Substitution and Bind Variables

What exactly are substitution and bind variables?

Substitution and input bind variables are both methods for replacing a variable in a query or procedural code with a corresponding value from your program. Some databases call bind variables parameters.

        select
                first_name,
                middle_initial,
                last_name
        from
                $(schema).people
        where
                person_id=:id
                and
                age>=:youngage
                and
                age<=:oldage

In this query, $(schema) is a substitution variable and :id, :youngage and :oldage are input bind variables.

Output bind variables allow values to be passed from procedural code into buffers in your program.

        BEGIN
                :returnval:=100*50;
        END;

In this code, :returnval is an output bind variable.

Substitution variables are processed first, by the API. Input bind variables are processed second, by the underlying database or by the SQL Relay connection daemon in the event that the database doesn't support bind variables. Output bind variables are processed by the database as the query or procedural code is executed.

Input bind variables may appear as values in the WHERE clause of a SELECT, UPDATE or DELETE, as values in the SET clause of an UPDATE, in the VALUES clause of an INSERT or as values in a block of procedural code.

Output bind variables may appear in the RETURNING clause of a SELECT or as variables in a block of procedural code.

Substitution variables may appear anywhere in the query. They are frequently used to ammend WHERE clauses with additional constraints and specify schemas or databases. A substitution value may even contain bind variables.

Bind Variable Syntax

Different databases have different syntax for bind variables. Oracle bind variables are names preceeded by a colon. In DB2 and Interbase, bind variables are represented by question marks. In Sybase and MS SQL Server, bind variables are names preceeded by an @ sign.

When using SQL Relay bind functions, to refer to an Oracle, Sybase or MS SQL Server bind variable, you should use it's name without the preceeding colon. To refer to a DB2 or Interbase bind variable, you should use it's position number.

For example...

        select
                first_name,
                middle_initial,
                last_name
        from
                $(schema).people
        where
                person_id=:id
                and
                age>=:youngage
                and
                age<=:oldage

In this Oracle syntax query, you should use "id", "youngage" and "oldage" as variable names in the inputBind functions.

        select
                first_name,
                middle_initial,
                last_name
        from
                $(schema).people
        where
                person_id=?
                and
                age>=?
                and
                age<=?

In this DB2 or Interbase syntax query, you should use "1", "2" and "3" as variable names in the inputBind functions.

Why should I use input bind variables instead of just using substitution variables for everything?

Using input bind variables improves performance. A query can be prepared once and executed multiple times, changing the bind variable values between each execution.

Using bind variables improves the cache-hit rate for databases which cache prepred queries as well. Databases which support bind variables parse the query then plug input bind variables into the already parsed code. If the same query is run a bunch of times, even with different values for the input bind variables, the databse will have the code cached and won't have to parse the query again. If you don't use input bind variables, the database will parse the query each time because the where clause will be slightly different each time and the code for all those slightly different queries will clog the cache.

As a rule of thumb, you should use input bind variables instead of substitutions in the WHERE clause of SELECT statements whenever you can.

Output bind variables allow values to be passed directly from procedural code into buffers in your program. This is generally more convenient and efficient than construcing a query that calls procedural code or constructing procedural code that manufactures a result set.

What if my database doesn't support bind variables?

The SQL Relay connection daemon will fake input binds for database API's which don't natively support binds. Currently those are the mSQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Lago, SQLite and FreeTDS connections. You can use either Oracle style or DB2/Interbase style bind variables with those databases, except for FreeTDS which requires either Sybase/MS SQL Server style bind variables. Output binds are not supported for these databases.

When using a database for which SQL Relay fakes bind variables, you should make sure not to pass the wrong type of data into a bind variable. For example, in the query:

        select
                *
        from
                testtable
        where
                stringcol>:stringvar

If stringcol is a string datatype such as char or varchar, bind a string to stringvar rather than a long or double. Failure to do so will cause the query to fail.