# Use execution parameters
<a name="querying-with-prepared-statements-querying-using-execution-parameters"></a>

You can use question mark placeholders in any DML query to create a parameterized query without creating a prepared statement first. To run these queries, you can use the Athena console, or use the AWS CLI or the AWS SDK and declare the variables in the `execution-parameters` argument.

**Topics**
+ [Use the Athena console](querying-with-prepared-statements-running-queries-with-execution-parameters-in-the-athena-console.md)
+ [Use the AWS CLI](querying-with-prepared-statements-running-queries-with-execution-parameters-using-the-aws-cli.md)

# Run queries with execution parameters in the Athena console
<a name="querying-with-prepared-statements-running-queries-with-execution-parameters-in-the-athena-console"></a>

When you run a parameterized query that has execution parameters (question marks) in the Athena console, you are prompted for the values in the order in which the question marks occur in the query.

**To run a query that has execution parameters**

1. Enter a query with question mark placeholders in the Athena editor, as in the following example.

   ```
   SELECT * FROM "my_database"."my_table"
   WHERE year = ? and month= ? and day= ?
   ```

1. Choose **Run.**

1. In the **Enter parameters** dialog box, enter a value in order for each of the question marks in the query.  
![\[Enter values for the query parameters in order\]](http://docs.aws.amazon.com/athena/latest/ug/images/querying-with-prepared-statements-1.png)

1. When you are finished entering the parameters, choose **Run**. The editor shows the query results for the parameter values that you entered.

At this point, you can do one of the following:
+ Enter different parameter values for the same query, and then choose **Run again**.
+ To clear all of the values that you entered at once, choose **Clear**.
+ To edit the query directly (for example, to add or remove question marks), close the **Enter parameters** dialog box first.
+ To save the parameterized query for later use, choose **Save** or **Save as**, and then give the query a name. For more information about using saved queries, see [Use saved queries](saved-queries.md).

As a convenience, the **Enter parameters** dialog box remembers the values that you entered previously for the query as long as you use the same tab in the query editor.

# Run queries with execution parameters using the AWS CLI
<a name="querying-with-prepared-statements-running-queries-with-execution-parameters-using-the-aws-cli"></a>

To use the AWS CLI to run queries with execution parameters, use the `start-query-execution` command and provide a parameterized query in the `query-string` argument. Then, in the `execution-parameters` argument, provide the values for the execution parameters. The following example illustrates this technique.

```
aws athena start-query-execution 
--query-string "SELECT * FROM table WHERE x = ? AND y = ?"
--query-execution-context "Database"="default" 
--result-configuration "OutputLocation"="s3://amzn-s3-demo-bucket;/..."
--execution-parameters "1" "2"
```