1. What is NOCOPY?

***

By default the IN parameter is passed by reference and the OUT and IN OUT parameters
are passed by value.
NOCOPY : is a compiles hint that can be used with OUT and IN OUT parameter to
request to pass by reference. This improves the performance with OUT and INOUT
parameters.
7 Advantages of stored functions and procedures
* Applications can be modularized.
* Easy maintenance.
- Routines can be modified online without interfering other users.
- One routine can be modified to effect multiple applications.
* Improved data security and integrity.
- Indirect access to database objects can be controlled from non privileged users with
security privileges.
* Improved performance.
- Reparsing for multiple users can be avoided by exploiting the shared SQL area.
- PL/SQL parsing at run-time can be avoided by pursing at compile time.
- Number of calls to the database can be reduced and network traffic decreased by
bundling commands.
* Improved code clarity.
- The clarity of code increases by using appropriate identifier names to describe the
action of the routines which reduces the need for comments.

15 Difference between a function and a procedure

Functions Procedures

* Invoke as a part of an expression. Execute as a PL/SQL statement.

* Must contain a RETURN clause in the header. Do not contain a RETURN
Clause in the header.
* Must return a single value. Can return none, one or many
values.
* Must contain at first one RETURN Can contain a RETURN
Statement. Statement.
* Do not contain OUT and INOUT Can contain IN, Out and
IN OUT parameters. IN OUT Parameters.

16 About Cursors
- Oracle server uses some private work areas to execute SQL statements and to store
processing information.
* By using PL/SQL cursors these private SQL areas can be named and the stored
information can be accessed.
Two Types:
* Implicit Cursors.
- Implicit cursors are declared by PL/SQL implicitly for all DML and PL/SQL select
statements, including queries that return only one row.
- Oracle Server implicitly opens a cursor to process each SQL statement not associated
with on explicitly declared cursor.
- The most recent implicit cursor can be returned as the SQL cursor.
 * Explicit Cursors
- For queries that return more than one row, explicit cursors are declared and named by
the programmes and manipulated through specific statements in the block’s
executable actions.
- Explicit cursors are used to individually process each row returned by a multiple-row
SELECT statement.
- The set of rows returned by a multiple – row query is called as active set.

Declare Open Fetch Empty? Close

Cursor Attributes:-
Attribute Type Description
% is open Boolean Evaluates to TRUE if the cursor is open.
% not found Boolean Evaluates to TRUE if the most recent fetch
doesn’t return a row.
% found Boolean Evaluate to TRUE if the most recent fetch
returns a row. Complement of % not found.
% Row Count Number Evaluates the total number of rows returned so
far.

Parameterized Cursors:-
- Parameters can be passed to the cursor in a cursor for loop.
- It allow to open and close an explicit cursor several times in a block, returning a
different active set on each occasion for each execution, the previous cursor is closed
and reopened with a new set of parameters.
- Sizes should not be mentioned for the data types of parameters the parameters names
are for references in the query expression of the cursor.
Parameters
- A parameter is a variable whose value can be set at runtime (from the run time
parameter of the command line).
- User parameters are created by the user and system parameters are created by Report
Builder.
- System parameters cannot be renamed or deleted.
Bind Parameters (Variables)
- Bind references (or Variables) are used to replace a single value in SQL or PL/SQL,
such as a character string, number or date.
- Bind references may be used to replace expressions in SELECT, WHERE, GROUP
BY, ORDER BY, HAVING, CONNECT BY and START WITH clauses of queries.
- Bind references cannot be referenced in FROM clauses.
- Bind variables can be referenced by entering a colon (:) followed immediately by the
column or parameter name.
- If the parameter / column is not created before making a bind reference, report builder
will create a parameter.

Lexical Parameters (Variables)

- Lexical references are placeholders for text that is embedded in a SELECT statement.
- Lexical Variables can replace the clauses appearing after SLECT, FROM, WHERE,
GROUP BY, ORDER BY, HAVING, CONNECT BY, and START WITH.
What is % Row type
- % Row types is used to declare a record based on a collection of columns in a
database table or view.
- The fields in the record take their names and data types from the columns of the table
or view.
- The record can also store an entire row of data fetched from a cursor or cursor
variable.
- % Row type should be prefixed with the database table.
Ex: Declare
Emp_record employee % row type.
Then emp_record will have a structure consisting of all the fields each representing a
column in the employees table.

What is a Ref Cursor?

- Oracle server uses unnamed memory spaces to store data used in implicit cursors.
- Ref cursors are used to define a cursor variable, which will point to that memory
space and can be used like pointers in SQL ‘S’.

About Exceptions
- An exception is an identifier in PL/SQL that is raised during the execution of a black
that terminates its main body of actions.
- A block always terminates when PL/SQL raises an exception so that an exception
handler should be specified to perform final actions.
* Exception can be raised in two ways exception is raised automatically.
1. Ex:- when no rows are retrieved from the database in a SELECT statement, then error
ORA-01403 occurs and the exception NO-DATA-FOUND is raised by PL/SQL.
2. Ex:- Exception can be raised explicitly by issuing the RAISE statement with in the
block.
- The exception being raised may be either.

User-Defined or Pre Defined

Trapping an exception:-

- If the exception is raised in executable section of the block, processing branches to the
corresponding exception handler in the exception section of the block.
- If PL/SQL successfully handles the exception, then the exception doesn’t propagate to
the enclosing block or calling environment.
- The PL/SQL block terminates successfully.

Propagating an exception:-
- If the exception is raised in the executable section of the block and there is no
corresponding exception handler, the PL/SQL block terminates with failure and the exception
will be propagated to the calling environment.
Types of exceptions:-
A) Pre-Defined Oracle Server Exceptions. - Implicitly Raised.
B) Non-Pre defined Oracle server exceptions. - Implicitly Raised.
C) User-defined exceptions - Explicitly Raised.
Pre-Defined Oracle Server Exceptions:-
- These are the error(20) that occur most often in PL/SQL code.
 - These exceptions need not be declared and raised implicitly by Oracle Server, NO-
DATA-FOUND, LOGIN_DENIED, ZERO_DIVIDE.
Non-Pre-Defined Oracle Server Exceptions:-
- These are the other standard Oracle Server errors.
- These exceptions need to be declared ion the declarative section and raised by Oracle
server implicitly.
User Defined Exceptions: -
- These are the conditions that the developer determines as abnormal.
- These need to be declared and raised explicitly.

PRAGMA EXCEPTION_INIT
Statement is used to associate a declared exception with the standard Oracle Server error
number.
Syntax:- PRAGMA EXCEPTION_INIT (exception, error number)
* SQLCODE, SQL ERRM are two functions, which can be used to identify the associated
error code or error message when exception occurs.
- SQLCODE function returns the numeric value for the error code.
- SQLERRM function returns the character data containing the message associated with
the error number.
- SQLCODE f SQLERRM cannot be used directly in SQL statements.

What is Dynamic SQL?

- Dynamic SQL is a SQL statement that contains variables that can change during
runtime.
- It is a SQL statement with placeholders and is stored as a character string.
- Dynamic SQL enables DDL, DCL or session control statements to be written and
executed (by) from PL/SQL.
* Dynamic SQL can be written in two ways.
A) DBMS_SQL. - 8i
B) Native Dynamic SQL. - 8i
- Basically Dynamic SQL means creating the SQL statements dynamically at runtime
by using variables.
Ex:- Dynamic SQL can be used to create a procedure that operates on a table whose name
is not known until runtime or to execute DDL/DCL/SCS statements.
---- In Pl/SQL such statements cannot be executed statically.
-- EXECUTE IMMEDIATE Statement can perform dynamic single row queries.

Declare
D_str varchar2 (200);
Val varchar2 (20);
Begin
D_str= insert into table1 values (;val);
Val= ‘ Bye’ Execute Immediate str using val; end;

What are Autonomous Transactions?

- Autonomous transactions are the processes run independently of its parent.
- By means of Autonomous Transaction, the current transaction can be temporarily
suspended and another operation can be begun.
 - The basic idea behind this is to have some operation take place independently of
the current transaction.
Ex:- to allow error messages written to table to be committed but to rollback everything else that has taken place prior to the error.

- The autonomous or child transaction can commit or rollback as applicable with the
execution of the parent transaction being resumed upon its completion.
- The parent may then perform further operations of any operations performed with in
the child transaction.
- By using Autonomous Transactions, modular and reusable components can be
developed more easily.
- In fact Oracle already uses similar functionality internally, known as recu
transactions to handle the updating of system resources.
Ex:- When one application selects ‘nextval’ from a non eached sequence, the value is in
the database.
- Thus a second application will always get the incremented application has committed
or rolled back.
- Autonomous Transaction should be defined in PL/SQL in the following manner.

Syntax

PRAGMA AUTONOMOUS_TRANSACTION;

- Autonomous transaction also can be nested.

- The parent transaction remains active while any statements specified in the declare
section of the autonomous unit are executed.
- As the code unit exits and control returns to the parent the main (parent) transaction is
resumed and the transaction context is switched back to the parent.

What is Bulk binding of Bilk collect?

Bulk bind: -
- The assignment of values to PL/SQL variables in SQL statements is called binding.
- The binding of an entire collection at once is refilled to as bulk binding.
- Bulk bind improves performance by minimizing the number of context switches
between PL/SQL and SQL engines while they pass an entire collection of elements
(varray, nested tables, index-by table or host array) as bind variables back and forth.
- Prior to Oracle 8i, the execution of every SQL statements required a switch between
the Pl/SQL and SQL engines, where as bulk binds use only one context switch.
* Bulk binding includes the following
A) Input collections; use the FORALL statement.
B) Output collections, use the BULK COLLECT clause.

Input Collections:-
- Input collections are data passed from Pl/SQL engine to the SQL engine to execute
INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements.
Syntax:- FORALL index in lower bound.. upper bound sql_statement;

Output Collections:-
- Output collections are the data passed from the SQL engine to the PL/SQL engine as
a result of SELECT or FETCH statements.
- The keyword BULK COLLECT can be used with SLECT INTO, FETCH INTO and
RETURNING INTO clauses.
Syntax:- BULK COLLECT into collection_name, ……

VIEWS
- Views are built using the columns from one or more tables.
- The single table view can be updated, but the view with multiple tables cannot be
updated.
* A snapshot contains a complete or partial copy of a target master table from a single
point in time.
- A snapshot may be read only or up datable.
26. How duplicate rows are deleted?
- Duplicate rows are deleted by using ROWID
Syntax  delete from <Table>
Where ROWID not in (Select max (ROWID) from <Table>
Group by <Column_name>);

27. How do you call function and procedure in PL/SQL as well as in SQL prompt?
isql*plus  EXECUTE < Function/Procedure name > ;
(SQL prompt)

PL/SQL  < Procedure Name / Function Name>;

(from another procedure)
Development Tools  <Procedure name>;

28. Difference between IN and OUT parameters.

Three types of parameters
1. IN 2. OUT 3.IN OUT
IN parameter:
- This parameter passes a value from the calling environment into the procedure.
- This is the default mode
- A formal parameter of In mode cannot be assigned a value (we IN parameter cannot
be modified in the body of the procedure)
- IN parameters can be assigned a default value in the parameter list.
- IN parameters are passed by reference.
OUT parameters:
- OUT parameter must be assigned a value before returning to the calling environment.
- OUT parameter passes a value from the procedure to the calling environment
- OUT parameter cannot be assigned a default value in the parameter list.

IN OUT parameter:
- this type of parameter pass a value from the calling environment into the procedure
and a possibly different value from the procedure back to calling environment using
the same parameter.
- IN OUT parameter cannot be assigned a default value. * By default OUT & IN
OUT parameters are passed by value.
- These can be passed by reference by using NOCOPY.
29. Triggers:

- A trigger is a PL/SQL block or a PL/SQL procedure associated with a table view

schema or the database.
- The code in the trigger executes implicitly whenever a particular event occurs.
Two types of triggers:
Application trigger
- fires whenever an event occurs with in a particular application
Database Trigger
- Fires whenever a data event (Such as DML ) or system event (such as log on or shut
down) occurs on a schema or database.
- Executes implicitly when a data event. Such as DML on a table (insert, delete or
Update), an INSTEAD OF trigger on a VIEW or DDL statements are issued no matter
which user is connected or which application is used.
- Also executes implicitly when some user or data base system actions occur.
- Ex. When user logs on to the system.
When DBA shuts down the data base.
- Date base triggers can be defined on tables and on views.
- If a DML operations as issued on a view, the INSTEAD OF trigger defines what
action takes place, if these actions include any DML operations on tables, then any
triggers on the base tables are fired.
- Data base triggers can be system triggers on a data base or a schema.
- With a data base, triggers fire for each event for all users, with a schema, triggers fire
for each event for the specific user.

Recursive trigger :
- This is a trigger that contains a DML operation changing the very same table.
Cascading Trigger:
- The action of one trigger cascades to another trigger, causing this second trigger to
fire.
- Oracle server allows up to 32 triggers to cascade at any one time.
- This number can be changed by changing the value of the OPEN - CORSORS. Data
bases initialization parameter. ( default value is 50 ).
- * A triggering statement should contain
1 Trigger Timing Before, After (For Table)
Instead of (For View)
- Determines when the trigger needs to be fired in relation to the triggering event.
2 Triggering Event Insert, Update, Delete
- Determines which on the table or view causes the trigger to fire.
3 Trigger Type Statement, Row
- Determines how many times the trigger body executes
4 Table name Table, View
5 Trigger body  PL/SQL – block
- Determines what actions the trigger should perform.
* INSTEAD of triggers are used to provide a transparent way to modifying views that
cannot be modified directly through SQL, DML statements because the view is not
modifiable.
- INSTEAD of triggers provide writing of Insert, Update and Delete statements against the
view.
 - The INSTEAD if trigger works invisibly in the background performing the action
coded in the trigger body directly on the underlying tables.
- INSTEAD of trigger execute the trigger body instead of the triggering statement.

Statement Triggers
- In this type of triggers, the trigger body executes once for the triggering event.
- This is the default.
- Statement trigger fires once, even if no rows are affected at all.

Row Trigger
- In this type, the trigger body executes once for each row affected by the triggering
event.
- Row trigger is not executed if the triggering event affects no rows.
* A view cannot be modified by normal DML if the view query contains set operators,
group functions, group by, connect By, start with clauses or joins.

Mutating Table
- A Mutating table is a table that is currently being modified by an UPDATE, DELETE
OR INSERT statement, or a table that might need to be updated by the effects of a
declarative DELETE CASCADE referential integrity action.
- A table is not considered mutating for statement triggers.
- A mutating table cannot be changed because the resulting DML could change data
that is in consistent state.

What is SQL Trace?

- SQL Trace is the main method for collecting SQL execution information in Oracle
collecting a wide range of information and statistics that can be used to tune SQL
operations.
- The SQL – Trace facility can be enabled / disabled for an individual session or at the
instance level.
- If the initialization parameter SQL-TRACE is set to TRUE in the init.ora of an
instance, then all sessions will be traced.
- SQL-TRACE can be set at the instance level by using the initialization parameter
SQL-TRACE.
- SQL-TRACE can also be enabled / disabled at the system/session level by using.
Alter system/session set SQL-TRACE = TRUE/FALSE.

Explain Plan
- Explain plan command generates information that details the execution plan that will
be used on a particular query.
- A uses a pre created table (PLAN_TABLE) in the current schema to store information
about the execution plan chosen by the optimizer.

 Creating the plan table

- Plan table is created by using the script utl x plan, sql
(Oracle Home / RDBMS / admin / uti x plan.sql)
Unix  $ ORACLE_HOME / rdbms / admin

- This script creates an output table, called PLAN-TABLE for holding the output of the
explain command.
  Populating the PLAN TABLE
- PLAN TABLE is populated using the explain plan.
SQL> Explain Plan for select * from emp where emp no = 1000;
- This command inserts the execution plan of the SQL statement into the plan table.
- A name tag can be added to explain information by using the set statement_id clause.

Displaying the Execution Plan

- Once the table has been populated, the explain info needs to be retrieved and
formatted.
- Number of scripts are available to format the plan table data.
$ ORACLE_HOME / rdbms / admin / utlxpls. Sql – to format serial explain plans.
$ ORACLE_HOME/ rdbms/admin/utlxpil. Sql – to format parallel explain plans.

* AUTOTRACE
- The AUTOTRACE facility in SQL* plus allows analysts to view the execution pan d
some useful statistics for a SQL statement within a SQL*plus session.
- AUTOTRACE needs to be initiated in the SQL*Plus session prior to executing the
statement.
SET AUTOTRACE [OPTIONS] [EXPLAIN] [STATISTICS]
- As with the explain plan command, to obtain an execution plan the PLAN-TABLE
must be created in the user’s schema prior to Auto Tracing.
SQL> Set Auto trace trace only explain
SQL> Select * from dual;
- To enable viewing of STATISTICS data, the auto tracing user must have access to
dynamic performance tables.
- To achieve this, grant PLUS TRACE role to the user.
PLUS TRACE role is created by the plus trace. Sql script
$ ORACLE_HOME / sql plus admin
SYS user must run this script.
DBA can them grant the role to the users who wish to use the AUTOTRACE.

TK PROF
- Tk prof facility accepts as input a SQL Trace File and produces a formatted output
file.
- Tk Prof Filename_source filename_output EXPLAIN = [user name / password] sys =
[yes/no] TABLE = [Table Name]
A) How do you add trace to a report?
- By usingthe package SRW.TRACE_ADD_OPTION
B) How do you execute a specified DDL in a report?
- BY using the package PW.DO_SQL
C) How do you generate message in reports?
- By using the packages PW.MESSAGE (Reg Num, );
D) Explain BLOBS of CLOBS?
LOB A LOB is a data type that is used to store large, unstructured data such as text,
graphic images, video, clippings etc.
* Four large object data types.
BLOB : Represents a binary large object
CLOB : Represents a character large object
NCLOB: Represents a multibyte character object.
BFILE: Represents a binary file store of in an os binary file outside the data base.
LOB’S  Internal LOBS (CLOB, BLOB, NCLOB)
external Files (BFILE)
- Depending on the storage aspects and their interpretation by Oracle server.
* LONG_TO_LOB API is used to migrate LONG columns to LOB columns.

LOB’S
LOB Locator

- A table can have multiple LOB columns

- The maximum size of a LOB can be 4 GB
- LOB’S return the locator
- LOB’S store a locator in the table end data in a different segment unless the data is
less than 4000 bytes.

LOB LOB value (real data)

LOB locator (pointer to the location of the LOB value)
- A LOB column doesn’t contain the data and it contains the located of the LOB value.
- When a table is created with LOB column, the default storage is ENABLE
STORAGE IN ROW.
- If DISABLE storage in Row option is used the LOB value is not stored in the ROW
even if the size is less then 4000 bytes.

Internal LOB’S
- Stored inside the Oracle server.
- BLOB, NCLOB, CLOB.
BFILE
- BFILE’S are external LOB’S.
- These are stored in OS files out side the database table spaces.
- The data type is BFILE.
- BFILE data file stores a locator to the physical file.
- BFILE can be GIF, JPEG, MPEG, text or other formats.
*DBMS_LO.READ of DBMS_lob.WRITE are used to manipulate LOBS.
Types of Joins
1 Equi Join
2 Non-Equi Join
3 Outer Join
4 self Join

Equi Join:-
- Is also called simple or inner join.
- An equi join is a join condition that contains equality sign.

Non Equi Join:-

- It is a join condition that contains something other than the equality operator.

Outer Join:-
- Outer joins are used to also see rows that do not meet the join condition.
- Outer join operator is (+).
- The missing rows can be returned if an outer join operator is used in the join
condition.
 - The operator (+) is placed on the side of the join that is deficient in information.
- This operator has the effect of creating one or more null rows to each one or more
rows from the (join condition) non deficient table can be joined.

Self Join
- Self join is used to join a table to itself.
Ex:- to find the name of each employer’s manager.

What is Ref Cursor

Ref cursor is a data type and executed at server side and with ref cursor multiple select
statements can be executed.
By increase the binary size, that number of records that are committed can be increased by
using control file.

What is Decode function?

*Decode function decodes an expression in a way similar to the IF_THEN_ELSE logic used
in various languages.
Decode function decodes expression after comparing it to each search condition.
If the expression is the same as search, result is returned.
If the default value is committed, a null value is returned where a search value does not match
any of the result values.
DECODE function facilitates conditional inquiries by doing the work of a CASE or
IF_THEN_ELSE statement.
DECODE (column, expression, search1, result1, search2, result2, …..);
Ex:- Select last_name, job, alary,
DECODE ( ‘IT_PROG’, 1.10*SALARY,
‘ST_CLERK’, 1.15*SALARY,
‘ST_REP’, 1.20*SALARY,
SALARY) REVISED_SALARY from employees;
What is a Data Group?
- A data group is a group of oracle applications and the Oracle ID’s of each
application
- Oracle ID grants access privileges to tables in an Oracle Database
- Data group determines which Oracle Data base accounts a responsibilities forms,
concurrent programs and reports connect to.
86. What is a Responsibility?
- Responsibility defines Applications Privileges
- A responsibility is a level of authority in Oracle Applications that lets users only
those Oracle Applications functions and data appropriate to their roles in an
organization.
- Each user has at list one or more responsibilities and several users can share the
same responsibility
* Each responsibility allows access to
- a specific application or a set of applications.
- A set of books
- A restricted list of windows that an user can navigate
- Reports in a specific application.
87. What are security Attributes?
 - Security Attributes are used by Oracle self service web Applications to allow
rows of data to be visible to specified users responsibilities based on the specific
data contained in the row.
88. What is a Profile Option?
- profile options are the set of changeable options that affects how the application
looks and behaves.
- By setting profile options, the applications can be made to react in different ways
for different users depending on the specific user attributes.
89. What are steps involved in developing a flex field?
- designing the table structure
- creating fields on the form (Visible/Hidden)
- calling appropriate routines
- registration of the flex field.
- Definition of the flex field.
<Flex fields / key/ Register>
<Flex fields/Descriptions / Register>
90. What is an application /Module?
- Application is a collection of forms, function and menus
91. What are Alerts?
- Alert is a mechanism that checks the database for a specific exception condition.
- An alert is characterized by the SQL select statements it contains.
- A SQL select statement fells the application what database exception to identify
as well as what output to produce for that exception.
92. what are composite Data types?
* Composite Data types are of two types
1. PL/SQL Records
2. PL/SQL Collections
 Index By Table
 Nested Table
 VARRAY
* Composite data types are also known as collections
- they are RECORD,TABLE,NESTED TABLE and VARRAY
RECORD data type:-
- A RECORD is a group of related data items stored as fields each with its own
name and data type.
- PL/SQL Records are similar to structures in 3GL’s
- A RECORD is not the same as Row in a database table
- RECORD treats a collection of fields as a logical unit.
- These are (RECORD type) convenient for fetching a row of data from a table for
processing
- RECORDS also can be declared.
Syntax  TYPE type_name is RECORD
(filed declaration,…..);
 identifier type_name;
Ex:- TYPE emp_record_type is RECORD
last_name varchar2(50),
job_id varchar2(10),
salary number*8,2));
emp_record emp_ record_type;
- fields declared as NOT NULL must be initialized.
INDEX BY Table data types:-

* This data type contains two components .

1. Primary key of data type BINARY_INTEGER
2. column of scalar or record data type.
* Objects of the TABLE type are called INDEX BY Tables
- they are modeled as (but not the same as ) data base tables.
- INDEX BY Table are a primary key to provide the user with array-like access to
rows.
- INDEX BY table is similar to an ARRAY.
- It can be increased in size dynamically because they are un constrained.
* there are two steps involved in creating a INDEX BY table.
1. Declare a TABLE data type.
2. Declare a variable of that type.
- the size of the INDEX BY Table is un constrained increase dynamically so that
INDEX BY Table an increase dynamically, so that INDEX BY Table grows as
new rows are added.
- INDEX BY Tables can have one column and a unique identifier to that one
column neither of which can be named.
- The column can belong to any scalar or record data type, but the primary key
must be ling to type BINARY_INTEGER
- INDEX BY Tables cannot be initialized at the time of its declaration and also it
cannot be populated at the time of declaration.
- An exploit executable statement is required to initialize (populate) the INDEX
BY TABLE.

INDEX BY TABLE STRUCTURE

Unique identifier Column

…….
1
2
……
 …
Gopi
Raj
….
BINARY_INTEGER SCALOU
Syntax  TYPE ename_table_type IS TABLE OF
Employees.last_name%TYPE
INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
-this can be reterened by
INDEX Bytable_name (primary_key_value);
- The Following methods are used with INDEX BY Tables.

1. EXISTS
2. OUNT
3. FIRST AND LAST
4. PRIOR
5. NEXT
6. TRIM
7. DELETE
INDEX BY Table of Records:_

- At a given point of time. INDEX BY Table can store only the details of any one of
the columns of a database table
- To store al the columns retried by a query,
INDEX BY Table of Records are used.

- Because only the table definition is needed to hold information about all of the fields of a
data base table, the table of records greatly increases the functionality if INDEX BY Table.

Syntax  TYPE dept_table_type IS TABLE OF

Departments % ROWTYPE
INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
Dept_table dept_table_type;

*% ROW TYPE attribute can be used to declare a record that represents a row in a database
table.
*The difference between the % ROWTYPE attribute and the composite data type RECORD
is that RECORD allows to specify the data types of fields in the record or to declare new
fields with new data types.

Nested Tables
* Nested Table is an ordered group of items of type TABLE.
Nested Table contain multiple columns and can be used as variables, parameters, results,
attributes and columns.
They can be thought of as one column data base tables.
Rows of a nested table are not stored in any particular order.
The size of a nested table can be increased dynamically i.e. nested tables are unbounded.
Elements in a table initially have consecutive subscripts, but as elements are deleted, they can
have non-consecutive subscripts.
The range of values for nested table subscripts is 1 ..2147483647.
To extend a nested table, the built-in procedure EXTEND must be used.
To delete elements, the built-in procedure DELETE must be used.
An un initialized nested table is automatically null, so the IS NULL comparison operator can
be used to ses if nested table is null.
The operators CAST, THE and MULTISET are used or manipulating nested tables.

1. Creation of a Nested Table

Defining an object type.
SQL> Create type ELEMENTS AS OBJECT
(ELEM_ID Number (6),
PRICE Number (7,2));
/

2. Create a table type ELEMENTS_TAB which stores ELEMENTS objects.

SQL> Create TYPE ELEMENTS_TAB AS TABLE OF ELEMENTS
/

3. Create a data base table STORAGE having type ELEMENTS_TAB as one of its
columns.
SQL> Create Table STORAGE
(Saleman number(4),
Elem_id number(6),
Ordered Date,
Items Elements_Tab)
NESTED TABLE ITEMS STORE AS ITEMS_TAB;

VARRAYS:-

VARRAYS are ordered group of items of type VARRAY.

VARRAYS can be used to associate a single identifier with an entire collection.
This allows manipulation of the collection as a whole and easy reference of individual
elements.
The maximum size of VARRAY needs to be specified in its type definition.
The range of values for the index of a VARRAY is from 1 to the maximum specified in its
type definition.
If no elements are in the (table) ARRAY, then the ARRAY is automatically null.
The main use of VARRAY is to group small of uniform-sized collection of objects.
Elements of a VARRAY cannot be accessed individually SQL, although they can be accessed
in PL/SQL, OCI, or Pro*C using the array style subscript.
The type of the element of a VARRAY can be any PL/SQL type except the following.
BOOLEAN, TABLE, VARRAY etc.
VARRAYS can be used to retrieve an entire collection as a value.
VARRAY data is stored in-line, in the table space as the other data in its row.
When a VARRAY is declared, a constructor with the same name as the VARRAY is
implicitly defined.
The constructor creates a VARRAY from the elements passed to it.
A VARRAY can be assigned to another VARRAY, provided the data types are the exact
same type.
TYPE my_VARRAY1 IS VARRAY (10) OF MY_Type;
Is NULL comparison operator can be used to see if a VARRAY is null.
VAARAYS cannot be compared for equality or in equality.

Creating a VARRAY:-
1. Defining object type ELEMENTS
SQL> Create TYPE MEDICINES AS OBJECT
(MED_ID NUMBER (6),
MED_NAME Varchar2 (14),
MANF_DATE DATE);
/

2. Define a VARRAY type MEDICINE_ARR which stores MEDICINES. objects

SQL> Create TYPE MEDICINE_ARR AS VARRAY (40)
OF MEDICIES;
/

3. Creating a relational table MED_STORE which has MEDICINE_ARR as a column type

SQL> Create table MED_STORE(
Location varchar2 (15),
Store_Size number (7),
Employees number (6),
Med_Items Medicine_Arr);

Differences between nested tables and Varrays

*Nested Tables are unbounded, where as Varrays have a maximum size.
*Individual elements can be deleted from a nested table, but not from a Varray.
Therefore nestedtables can be spares, where as Varrays always are dense.
Varrays are stored by Oracle in-line (in the same table space), where as nested table data is
out-of-line in a store table, which is a system generated data base table associated with the
nested table.
When stored in the data base, nested tables do not retain their ordering and subscripts, where
as Varrays do.
Nested tables support indexes while VARRAYS do not.

Differences between conversions and Interfaces:-

Conversion Interface

1. Conversion is one-time process 1. Interface is the post production

which is performed once before process.
production go on live.
(Pre-production process)
2. Data comes in to Oracle Applications 2. Interface is the integration of
only (One way process) two systems.
3. Interative Process 3. Scheduled and repetive process.