How can I pass parameters to an "SQL Script" from isql I am wondering if it is possible to pass parameters to an SQL script from within sybase's isql utility.

For example, I'd like to store a select statement in the file the_script.sql that would look something like

select
   col_1,
   col_2,
   etc
from
   table
where
   cond1 &gt; $param1 and
   cond2 &lt; $param2


Then, with that file, I'd like to "execute" it from isql with 

:r the_script.sql 900 20


with the expectation that $param1 is repleaced with 900 and $param2 with 20.

Is there a possibility to achieve what I want?
Looking at your use case, it looks as if you want a stored procedure, so here's one I wrote for you:

CREATE PROC the_script
(
   @param1 int = null,
   @param2 int = null
)
AS
BEGIN
   select
      col_1,
      col_2,
      etc
   from
      table
   where
      cond1 &gt; @param1 and
      cond2 &lt; @param2
END


Now, being in isql, you can run it:

exec the_script 900, 20


Regards.