[Oracle variables](http://www.orafaq.com/node/515) are a great way of removing duplicate SQL statements from your Oracle SQL scripts. By using a variable, you can store the return value of a query and use it later in another, as this example illustrates:
```sql
COLUMN your_column new_value your_variable;
SELECT DISTINCT (your_column)
FROM ...
WHERE ...;
SELECT &your_variable FROM dual;
```
The above example stores the value of the **SELECT DISTINCT** query in a variable named **your\_variable**. You declare the variable with **new\_value**, and set the value by executing an SQL statement that returns one row and column.