PL/SQL INTRODUCTION

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.

- Ludwig Wittgenstein
PL/SQL (Procedural Language / SQL) extends SQL by adding programming constructs:
variables
types
control structures (if, loop)
Subprograms
PL/SQL Block:
The basic unit of PL/SQL is a block
Blocks can be nested.
Typically each block performs a logical unit of work.
Block structure is (boldfaced part required):
DECLARE
declaration section
BEGIN
executable section
EXCEPTION
error handling section
END;
• Block Sections:
– Declaration Section: Defines and initializes the variables and cursors used in the block.
– Executable Section: Uses flow control commands to execute the commands and assign values to the
declared variables.
– Exception Handler Section: Customized error handling.
• PL/SQL Block Types:
– Anonymous Blocks
• not stored in Oracle
• executed only once
– Named Blocks
• an anonymous block with a name.
• usually executed once.
– Subprograms
• procedures, functions or packages
• These blocks are stored in Oracle and executed many times.
• Explicit execution.
– Triggers
• Stored in Oracle.
• Implicit execution when a triggering event happens.
A good way to get acquainted with PL/SQL is to look at a sample
program. The program below processes an order for tennis
rackets.
• First, it declares a variable of type NUMBER to store the quantity
of tennis rackets on hand.
• Then, it retrieves the quantity on hand from a database table
named inventory.
• If the quantity is greater than zero, the program updates the table
and inserts a purchase record into another table named
purchase_record.
• Otherwise, the program inserts an out-of-stock record into the
purchase_record table.
 PL/SQL Example
/**************************************/
-- Example of an anonymous PL/SQL block.
/**************************************/
DECLARE
qty_on_hand NUMBER(5);
BEGIN
SELECT quantity INTO qty_on_hand
FROM inventory
WHERE product = 'TENNIS RACKET'
FOR UPDATE OF quantity;
IF qty_on_hand > 0 THEN -- check quantity
UPDATE inventory
SET quantity = quantity - 1
WHERE product = 'TENNIS RACKET';
INSERT INTO purchase_record VALUES
('Tennis racket purchased', SYSDATE);
ELSE
INSERT INTO purchase_record VALUES
('Out of tennis rackets', SYSDATE);
END IF;
COMMIT;
END;
 PL/SQL Variables
• Variables and Constants
– PL/SQL allows you to declare constants and variables, then use them in SQL and
procedural statements anywhere an expression can be used.
– Forward references are not allowed -- you must declare a constant or variable
before referencing it in other statements, including other declarative statements.
• Declaring Variables
– Variables can have any SQL datatype, such as CHAR, DATE, and NUMBER, or any
PL/SQL datatype, such as BOOLEAN and BINARY_INTEGER.
– Example: you want to declare a variable named part_no to hold 4-digit numbers and
a variable named in_stock to hold the Boolean value TRUE or FALSE. You declare
these variables as follows:
– part_no NUMBER(4);
in_stock BOOLEAN;
– You can also declare records and PL/SQL tables using the RECORD and TABLE
composite datatypes.
PL/SQL Variables
• Assigning Values to a Variable
– You can assign values to a variable in two ways. The first way uses the assignment
operator (:=). Some examples follow:
tax := price * tax_rate;
bonus := current_salary * 0.10;
amount := TO_NUMBER(SUBSTR('$750', 2, 3));
valid := FALSE;
– A second way to assign values to a variable is to select or fetch database values
into it. In the following example, you have Oracle compute a 10% bonus when you
select the salary of an employee:
SELECT sal * 0.10 INTO bonus
FROM emp WHERE empno = emp_id;
Then, you can use the variable bonus in another computation or insert its value
into a database table.
• Declaring Constants
– Declaring a constant is like declaring a variable except that you must add the
keyword CONSTANT and immediately assign a value to the constant.
– Thereafter, no more assignments to the constant are allowed.
– In the following example, you declare a constant named credit_limit:
credit_limit CONSTANT REAL := 5000.00;
 Control Structures
• Conditional Control (IF-THEN-ELSE)
– The IF-THEN-ELSE statement lets you
execute a sequence of statements
conditionally. The IF clause checks a
condition; the THEN clause defines what
to do if the condition is true; the ELSE
clause defines what to do if the
condition is false or null.
– Consider the program below, which
processes a bank transaction. Before
allowing you to withdraw $500 from
account 3, it makes sure the account has
sufficient funds to cover the withdrawal.
If the funds are available, the program
debits the account; otherwise, the
program inserts a record into an audit
table.
DECLARE
acct_balance NUMBER(11,2);
acct CONSTANT NUMBER(4) := 3;
debit_amt CONSTANT NUMBER(5,2) := 500.00;
BEGIN
SELECT bal INTO acct_balance FROM accounts
WHERE account_id = acct
FOR UPDATE OF bal;
IF acct_balance >= debit_amt THEN
UPDATE accounts SET bal = bal - debit_amt
WHERE account_id = acct;
ELSE
INSERT INTO temp VALUES
(acct, acct_balance, 'Insufficient funds');
-- insert account, current balance, and message
END IF;
COMMIT;
END;
 Control Structures
Iterative Control (LOOP)
LOOP statements let you execute a sequence of statements multiple times. You place the keyword LOOP before
the first statement in the sequence and the keywords END LOOP after the last statement in the sequence.
For example:
LOOP
EXIT WHEN i > 100;
END LOOP;
Iterative Control (FOR-LOOP)
The FOR-LOOP statement lets you specify a range of integers, then execute a sequence of statements once for
each integer in the range. For example:
FOR i IN 1..order_qty LOOP
UPDATE sales SET custno = customer_id
WHERE serial_num = serial_num_seq.NEXTVAL;
END LOOP;
Iterative Control (WHILE-LOOP)
The WHILE-LOOP statement associates a condition with a sequence of statements. Before each iteration of the
loop, the condition is evaluated. If TRUE, loop continues. If FALSE the loop ends and control passes to the
next statement.
For example:
WHILE salary < 4000 LOOP
SELECT sal, mgr, ename
INTO salary, mgr_num, last_name
FROM emp WHERE empno = mgr_num;
END LOOP;
 Control Structures
Sequential Control
The GOTO statement lets you branch to a label unconditionally. The label, an undeclared
identifierenclosed by double angle brackets, must precede an executable statement or a
PL/SQL block.
POOR PROGRAMMING PRACTICE! Avoid using GOTO!!
Example:
IF rating > 90 THEN
GOTO calc_raise; -- branch to label
END IF;
...
<<calc_raise>>
IF job_title = 'SALESMAN' THEN -- control resumes here
amount := commission * 0.25;
ELSE
amount := salary * 0.10;
END IF;
 PL/SQL Cursors
• Cursors
– Oracle uses work areas (cursors) to execute SQL statements and store processing
information.
– There are two kinds of cursors:
• Implicit Cursors: PL/SQL implicitly declares a cursor for all SQL data
manipulation statements, including queries that return only one row.
• Explicit Cursors: For queries that return more than one row, you can
explicitly declare a cursor to process the rows individually. Example:
DECLARE
CURSOR c1 IS
SELECT empno, ename, job
FROM emp WHERE deptno = 20;

– The set of rows returned by a multi-row query is called the result set. An explicit
cursor "points" to the current row in the result set. This allows your program to
process the rows one at a time.
 PL/SQL Cursors
• Manipulating Cursors
– You use the OPEN, FETCH, and CLOSE statements to control a cursor. The OPEN statement executes the
query associated with the cursor, identifies the result set, and positions the cursor before the first row. The
FETCH statement retrieves the current row and advances the cursor to the next row. When the last row has
been processed, the CLOSE statement disables the cursor.
• Cursor FOR Loops
– In most situations that require an explicit cursor, you can simplify coding by using a cursor FOR loop instead
of the OPEN, FETCH, and CLOSE statements.
– A cursor FOR loop implicitly declares its loop index as a record that represents a row in a database table,
opens a cursor, repeatedly fetches rows of values from the result set into fields in the record, then closes the
cursor when all rows have been processed. In the following example, the cursor FOR loop implicitly declares
emp_rec as a record:
• DECLARE
• CURSOR c1 IS
• SELECT ename, sal, hiredate, deptno FROM emp;
• ...
• BEGIN
• FOR emp_rec IN c1 LOOP
• ...
• salary_total := salary_total + emp_rec.sal;
• END LOOP;
• END;
– You use dot notation to reference individual fields in the record.
 PL/SQL Cursors
• Cursor Variables
– Like a cursor, a cursor variable points to the current row in the result set of a multi-row query. But,
unlike a cursor, a cursor variable can be opened for any type-compatible query. It is not tied to a
specific query. Cursor variables are true PL/SQL variables, to which you can assign new values and
which you can pass to subprograms stored in an Oracle database. This gives you more flexibility and
a convenient way to centralize data retrieval.
– Typically, you open a cursor variable by passing it to a stored procedure that declares a cursor
variable as one of its formal parameters. The following packaged procedure opens the cursor
variable generic_cv for the chosen query:
• CREATE PACKAGE BODY emp_data AS
• PROCEDURE open_cv (generic_cv IN OUT GenericCurTyp,
• choice IN NUMBER) IS
• BEGIN
• IF choice = 1 THEN
• OPEN generic_cv FOR SELECT * FROM emp;
• ELSIF choice = 2 THEN
• OPEN generic_cv FOR SELECT * FROM dept;
• ELSIF choice = 3 THEN
• OPEN generic_cv FOR SELECT * FROM salgrade;
• END IF;
• END open_cv;
• END emp_data;
 Attributes

• Attributes
– PL/SQL variables and cursors have attributes, which are properties that let you reference the datatype and
structure of an object without repeating its definition. Database columns and tables have similar attributes,
which you can use to ease maintenance.
• %TYPE
– The %TYPE attribute provides the datatype of a variable or database column. Example:
• my_title books.title%TYPE;
– Declaring my_title with %TYPE has two advantages. First, you need not know the exact datatype of title.
Second, if you change the database definition of title, the datatype of my_title changes accordingly at run time.
• %ROWTYPE
– In PL/SQL, records are used to group data. The %ROWTYPE attribute provides a record type that represents a
row in a table. The record can store an entire row of data selected from the table or fetched from a cursor or
cursor variable.
– Columns in a row and corresponding fields in a record have the same names and datatypes.
Example:
• DECLARE
• dept_rec dept%ROWTYPE; -- declare record var.
– You use dot notation to reference fields.
Example:
• my_deptno := dept_rec.deptno;
 Attributes
– If you declare a cursor that retrieves the last name, salary, hire date,
and job title of an employee, you can use %ROWTYPE to declare a
record that stores the same information, as follows:
• DECLARE
• CURSOR c1 IS
• SELECT ename, sal, hiredate, job FROM emp;
• emp_rec c1%ROWTYPE; -- record variable that
• -- represents a row in the emp table
– When you execute the statement
• FETCH c1 INTO emp_rec;
– the value in the ename column of the emp table is assigned to the
ename field of emp_rec, the value in the sal column is assigned to the
sal field, and so on.
 PL/SQL Tables and Record Data Types
PL/SQL Tables
Like an array, a PL/SQL table is an ordered collection of elements of the same type. Each element has
a unique index number that determines its position in the ordered collection.
PL/SQL tables are unbounded (unlike an array) and can be allocated dynamically.
PL/SQL tables do not require consecutive indexnumbers.
You can use a cursor FOR loop to fetch an entire column or table of Oracle data into a PL/SQL table. In
the following example, you fetch a table of data into the PL/SQL table dept_tab:
DECLARE
TYPE DeptTabTyp IS TABLE OF dept%ROWTYPE
INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
dept_tab DeptTabTyp;
n BINARY_INTEGER := 0;
BEGIN
FOR dept_rec IN (SELECT * FROM dept) LOOP
n := n + 1;
dept_tab(n) := dept_rec;
END LOOP;
...
END;
 PL/SQL Tables and Record Data Types

User-Defined Records
You can use the %ROWTYPE attribute to declare a record that represents a row in a table or a
row fetched from a cursor. But, with a user-defined record, you can declare fields of your own.
Records contain uniquely named fields, which can have different datatypes. Suppose you have
various data about an employee such as name, salary, and hire date. These items are
dissimilar in type but logically related. A record containing a field for each item lets you treat
the data as a logical unit.
Example:
DECLARE
TYPE TimeTyp IS RECORD (minute SMALLINT, hour SMALLINT);
TYPE MeetingTyp IS RECORD (
day DATE,
time TimeTyp, -- nested record
place VARCHAR2(20),
purpose VARCHAR2(50));
Notice that you can nest records. That is, a record can be the component of another record.
 Procedures and Packages
• Modularity
– Modularity lets you break an application down into manageable, well-defined logic modules.
Besides blocks and subprograms, PL/SQL provides the package, which allows you to group related
program objects into larger units.
• Subprograms
– PL/SQL has two types of subprograms called procedures and functions, which can take parameters
and be invoked (called). A subprogram is like a miniature program, beginning with a header
followed by an optional declarative part, an executable part, and an optional exception-handling
part.
• Packages
– PL/SQL lets you bundle logically related types, program objects, and subprograms into a package.
Each package is easy to understand and the interfaces between packages are simple, clear, and
well defined. This aids application development.
– Packages usually have two parts: a specification and a body. The specification is the interface to
your applications; it declares the types, constants, variables, exceptions, cursors, and subprograms
available for use. The body defines cursors and subprograms and so implements the specification.
– Only the declarations in the package specification are visible and accessible to applications.
Implementation details in the package body are hidden and inaccessible.
– Packages can be compiled and stored in an Oracle database, .... When you call a packaged
subprogram for the first time, the whole package is loaded into memory.
 Error Handling

Error Handling
PL/SQL makes it easy to detect and process predefined and
user-defined error conditions called exceptions.
When an error occurs, an exception is raised. Normal execution
stops and control transfers to the exception-handling part of
your PL/SQL block or subprogram. To handle raised
exceptions, you write separate routines called exception
handlers.
Predefined exceptions are raised implicitly by the runtime
system.
You must raise user-defined exceptions explicitly with the RAISE
statement.
 Error Handling
You can define exceptions of your own in the declarative part of any PL/SQL block or subprogram. In
the executable part, you check for the condition that needs special attention. If you find that the
condition exists, you execute a RAISE statement. Example:
DECLARE
salary NUMBER(7,2);
commission NUMBER(7,2);
comm_missing EXCEPTION; -- declare exception
BEGIN
SELECT sal, comm INTO salary, commission FROM emp
WHERE empno = :emp_id;
IF commission IS NULL THEN
RAISE comm_missing; -- raise exception
ELSE
:bonus := (salary * 0.05) + (commission * 0.15);
END IF;
EXCEPTION -- begin exception handlers
WHEN comm_missing THEN
-- process error
END;