Usage Considerations: Ad Hoc Queries
In the data warehousing world, the phrase ad hoc query generally refers to a query composed at the keyboard for immediate performance (as opposed to a permanent query stored in a macro, stored procedure, or SQL application that is performed over and over again without alteration). Such a query frequently undergoes careful, extended planning before being performed for the first time and then is often revised and refined interactively until the desired response is returned. The goal of this type of ad hoc query is not the reporting of data, but the discovery of information.