[ajw0100]

Along the same lines it makes it easier to comment out items when debugging. Especially if you add in tricks like SELECT 0.

For example multiple lines in this query would cause an error:

    SELECT a.field1,
      a.field2,
    --  b.field1,
    --  b.field2,
      c.field1,
    --  b.field3
    FROM a,
    --  b,
      c
    WHERE --a.field1 = b.field1
      AND a.field2 = c.field1

This query would not cause an error (Note that DUAL is a dummy table in Oracle that contains 1 column and row):

    SELECT 0
    , a.field1
    , a.field2
    --, b.field1
    --, b.field2
    , c.field1
    --, b.field3
    FROM dual 
    , a
    --, b
    , c
    WHERE 0=0
    --  AND a.field1 = b.field1
      AND a.field2 = c.field1

It does add a 0 column to the result set but that can be dealt with or removed after development.