I like SQUirrel SQL client myself. There's also DBVisualiser and a few others. JEdit is an editor that has a DBConsole plugin for running database queries and DML/DDL. They are all java based so run most places.

If you like a command line, check out sqlpython (the developer has identified a couple of others too)

Answer 5

toad from quest software if you can pay for a license

sql squirrel if you can't.

Answer 6

Take a look at Senora. This tool is written in Perl and therefore is cross platform. Also Senora is free, extensible and intends to be your primary Oracle shell. You can extend Senora easily by providing you own plugins. Senora attempts to provide a friendlier output formatting than sqlplus. Columns tend to be only as wide a really needed.

Another interesting alternative is SQLcl. It provides in-line editing, statement completion, command recall, DBA stuff (e.g. startup, shutdown) and also supporting your previously written SQL*Plus scripts.