title: What does a colon (':') mean in SQL syntax?
body: <blockquote>
    <p><strong>Possible Duplicate:</strong><br>
    <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2177978/what-does-the-colon-sign-do-in-a-sql-query">What does the colon sign &ldquo;:&rdquo; do in a SQL query?</a>  </p>
  </blockquote>
  
  
  
  <p>Simple SQL question:
  What does <code>:</code> stand for?</p>
  
  <p>For example:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT * FROM myTable
  WHERE Employee_column = :P_EmplId;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The <code>:</code> isn't exactly easy to google when you don't know what this is called. Even searching here didn't help. I'm using Oracle 11g if that makes any difference.</p>