Ad Hoc Query

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What Does Ad Hoc Query Mean?

In SQL, an ad hoc query is a loosely typed command/query whose value depends upon some variable. Each time the command is executed, the result is different, depending on the value of the variable. It cannot be predetermined and usually comes under dynamic programming SQL query. An ad hoc query is short lived and is created at runtime.

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Techopedia Explains Ad Hoc Query

As the word “ad hoc” suggests, this type of query is designed for a “particular purpose,”which is in contrast to a predefined query, which has the same output value on every execution. An ad hoc query does not reside in the system for a long time and is created dynamically on demand by the user. It is more efficient to use an ad hoc query in programming as it saves system resources, but, at the same time complex, ad hoc queries (have multiple variables) also challenge the processing speed and runtime memory of the system.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.