Step 3: Get a description of command outputs

The application can send a describe-output command to get the format of the result columns that will be returned when the prepared statement executes. For example, an interactive application might use a describe-output command to determine the number and format of result columns to prepare data structures that are used when displaying the query results. A describe-output command allows the application to determine the results format without executing the prepared statement.

NoteA single dynamic SQL batch may contain multiple SQL statements. The description of the prepared statement output, however, only describes the first resultset. You will receive full descriptions of each resultset only when the dynamic SQL statement is executed.