EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement [SP]

EXECUTE IMMEDIATE [ execute-option ] string-expression

execute-option :
WITH QUOTES [ ON | OFF ]
| WITH ESCAPES { ON | OFF }
| WITH BATCH { ON | OFF }
| WITH RESULT SET { ON | OFF }

EXECUTE ( string-expression )

WITH QUOTES clause When you specify WITH QUOTES or WITH QUOTES ON, any double quotes in the string-expression are assumed to delimit an identifier. When you do not specify WITH QUOTES, or specify WITH QUOTES OFF, the treatment of double quotes in the string-expression depends on the current setting of the quoted_identifier option.
WITH QUOTES is useful when an object name that is passed into the stored procedure is used to construct the statement that is to be executed, but the name might require double quotes and the procedure might be called when the quoted_identifier option is set to Off.

WITH ESCAPES clause WITH ESCAPES OFF causes any escape sequences (such as \n, \x, or \\) in the string-expression to be ignored. For example, two consecutive backslashes remain as two backslashes, rather than being converted to a single backslash. The default setting is equivalent to WITH ESCAPES ON.

One use of WITH ESCAPES OFF is for easier execution of dynamically constructed statements referencing file names that contain backslashes.

In some contexts, escape sequences in the string-expression are transformed before the EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement is executed. For example, compound statements are parsed before being executed, and escape sequences are transformed during this parsing, regardless of the WITH ESCAPES setting. In these contexts, WITH ESCAPES OFF prevents further translations from occurring. For example:

BEGIN
   DECLARE String1 LONG VARCHAR;
   DECLARE String2 LONG VARCHAR;
   EXECUTE IMMEDIATE
        'SET String1 = ''One backslash: \\\\ ''';
     EXECUTE IMMEDIATE WITH ESCAPES OFF
        'SET String2 = ''Two backslashes: \\\\ ''';
   SELECT String1, String2
END

WITH BATCH clause The WITH BATCH clause allows you to control the execution of batches in EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statements. Setting WITH BATCH OFF provides protection against inadvertent SQL-injection when the procedure is run.
WITH BATCH ON is the default, except for procedures owned by dbo.

When WITH BATCH OFF is used, the statement specified by string-expression must be a single statement.
WITH RESULT SET clause The WITH RESULT SET clause allows the server to define correctly the procedure containing it. Specifying WITH RESULT SET ON or WITH RESULT SET OFF affects both what happens when the procedure is created, as well as what happens when the procedure is executed. The default option is WITH RESULT SET OFF.
You can have an EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement return a result set by specifying WITH RESULT SET ON. With this clause, the containing procedure is marked as returning a result set.

The EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement extends the range of statements that can be executed from within procedures and triggers. It lets you execute dynamically prepared statements, such as statements that are constructed using the parameters passed in to a procedure.

Literal strings in the statement must be enclosed in single quotes. String literals cannot span multiple lines.

Only global variables can be referenced in a statement executed by EXECUTE IMMEDIATE.

Only Syntax 2 can be used inside Transact-SQL stored procedures and triggers.

Statements executed with EXECUTE IMMEDIATE do not have their plans cached.

None.

None. However, if the statement is a data definition statement with an automatic commit as a side effect, that commit does take place.

SQL/2008 EXECUTE IMMEDIATE is optional SQL language feature B031, "Basic dynamic SQL", of the SQL/2008 standard. The execute-option syntax is a vendor extension. The SQL/2008 standard prohibits the use of EXECUTE IMMEDIATE that returns a result set.
Transact-SQL Syntax 2 is the Transact-SQL dialect's syntax for EXECUTE IMMEDIATE. The execute-option syntax is not supported by Adaptive Server Enterprise.

The following procedure creates a table, where the table name is supplied as a parameter to the procedure.

CREATE PROCEDURE CreateTableProc(
                  IN tablename char(30)
                  )
BEGIN
   EXECUTE IMMEDIATE
   'CREATE TABLE ' || tablename ||
   ' ( column1 INT PRIMARY KEY)'
END;

To call the procedure and create a table called mytable:

CALL CreateTableProc( 'mytable' );

EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement [SP]

Syntax 1

Syntax 2 - Transact-SQL

Parameters

Remarks

Permissions

Side effects

See also

Standards and compatibility

Examples