What is PL/SQL?

PLSQL stands for "Procedural Language extensions to SQL", and can be used in Oracle
databases. PL SQL is closely integrated into the SQL language, yet it adds programming
constructs that are not native to SQL. PL/SQL also implements basic exception
handling. This tutorial contains an introduction to beginning pl sql. This Oracle pl/sql
tutorial also provides a hands on experience for beginning plsql. It contains many free
plsql examples which can be reused in your code.

Pl/Sql is the procedural implementation of sql i.e. you can pass sql statements in
procedural format using pl/sql. Normal sql does not have any procedural capabilities
moreover you can only pass one statement at a time to Oracle Engine. Hence, pl/sql
have come up to avoid this limitation. Hence, pl/sql is the structured programming
language for oracle. It's structure is similar to any other procedural language such as C
or C++

PL/SQL Tutorial

PL/SQL Tutorial

• Variables and Types

• Simple PL/SQL Programs
• Control Flow in PL/SQL
• Cursors
• Procedures
• Discovering Errors
• Printing Variables

Basic Structure of PL/SQL

PL/SQL stands for Procedural Language/SQL. PL/SQL extends SQL by adding constructs
found in procedural languages, resulting in a structural language that is more powerful
than SQL. The basic unit in PL/SQL is a block. All PL/SQL programs are made up of
blocks, which can be nested within each other. Typically, each block performs a logical
action in he program. A block has the following structure:

DECLARE

/* Declarative section: variables, types, and local subprograms. */

BEGIN

/* Executable section: procedural and SQL statements go here. */

/* This is the only section of the block that is required. */

EXCEPTION

/* Exception handling section: error handling statements go here. */

END;

Only the executable section is required. The other sections are optional. The only SQL
statements allowed in a PL/SQL program are SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE and
several other data manipulation statements plus some transaction control. However,
the SELECT statement has a special form in which a single tuple is placed in variables;
more on this later. Data definition statements like CREATE, DROP, or ALTER are not
allowed. The executable section also contains constructs such as assignments,
branches, loops, procedure calls, and triggers, which are all described below (except
triggers). PL/SQL is not case sensitive. C style comments (/* ... */) may be used.

To execute a PL/SQL program, we must follow the program text itself by

* A line with a single dot ("."), and then

* A line with run;

As with Oracle SQL programs, we can invoke a PL/SQL program either by typing in
sqlplus.

Variables and Types

Information is transmitted between a PL/SQL program and the database through

variables. Every variable has a specific type associated with it. That type can be

* One of the types used by SQL for database columns

* A generic type used in PL/SQL such as NUMBER
* Declared to be the same as the type of some database column

The most commonly used generic type is NUMBER. Variables of type NUMBER can hold
either an integer or a real number. The most commonly used character string type is
VARCHAR(n), where n is the maximum length of the string in bytes. This length is
required, and there is no default. For example, we might declare:

DECLARE

price NUMBER;

myBeer VARCHAR(20);

Note that PL/SQL allows BOOLEAN variables, even though Oracle does not support
BOOLEAN as a type for database columns.

Types in PL/SQL can be tricky. In many cases, a PL/SQL variable will be used to
manipulate data stored in a existing relation. In this case, it is essential that the
variable have the same type as the relation column. If there is any type mismatch,
variable assignments and comparisons may not work the way you expect. To be safe,
instead of hard coding the type of a variable, you should use the %TYPE operator. For
example:

DECLARE

myBeer Beers.name%TYPE;
gives PL/SQL variable myBeer whatever type was declared for the name column in
relation Beers.

A variable may also have a type that is a record with several fields. The simplest way to
declare such a variable is to use %ROWTYPE on a relation name. The result is a record
type in which the fields have the same names and types as the attributes of the
relation. For instance:

DECLARE

beerTuple Beers%ROWTYPE;

makes variable beerTuple be a record with fields name and manufacture, assuming that
the relation has the schema Beers(name, manufacture).

The initial value of any variable, regardless of its type, is NULL. We can assign values to
variables, using the ":=" operator. The assignment can occur either immediately after
the type of the variable is declared, or anywhere in the executable portion of the
program. An example:

DECLARE

a NUMBER := 3;

BEGIN

a := a + 1;

END;

run;

This program has no effect when run, because there are no changes to the database.

Simple Programs in PL/SQL

The simplest form of program has some declarations followed by an executable section
consisting of one or more of the SQL statements with which we are familiar. The major
nuance is that the form of the SELECT statement is different from its SQL form. After
the SELECT clause, we must have an INTO clause listing variables, one for each
attribute in the SELECT clause, into which the components of the retrieved tuple must
be placed.

Notice we said "tuple" rather than "tuples", since the SELECT statement in PL/SQL only
works if the result of the query contains a single tuple. The situation is essentially the
same as that of the "single-row select" discussed in Section 7.1.5 of the text, in
connection with embedded SQL. If the query returns more than one tuple, you need to
use a cursor. Here is an example:

CREATE TABLE T1(

e INTEGER,
f INTEGER

);

DELETE FROM T1;

INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(1, 3);

INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(2, 4);

/* Above is plain SQL; below is the PL/SQL program. */

DECLARE

a NUMBER;

b NUMBER;

BEGIN

SELECT e,f INTO a,b FROM T1 WHERE e>1;

INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(b,a);

END;

run;

Fortuitously, there is only one tuple of T1 that has first component greater than 1,
namely (2,4). The INSERT statement thus inserts (4,2) into T1.

Control Flow in PL/SQL

PL/SQL allows you to branch and create loops in a fairly familiar way.

An IF statement looks like:

IF <condition> THEN <statement_list> ELSE <statement_list> END IF;

The ELSE part is optional. If you want a multiway branch, use:

IF <condition_1> THEN ...

ELSIF <condition_2> THEN ...

... ...

ELSIF <condition_n> THEN ...

ELSE ...

END IF;

The following is an example, slightly modified from the previous one, where now we
only do the insertion if the second component is 1. If not, we first add 10 to each
component and then insert:

DECLARE

a NUMBER;

b NUMBER;

BEGIN

SELECT e,f INTO a,b FROM T1 WHERE e>1;

IF b=1 THEN

INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(b,a);

ELSE

INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(b+10,a+10);

END IF;

END;

run;

Loops are created with the following:

LOOP

<loop_body> /* A list of statements. */

END LOOP;

At least one of the statements in <loop_body> should be an EXIT statement of the form

EXIT WHEN <condition>;

The loop breaks if <condition> is true. For example, here is a way to insert each of the
pairs (1, 1) through (100, 100) into T1 of the above two examples:

DECLARE

i NUMBER := 1;

BEGIN
LOOP

INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(i,i);

i := i+1;

EXIT WHEN i>100;

END LOOP;

END;

.run;

Some other useful loop-forming statements are:

* EXIT by itself is an unconditional loop break. Use it inside a conditional if you like.
* A WHILE loop can be formed with

· WHILE <condition> LOOP

· <loop_body>

END LOOP;

* A simple FOR loop can be formed with:

· FOR <var> IN <start>..<finish> LOOP

· <loop_body>

END LOOP;

Here, <var> can be any variable; it is local to the for-loop and need not be declared.
Also, <start> and <finish> are constants.

Cursors

A cursor is a variable that runs through the tuples of some relation. This relation can be
a stored table, or it can be the answer to some query. By fetching into the cursor each
tuple of the relation, we can write a program to read and process the value of each
such tuple. If the relation is stored, we can also update or delete the tuple at the
current cursor position.
The example below illustrates a cursor loop. It uses our example relation T1(e,f) whose
tuples are pairs of integers. The program will delete every tuple whose first component
is less than the second, and insert the reverse tuple into T1.

1) DECLARE

/* Output variables to hold the result of the query: */

2) a T1.e%TYPE;

3) b T1.f%TYPE;

/* Cursor declaration: */

4) CURSOR T1Cursor IS

5) SELECT e, f

6) FROM T1

7) WHERE e < f

8) FOR UPDATE;

9) BEGIN

10) OPEN T1Cursor;

11) LOOP

/* Retrieve each row of the result of the above query

into PL/SQL variables: */

12) FETCH T1Cursor INTO a, b;

/* If there are no more rows to fetch, exit the loop: */

13) EXIT WHEN T1Cursor%NOTFOUND;

/* Delete the current tuple: */

14) DELETE FROM T1 WHERE CURRENT OF T1Cursor;

/* Insert the reverse tuple: */

15) INSERT INTO T1 VALUES(b, a);

16) END LOOP;

/* Free cursor used by the query. */

17) CLOSE T1Cursor;

18) END;

19) .

20) run;

Here are explanations for the various lines of this program:

* Line (1) introduces the declaration section.
* Lines (2) and (3) declare variables a and b to have types equal to the types of
attributes e and f of the relation T1. Although we know these types are INTEGER, we
wisely make sure that whatever types they may have are copied to the PL/SQL
variables (compare with the previous example, where we were less careful and
declared the corresponding variables to be of type NUMBER).
* Lines (4) through (8) define the cursor T1Cursor. It ranges over a relation defined by
the SELECT-FROM-WHERE query. That query selects those tuples of T1 whose first
component is less than the second component. Line (8) declares the cursor FOR
UPDATE since we will modify T1 using this cursor later on Line (14). In general, FOR
UPDATE is unnecessary if the cursor will not be used for modification.
* Line (9) begins the executable section of the program.
* Line (10) opens the cursor, an essential step.
* Lines (11) through (16) are a PL/SQL loop. Notice that such a loop is bracketed by
LOOP and END LOOP. Within the loop we find:
o On Line (12), a fetch through the cursor into the local variables. In general, the FETCH
statement must provide variables for each component of the tuple retrieved. Since the
query of Lines (5) through (7) produces pairs, we have correctly provided two variables,
and we know they are of the correct type.
o On Line (13), a test for the loop-breaking condition. Its meaning should be clear:
%NOTFOUND after the name of a cursor is true exactly when a fetch through that
cursor has failed to find any more tuples.
o On Line (14), a SQL DELETE statement that deletes the current tuple using the special
WHERE condition CURRENT OF T1Cursor.
o On Line (15), a SQL INSERT statement that inserts the reverse tuple into T1.
* Line (17) closes the cursor.
* Line (18) ends the PL/SQL program.
* Lines (19) and (20) cause the program to execute.

Procedures

PL/SQL procedures behave very much like procedures in other programming language.
Here is an example of a PL/SQL procedure addtuple1 that, given an integer i, inserts the
tuple (i, 'xxx') into the following example relation:

CREATE TABLE T2 (

a INTEGER,

b CHAR(10)

);

CREATE PROCEDURE addtuple1(i IN NUMBER) AS

BEGIN

INSERT INTO T2 VALUES(i, 'xxx');

END addtuple1;
run;

A procedure is introduced by the keywords CREATE PROCEDURE followed by the

procedure name and its parameters. An option is to follow CREATE by OR REPLACE. The
advantage of doing so is that should you have already made the definition, you will not
get an error. On the other hand, should the previous definition be a different procedure
of the same name, you will not be warned, and the old procedure will be lost.

There can be any number of parameters, each followed by a mode and a type. The
possible modes are IN (read-only), OUT (write-only), and INOUT (read and write). Note:
Unlike the type specifier in a PL/SQL variable declaration, the type specifier in a
parameter declaration must be unconstrained. For example, CHAR(10) and
VARCHAR(20) are illegal; CHAR or VARCHAR should be used instead. The actual length
of a parameter depends on the corresponding argument that is passed in when the
procedure is invoked.

Following the arguments is the keyword AS (IS is a synonym). Then comes the body,
which is essentially a PL/SQL block. We have repeated the name of the procedure after
the END, but this is optional. However, the DECLARE section should not start with the
keyword DECLARE. Rather, following AS we have:

... AS

<local_var_declarations>

BEGIN

<procedure_body>

END;

run;

The run at the end runs the statement that creates the procedure; it does not execute
the procedure. To execute the procedure, use another PL/SQL statement, in which the
procedure is invoked as an executable statement. For example:

BEGIN addtuple1(99); END;

run;

The following procedure also inserts a tuple into T2, but it takes both components as
arguments:

CREATE PROCEDURE addtuple2(

x T2.a%TYPE,
y T2.b%TYPE)

AS

BEGIN

INSERT INTO T2(a, b)

VALUES(x, y);

END addtuple2;

run;

Now, to add a tuple (10, 'abc') to T2:

BEGIN

addtuple2(10, 'abc');

END;

run;

The following illustrates the use of an OUT parameter:

CREATE TABLE T3 (

a INTEGER,

b INTEGER

);

CREATE PROCEDURE addtuple3(a NUMBER, b OUT NUMBER)

AS

BEGIN

b := 4;

INSERT INTO T3 VALUES(a, b);

END;

.
run;

DECLARE

v NUMBER;

BEGIN

addtuple3(10, v);

END;

run;

Note that assigning values to parameters declared as OUT or INOUT causes the
corresponding input arguments to be written. Because of this, the input argument for
an OUT or INOUT parameter should be something with an "lvalue", such as a variable
like v in the example above. A constant or a literal argument should not be passed in
for an OUT/INOUT parameter.

We can also write functions instead of procedures. In a function declaration, we follow

the parameter list by RETURN and the type of the return value:

CREATE FUNCTION <func_name>(<param_list>) RETURN <return_type> AS ...

In the body of the function definition, "RETURN <expression>;" exits from the function
and returns the value of <expression>.

To find out what procedures and functions you have created, use the following SQL
query:

select object_type, object_name

from user_objects

where object_type = 'PROCEDURE'

or object_type = 'FUNCTION';

To drop a stored procedure/function:

drop procedure <procedure_name>;

drop function <function_name>;

Discovering Errors

PL/SQL does not always tell you about compilation errors. Instead, it gives you a cryptic
message such as "procedure created with compilation errors". If you don't see what is
wrong immediately, try issuing the command

show errors procedure <procedure_name>;

Alternatively, you can type, SHO ERR (short for SHOW ERRORS) to see the most recent
compilation error.

Printing Variables

Sometimes we might want to print the value of a PL/SQL local variable. A ``quick-and-
dirty'' way is to store it as the sole tuple of some relation and after the PL/SQL
statement print the relation with a SELECT statement. A more couth way is to define a
bind variable, which is the only kind that may be printed with a print command. Bind
variables are the kind that must be prefixed with a colon in PL/SQL statements.

The steps are as follows:

1. We declare a bind variable as follows:

VARIABLE <name> <type>

where the type can be only one of three things: NUMBER, CHAR, or CHAR(n).

2. We may then assign to the variable in a following PL/SQL statement, but we must
prefix it with a colon.
3. Finally, we can execute a statement

PRINT :<name>;

outside the PL/SQL statement

Here is a trivial example, which prints the value 1.

VARIABLE x NUMBER

BEGIN

:x := 1;

END;

run;

PRINT :x;

PL/SQL BLOCK
The pl/sql block contains the following section:--

-----The DECLARE section.

-----The Master BEGIN and END section that contains the EXCEPTION section.
The declare section contains declaration of memory variables, constants, cursors etc.
The begin section contains sql executable statements and pl/sql executable
statements. The exception section contains code to handle errors that may arise during
the execution of the code block. The end declares the end of pl/sql block.

A bit about it's working. When you typed out the pl/sql block for execution. It is sent to
the pl/sql engine, where procedural statements are executed; and sql statements are
sent to the sql executor in the oracle engine. Since pl/sql engine resides in the oracle
engine, the codes executes smoothly and efficiently.

PL/SQL DATA-TYPE

This is easy since it includes almost all the data types which u have used in sql such as
date, varchar, number, char etc etc... Some of the attributes such as %TYPE is also
used. This attribute automatically takes in the default data type of the sql table from
which u have passed the query. We will discuss this later.

Remember in pl/sql a variable name must begin with a character and can be followed
by maximum of 29 other characters. Reserved words can't be used unless enclosed
within double quotes. Variables must be separated from each other by at least one
space or by a punctuation mark. You can assign values of operator using := operator. I
won't discuss about logical comparisons operators such as <, > , >=, NOT, TRUE, AND,
OR, NULL etc since they r quite easy to understand.

HOW TO DISPLAY MESSAGES ON SCREEN ---

DBMS_OUTPUT : is a package that includes a number of procedure and functions that

accumulate information in a buffer so that it can be retrieved later. These functions can
also be used to display messages to the user.
PUT_LINE : Put a piece of information in the package buffer followed by an end-of-line
marker. It can also be used to display message to the user. Put_line expects a single
parameter of character data type. If used to display a message, it is the message
'string'.
EG: dbms_output.put_line(x);

REMEMBER: To display messages to the user the SERVEROUTPUT should be set to ON.
SERVEROUTPUT is a sql*plus environment parameter that displays the information
pased as a parameter to the PUT_LINE function.
EG: SET SERVEROUTPUT ON

A bit about comments. A comment can have 2 forms i.e.

-- The comment line begins with a double hyphen (--). The entire line will be treated as
a comment.
-- The C style comment such as /* i am a comment */

CONDITIONAL CONTROL AND ITERATIVE CONTROL AND SEQUENTIAL CONTROL

IF and else.....
IF --Condition THEN
--Action
ELSEIF --Condition THEN
--Action
ELSE
--Action
END IF;

SIMPLE LOOP
loop
-- Sequence of statements;
end loop;

the loop ends when u use EXIT WHEN statement --condition

WHILE LOOP
While --condition
loop
--sequence of statements
end loop;

FOR LOOP
FOR i in 1..10
loop
--sequence of statements
end loop;

GOTO (sequential control)

GOTO X;
<< X >>

EXAMPLES

--ADDITION
declare
a number;
b number;
c number;
begin
a:=&a;
b:=&b;
c:=a+b;
dbms_output.put_line('Sum of ' || a || ' and ' || b || ' is ' || c);

Here & is used to take user input at runtime.....

--SUM OF 100 NUMBERS

Declare
a number;
s1 number default 0;
Begin
a:=1;
loop
s1:=s1+a;
exit when (a=100);
a:=a+1;
end loop;
dbms_output.put_line('Sum between 1 to 100 is '||s1);
End;

--SUM OF odd NUMBERS USING USER INPUT...for loop

declare
n number;
sum1 number default 0;
endvalue number;
begin
endvalue:=&endvalue;
n:=1;
for n in 1.. endvalue
loop
if mod(n,2)=1
then
sum1:=sum1+n;
end if
end loop;
dbms_output.put_line('sum = ' || sum1);
end;

--SUM OF 100 ODD NUMBER .. WHILE LOOP

declare
n number;
endvalue number;
sum1 number default 0;
begin
endvalue:=&endvalue;
n:=1;
while (n < endvalue)
loop
sum1:=sum1+n;
n:=n+2;
end loop;
dbms_output.put_line('Sum of odd numbers between 1 and ' || endvalue || ' is ' ||
sum1);
end;

--CALCULATION OF NET SALARY

declare
ename varchar2(15);
basic number;
da number;
hra number;
pf number;
netsalary number;
begin
ename:=&ename;
basic:=&basic;

da:=basic * (41/100);
hra:=basic * (15/100);

if (basic < 3000)

then
pf:=basic * (5/100);
elsif (basic >= 3000 and basic <= 5000)
then
pf:=basic * (7/100);
elsif (basic >= 5000 and basic <= 8000)
then
pf:=basic * (8/100);
else
pf:=basic * (10/100);
end if;
netsalary:=basic + da + hra -pf;
dbms_output.put_line('Employee name : ' || ename);
dbms_output.put_line('Providend Fund : ' || pf);
dbms_output.put_line('Net salary : ' || netsalary);
end;

--MAXIMUM OF 3 NUMBERS

Declare
a number;
b number;
c number;
d number;
Begin
dbms_output.put_line('Enter a:');
a:=&a;
dbms_output.put_line('Enter b:');
b:=&b;
dbms_output.put_line('Enter c:');
c:=&b;
if (a>b) and (a>c) then
dbms_output.putline('A is Maximum');
elsif (b>a) and (b>c) then
dbms_output.putline('B is Maximum');
else
dbms_output.putline('C is Maximum');
end if;
End;

--QUERY EXAMPLE--IS SMITH EARNING ENOUGH

declare
s1 emp.sal %type;
begin
select sal into s1 from emp
where ename = 'SMITH';
if(no_data_found)
then
raise_application_error
(20001,'smith is not present');
end if;

if(s1 > 10000)

then
raise_application_error
(20002,'smith is earning enough');
end if;

update emp set sal=sal + 500

where ename='SMITH';
end;

--PRIME NO OR NOT

DECLARE
no NUMBER (3) := &no;
a NUMBER (4);
b NUMBER (2);
BEGIN
FOR i IN 2..no - 1
LOOP
a := no MOD i;
IF a = 0
THEN
GOTO out;
END IF;
END LOOP;
<>
IF a = 1
THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (no || ' is a prime number');
ELSE
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (no || ' is not a prime number');
END IF;
END;

--SIMPLE EXAMPLE OF LOOP STATEMENT I.E. EXIT WHEN

Declare
a number:= 100;
begin
loop
a := a+25;
exit when a=250;
end loop;
dbms_output.put_line (to_Char(a));
end;

--EXAMPLE OF WHILE LOOP

Declare
i number:=0;
j number:= 0;
begin
while i <=100 loop
j := j+1;
i := i +2;
end loop;
dbms_output.put_line(to_char(i));
end;

--EXAMPLE OF FOR LOOP

Declare
begin
for i in 1..10
loop
dbms_output.put_line(to_char(i));
end loop;
end;

--SEQUENTIAL CONTROL GOTO

declare
--takes the default datatype of the column of the table price
cost price.minprice%type;
begin
select stdprice into cost from price where prodial in (Select prodid from product where
prodese = "shampoo");
if cost > 7000 then
goto Upd;
end if;
<< Upd >>
Update price set minprice = 6999 where prodid=111;
end;

--CALCULATE THE AREA OF A CIRCLE FOR A VALUE OF RADIUS VARYING FROM 3 TO 7.

STORE THE RADIUS AND THE CORRESPONDING VALUES OF CALCULATED AREA IN A
TABLE AREAS.

Declare
pi constant number(4,2) := 3.14;
radius number(5);
area number(14,2);

Begin
radius := 3;
While radius <=7
Loop
area := pi* power(radius,2);
Insert into areas values (radius, area);
radius:= radius+1;
end loop;
end;

--REVERSING A NUMBER 5639 TO 9365

Declare
given_number varchar(5) := '5639';
str_length number(2);
inverted_number varchar(5);

Begin
str_length := length(given_number);
For cntr in reverse 1..str_length
loop
inverted_number := inverted_number || substr(given_number, cntr, 1);
end loop;
dbms_output.put_line('The Given no is ' || given_number);
dbms_output.put_line('The inverted number is ' || inverted_number);
end;

EXCEPTION HANDLING IN PLSQL

Errors in pl/sql block can be handled...error handling refers to the way we handle the
errors in pl/sql block so that no crashing stuff of code takes place...This is exactly the
same as we do in C++ or java..right!!
There are two type:
===> predefined exceptions
===> user defined exceptions
The above 2 terms are self explanatory

predefined exceptions:

No-data-found == when no rows are returned

Cursor-already-open == when a cursor is opened in advance
Dup-val-On-index == for duplicate entry of index..
Storage-error == if memory is damaged
Program-error == internal problem in pl/sql
Zero-divide == divide by zero
invalid-cursor == if a cursor is not open and u r trying to close it
Login-denied == invalid user name or password
Invalid-number == if u r inserting a string datatype for a number datatype which is
already declared
Too-many-rows == if more rows r returned by select statement

SYNTAX

begin
sequence of statements;
exception
when --exception name then
sequence of statements;
end;
EXAMPLES

--When there is no data returned by row

declare
price item.actualprice%type;
begin
Select actual price into price from item where qty=888;
when no-data-found then
dbms_output.put_line('item missing');
end;

--EXAMPLE OF USER DEFINED EXCEPTION

DECLARE
e_rec emp%ROWTYPE;
e1 EXCEPTION;
sal1 emp.sal%TYPE;
BEGIN
SELECT sal INTO sal1 FROM emp WHERE deptno = 30 AND ename = 'John';
IF sal1 < 5000 THEN
RAISE e1;
sal1 := 8500;
UPDATE emp SET sal = sal1 WHERE deptno = 30 AND ename = 'John';
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN no_data_found THEN
RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR (-20001, 'John is not there.');
WHEN e1 THEN
RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR (-20002, 'Less Salary.');
END;

--EXAMPLE OF RAISE-APPLICATION-ERROR... THIS IS YOUR OWN ERROR

STATEMENT...YOU RAISE YOUR OWN ERROR

Declare
s1 emp.sal %type;
begin
select sal into s1 from emp where ename='SOMDUTT';
if(no-data-found) then
raise_application_error(20001, 'somdutt is not there');
end if;
if(s1 > 10000) then
raise_application_error(20002, 'somdutt is earing a lot');
end if;
update emp set sal=sal+500 where ename='SOMDUTT';
end;

--INTERESTING EG OF USER DEFINED EXCEPTIONS

Declare
zero-price exception;
price number(8);
begin
select actualprice into price from item where ordid =400;
if price=0 or price is null then
raise zero-price;
end if;
exception
when zero-price then
dbms_output.put_line('raised xero-price exception');
end;

CURSORS

Cursor is a work area in pl/sql which is used by sql server used to store the result of a
query. Each column value is pointed using pointer. You can independently manipulate
cursor values. A bit about it's working..... suppose you ask for a query stored in the
server ... at first a cursor consisting of query result is created in server...now the cursor
is transferred to the client where again cursor is created and hence the result is
displayed......

Cursors are of 2 types: implicit and explicit.......implicit cursors are created by oracle
engine itself while explicit cursors are created by the users......cursors are generally
used in such a case when a query returns more than one rows....normal pl/sql returning
more than one rows givens error but using cursor this limitation can be avoided....so
cursors are used....

Cursor attributes

%ISOPEN == returns true if ursor is open, false otherwise

%FOUND == returns true if recod was fetched successfully, false otherwise
%NOTFOUND == returns true if record was not fetched successfully, false otherwise
%ROWCOUNT == returns number of records processed from the cursor.

Very important: Cursor can be controlled using following 3 control statements. They are
Open, Fetch, Close.....open statement identifies the active set...i.e. query returned by
select statement...close statement closes the cursor...and fetch statement fetches rows
into the variables...Cursors can be made into use using cursor for loop and fetch
statement...we will see the corresponding examples...

EXAMPLES

--EXAMPLE OF SQL%FOUND (IMPLICIT CURSORS)

begin
update employee set salary=salary *0.15
where emp_code = &emp_code;
if sql%found then
dbms_output.put_line('employee record modified successfully');
else
dbms_output.put_line('employee no does not exist');
end if;
end;

--EXAMPLE FOR SQL%NOTFOUND (IMPLICIT CURSORS)

begin
update employee set salary = salary*0.15 where emp_code = &emp_code;
if sql%notfound then
dbms_output.put_line('employee no . does not exist');
else
dbms_output.put_line('employee record modified successfully');
end if;
end;

--EXAMPLE FOR SQL%ROWCOUNT (IMPLICIT CURSORS)

declare
rows_affected char(4);
begin
update employee set salary = salary*0.15 where job='programmers';
rows_affected := to_char(sql%rowcount);
if sql%rowcount > 0 then
dbms_output.put_line(rows_affected || 'employee records modified successfully');
else
dbms_output.put_line('There are no employees working as programmers');
end if;
end;

Syntax of explicit cursor: Cursor cursorname is sql select statement;

Syntax of fetch : fetch cursorname into variable1, variable2...;
Syntax of close; close cursorname;
Syntax of open cursor; open cursorname;

--EXPLICIT CURSOR EG

DECLARE
CURSOR c1 is SELECT * FROM emp;
str_empno emp.empno%type;
str_ename emp.ename%type;
str_job emp.job%type;
str_mgr emp.mgr%type;
str_hiredate emp.hiredate%type;
str_sal emp.sal%type;
str_comm emp.comm%type;
str_deptno emp.deptno%type;
rno number;
BEGIN
rno := &rno;
FOR e_rec IN c1
LOOP
IF c1%rowcount = rno THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (str_empno || ' ' || str_ename || ' ' || str_job || ' ' || str_mgr || ' '
|| str_hiredate || ' ' || str_sal || ' ' || str_comm || ' ' || str_deptno);
END IF;
END LOOP;
END;
--ANOTHER EG DISPLAYING VALUE OF A TABLE

DECLARE
CURSOR c1 IS SELECT * FROM emp;
e_rec emp%rowtype;
BEGIN
OPEN c1;
LOOP
FETCH c1 INTO e_rec;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number: ' || ' ' || e_rec.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Name : ' || ' ' || e_rec.ename);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Salary: ' || ' ' || e_rec.sal);
EXIT WHEN c1%NOTFOUND;
END LOOP;
CLOSE c1;
END;

-- Display details of Highest 10 salary paid employee

DECLARE
CURSOR c1 IS SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY sal DESC;
e_rec emp%rowtype;
BEGIN
FOR e_rec IN c1
LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number: ' || ' ' || e_rec.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Name : ' || ' ' || e_rec.ename);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Salary: ' || ' ' || e_rec.sal);
EXIT WHEN c1%ROWCOUNT >= 10;
END LOOP;
END;

-- EXAMPLE OF CURSOR FOR LOOP

declare cursor c1 is select * from somdutt;

begin
for outvariable in c1
loop
exit when c1%notfound;
if outvariable.age < 21 then
dbms_output.put_line(outvariable.age || ' ' || outvariable.name);
end if;
end loop;
end;

--ref STRONG CURSORS

DECLARE
TYPE ecursor IS REF CURSOR RETURN emp%ROWTYPE;
ecur ecursor;
e_rec emp%ROWTYPE;
dn NUMBER;
BEGIN
dn := &deptno;
OPEN ecur FOR SELECT * FROM emp WHERE deptno = dn;
FOR e_rec IN ecur
LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Employee No : ' || e_rec.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Employee Salary: ' || e_rec.salary);
END LOOP;
END;

--REF WEAK CURSORS

DECLARE
TYPE tcursor IS REF CURSOR;
tcur tcursor;
e1 emp%ROWTYPE;
d1 dept%ROWTYPE;
tname VARCHAR2(20);
BEGIN
tname := &tablename;
IF tname = 'emp' THEN
OPEN tcur FOR SELECT * FORM emp;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Emp table opened.');
close tcur;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Emp table closed.');
ELSE IF tname = 'dept' THEN
OPEN tcur FOR SELECT * FROM dept;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Dept table opened.');
close tcur;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Emp table closed.');
ELSE
RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR (-20004, 'Table name is wrong');
END IF;
END;

--CURSOR FOR LOOP WITH PARAMETERS

Declare
Cursor c1(Dno number) is select * from emp where deptno = dno;
begin
for empree in c1(10) loop;
dbms_output.put_line(empree.ename);
end loop;
end;

TRIGGERS

Trigger is a stored procedure which is called implicitly by oracle engine whenever a

insert, update or delete statement is fired.

Advantages of database triggers:

---> Data is generated on it's own
---> Replicate table can be maintained
---> To enforce complex integrity contraints
---> To edit data modifications
---> To autoincrement a field
etc..

Syntax: Create or replace trigger --triggername-- [before/after] [insert/pdate/delete] on

--tablename-- [for each satement/ for each row] [when --condition--] plus..begin.and
exception

Triggers are of following type: before or after trigger ....and for each row and for each
statement trigger... before trigger is fired before insert/update/delete statement while
after trigger is fired after insert/update/delete statement...for each row and for each
statements triggers are self explainatory..

EXAMPLE

-- A database trigger that allows changes to employee table only during the business
hours(i.e. from 8 a.m to 5.00 p.m.) from monday to saturday. There is no restriction on
viewing data from the table -CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER Time_Check BEFORE
INSERT OR UPDATE OR DELETE ON EMP BEGIN IF
TO_NUMBER(TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'hh24')) < 10 OR
TO_NUMBER(TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'hh24')) >= 17 OR TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'DAY') = 'SAT'
OR TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'DAY') = 'SAT' THEN RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR (-20004,'YOU
CAN ACCESS ONLY BETWEEN 10 AM TO 5 PM ON MONDAY TO FRIDAY ONLY.'); END IF;
END; --YOU HAVE 2 TABLES WITH THE SAME STRUCTURE. IF U DELETE A RECORD FROM
ONE TABLE , IT WILL BE INSERTED IN 2ND TABLE ED TRIGGERNAME Create or replace
trigger backup after delete on emp fro each row begin insert into emp/values
(:old.ename,:old.job,:old.sal); end; save the file.. and then sql> @ triggername --To
STICK IN SAL FIELD BY TRIGGER MEANS WHEN U ENTER GREATER THAN 5000, THEN
THIS TRIGGER IS EXECUTED Create or replace trigger check before insert on emp for
each row when (New.sal > 5000); begin raise_application_error(-20000, 'your no is
greater than 5000'); end; --NO CHANGES CAN BE DONE ON A PARTICULAR TABLE ON
SUNDAY AND SATURDAY Create or replace trigger change before on emp for each row
when (to_char(sysdate,'dy') in ('SAT','SUN')) begin raise_application_error(-200001, 'u
cannot enter data in saturnday and sunday'); end; --IF U ENTER IN EMP TABLE ENAME
FIELD'S DATA IN ANY CASE IT WILL BE INSERTED IN CAPITAL LETTERS'S ONLY Create or
replace trigger cap before insert on emp for each row begin :New.ename =
upper(:New.ename); end; --A TRIGGER WHICH WILL NOT ALLOW U TO ENTER
DUPLICATE VALUES IN FIELD EMPNO IN EMP TABLE Create or replace trigger dubb
before insert on emp for each row Declare cursor c1 is select * from emp; x
emp%rowtype; begin open c1; loop fetch c1 into x; if :New.empno = x.empno then
dbms_output.put_line('you entered duplicated no'); elseif :New.empno is null then
dbms_output.put_line('you empno is null'); end if; exit when c1%notfound; end loop;
close c1; end;

Remember trigger can be dropped using Drop Trigger triggername ; statement...

PROCEDURES AND FUNCTIONS

procedure is a subprogram...which consists of a set of sql statement. Procedures are

not very different from functions. A procedure or function is a logically grouped set of
SQL and PL/SQL statements that perform a specific task. A stored procedure or function
is a named pl/sql code block that have been compiled and stored in one of the oracle
engines's system tables.

To make a procedure or function dynamic either of them can be passed parameters

before execution. A procedure or function can then change the way it works depending
upon the parameters passed prior to its execution.

Procedures and function are made up of a declarative part, an executable part and an
optional exception-handling part

A declaration part consists of declarations of variables. A executable part consists of

the logic i.e. sql statements....and exception handling part handles any error during
run-time

The oracle engine performs the following steps to execute a procedure or

function....Verifies user access, Verifies procedure or function validity and executes the
procedure or function. Some of the advantages of using procedures and functions are:
security, performance, memory allocation, productivity, integrity.

Most important the difference between procedures and functions: A function must
return a value back to the caller. A function can return only one value to the calling
pl/sql block. By defining multiple out parameters in a procedure, multiple values can be
passed to the caller. The out variable being global by nature, its value is accessible by
any pl/sql code block including the calling pl/sql block.

Syntax for stored procedure:

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE [schema] procedure name (argument { IN, OUT, IN
OUT} data type, ..) {IS, AS}
variable declarations; constant declarations; BEGIN
pl/sql subprogram body;
EXCEPTION
exception pl/sql block;
END;

Syntax for stored function:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION [schema] functionname(argument IN data type, ..)
RETURN data type {IS, AS}
variable declarations; constant declarations; BEGIN
pl/sql subprogram body;
EXCEPTION
exception pl/sql block;
END;

The above syntax i think is self explanatory...but i will give you some details...IN :
specifies that a value for the argument must be specified when calling the procedure or
function. argument : is the name of an argument to the procedure or function.
parentheses can be omitted if no arguments are present. OUT : specifies that the
procedure passes a value for this argument back to its calling environment after
execution. IN OUT : specifies that a value for the argument must be specified when
calling the procedure and that the procedure passes a value for this argument back to
its calling environment after execution. By default it takes IN. Data type : is the data
type of an argument.
EXAMPLES

--PROCEDURE USING NO ARGUMENT..AND USING CURSOR

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P2 IS
cursor cur1 is select * from emp;
begin
for erec in cur1
loop
dbms_output.put_line(erec.ename);
end loop;
end;

--PROCEDURE USING ARGUMENT

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE ME( X IN NUMBER) IS
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(x*x);
end;

sql> exec me(3);

--FUNCTION using argument

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION RMT(X IN NUMBER) RETURN NUMBER IS
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(x*x);
--return (x*x);
end;

(make a block like this to run it.....)

begin
dbms_output.put_line(rmt(3));
end;

--CREATE A PROCEDURE THAT DELETE ROWS FROM ENQUIRY

--WHICH ARE 1 YRS BEFORE

Create or replace procedure myprocedure is begin

delete from enquiry where enquirydate <= sysdate - 1;
end;

--CREATE A PROCEDURE THAT TAKES ARGUMENT STUDENT NAME,

--AND FIND OUT FEES PAID BY THAT STUDENT

CREATE or REPLACE procedure me (namee in varchar) is

cursor c1 is select a.feespaiddate from feespaid a, enrollment b, enquiry c
where
c.enquiryno = b.enquiryno and
a.rollno = b.rollno and
c.fname = namee;
begin
for erec in c1
loop
dbms_output.put_line(erec.feespaiddate);
end loop;
end;

--SUM OF 2 Numbers

CREATE or replace procedure p1 is

Declare
a number;
b number;
c number;
Begin
a:=50;
b:=89;
c:=a+b;
dbms_output.put_line('Sum of '||a||' and '||b||' is '||c);
End;

--DELETION PROCEDURE

create or replace procedure myproc is

begin
delete from enquiry where fname='somdutt';
end;

--IN and OUT procedure example

Create or replace procedure lest ( a number, b out number) is

identify number;
begin
select ordid into identity from item where
itemid = a;
if identity < 1000 then
b := 100;
end if;
end l

--in out parameter

Create or replace procedure sample ( a in number, b in out number) is

identity number;
begin
select ordid, prodid into identity, b from item where itemid=a;
if b<600 then
b := b + 100;
end if;
end;

now procedure is called by passing parameter

declare
a number;
b number;
begin
sample(3000, b)
dbms_output.put_line(1th value of b is 11 b);
end ;

--SIMILAR EXAMPLE AS BEFORE

create or replace procedure getsal( sal1 in out number) is

begin
select sal into sal1 from emp
where empno = sal1;
end ;

now use the above in plsql block

declare
sal1 number := 7999;
begin
getsal(sal1);
dbms_output.put_line('The employee salary is' || sal1);
end ;

You can make a procedure and functions similarly.....also if u wanna drop a function
then use drop function functionname and for procedure use drop procedure
procedurename

PACKAGES

A package is an oracle object, which holds other objects within it. Objects commonly
held within a package are procedures, functions, variables, constants, cursors and
exceptions. Packages in plsql is very much similar to those packages which we use in
JAVA......yeah!! java packages holds numerous classes..right!!!...

A package has 2 parts..... package specification and package body

A package specification part consists of all sort of declaration of functions and

procedures while package body consists of codings and logic of declared functions and
procedures...

EXAMPLE

--SIMPLEST EG

--specification
create or replace package pack2 is
function rmt(x in number) return number;
procedure rmt1(x in number);
end;

--body
create or replace package body pack2 is
function rmt(x in number) return number is
begin
return (x*x);
end;

procedure rmt1(x in number) is

begin
dbms_output.put_line(x*x);
end;
end;

(how to run.....)
exec packagename.procedurename
i.e.
exec pack2.rmt1(3);

As shown above u can put in complicated procedures and functions inside the
package...I have just shown a simple example...you can easily modify the above code
to fit your requirement......Just try out packages which includes cursors, procedures and
functions..etc..Remeber pl/sql supports overloading...i.e. you can use the same function
or procedure name in your application but with different no or type of arguments.