Rmoug14-St - Hilaire-Clob Blob Lob v2

@sthilaire wphilltech.
com
LOBS, BLOBS, CLOBS

Dealing with Attachments in APEX
Tim St. Hilaire

Feb 2014
@sthilaire wphilltech.com
The Plan
• Intro
• The Goal
• APEX BLOB Wizard
• Making It Your Own
• Base Technology
• Advanced Database Concepts
• Questions
Introduction
Tim St. Hilaire
• System Integrator
• Problems Solver
• Pragmatist
• Technology Enthusiast
• APEX Fan
• Enkitec Product Developer
The Goal
• Ability to accept file attachment input from
users in an application
• Use the content in applications either as text,
images, or downloadable to users
• Understand how the data is stored, retrieved,
and managed inside the database
Demonstration – The Goal

The Academics
The Academics
• LOB – Large Objects – broken down into
datatypes
– BLOB - Stores unstructured binary data in the
database as a bit stream
– CLOB – Stores large amounts of text such as XML in
the database character set
– NCLOB – National Character Set LOB – stores Unicode
data
– BFILE – external LOB
– Secure File LOB – file data enabling advanced features
such as compression and encryption
BLOB vs. CLOB

• BLOB
– Stream of data intended to be binary
– Chunks are returned in RAW format (substr)
• CLOB
– Will translate between character sets
– Chunks are returned in VARCHAR2 format (substr)
SELECT * FROM
NLS_DATABASE_PARAMETERS WHERE
PARAMETER = 'NLS_CHARACTERSET';
There are 10 types of people in the world…
Those that understand binary, and those that

don’t.
-- The Internet
APEX
Demonstration - APEX Submit Button

Where did the file go?

WWV_FLOW_FILES
APEX_APPLICATION_FILES
Table Context Sensitivity

• APEX_APPLICATION_FILES – limits to files
available in the workspace.
• Includes files that were uploaded by all
applications in a workspace
• Includes files that have been uploaded via the
builder
• Includes Static Shared Component Files for the
Application and the Workspace
Evaluate WWV_FLOW_FILES
Pros Cons
• No Table Creations Required • Need Remote Key Storage
• Consistent Implementation • Application Files combined
• Storage in a known location • Storage for all Workspaces
is shared
• Some Files are publicly
available
Custom Table
My Table
• To configure your own table
• Minimum Requirements
• Adjust to Features and Business Requirements
ID NUMBER (your choice)

ACTUAL_FILE BLOB
MIME_TYPE VARCHAR2
FILE_NAME VARCHAR2
Custom Table
CREATE TABLE MY_APEX_FILES(
BLOB_ID NUMBER NOT NULL,
NAME VARCHAR2(100 BYTE),
DESCRIPTION VARCHAR2(2000 BYTE),
CATEGORY VARCHAR2(200 BYTE),
PUBLIC_FLAG VARCHAR2(1 BYTE),
BLOB_CONTENT BLOB,
BLOB_SIZE NUMBER,
MIME_TYPE VARCHAR2(255 BYTE),
FILE_NAME VARCHAR2(255 BYTE),
CREATED_BY VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
CREATED_ON DATE,
UPDATED_BY VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
UPDATED_ON DATE);
Referencing
Form - File Browse Settings

Form - Display Images





Form - Difference
<img id="P210_IMAGE" <img
src="apex_util.get_blob_file id="P210_IMAGE_SELECT"
?a=500&s=9700348909 src="wwv_flow.show?p_req
98301&p=210&d= uest=NATIVE%3DC825C6CF6
27553826455759041&i 97537EC53FBD9065B8B082
=27566106354076381&amp 7585481276038A327CEF5A
;p_pk1=3212306414813867 150CAC67389&p_insta
83828770868593367722825 nce=970034890998301&am
&p_pk2=&p_ck=D p;p_flow_id=500&p_fl
164075B30411E1CF29B6B9 ow_step_id=210">
ED9A57684" alt="Hunger"
title="Hunger">
Report - Showing Contents

Report – BLOB Field
• When writing SQL, the report column is NOT

the BLOB content Field – as much as a
reference to the content
Report – Numbers Required

• The Report column is calculated as SIZE
• Using the APEX format mask / generator, it
must be a number.
Report Content = SIZE

• Note – You can store the size when the row is
written for easy syntax
Notes From the Field

• The Mime Type and File Name is important for
usability
• The report column containing the primary key

must be named the same as the primary key
field in the BLOB table – even if the BLOB table
is not in the report
• Fields are ignored based on format selections
(inline vs. download)
Report - Include Download

Link Creation Result

<a
href="apex_util.get_blob?s=8634949024800&a
mp;a=500&c=3473415610798872&p=
200&k1=3418001856547833&k2=&a
mp;ck=BD47E34C8E5A3058299ECD457A4574B4
&rt=IR" alt="Download"
title="Download 58KB">Download</a>
• Case Sensitive Names

“Apex_application_files”
!=
APEX_APPLICATION_FILES
Report - Include Image

Report - Include Image

As a Column in a Select Statement:
CASE
WHEN MIME_TYPE LIKE 'image%' THEN
'<img
src="'||apex_util.get_blob_file_src
(
'P210_BLOB_CONTENT',ID)||
'" height="75" width="75" />'
ELSE NULL
END as shrunk
Text
Quiz
What is the size limit of a VARCHAR2?
(A) 255
(B) 2000
(C) 4000
(D) 32767
(E) 8 Terabytes
(F) Whatever it is defined as….
Maximum Width
Rich Text Editor

Character Limit!
Or
The most descriptive error messages ever…
Demonstration – Text Region Error

Plugin – Rich Text

The Next Level of Complexity

Once Upon a Time….
@apexins.sql @apexins.sql
Tablespace_apex SYSAUX
tablespace_files SYSAUX
tablespace_temp TEMP
images /i/
Specify LOB Storage Location

CREATE TABLE ContainsLOB_tab (
n NUMBER,
c CLOB)
lob (c) STORE AS BASICFILE segname
(TABLESPACE lobtbs1
CHUNK 4096
PCTVERSION 5
NOCACHE LOGGING
STORAGE (MAXEXTENTS 5)
);
Demonstration – Text Region Plugin

Size of Tables
SELECT
l.table_name||'-lob',
s.bytes
FROM user_lobs l,
user_segments s
WHERE
s.segment_name = l.segment_name
AND
s.segment_type = 'LOBSEGMENT'
Size Matters
ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE DEALLOCATE UNUSED;
ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE enable ROW MOVEMENT;
ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE SHRINK SPACE cascade;
ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE disable ROW MOVEMENT;
Find a DBA to Partner With

Questions and Comments

References
Many thanks to all those that have come before me, and for those that take the time to help others grow and
improve their skills by sharing their time an knowledge.
• Enkitec Plugin
– http://www.enkitec.com/products/plugins
• Demonstration Application
– http://wphilltech.com
• APEX Docs
– BLOB in APEX 17.10
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E37097_01/doc/doc.42/e35125/advnc_blob.htm#HTMDB25906
– GET_BLOB_FILE_SRC
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E37097_01/doc/doc.42/e35127/apex_util.htm#AEAPI129
• DBMS_LOB
– http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/appdev.112/e25788/d_lob.htm
• Oracle SecureFiles and Large Objects
– http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/appdev.112/e18294/adlob_tables.htm
– http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/appdev.112/e18294/adlob_lob_ops.htm
• APEX Builder - BLOB Support in Forms and Reports
– http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E37097_01/doc/doc.42/e35125/advnc_blob.htm
• Icons
– http://www.stdicon.com/
Disclaimer
• Marks, images, brands and referenced content are the
property of their respective owners. Usage is for
discussion purposes only. No ownership assumed or
implied.
• The comments and opinions expressed here are sole
responsibility of the author and not of his employer or
any other party.
• No trees were harmed during the creation of this
presentation. However, a great number of electrons
were terribly inconvenienced.

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@sthilaire wphilltech.

LOBS, BLOBS, CLOBS

Tim St. Hilaire

Demonstration – The Goal

BLOB vs. CLOB

There are 10 types of people in the world…

Those that understand binary, and those that

Demonstration - APEX Submit Button

Where did the file go?

Table Context Sensitivity

ID NUMBER (your choice)

Form - File Browse Settings

Form - Display Images

Form - Display Images

Form - Display Images

Form - Display Images

Form - Display Images

Report - Showing Contents

Report – BLOB Field

• When writing SQL, the report column is NOT

Report – Numbers Required

Report Content = SIZE

Notes From the Field

Notes From the Field

• The report column containing the primary key

Report - Include Download

Link Creation Result

Notes From the Field

• Case Sensitive Names

Report - Include Image

Report - Include Image

Rich Text Editor

Demonstration – Text Region Error

Plugin – Rich Text

The Next Level of Complexity

Once Upon a Time….

Specify LOB Storage Location

Demonstration – Text Region Plugin

ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE DEALLOCATE UNUSED;

ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE enable ROW MOVEMENT;

ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE SHRINK SPACE cascade;

ALTER TABLE MY_TABLE disable ROW MOVEMENT;

Find a DBA to Partner With

Questions and Comments

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