Why can I use @ or SPOOL in iSQL*Plus?
In iSQL*Plus you can use the ‘@’ command with files that can be read over HTTP. You cannot reference files from a local file system. The basic security model of iSQL*Plus is the security model of the command line -RESTRICT option (introduced with SQL*Plus 8.1.7). See SQL*Plus Release 8.1.7 User’s Guide and Reference. This prevents @ and a few other commands from accessing local files because in a 3-tier model (the tiers are: thin browser, iSQL*Plus engine, and database), the middle tier does not have access to a user’s file system. A number of other commands are not available in iSQL*Plus. These are generally very obsolete or have no place in a Web-based environment (for example the buffer editing commands).
