A command-line version of the Microsoft SQL Server GUI-based tool ISQL/w. The ISQL utility provides a query interface for running transact-SQL queries against SQL Server and lets administrators perform system-management tasks from servers or workstations using system-stored procedures and scripts.
In version 7 of SQL Server, the ISQL utility does not support some version 7 features because it essentially runs with version 6.5 functionality. For example, you cannot use ISQL on version 7 to retrieve Unicode ntext data. For full support of SQL Server 7 features, use the new OSQL utility.
Use ISQL when you want to create a script for automating administrative tasks.