Oracle Basics (PL/SQL)

Introduction to PL/SQL

Instructor Notes:

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Oracle Basics (PL/SQL)

Introduction to PL/SQL

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Introduction to PL/SQL

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Introduction to 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.
With PL/SQL, you can use SQL statements to manipulate Oracle
data and flow-of-control statements to process the data.
Moreover, you can declare constants and variables, define
procedures and functions, and trap runtime errors.
Thus PL/SQL combines the data manipulating power of SQL with
the data processing power of procedural languages.
PL/SQL is an embedded language. It was not designed to be used as a
standalone language but instead to be invoked from within a host
environment.
You cannot create a PL/SQL executable that runs all by itself.
It can run from within the database through SQL*Plus interface or
from within an Oracle Developer Form (called client-side PL/SQL).

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Features of PL/SQL
Tight Integration with SQL:
This integration saves both, your learning time as well as your
processing time.
PL/SQL supports SQL data types, reducing the need to
convert data passed between your application and
database.
PL/SQL lets you use all the SQL data manipulation, cursor
control, transaction control commands, as well as SQL
functions, operators, and pseudo columns.
Better Performance:
Several SQL statements can be bundled together into one PL/SQL
block, and sent to the server as a single unit.
This results in less network traffic and a faster application. Even
when the client and the server are both running on the same
machine, the performance is increased. This is because packaging
SQL statements results in a simpler program that makes fewer
calls to the database.
Portable:
PL/SQL is a standard and portable language.
A PL/SQL function or procedure written from within the Personal
Oracle database on your laptop will run without any modification on
your corporate network database. It is Write once, run everywhere
with the only restriction being everywhere there is an Oracle
Database.
Efficient:
Although there are a number of alternatives when it comes to
writing software to run against the Oracle Database, it is easier to
run highly efficient code in PL/SQL, to access the Oracle Database,
than in any other language.

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Introduction to PL/SQL

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PL/SQL Block Structure:

PL/SQL is a block-structured language. Each basic programming unit that
is written to build your application is (or should be) a logical unit of work.
The PL/SQL block allows you to reflect that logical structure in the physical
design of your programs.
Each PL/SQL block has up to four different sections (some are optional
under certain circumstances).
contd.

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Block Types:
The basic units (procedures and functions, also known as subprograms,
and anonymous blocks) that make up a PL/SQL program are logical
blocks, which can contain any number of nested sub-blocks.
Therefore one block can represent a small part of another block, which in
turn can be part of the whole unit of code.
Anonymous Blocks
Anonymous blocks are unnamed blocks. They are declared at the
point in an application where they are to be executed and are
passed to the PL/SQL engine for execution at runtime.
Named :
Subprograms
Subprograms are named PL/SQL blocks that can take
parameters and can be invoked. You can declare them
either as procedures or as functions.
Generally, you use a procedure to perform an action
and a function to compute a value.

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LOB datatypes are covered

in detail later.
Mention this in the class.

Types of Variables: PL/SQL Datatype:

All PL/SQL datatypes are classified as scalar, reference and Composite
type.
Scalar datatypes do not have any components within it, while composite
datatypes have other datatypes within them.
A reference datatype is a pointer to another datatype.

PL/SQL Datatypes

Scalar type
(Number, varchar2,
Boolean, Binary_Integer,
etc.)

Reference type
(tablename.columnname
%type
Tablename%rowtype)

Composite type
PL/SQL record type
PL/SQL table type

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Declaring PL/SQL Variables:

You need to declare all PL/SQL identifiers within the declaration section
before referencing them within the PL/SQL block.
You have the option to assign an initial value.
You do not need to assign a value to a variable in order to declare
it.
If you refer to other variables in a declaration, you must separately
declare them in a previous statement.
Syntax:
identifier [CONSTANT] datatype [NOT NULL]
[:= | DEFAULT expr];

In the syntax given above:

identifier is the name of the variable.
CONSTANT
constrains the variable so that
its value cannot change. Constants must be initialized.
datatype is a scalar, composite, reference, or LOB
datatype.
NOT NULL constrains the variable so that it must contain a
value. NOT NULL variables must be initialized.
expr is any PL/SQL expression that can be a literal,
another variable, or an expression involving operators and
functions.
contd.

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Base Scalar Datatypes:

1. NUMBER
This can hold a numeric value, either integer or floating point. It is same as
the number database type.
2. BINARY_INTEGER
If a numeric value is not to be stored in the database, the
BINARY_INTEGER datatype can be used. It can only store integers from 2147483647 to + 2147483647. It is mostly used for counter variables.
V_Counter BINARY_INTEGER DEFAULT 0;
3. VARCHAR2 (L)
L is necessary and is max length of the variable. This behaves like
VARCHAR2 database type. The maximum length in PL/SQL is 32,767 bytes
whereas VARCHAR2 database type can hold max 2000 bytes. If a
VARCHAR2 PL/SQL column is more than 2000 bytes, it can only be inserted
into a database column of type LONG.
4. CHAR (L)
Here L is the maximum length. Specifying length is optional. If not specified,
the length defaults to 1. The maximum length of CHAR PL/SQL variable is
32,767 bytes, whereas the maximum length of the database CHAR column is
255 bytes. Therefore a CHAR variable of more than 255 bytes can be
inserted in the database column of VARCHAR2 or LONG type.
contd.

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Base Scalar Datatypes (contd.):

5. LONG
PL/SQL LONG type is just 32,767 bytes. It behaves similar to LONG
DATABASE type.
6. DATE
The DATE PL/SQL type behaves the same way as the date database type.
The DATE type is used to store both date and time. A DATE variable is 7
bytes in PL/SQL.
7. BOOLEAN
A Boolean type variable can only have one of the two values, i.e. either
TRUE or FALSE. They are mostly used in control structures.
V_Does_Dept_Exist BOOLEAN := TRUE;
V_ Flag BOOLEAN := 0; -- illegal
declare
pie constant number := 7.18;
radius number := &radius;

begin
dbms_output.put_line('Area:
'||pie*power(radius,2));
dbms_output.put_line('Diameter: '||2*pie*radius);
end;
/

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Reference types:
A reference type in PL/SQL is the same as a pointer in C. A reference
type variable can point to different storage locations over the life of the
program.
Using %TYPE
%TYPE is used to declare a variable with the same datatype as a column
of a specific table. This datatype is particularly used when declaring
variables that will hold database values.
Advantage:
You need not know the exact datatype of a column in the table in
the database.
If you change database definition of a column, it changes
accordingly in the PL/SQL block at run time.
Syntax:
Var_Name
V_Empno

table_name.col_name%TYPE;
emp.empno%TYPE;

Note: Datatype of V_Empno is same as datatype of Empno column

of the EMP table.

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Using %TYPE (contd.)

Example
declare
nSalary employee.salary%type;
begin
select salary into nsalary
from employee
where emp_code = 11;
update employee set salary = salary + 101 where
emp_code = 11;
end;

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Using %ROWTYPE
%ROWTYPE is used to declare a compound variable, whose type is same
as that of a row of a table.
Columns in a row and corresponding fields in record should have same
names and same datatypes. However, fields in a %ROWTYPE record do
not inherit constraints, such as the NOT NULL, CHECK constraints, or
default values.
Syntax:
V_Emprec emp%rowtype
Var_Name
V_Emprec

table_name%ROWTYPE;
emp%ROWTYPE;

where V_Emprec is a variable, which contains within itself as many

variables, whose names and datatypes match those of the EMP table.
To access the Empno element of V_Emprec, use
V_Emprec.empno;
DECLARE emprec emp%rowtype;
BEGIN
emprec.empno :=null;
emprec.deptno :=50;
dbms_output.put_line (emprec.employees
number||emprec.empno);
END;
/
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Record Datatype:
A record is a collection of individual fields that represents a row in the table.
They are unique and each has its own name and datatype. The record as a
whole does not have value. By using records you can group the data into
one structure and then manipulate this structure into one entity or logical
unit. This helps to reduce coding and keeps the code easier to maintain
and understand.

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Defining and Declaring Records

To create records, you define a RECORD type, then declare records of that
type. You can define RECORD types in the declarative part of any PL/SQL
block, subprogram, or package by using the syntax.
where field_declaration stands for:
field_name field_type [[NOT NULL] {:= | DEFAULT} expression]
type_name is a type specifier used later to declare records. You can
use %TYPE and %ROWTYPE to specify field types.

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Record Datatype (contd.):

Field declarations are like variable declarations.
Each field has a unique name and specific datatype.
Record members can be accessed by using . (Dot) notation.
The value of a record is actually a collection of values, each of which is of
some simpler type. The attribute %ROWTYPE lets you declare a record
that represents a row in a database table.
After a record is declared, you can reference the record members directly
by using the . (Dot) notation. You can reference the fields in a record by
indicating both the record and field names.
For example: To reference an individual field, you use the dot notation
DeptRec.deptno;
You can assign expressions to a record.
For example: DeptRec.deptno := 50;
You can also pass a record type variable to a procedure as shown below:
get_dept(DeptRec);

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Scope and Visibility of Variables:

References to an identifier are resolved according to its scope and visibility.
The scope of an identifier is that region of a program unit (block,
subprogram, or package) from which you can reference the
identifier.
An identifier is visible only in the regions from which you can
reference the identifier using an unqualified name.
Identifiers declared in a PL/SQL block are considered local to that block
and global to all its sub-blocks.
If a global identifier is re-declared in a sub-block, both identifiers
remain in scope. However, the local identifier is visible within the
sub-block only because you must use a qualified name to
reference the global identifier.
Although you cannot declare an identifier twice in the same block, you can
declare the same identifier in two different blocks.
The two items represented by the identifier are distinct, and any
change in one does not affect the other. However, a block cannot
reference identifiers declared in other blocks at the same level
because those identifiers are neither local nor global to the block.

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SELECT Statement:
Note:
The SELECT clause is used if the selected row must be modified through a
DELETE or UPDATE command.

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SELECT statement (contd.):

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Programming Constructs:
The selection structure tests a condition, then executes one sequence of
statements instead of another, depending on whether the condition is
TRUE or FALSE.
A condition is any variable or expression that returns a Boolean
value (TRUE or FALSE).
The iteration structure executes a sequence of statements repeatedly as
long as a condition holds true.
The sequence structure simply executes a sequence of statements in the
order in which they occur.

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

Conditional Execution:
Conditional execution is of the following type:
IF-THEN-END IF
IF-THEN-ELSE-END IF
IF-THEN-ELSIF-END IF
Conditional Execution construct is used to execute a set of statements only
if a particular condition is TRUE or FALSE.

contd.

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

Conditional Execution (contd.):
As shown in the example in the slide, when the condition evaluates to
TRUE, the PL/SQL statements are executed, otherwise the statement
following END IF is executed.
UPDATE statement is executed only if value of v_staffno variable equals
100003.
PL/SQL allows many variations for the IF END IF construct.

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

Conditional Execution (contd.):
Note:
When the condition evaluates to TRUE, the PL/SQL_Statements_1 is
executed, otherwise PL/SQL_Statements_2 is executed.
The above syntax checks only one condition, namely Condition_Expr.

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

Conditional Execution (contd.):

DECLARE
D VARCHAR2(3): = TO_CHAR(SYSDATE, DY)
BEGIN
IF D= SAT THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(ENJOY YOUR
WEEKEND);
ELSIF D= SUN THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(ENJOY YOUR
WEEKEND);
ELSE
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(HAVE A NICE
DAY);
END IF;
END;

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

Looping
The example shown in the slide is an endless loop.
When LOOP ENDLOOP is used in the above format, then an exit path must
necessarily be provided. This is discussed in the following slide.

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Note:
EXIT WHEN is used for conditional exit out of the loop.

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Note:
LOOP.. END LOOP can be used in conjunction with FOR and WHILE for better
control on looping.

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

FOR Loop:
FOR loop is used for executing the loop a fixed number of times. The
number of times the loop will execute equals the following:
Upper_Bound - Lower_Bound + 1.
Upper_Bound and Lower_Bound must be integers.
Upper_Bound must be equal to or greater than Lower_Bound.
Variables in FOR loop need not be explicitly declared.
Variables take values starting at a Lower_Bound and ending at a
Upper_Bound.
The variable value is incremented by 1, every time the loop
reaches the bottom.
When the variable value becomes equal to the Upper_Bound, then
the loop executes and exits.
When REVERSE is used, then the variable takes values starting at
Upper_Bound and ending at Lower_Bound.
Value of the variable is decremented each time the loop reaches the
bottom.

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

WHILE Loop:
Example:

DECLARE
ctr number := 1;
BEGIN
WHILE ctr <= 10
LOOP
dbms_output.put_line(ctr);
ctr := ctr+1;
END LOOP;
END;
/

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Programmatic Constructs (contd.)

Labeling of Loops:
Loops themselves can be labeled as in the case of blocks.
The label can be used with the EXIT statement to exit out of a particular
loop.

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Answers for Review

Questions:
Question 1:
Answer: True
Question 2:
Answer: False
Question 3: True

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