<!--$Header: /cvsroot/pgsql/doc/src/sgml/ref/execute.sgml,v 1.6 2003/08/31 17:32:23 petere Exp $PostgreSQL documentation--><refentry id="SQL-EXECUTE"> <refmeta>  <refentrytitle id="sql-execute-title">EXECUTE</refentrytitle>  <refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo> </refmeta> <refnamediv>  <refname>EXECUTE</refname>  <refpurpose>execute a prepared statement</refpurpose> </refnamediv> <indexterm zone="sql-execute">  <primary>EXECUTE</primary> </indexterm> <refsynopsisdiv><synopsis>EXECUTE <replaceable class="PARAMETER">plan_name</replaceable> [ (<replaceable class="PARAMETER">parameter</replaceable> [, ...] ) ]</synopsis> </refsynopsisdiv> <refsect1>  <title>Description</title>  <para>   <command>EXECUTE</command> is used to execute a previously prepared   statement. Since prepared statements only exist for the duration of a   session, the prepared statement must have been created by a   <command>PREPARE</command> statement executed earlier in the   current session.  </para>  <para>   If the <command>PREPARE</command> statement that created the statement   specified some parameters, a compatible set of parameters must be   passed to the <command>EXECUTE</command> statement, or else an   error is raised. Note that (unlike functions) prepared statements are   not overloaded based on the type or number of their parameters; the   name of a prepared statement must be unique within a database session.  </para>  <para>   For more information on the creation and usage of prepared statements,   see <xref linkend="sql-prepare" endterm="sql-prepare-title">.  </para> </refsect1> <refsect1>  <title>Parameters</title>  <variablelist>   <varlistentry>    <term><replaceable class="PARAMETER">plan_name</replaceable></term>    <listitem>     <para>      The name of the prepared statement to execute.     </para>    </listitem>   </varlistentry>   <varlistentry>    <term><replaceable class="PARAMETER">parameter</replaceable></term>    <listitem>     <para>      The actual value of a parameter to the prepared statement.  This      must be an expression yielding a value of a type compatible with      the data type specified for this parameter position in the      <command>PREPARE</command> command that created the prepared      statement.     </para>    </listitem>   </varlistentry>  </variablelist> </refsect1> <refsect1>  <title>Compatibility</title>  <para>   The SQL standard includes an <command>EXECUTE</command> statement,   but it is only for use in embedded SQL.  This version of the   <command>EXECUTE</command> statement also uses a somewhat different   syntax.  </para> </refsect1></refentry><!-- Keep this comment at the end of the fileLocal variables:mode: sgmlsgml-omittag:nilsgml-shorttag:tsgml-minimize-attributes:nilsgml-always-quote-attributes:tsgml-indent-step:1sgml-indent-data:tsgml-parent-document:nilsgml-default-dtd-file:"../reference.ced"sgml-exposed-tags:nilsgml-local-catalogs:"/usr/lib/sgml/catalog"sgml-local-ecat-files:nilEnd:-->