Can I use MS SQL syntax in Sybase? - sybase

Question

I have worked on SQL Server database. Now I have to work on a Sybase database (using a Squirrel client). This query is not working :
DECLARE #tableName VARCHAR(500);
DECLARE my_cursor CURSOR FOR
SELECT name
FROM sysobjects
WHERE type = 'U';
OPEN my_cursor;
FETCH NEXT FROM my_cursor INTO #tableName;
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
//Do something here
FETCH NEXT FROM my_cursor;
END
CLOSE my_cursor;
DEALLOCATE CURSOR my_cursor;
It gives an error - Incorrect syntax near the keyword 'FROM'.
SQLState: ZZZZZ
ErrorCode: 156
Error occured in:
FETCH NEXT FROM my_cursor INTO #table_Name
Now this works fine in a SQL Server database (after I change the last line to DEALLOCATE my_cursor). Can anybody tell me where I am going wrong?

Answer 1

As Mitch points out the fetch syntax is:
fetch cursor_name [into fetch_target_list]
You also need to declare the cursor in a separate batch, this means you must put a "GO" after the declare statement. You will then find that your variable drops out of scope, so you'll need to move that so that it's after the "GO".
You also need to examine ##sqlstatus to see how successful the fetch was, rather than ##FETCH_STATUS which I think is MSSQL only.
DECLARE my_cursor CURSOR FOR
SELECT name
FROM sysobjects
WHERE type = 'U'
go
DECLARE #tableName VARCHAR(500)
set nocount on
OPEN my_cursor
FETCH my_cursor INTO #tableName
WHILE ##sqlstatus = 0
BEGIN
--Do something here
FETCH my_cursor INTO #tableName
print #tablename
END
CLOSE my_cursor
DEALLOCATE CURSOR my_cursor
And no semicolons needed at the end of lines in Sybase ASE.

Answer 2

DECLARE #tableName VARCHAR(500);
DECLARE my_cursor CURSOR FOR
SELECT name
FROM sysobjects
WHERE type = 'U';
OPEN my_cursor;
FETCH my_cursor INTO #tableName;
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
//Do something here
FETCH my_cursor INTO #tableName;
END
CLOSE my_cursor;
DEALLOCATE CURSOR my_cursor;

Answer 3

Declare #tablename after the cursor.

Answer 4

First of all Squirrel supports go as a SQL batch separator. Go to menu item Session--> Session Properties---> 'SQL' Tab.
Scroll to bottom and set 'Statement Separator' as 'go' (quotes not needed) .
Then follow the previous answer . The DECLARE CUROSR can be the only SQL statement in a batch , hence you must insert go after it.
In the next batch re-declare any variables that were declared in earlier batch and will be referenced in second batch.
This should work. This is how I have been testing SQL code involving cursors for years.