You can interact with Data Pump Import by using a command line, a parameter file, or an interactive-command mode.
Command-Line Interface: Enables you to specify the Import parameters directly on the command line. For a complete description of the parameters available in the command-line interface, see "Parameters Available in Import's Command-Line Mode".
Parameter File Interface: Enables you to specify command-line parameters in a parameter file. The only exception is the PARFILE parameter because parameter files cannot be nested. The use of parameter files is recommended if you are using parameters whose values require quotation marks. See "Use of Quotation Marks On the Data Pump Command Line".
Interactive-Command Interface: Stops logging to the terminal and displays the Import prompt, from which you can enter various commands, some of which are specific to interactive-command mode. This mode is enabled by pressing Ctrl+C during an import operation started with the command-line interface or the parameter file interface. Interactive-command mode is also enabled when you attach to an executing or stopped job.
For a complete description of the commands available in interactive-command mode, see "Commands Available in Import's Interactive-Command Mode".