Simplify and make SQL scripts run faster by using Oracle variables
Oracle variables 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:
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.