Put me knowledge for this Escape Query

[joel]

What does the command set escape on and set escape OFF does in SQL. I happen to see this in a code but could not understand what is actually happening. Someone help me to fish out this.

[jamesravid]

Sometimes you may need to use a special character such as & or _ in a query that is used by SQL*Plus. You can define an escape character. You may then use it in queries before a special character. It is often useful in automated scripting. To escape the quote character use multiple quotes

set escape \
select 'It''s mine\; I like it' from dual;

You may also turn escape on and off.

set escape off