Database Compatibility for Oracle

Developers Reference Guide

EDB Postgres Advanced Server 10

November 1, 2017
 Database Compatibility for Oracle Developers
Reference Guide
by EnterpriseDB Corporation
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 Database Compatibility for Oracle Developers
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 8
1.1 Whats New .................................................................................................................................... 9
1.2 Typographical Conventions Used in this Guide ............................................................................. 9
2 The SQL Language................................................................................................................................10
2.1 SQL Syntax ...................................................................................................................................10
2.1.1 Lexical Structure ....................................................................................................................11
2.1.2 Identifiers and Key Words .....................................................................................................12
2.1.3 Constants ...............................................................................................................................14
2.1.3.1 String Constants ................................................................................................................14
2.1.3.2 Numeric Constants ............................................................................................................14
2.1.3.3 Constants of Other Types ..................................................................................................15
2.1.4 Comments ..............................................................................................................................16
2.2 Data Types .....................................................................................................................................17
2.2.1 Numeric Types ......................................................................................................................18
2.2.1.1 Integer Types ....................................................................................................................18
2.2.1.2 Arbitrary Precision Numbers ............................................................................................18
2.2.1.3 Floating-Point Types .........................................................................................................19
2.2.2 Character Types .....................................................................................................................20
2.2.3 Binary Data ............................................................................................................................22
2.2.4 Date/Time Types ...................................................................................................................23
2.2.4.1 INTERVAL Types ............................................................................................................24
2.2.4.2 Date/Time Input ................................................................................................................25
2.2.4.2.1 Dates ........................................................................................................................25
2.2.4.2.2 Times .......................................................................................................................26
2.2.4.2.3 Time Stamps ............................................................................................................26
2.2.4.3 Date/Time Output .............................................................................................................27
2.2.4.4 Internals ............................................................................................................................27
2.2.5 Boolean Type .........................................................................................................................28
2.2.6 XML Type .............................................................................................................................29
2.3 SQL Commands ............................................................................................................................30
2.3.1 ALTER INDEX .....................................................................................................................31
2.3.2 ALTER PROCEDURE ..........................................................................................................33
2.3.3 ALTER PROFILE .................................................................................................................34
2.3.4 ALTER QUEUE ....................................................................................................................38
2.3.5 ALTER QUEUE TABLE ......................................................................................................42
2.3.6 ALTER ROLE IDENTIFIED BY .....................................................................................43
2.3.7 ALTER ROLE - Managing Database Link and DBMS_RLS Privileges ..............................45
2.3.8 ALTER SEQUENCE ............................................................................................................48
2.3.9 ALTER SESSION .................................................................................................................50
2.3.10 ALTER TABLE ....................................................................................................................52
2.3.11 ALTER TABLESPACE ........................................................................................................56
2.3.12 ALTER USER IDENTIFIED BY......................................................................................57
2.3.13 ALTER USER|ROLE PROFILE MANAGEMENT CLAUSES .......................................59
2.3.14 CALL.....................................................................................................................................62
2.3.15 COMMENT ...........................................................................................................................63
2.3.16 COMMIT ...............................................................................................................................65
2.3.17 CREATE DATABASE .........................................................................................................66
2.3.18 CREATE [PUBLIC] DATABASE LINK .............................................................................67
2.3.19 CREATE DIRECTORY ........................................................................................................79
2.3.20 CREATE FUNCTION...........................................................................................................81
2.3.21 CREATE INDEX ..................................................................................................................88
2.3.22 CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW ......................................................................................90

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2.3.23 CREATE PACKAGE ............................................................................................................93
2.3.24 CREATE PACKAGE BODY ................................................................................................96
2.3.25 CREATE PROCEDURE .....................................................................................................101
2.3.26 CREATE PROFILE ............................................................................................................108
2.3.27 CREATE QUEUE ...............................................................................................................112
2.3.28 CREATE QUEUE TABLE .................................................................................................114
2.3.29 CREATE ROLE ..................................................................................................................117
2.3.30 CREATE SCHEMA ............................................................................................................119
2.3.31 CREATE SEQUENCE ........................................................................................................121
2.3.32 CREATE SYNONYM.........................................................................................................124
2.3.33 CREATE TABLE ................................................................................................................126
2.3.34 CREATE TABLE AS ..........................................................................................................134
2.3.35 CREATE TRIGGER ...........................................................................................................136
2.3.36 CREATE TYPE ...................................................................................................................140
2.3.37 CREATE TYPE BODY ......................................................................................................148
2.3.38 CREATE USER ..................................................................................................................152
2.3.39 CREATE USER|ROLE PROFILE MANAGEMENT CLAUSES ..................................153
2.3.40 CREATE VIEW ..................................................................................................................156
2.3.41 DELETE ..............................................................................................................................158
2.3.42 DROP DATABASE LINK ..................................................................................................161
2.3.43 DROP DIRECTORY ...........................................................................................................162
2.3.44 DROP FUNCTION .............................................................................................................163
2.3.45 DROP INDEX .....................................................................................................................165
2.3.46 DROP PACKAGE ...............................................................................................................166
2.3.47 DROP PROCEDURE ..........................................................................................................167
2.3.48 DROP PROFILE .................................................................................................................168
2.3.49 DROP QUEUE ....................................................................................................................169
2.3.50 DROP QUEUE TABLE ......................................................................................................170
2.3.51 DROP SYNONYM .............................................................................................................172
2.3.52 DROP ROLE .......................................................................................................................173
2.3.53 DROP SEQUENCE .............................................................................................................175
2.3.54 DROP TABLE .....................................................................................................................176
2.3.55 DROP TABLESPACE ........................................................................................................178
2.3.56 DROP TRIGGER ................................................................................................................179
2.3.57 DROP TYPE........................................................................................................................180
2.3.58 DROP USER .......................................................................................................................181
2.3.59 DROP VIEW .......................................................................................................................183
2.3.60 EXEC ...................................................................................................................................184
2.3.61 GRANT ...............................................................................................................................185
2.3.62 GRANT on Database Objects ..............................................................................................187
2.3.63 GRANT on Roles ................................................................................................................189
2.3.64 GRANT on System Privileges .............................................................................................192
2.3.65 INSERT ...............................................................................................................................194
2.3.66 LOCK ..................................................................................................................................198
2.3.67 REVOKE .............................................................................................................................201
2.3.68 ROLLBACK ........................................................................................................................205
2.3.69 ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT ..........................................................................................206
2.3.70 SAVEPOINT .......................................................................................................................207
2.3.71 SELECT ..............................................................................................................................209
2.3.71.1 FROM Clause ............................................................................................................210
2.3.71.2 WHERE Clause ..........................................................................................................213
2.3.71.3 GROUP BY Clause ....................................................................................................213
2.3.71.4 HAVING Clause ........................................................................................................214
2.3.71.5 SELECT List ..............................................................................................................215
2.3.71.6 UNION Clause ...........................................................................................................216
2.3.71.7 INTERSECT Clause ..................................................................................................216

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2.3.71.8 MINUS Clause ...........................................................................................................217
2.3.71.9 CONNECT BY Clause ..............................................................................................217
2.3.71.10 ORDER BY Clause ....................................................................................................218
2.3.71.11 DISTINCT Clause ......................................................................................................219
2.3.71.12 FOR UPDATE Clause ...............................................................................................220
2.3.72 SET CONSTRAINTS..........................................................................................................221
2.3.73 SET ROLE ...........................................................................................................................223
2.3.74 SET TRANSACTION .........................................................................................................224
2.3.75 TRUNCATE ........................................................................................................................225
2.3.76 UPDATE .............................................................................................................................226
2.4 Functions and Operators ..............................................................................................................229
2.4.1 Logical Operators ................................................................................................................229
2.4.2 Comparison Operators .........................................................................................................230
2.4.3 Mathematical Functions and Operators ...............................................................................232
2.4.4 String Functions and Operators ...........................................................................................235
2.4.5 Pattern Matching String Functions ......................................................................................238
2.4.5.1 REGEXP_COUNT .........................................................................................................238
2.4.5.2 REGEXP_INSTR ...........................................................................................................239
2.4.5.3 REGEXP_SUBSTR ........................................................................................................241
2.4.6 Pattern Matching Using the LIKE Operator ........................................................................244
2.4.7 Data Type Formatting Functions .........................................................................................245
2.4.7.1 IMMUTABLE TO_CHAR(TIMESTAMP, format) Function ........................................249
2.4.8 Date/Time Functions and Operators ....................................................................................251
2.4.8.1 ADD_MONTHS .............................................................................................................252
2.4.8.2 EXTRACT ......................................................................................................................253
2.4.8.3 MONTHS_BETWEEN...................................................................................................254
2.4.8.4 NEXT_DAY ...................................................................................................................255
2.4.8.5 NEW_TIME....................................................................................................................255
2.4.8.6 ROUND ..........................................................................................................................256
2.4.8.7 TRUNC ...........................................................................................................................261
2.4.8.8 CURRENT DATE/TIME ...............................................................................................264
2.4.8.9 NUMTODSINTERVAL .................................................................................................265
2.4.8.10 NUMTOYMINTERVAL ...........................................................................................265
2.4.9 Sequence Manipulation Functions .......................................................................................267
2.4.10 Conditional Expressions ......................................................................................................268
2.4.10.1 CASE .........................................................................................................................268
2.4.10.2 COALESCE ...............................................................................................................269
2.4.10.3 NULLIF .....................................................................................................................270
2.4.10.4 NVL ...........................................................................................................................270
2.4.10.5 NVL2 .........................................................................................................................270
2.4.10.6 GREATEST and LEAST ...........................................................................................271
2.4.11 Aggregate Functions ............................................................................................................272
2.4.12 Subquery Expressions ..........................................................................................................274
2.4.12.1 EXISTS ......................................................................................................................274
2.4.12.2 IN ...............................................................................................................................274
2.4.12.3 NOT IN ......................................................................................................................275
2.4.12.4 ANY/SOME ...............................................................................................................275
2.4.12.5 ALL ............................................................................................................................276
3 Oracle Catalog Views ..........................................................................................................................277
3.1 ALL_ALL_TABLES ...................................................................................................................277
3.2 ALL_CONS_COLUMNS ...........................................................................................................277
3.3 ALL_CONSTRAINTS ................................................................................................................278
3.4 ALL_DB_LINKS ........................................................................................................................278
3.5 ALL_DIRECTORIES .................................................................................................................279
3.6 ALL_IND_COLUMNS ...............................................................................................................279
3.7 ALL_INDEXES ..........................................................................................................................279

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3.8 ALL_JOBS ..................................................................................................................................280
3.9 ALL_OBJECTS ..........................................................................................................................281
3.10 ALL_PART_KEY_COLUMNS ..................................................................................................281
3.11 ALL_PART_TABLES ................................................................................................................282
3.12 ALL_POLICIES ..........................................................................................................................283
3.13 ALL_QUEUES ............................................................................................................................283
3.14 ALL_QUEUE_TABLES .............................................................................................................284
3.15 ALL_SEQUENCES ....................................................................................................................285
3.16 ALL_SOURCE ............................................................................................................................285
3.17 ALL_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS ..........................................................................................286
3.18 ALL_SYNONYMS .....................................................................................................................286
3.19 ALL_TAB_COLUMNS ..............................................................................................................287
3.20 ALL_TAB_PARTITIONS ..........................................................................................................288
3.21 ALL_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS ..................................................................................................289
3.22 ALL_TABLES ............................................................................................................................290
3.23 ALL_TRIGGERS ........................................................................................................................290
3.24 ALL_TYPES ...............................................................................................................................291
3.25 ALL_USERS ...............................................................................................................................291
3.26 ALL_VIEW_COLUMNS............................................................................................................292
3.27 ALL_VIEWS ...............................................................................................................................292
3.28 DBA_ALL_TABLES ..................................................................................................................293
3.29 DBA_CONS_COLUMNS ...........................................................................................................293
3.30 DBA_CONSTRAINTS ...............................................................................................................294
3.31 DBA_DB_LINKS .......................................................................................................................294
3.32 DBA_DIRECTORIES .................................................................................................................295
3.33 DBA_IND_COLUMNS ..............................................................................................................295
3.34 DBA_INDEXES ..........................................................................................................................295
3.35 DBA_JOBS .................................................................................................................................296
3.36 DBA_OBJECTS ..........................................................................................................................297
3.37 DBA_PART_KEY_COLUMNS .................................................................................................297
3.38 DBA_PART_TABLES ...............................................................................................................298
3.39 DBA_POLICIES .........................................................................................................................299
3.40 DBA_PROFILES ........................................................................................................................300
3.41 DBA_QUEUES ...........................................................................................................................300
3.42 DBA_QUEUE_TABLES ............................................................................................................301
3.43 DBA_ROLE_PRIVS ...................................................................................................................301
3.44 DBA_ROLES ..............................................................................................................................301
3.45 DBA_SEQUENCES ....................................................................................................................302
3.46 DBA_SOURCE ...........................................................................................................................302
3.47 DBA_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS .........................................................................................303
3.48 DBA_SYNONYMS ....................................................................................................................303
3.49 DBA_TAB_COLUMNS .............................................................................................................304
3.50 DBA_TAB_PARTITIONS..........................................................................................................305
3.51 DBA_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS ..................................................................................................306
3.52 DBA_TABLES ............................................................................................................................307
3.53 DBA_TRIGGERS .......................................................................................................................307
3.54 DBA_TYPES ..............................................................................................................................308
3.55 DBA_USERS ..............................................................................................................................309
3.56 DBA_VIEW_COLUMNS ...........................................................................................................310
3.57 DBA_VIEWS ..............................................................................................................................310
3.58 USER_ALL_TABLES ................................................................................................................311
3.59 USER_CONS_COLUMNS .........................................................................................................311
3.60 USER_CONSTRAINTS .............................................................................................................312
3.61 USER_DB_LINKS ......................................................................................................................312
3.62 USER_IND_COLUMNS ............................................................................................................313
3.63 USER_INDEXES ........................................................................................................................313

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3.64 USER_JOBS................................................................................................................................314
3.65 USER_OBJECTS ........................................................................................................................314
3.66 USER_PART_KEY_COLUMNS ...............................................................................................315
3.67 USER_PART_TABLES ..............................................................................................................316
3.68 USER_POLICIES .......................................................................................................................317
3.69 USER_QUEUES .........................................................................................................................318
3.70 USER_QUEUE_TABLES ..........................................................................................................318
3.71 USER_ROLE_PRIVS .................................................................................................................319
3.72 USER_SEQUENCES ..................................................................................................................319
3.73 USER_SOURCE .........................................................................................................................320
3.74 USER_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS .......................................................................................320
3.75 USER_SYNONYMS...................................................................................................................320
3.76 USER_TAB_COLUMNS ...........................................................................................................321
3.77 USER_TAB_PARTITIONS ........................................................................................................322
3.78 USER_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS ................................................................................................323
3.79 USER_TABLES ..........................................................................................................................324
3.80 USER_TRIGGERS .....................................................................................................................324
3.81 USER_TYPES .............................................................................................................................325
3.82 USER_USERS ............................................................................................................................326
3.83 USER_VIEW_COLUMNS .........................................................................................................327
3.84 USER_VIEWS ............................................................................................................................327
3.85 V$VERSION ...............................................................................................................................327
3.86 PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION .....................................................................................328
4 System Catalog Tables ........................................................................................................................329
4.1 dual ..............................................................................................................................................329
4.2 edb_dir .........................................................................................................................................329
4.3 edb_password_history .................................................................................................................329
4.4 edb_policy ...................................................................................................................................330
4.5 edb_profile ...................................................................................................................................330
4.6 edb_variable ................................................................................................................................331
4.7 pg_synonym ................................................................................................................................332
4.8 product_component_version........................................................................................................332
5 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................333

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1 Introduction
Database Compatibility for Oracle means that an application runs in an Oracle
environment as well as in the EDB Postgres Advanced Server (Advanced Server)
environment with minimal or no changes to the application code.

This guide provides reference material about the compatibility features offered by
Advanced Server:

SQL Language syntax support

Compatible Data Types
SQL Commands
Catalog Views
System Catalog Tables

Developing an application that is compatible with Oracle databases in the Advanced

Server requires special attention to which features are used in the construction of the
application. For example, developing a compatible application means selecting:

Data types to define the applications database tables that are compatible with
Oracle databases
SQL statements that are compatible with Oracle SQL
System and built-in functions for use in SQL statements and procedural logic that
are compatible with Oracle databases
Stored Procedure Language (SPL) to create database server-side application logic
for stored procedures, functions, triggers, and packages
System catalog views that are compatible with Oracles data dictionary

For detailed information about Advanced Server's compatibility features and extended
functionality, please see the complete library of Advanced Server documentation,
available at:

http://www.enterprisedb.com/products-services-training/products/documentation

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1.1 Whats New
The following database compatibility for Oracle features have been added to Advanced
Server 9.6 to create Advanced Server 10:

Advanced Server now supports usage of a composite type (created by the CREATE
TYPE AS command) referenced by a field as its data type within a user-defined
record type (declared with the TYPE IS RECORD statement). This record type
containing a composite type can only be declared in a package specification or a
package body. A composite type is not compatible with Oracle databases.
However, composite types can generally be used within all SPL programs
(functions, procedures, triggers, packages, etc.) as long as the composite type is
not part of a record type (with the exception of packages). For more information
on composite types, see Section 2.3.36.

1.2 Typographical Conventions Used in this Guide

Certain typographical conventions are used in this manual to clarify the meaning and
usage of various commands, statements, programs, examples, etc. This section provides a
summary of these conventions.

In the following descriptions a term refers to any word or group of words which may be
language keywords, user-supplied values, literals, etc. A terms exact meaning depends
upon the context in which it is used.

Italic font introduces a new term, typically, in the sentence that defines it for the
first time.
Fixed-width (mono-spaced) font is used for terms that must be given
literally such as SQL commands, specific table and column names used in the
examples, programming language keywords, etc. For example, SELECT * FROM
emp;
Italic fixed-width font is used for terms for which the user must
substitute values in actual usage. For example, DELETE FROM table_name;
A vertical pipe | denotes a choice between the terms on either side of the pipe. A
vertical pipe is used to separate two or more alternative terms within square
brackets (optional choices) or braces (one mandatory choice).
Square brackets [ ] denote that one or none of the enclosed term(s) may be
substituted. For example, [ a | b ], means choose one of a or b or neither
of the two.
Braces {} denote that exactly one of the enclosed alternatives must be specified.
For example, { a | b }, means exactly one of a or b must be specified.
Ellipses ... denote that the proceeding term may be repeated. For example, [ a |
b ] ... means that you may have the sequence, b a a b a.

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2 The SQL Language

The following sections describe the subset of the Advanced Server SQL language
compatible with Oracle databases. The following SQL syntax, commands, data types,
and functions work in both EDB Postgres Advanced Server and Oracle.

The Advanced Server documentation set includes syntax and commands for extended
functionality (functionality that does not provide database compatibility for Oracle or
support Oracle-styled applications) that is not included in this guide.

This section is organized into the following sections:

General discussion of Advanced Server SQL syntax and language elements

Data types
Summary of SQL commands
Built-in functions

2.1 SQL Syntax

This section describes the general syntax of SQL. It forms the foundation for
understanding the following chapters that include detail about how the SQL commands
are applied to define and modify data.

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2.1.1 Lexical Structure

SQL input consists of a sequence of commands. A command is composed of a sequence

of tokens, terminated by a semicolon (;). The end of the input stream also terminates a
command. Which tokens are valid depends on the syntax of the particular command.

A token can be a key word, an identifier, a quoted identifier, a literal (or constant), or a
special character symbol. Tokens are normally separated by whitespace (space, tab, new
line), but need not be if there is no ambiguity (which is generally only the case if a
special character is adjacent to some other token type).

Additionally, comments can occur in SQL input. They are not tokens - they are
effectively equivalent to whitespace.

For example, the following is (syntactically) valid SQL input:

SELECT * FROM MY_TABLE;

UPDATE MY_TABLE SET A = 5;
INSERT INTO MY_TABLE VALUES (3, 'hi there');

This is a sequence of three commands, one per line (although this is not required; more
than one command can be on a line, and commands can usually be split across lines).

The SQL syntax is not very consistent regarding what tokens identify commands and
which are operands or parameters. The first few tokens are generally the command name,
so in the above example we would usually speak of a SELECT, an UPDATE, and an
INSERT command. But for instance the UPDATE command always requires a SET token
to appear in a certain position, and this particular variation of INSERT also requires a
VALUES token in order to be complete. The precise syntax rules for each command are
described in Section 0.

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2.1.2 Identifiers and Key Words

Tokens such as SELECT, UPDATE, or VALUES in the example above are examples of key
words, that is, words that have a fixed meaning in the SQL language. The tokens
MY_TABLE and A are examples of identifiers. They identify names of tables, columns, or
other database objects, depending on the command they are used in. Therefore they are
sometimes simply called, names. Key words and identifiers have the same lexical
structure, meaning that one cannot know whether a token is an identifier or a key word
without knowing the language.

SQL identifiers and key words must begin with a letter (a-z or A-Z). Subsequent
characters in an identifier or key word can be letters, underscores, digits (0-9), dollar
signs ($), or number signs (#).

Identifier and key word names are case insensitive. Therefore

UPDATE MY_TABLE SET A = 5;

can equivalently be written as:

uPDaTE my_TabLE SeT a = 5;

A convention often used is to write key words in upper case and names in lower case,
e.g.,

UPDATE my_table SET a = 5;

There is a second kind of identifier: the delimited identifier or quoted identifier. It is

formed by enclosing an arbitrary sequence of characters in double-quotes ("). A
delimited identifier is always an identifier, never a key word. So "select" could be
used to refer to a column or table named "select", whereas an unquoted select would
be taken as a key word and would therefore provoke a parse error when used where a
table or column name is expected. The example can be written with quoted identifiers
like this:

UPDATE "my_table" SET "a" = 5;

Quoted identifiers can contain any character, except the character with the numeric code
zero.

To include a double quote, use two double quotes. This allows you to construct table or
column names that would otherwise not be possible (such as ones containing spaces or
ampersands). The length limitation still applies.

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Quoting an identifier also makes it case-sensitive, whereas unquoted names are always
folded to lower case. For example, the identifiers FOO, foo, and "foo" are considered
the same by Advanced Server, but "Foo" and "FOO" are different from these three and
each other. The folding of unquoted names to lower case is not compatible with Oracle
databases. In Oracle syntax, unquoted names are folded to upper case: for example, foo
is equivalent to "FOO" not "foo". If you want to write portable applications you are
advised to always quote a particular name or never quote it.

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2.1.3 Constants

The kinds of implicitly-typed constants in Advanced Server are strings and numbers.
Constants can also be specified with explicit types, which can enable more accurate
representation and more efficient handling by the system. These alternatives are
discussed in the following subsections.

2.1.3.1 String Constants

A string constant in SQL is an arbitrary sequence of characters bounded by single quotes
('), for example 'This is a string'. To include a single-quote character within a
string constant, write two adjacent single quotes, e.g. 'Dianne''s horse'. Note that
this is not the same as a double-quote character (").

2.1.3.2 Numeric Constants

Numeric constants are accepted in these general forms:

digits
digits.[digits][e[+-]digits]
[digits].digits[e[+-]digits]
digitse[+-]digits

where digits is one or more decimal digits (0 through 9). At least one digit must be
before or after the decimal point, if one is used. At least one digit must follow the
exponent marker (e), if one is present. There may not be any spaces or other characters
embedded in the constant. Note that any leading plus or minus sign is not actually
considered part of the constant; it is an operator applied to the constant.

These are some examples of valid numeric constants:

42
3.5
4.
.001
5e2
1.925e-3

A numeric constant that contains neither a decimal point nor an exponent is initially
presumed to be type INTEGER if its value fits in type INTEGER (32 bits); otherwise it is
presumed to be type BIGINT if its value fits in type BIGINT (64 bits); otherwise it is
taken to be type NUMBER. Constants that contain decimal points and/or exponents are
always initially presumed to be type NUMBER.

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The initially assigned data type of a numeric constant is just a starting point for the type
resolution algorithms. In most cases the constant will be automatically coerced to the
most appropriate type depending on context. When necessary, you can force a numeric
value to be interpreted as a specific data type by casting it as described in the following
section.

2.1.3.3 Constants of Other Types

A constant of an arbitrary type can be entered using the following notation:

CAST('string' AS type)

The string constants text is passed to the input conversion routine for the type called
type. The result is a constant of the indicated type. The explicit type cast may be omitted
if there is no ambiguity as to the type the constant must be (for example, when it is
assigned directly to a table column), in which case it is automatically coerced.

CAST can also be used to specify runtime type conversions of arbitrary expressions.

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2.1.4 Comments

A comment is an arbitrary sequence of characters beginning with double dashes and

extending to the end of the line, e.g.:

-- This is a standard SQL comment

Alternatively, C-style block comments can be used:

/* multiline comment
* block
*/

where the comment begins with /* and extends to the matching occurrence of */.

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2.2 Data Types

The following table shows the built-in general-purpose data types.

Table 2-1 Data Types

Name Alias Description
BLOB LONG RAW, RAW(n), BYTEA Binary data
BOOLEAN Logical Boolean (true/false)
CHAR [ (n) ] CHARACTER [ (n) ]
Fixed-length character string of n
characters
CLOB LONG, LONG VARCHAR Long character string
DATE TIMESTAMP(0) Date and time to the second
FLOAT,
DOUBLE PRECISION
FLOAT(25) FLOAT(53) Double precision floating-point number
INT, BINARY_INTEGER,
INTEGER
PLS_INTEGER Signed four-byte integer

NUMBER DEC, DECIMAL, NUMERIC

Exact numeric with optional decimal
places
DEC(p [, s ]),
Exact numeric of maximum precision,
NUMBER(p [, s ]) DECIMAL(p [, s ]),
NUMERIC(p [, s ]) p, and optional scale, s
REAL FLOAT(1) FLOAT(24)Single precision floating-point number
Date and time with optional, fractional
TIMESTAMP [ (p) ]
second precision, p
TIMESTAMP [ (p) ] WITH Date and time with optional, fractional
TIME ZONE second precision, p, and with time zone
CHAR VARYING(n), CHARACTER Variable-length character string with a
VARCHAR2(n)
VARYING(n), VARCHAR(n) maximum length of n characters
XMLTYPE XML data

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2.2.1 Numeric Types

Numeric types consist of four-byte integers, four-byte and eight-byte floating-point

numbers, and fixed-precision decimals. The following table lists the available types.

Table 2-2 Numeric Types

Storage
Name Description Range
Size
-2,147,483,648 to
BINARY_INTEGER 4 bytes Signed integer, Alias for INTEGER
+2,147,483,647
15 decimal digits
DOUBLE PRECISION 8 bytes Variable-precision, inexact
precision
-2,147,483,648 to
INTEGER 4 bytes Usual choice for integer
+2,147,483,647
Up to 1000 digits of
NUMBER Variable User-specified precision, exact
precision
Exact numeric of maximum precision, p, Up to 1000 digits of
NUMBER(p [, s ] ) Variable
and optional scale, s precision
-2,147,483,648 to
PLS_INTEGER 4 bytes Signed integer, Alias for INTEGER
+2,147,483,647
6 decimal digits
REAL 4 bytes Variable-precision, inexact
precision
-9223372036854775808
ROWID 8 bytes Signed 8 bit integer. to
9223372036854775807

The following sections describe the types in detail.

2.2.1.1 Integer Types

The type, INTEGER, stores whole numbers (without fractional components) between the
values of -2,147,483,648 and +2,147,483,647. Attempts to store values outside of the
allowed range will result in an error.

Columns of the ROWID type holds fixed-length binary data that describes the physical
address of a record. ROWID is an unsigned, four-byte INTEGER that stores whole
numbers (without fractional components) between the values of 0 and 4,294,967,295.
Attempts to store values outside of the allowed range will result in an error.

2.2.1.2 Arbitrary Precision Numbers

The type, NUMBER, can store practically an unlimited number of digits of precision and
perform calculations exactly. It is especially recommended for storing monetary amounts
and other quantities where exactness is required. However, the NUMBER type is very slow
compared to the floating-point types described in the next section.

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In what follows we use these terms: The scale of a NUMBER is the count of decimal digits
in the fractional part, to the right of the decimal point. The precision of a NUMBER is the
total count of significant digits in the whole number, that is, the number of digits to both
sides of the decimal point. So the number 23.5141 has a precision of 6 and a scale of 4.
Integers can be considered to have a scale of zero.

Both the precision and the scale of the NUMBER type can be configured. To declare a
column of type NUMBER use the syntax

NUMBER(precision, scale)

The precision must be positive, the scale zero or positive. Alternatively,

NUMBER(precision)

selects a scale of 0. Specifying NUMBER without any precision or scale creates a column
in which numeric values of any precision and scale can be stored, up to the
implementation limit on precision. A column of this kind will not coerce input values to
any particular scale, whereas NUMBER columns with a declared scale will coerce input
values to that scale. (The SQL standard requires a default scale of 0, i.e., coercion to
integer precision. For maximum portability, it is best to specify the precision and scale
explicitly.)

If the precision or scale of a value is greater than the declared precision or scale of a
column, the system will attempt to round the value. If the value cannot be rounded so as
to satisfy the declared limits, an error is raised.

2.2.1.3 Floating-Point Types

The data types REAL and DOUBLE PRECISION are inexact, variable-precision numeric
types. In practice, these types are usually implementations of IEEE Standard 754 for
Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic (single and double precision, respectively), to the extent
that the underlying processor, operating system, and compiler support it.

Inexact means that some values cannot be converted exactly to the internal format and are
stored as approximations, so that storing and printing back out a value may show slight
discrepancies. Managing these errors and how they propagate through calculations is the
subject of an entire branch of mathematics and computer science and will not be
discussed further here, except for the following points:

If you require exact storage and calculations (such as for monetary amounts), use the
NUMBER type instead.

If you want to do complicated calculations with these types for anything important,
especially if you rely on certain behavior in boundary cases (infinity, underflow), you
should evaluate the implementation carefully.

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Comparing two floating-point values for equality may or may not work as expected.

On most platforms, the REAL type has a range of at least 1E-37 to 1E+37 with a precision
of at least 6 decimal digits. The DOUBLE PRECISION type typically has a range of
around 1E-307 to 1E+308 with a precision of at least 15 digits. Values that are too large
or too small will cause an error. Rounding may take place if the precision of an input
number is too high. Numbers too close to zero that are not representable as distinct from
zero will cause an underflow error.

Advanced Server also supports the SQL standard notations FLOAT and FLOAT(p) for
specifying inexact numeric types. Here, p specifies the minimum acceptable precision in
binary digits. Advanced Server accepts FLOAT(1) to FLOAT(24) as selecting the REAL
type, while FLOAT(25) to FLOAT(53) as selecting DOUBLE PRECISION. Values of p
outside the allowed range draw an error. FLOAT with no precision specified is taken to
mean DOUBLE PRECISION.

2.2.2 Character Types

The following table lists the general-purpose character types available in Advanced
Server.

Table 2-3 Character Types

Name Description
Fixed-length character string, blank-padded to the size specified
CHAR[(n)]
by n
CLOB Large variable-length up to 1 GB
LONG Variable unlimited length.
NVARCHAR(n) Variable-length national character string, with limit.
NVARCHAR2(n) Variable-length national character string, with limit.
STRING Alias for VARCHAR2.
VARCHAR(n)
Variable-length character string, with limit (considered
deprecated, but supported for compatibility)
VARCHAR2(n) Variable-length character string, with limit

Where n is a positive integer; these types can store strings up to n characters in length.
An attempt to assign a value that exceeds the length of n will result in an error, unless the
excess characters are all spaces, in which case the string will be truncated to the
maximum length.

CHAR

If you do not specify a value for n, n will default to 1. If the string to be assigned is
shorter than n, values of type CHAR will be space-padded to the specified width (n), and
will be stored and displayed that way.

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Padding spaces are treated as semantically insignificant. That is, trailing spaces are
disregarded when comparing two values of type CHAR, and they will be removed when
converting a CHAR value to one of the other string types.

If you explicitly cast an over-length value to a CHAR(n) type, the value will be truncated
to n characters without raising an error (as specified by the SQL standard).

VARCHAR, VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR and NVARCHAR2

If the string to be assigned is shorter than n, values of type VARCHAR, VARCHAR2,

NVARCHAR and NVARCHAR2 will store the shorter string without padding.

Note that trailing spaces are semantically significant in VARCHAR values.

If you explicitly cast a value to a VARCHAR type, an over-length value will be truncated to
n characters without raising an error (as specified by the SQL standard).

CLOB

You can store a large character string in a CLOB type. CLOB is semantically equivalent to
VARCHAR2 except no length limit is specified. Generally, you should use a CLOB type if
the maximum string length is not known.

The longest possible character string that can be stored in a CLOB type is about 1 GB.

The storage requirement for data of these types is the actual string plus 1 byte if the string
is less than 127 bytes, or 4 bytes if the string is 127 bytes or greater. In the case of
CHAR, the padding also requires storage. Long strings are compressed by the system
automatically, so the physical requirement on disk may be less. Long values are stored in
background tables so they do not interfere with rapid access to the shorter column values.

The database character set determines the character set used to store textual values.

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2.2.3 Binary Data

The following data types allows storage of binary strings.

Table 2-4 Binary Large Object

Name Storage Size Description
Fixed-length binary string, with a length
BINARY The length of the binary string.
between 1 and 8300.
The actual binary string plus 1 byte
if the binary string is less than 127
BLOB Variable-length binary string
bytes, or 4 bytes if the binary string
is 127 bytes or greater.
Variable-length binary string, with a length
VARBINARY The length of the binary string
between 1 and 8300.

A binary string is a sequence of octets (or bytes). Binary strings are distinguished from
characters strings by two characteristics: First, binary strings specifically allow storing
octets of value zero and other "non-printable" octets (defined as octets outside the range
32 to 126). Second, operations on binary strings process the actual bytes, whereas the
encoding and processing of character strings depends on locale settings.

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2.2.4 Date/Time Types

The following discussion of the date/time types assumes that the configuration parameter,
edb_redwood_date, has been set to TRUE whenever a table is created or altered.

Advanced Server supports the date/time types shown in the following table.

Table 2-5 Date/Time Types

Storage Low Value
Name Description High Value Resolution
Size
DATE 8 bytes Date and time 4713 BC 5874897 AD 1 second
INTERVAL DAY TO
-178000000 178000000 1 microsecond /
SECOND 12 bytes Period of time
[(p)] years years 14 digits
INTERVAL YEAR TO -178000000 178000000 1 microsecond /
MONTH 12 bytes Period of time
years years 14 digits
TIMESTAMP [(p)] 8 bytes Date and time 4713 BC 5874897 AD 1 microsecond
TIMESTAMP [(p)] Date and time
WITH TIME ZONE 8 bytes 4713 BC 5874897 AD 1 microsecond
with time zone

When DATE appears as the data type of a column in the data definition language (DDL)
commands, CREATE TABLE or ALTER TABLE, it is translated to TIMESTAMP(0) at the
time the table definition is stored in the database. Thus, a time component will also be
stored in the column along with the date.

When DATE appears as a data type of a variable in an SPL declaration section, or the data
type of a formal parameter in an SPL procedure or an SPL function, or the return type of
an SPL function, it is always translated to TIMESTAMP(0) and thus can handle a time
component if present.

TIMESTAMP accepts an optional precision value p which specifies the number of

fractional digits retained in the seconds field. The allowed range of p is from 0 to 6 with
the default being 6.

When TIMESTAMP values are stored as double precision floating-point numbers

(currently the default), the effective limit of precision may be less than 6. TIMESTAMP
values are stored as seconds before or after midnight 2000-01-01. Microsecond precision
is achieved for dates within a few years of 2000-01-01, but the precision degrades for
dates further away. When TIMESTAMP values are stored as eight-byte integers (a
compile-time option), microsecond precision is available over the full range of values.
However eight-byte integer timestamps have a more limited range of dates than shown
above: from 4713 BC up to 294276 AD.

TIMESTAMP (p) WITH TIME ZONE is similar to TIMESTAMP (p), but includes the
time zone as well.

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2.2.4.1 INTERVAL Types

INTERVAL values specify a period of time. Values of INTERVAL type are composed of
fields that describe the value of the data. The following table lists the fields allowed in an
INTERVAL type:

Table 2-6 Interval Types

Field Name INTERVAL Values Allowed
YEAR Integer value (positive or negative)
MONTH 0 through 11
DAY Integer value (positive or negative)
HOUR 0 through 23
MINUTE 0 through 59
SECOND 0 through 59.9(p) where 9(p) is the precision of fractional
seconds

The fields must be presented in descending order from YEARS to MONTHS, and from
DAYS to HOURS, MINUTES and then SECONDS.

Advanced Server supports two INTERVAL types compatible with Oracle databases.

The first variation supported by Advanced Server is INTERVAL DAY TO SECOND

[(p)]. INTERVAL DAY TO SECOND [(p)] stores a time interval in days, hours,
minutes and seconds.

p specifies the precision of the second field.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

INTERVAL '1 2:34:5.678' DAY TO SECOND(3)

as 1 day, 2 hours, 34 minutes, 5 seconds and 678 thousandths of a second.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

INTERVAL '1 23' DAY TO HOUR

as 1 day and 23 hours.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

INTERVAL '2:34' HOUR TO MINUTE

as 2 hours and 34 minutes.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

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INTERVAL '2:34:56.129' HOUR TO SECOND(2)

as 2 hours, 34 minutes, 56 seconds and 13 thousandths of a second. Note that the

fractional second is rounded up to 13 because of the specified precision.

The second variation supported by Advanced Server that is compatible with Oracle
databases is INTERVAL YEAR TO MONTH. This variation stores a time interval in years
and months.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

INTERVAL '12-3' YEAR TO MONTH

as 12 years and 3 months.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

INTERVAL '456' YEAR(2)

as 12 years and 3 months.

Advanced Server interprets the value:

INTERVAL '300' MONTH

as 25 years.

2.2.4.2 Date/Time Input

Date and time input is accepted in ISO 8601 SQL-compatible format, the Oracle default
dd-MON-yy format, as well as a number of other formats provided that there is no
ambiguity as to which component is the year, month, and day. However, use of the
TO_DATE function is strongly recommended to avoid ambiguities.

Any date or time literal input needs to be enclosed in single quotes, like text strings. The
following SQL standard syntax is also accepted:

type 'value'

type is either DATE or TIMESTAMP.

value is a date/time text string.

2.2.4.2.1 Dates

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The following table shows some possible input formats for dates, all of which equate to
January 8, 1999.

Table 2-7 Date Input

Example
January 8, 1999
1999-01-08
1999-Jan-08
Jan-08-1999
08-Jan-1999
08-Jan-99
Jan-08-99
19990108
990108

The date values can be assigned to a DATE or TIMESTAMP column or variable. The hour,
minute, and seconds fields will be set to zero if the date value is not appended with a time
value.

2.2.4.2.2 Times

Some examples of the time component of a date or time stamp are shown in the following
table.

Table 2-8 Time Input

Example Description
04:05:06.789 ISO 8601
04:05:06 ISO 8601
04:05 ISO 8601
040506 ISO 8601
04:05 AM Same as 04:05; AM does not affect value
04:05 PM Same as 16:05; input hour must be <= 12

2.2.4.2.3 Time Stamps

Valid input for time stamps consists of a concatenation of a date and a time. The date
portion of the time stamp can be formatted according to any of the examples shown in
Table 2-7. The time portion of the time stamp can be formatted according to any of
examples shown in Table 2-8.

The following is an example of a time stamp which follows the Oracle default format.

08-JAN-99 04:05:06

The following is an example of a time stamp which follows the ISO 8601 standard.

1999-01-08 04:05:06

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2.2.4.3 Date/Time Output
The default output format of the date/time types will be either (dd-MON-yy) referred to
as the Redwood date style, compatible with Oracle databases, or (yyyy-mm-dd) referred
to as the ISO 8601 format, depending upon the application interface to the database.
Applications that use JDBC such as SQL Interactive always present the date in ISO 8601
form. Other applications such as PSQL present the date in Redwood form.

The following table shows examples of the output formats for the two styles, Redwood
and ISO 8601.

Table 2-9 Date/Time Output Styles

Description Example
Redwood style 31-DEC-05 07:37:16
ISO 8601/SQL standard 1997-12-17 07:37:16

2.2.4.4 Internals
Advanced Server uses Julian dates for all date/time calculations. Julian dates correctly
predict or calculate any date after 4713 BC based on the assumption that the length of the
year is 365.2425 days.

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2.2.5 Boolean Type

Advanced Server provides the standard SQL type BOOLEAN. BOOLEAN can have one of
only two states: TRUE or FALSE. A third state, UNKNOWN, is represented by the SQL NULL
value.

Table 2-10 Boolean Type

Name Storage Size Description
BOOLEAN 1 byte Logical Boolean (true/false)

The valid literal value for representing the true state is TRUE. The valid literal for
representing the false state is FALSE.

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2.2.6 XML Type

The XMLTYPE data type is used to store XML data. Its advantage over storing XML data
in a character field is that it checks the input values for well-formedness, and there are
support functions to perform type-safe operations on it.

The XML type can store well-formed documents, as defined by the XML standard, as
well as content fragments, which are defined by the production XMLDecl? content
in the XML standard. Roughly, this means that content fragments can have more than one
top-level element or character node.

Note: Oracle does not support the storage of content fragments in XMLTYPE columns.

The following example shows the creation and insertion of a row into a table with an
XMLTYPE column.

CREATE TABLE books (

content XMLTYPE
);

INSERT INTO books VALUES (XMLPARSE (DOCUMENT '<?xml

version="1.0"?><book><title>Manual</title><chapter>...</chapter></book>'));

SELECT * FROM books;

content
----------------------------------------------------------
<book><title>Manual</title><chapter>...</chapter></book>
(1 row)

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2.3 SQL Commands

This section provides a summary of the SQL commands compatible with Oracle
databases that are supported by Advanced Server. The SQL commands in this section
will work on both an Oracle database and an Advanced Server database.

Note the following points:

Advanced Server supports other commands that are not listed here. These
commands may have no Oracle equivalent or they may provide the similar or
same functionality as an Oracle SQL command, but with different syntax.
The SQL commands in this section do not necessarily represent the full syntax,
options, and functionality available for each command. In most cases, syntax,
options, and functionality that are not compatible with Oracle databases have been
omitted from the command description and syntax.
The Advanced Server documentation set documents command functionality that
may not be compatible with Oracle databases.

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2.3.1 ALTER INDEX

Name

ALTER INDEX -- modify an existing index.

Synopsis

Advanced Server supports two variations of the ALTER INDEX command compatible with
Oracle databases. Use the first variation to rename an index:

ALTER INDEX name RENAME TO new_name

Use the second variation of the ALTER INDEX command to rebuild an index:

ALTER INDEX name REBUILD

Description

ALTER INDEX changes the definition of an existing index. The RENAME clause changes
the name of the index. The REBUILD clause reconstructs an index, replacing the old copy
of the index with an updated version based on the index's table.

The REBUILD clause invokes the PostgreSQL REINDEX command; for more information
about using the REBUILD clause, see the PostgreSQL core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-reindex.html

ALTER INDEX has no effect on stored data.

Parameters

name

The name (possibly schema-qualified) of an existing index.

new_name

New name for the index.

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Examples

To change the name of an index from name_idx to empname_idx:

ALTER INDEX name_idx RENAME TO empname_idx;

To rebuild an index named empname_idx:

ALTER INDEX empname_idx REBUILD;

See Also

CREATE INDEX, DROP INDEX

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2.3.2 ALTER PROCEDURE

Name

ALTER PROCEDURE

Synopsis

ALTER PROCEDURE procedure_name options [RESTRICT]

Description

Use the ALTER PROCEDURE statement to specify that a procedure is a SECURITY

INVOKER or SECURITY DEFINER.

Parameters

procedure_name

procedure_name specifies the (possibly schema-qualified) name of a stored

procedure.

options may be:

[EXTERNAL] SECURITY DEFINER

Specify SECURITY DEFINER to instruct the server to execute the procedure with
the privileges of the user that created the procedure. The EXTERNAL keyword is
accepted for compatibility, but ignored.

[EXTERNAL] SECURITY INVOKER

Specify SECURITY INVOKER to instruct the server to execute the procedure with
the privileges of the user that is invoking the procedure. The EXTERNAL keyword
is accepted for compatibility, but ignored.

The RESTRICT keyword is accepted for compatibility, but ignored.

Examples

The following command specifies that the update_balance procedure should execute
with the privileges of the user invoking the procedure:

ALTER PROCEDURE update_balance SECURITY INVOKER;

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2.3.3 ALTER PROFILE

Name

ALTER PROFILE alter an existing profile

Synopsis

ALTER PROFILE profile_name RENAME TO new_name;

ALTER PROFILE profile_name

LIMIT {parameter value}[...];

Description

Use the ALTER PROFILE command to modify a user-defined profile; Advanced Server
supports two forms of the command:

Use ALTER PROFILERENAME TO to change the name of a profile.

Use ALTER PROFILELIMIT to modify the limits associated with a profile.

Include the LIMIT clause and one or more space-delimited parameter/value pairs to
specify the rules enforced by Advanced Server, or use ALTER PROFILERENAME TO to
change the name of a profile.

Parameters

profile_name

The name of the profile.

new_name

new_name specifies the new name of the profile.

parameter

parameter specifies the attribute limited by the profile.

value

value specifies the parameter limit.

Advanced Server supports the value shown below for each parameter:

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FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS specifies the number of failed login attempts that a user
may make before the server locks the user out of their account for the length of time
specified by PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME. Supported values are:

An INTEGER value greater than 0.

DEFAULT - the value of FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS specified in the
DEFAULT profile.
UNLIMITED the connecting user may make an unlimited number of failed
login attempts.

PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME specifies the length of time that must pass before the server
unlocks an account that has been locked because of FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS.
Supported values are:

A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion

of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED the account is locked until it is manually unlocked by a
database superuser.

PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME specifies the number of days that the current password may
be used before the user is prompted to provide a new password. Include the
PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME clause when using the PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME clause to
specify the number of days that will pass after the password expires before
connections by the role are rejected. If PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME is not specified, the
password will expire on the day specified by the default value of
PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME, and the user will not be allowed to execute any command
until a new password is provided. Supported values are:

A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion

of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The password does not have an expiration date.

PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME specifies the length of the grace period after a password

expires until the user is forced to change their password. When the grace period
expires, a user will be allowed to connect, but will not be allowed to execute any
command until they update their expired password. Supported values are:

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A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion
of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The grace period is infinite.

PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME specifies the number of days a user must wait before re-
using a password. The PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME and PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX
parameters are intended to be used together. If you specify a finite value for one of
these parameters while the other is UNLIMITED, old passwords can never be reused.
If both parameters are set to UNLIMITED there are no restrictions on password reuse.
Supported values are:

A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion

of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The password can be re-used without restrictions.

PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX specifies the number of password changes that must occur

before a password can be reused. The PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME and
PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX parameters are intended to be used together. If you specify a
finite value for one of these parameters while the other is UNLIMITED, old passwords
can never be reused. If both parameters are set to UNLIMITED there are no
restrictions on password reuse. Supported values are:

An INTEGER value greater than or equal to 0.

DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The password can be re-used without restrictions.

PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION specifies password complexity. Supported values

are:

The name of a PL/SQL function.

DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION specified in the
DEFAULT profile.
NULL

Examples

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The following example modifies a profile named acctg_profile:

ALTER PROFILE acctg_profile

LIMIT FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS 3 PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME 1;

acctg_profile will count failed connection attempts when a login role attempts to
connect to the server. The profile specifies that if a user has not authenticated with the
correct password in three attempts, the account will be locked for one day.

The following example changes the name of acctg_profile to payables_profile:

ALTER PROFILE acctg_profile RENAME TO payables_profile;

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2.3.4 ALTER QUEUE

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) with the ALTER QUEUE
SQL command. This syntax can be used in association with the DBMS_AQADM package.

Name

ALTER QUEUE -- allows a superuser or a user with the aq_administrator_role

privilege to modify the attributes of a queue.

Synopsis

This command is available in four forms. The first form of this command changes the
name of a queue.

ALTER QUEUE queue_name RENAME TO new_name

Parameters

queue_name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing queue.

RENAME TO

Include the RENAME TO clause and a new name for the queue to rename
the queue.

new_name

New name for the queue.

The second form of the ALTER QUEUE command modifies the attributes of the queue:

ALTER QUEUE queue_name SET [ ( { option_name option_value }

[,SET option_name

Parameters

queue_name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing queue.

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Include the SET clause and option_name/option_value pairs to modify the
attributes of the queue:

option_name option_value

The name of the option or options to be associated with the new queue and
the corresponding value of the option. If you provide duplicate option
names, the server will return an error.

If option_name is retries, provide an integer that represents

the number of times a dequeue may be attempted.

If option_name is retrydelay, provide a double-precision

value that represents the delay in seconds.

If option_name is retention, provide a double-precision

value that represents the retention time in seconds.

Use the third form of the ALTER QUEUE command to enable or disable enqueuing and/or
dequeuing on a particular queue:

ALTER QUEUE queue_name ACCESS { START | STOP } [ FOR {

enqueue | dequeue } ] [ NOWAIT ]

Parameters

queue_name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing queue.

ACCESS

Include the ACCESS keyword to enable or disable enqueuing and/or

dequeuing on a particular queue.

START | STOP

Use the START and STOP keywords to indicate the desired state of the
queue.

FOR enqueue|dequeue

Use the FOR clause to indicate if you are specifying the state of
enqueueing or dequeueing activity on the specified queue.

NOWAIT

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Include the NOWAIT keyword to specify that the server should not wait for
the completion of outstanding transactions before changing the state of the
queue. The NOWAIT keyword can only be used when specifying an
ACCESS value of STOP. The server will return an error if NOWAIT is
specified with an ACCESS value of START.

Use the fourth form to ADD or DROP callback details for a particular queue.

ALTER QUEUE queue_name { ADD | DROP } CALL TO location_name

[ WITH callback_option ]

Parameters

queue_name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing queue.

ADD | DROP

Include the ADD or DROP keywords to enable add or remove callback

details for a queue.

location_name

location_name specifies the name of the callback procedure.

callback_option

callback_option can be context; specify a RAW value when

including this clause.

Example

The following example changes the name of a queue from work_queue_east to

work_order:

ALTER QUEUE work_queue_east RENAME TO work_order;

The following example modifies a queue named work_order, setting the number of
retries to 100, the delay between retries to 2 seconds, and the length of time that the
queue will retain dequeued messages to 10 seconds:

ALTER QUEUE work_order SET (retries 100, retrydelay 2, retention 10);

The following commands enable enqueueing and dequeueing in a queue named

work_order:

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ALTER QUEUE work_order ACCESS START;
ALTER QUEUE work_order ACCESS START FOR enqueue;
ALTER QUEUE work_order ACCESS START FOR dequeue;

The following commands disable enqueueing and dequeueing in a queue named

work_order:

ALTER QUEUE work_order ACCESS STOP NOWAIT;

ALTER QUEUE work_order ACCESS STOP FOR enqueue;
ALTER QUEUE work_order ACCESS STOP FOR dequeue;

See Also

CREATE QUEUE, DROP QUEUE

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2.3.5 ALTER QUEUE TABLE

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) with the ALTER QUEUE
SQL command. This syntax can be used in association with the DBMS_AQADM package.

Name

ALTER QUEUE TABLE-- modify an existing queue table.

Synopsis

Use ALTER QUEUE TABLE to change the name of an existing queue table:

ALTER QUEUE TABLE name RENAME TO new_name

Description

ALTER QUEUE TABLE allows a superuser or a user with the aq_administrator_role

privilege to change the name of an existing queue table.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing queue table.

new_name

New name for the queue table.

Example

To change the name of a queue table from wo_table_east to work_order_table:

ALTER QUEUE TABLE wo_queue_east RENAME TO work_order_table;

See Also

CREATE QUEUE TABLE, DROP QUEUE TABLE

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2.3.6 ALTER ROLE IDENTIFIED BY

Name

ALTER ROLE - change the password associated with a database role

Synopsis

ALTER ROLE role_name IDENTIFIED BY password

[REPLACE prev_password]

Description

A role without the CREATEROLE privilege may use this command to change their own
password. An unprivileged role must include the REPLACE clause and their previous
password if PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION is not NULL in their profile. When the
REPLACE clause is used by a non-superuser, the server will compare the password
provided to the existing password and raise an error if the passwords do not match.

A database superuser can use this command to change the password associated with any
role. If a superuser includes the REPLACE clause, the clause is ignored; a non-matching
value for the previous password will not throw an error.

If the role for which the password is being changed has the SUPERUSER attribute, then a
superuser must issue this command. A role with the CREATEROLE attribute can use this
command to change the password associated with a role that is not a superuser.

Parameters

role_name

The name of the role whose password is to be altered.

password

The roles new password.

prev_password

The roles previous password.

Examples

To change a roles password:

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ALTER ROLE john IDENTIFIED BY xyRP35z REPLACE 23PJ74a;

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2.3.7 ALTER ROLE - Managing Database Link and DBMS_RLS

Privileges

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) for the ALTER ROLE
command. This syntax can be useful when assigning privileges related to creating and
dropping database links compatible with Oracle databases, and fine-grained access
control (using DBMS_RLS).

CREATE DATABASE LINK

A user who holds the CREATE DATABASE LINK privilege may create a private database
link. The following ALTER ROLE command grants privileges to an Advanced Server role
that allow the specified role to create a private database link:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [CREATEDBLINK | CREATE DATABASE LINK]

This command is the functional equivalent of:

GRANT CREATE DATABASE LINK to role_name

Use the following command to revoke the privilege:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [NOCREATEDBLINK | NO CREATE DATABASE LINK]

Please note: the CREATEDBLINK and NOCREATEDBLINK keywords should be considered

deprecated syntax; we recommend using the CREATE DATABASE LINK and NO CREATE
DATABASE LINK syntax options.

CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK

A user who holds the CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK privilege may create a public
database link. The following ALTER ROLE command grants privileges to an Advanced
Server role that allow the specified role to create a public database link:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [CREATEPUBLICDBLINK | CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK]

This command is the functional equivalent of:

GRANT CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK to role_name

Use the following command to revoke the privilege:

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ALTER ROLE role_name
WITH [NOCREATEPUBLICDBLINK | NO CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK]

Please note: the CREATEPUBLICDBLINK and NOCREATEPUBLICDBLINK keywords

should be considered deprecated syntax; we recommend using the CREATE PUBLIC
DATABASE LINK and NO CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK syntax options.

DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK

A user who holds the DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK privilege may drop a public
database link. The following ALTER ROLE command grants privileges to an Advanced
Server role that allow the specified role to drop a public database link:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [DROPPUBLICDBLINK | DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK]

This command is the functional equivalent of:

GRANT DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK to role_name

Use the following command to revoke the privilege:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [NODROPPUBLICDBLINK | NO DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK]

Please note: the DROPPUBLICDBLINK and NODROPPUBLICDBLINK keywords should be

considered deprecated syntax; we recommend using the DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK
and NO DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK syntax options.

EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY

A user who holds the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege is exempt from fine-grained
access control (DBMS_RLS) policies. A user who holds these privileges will be able to
view or modify any row in a table constrained by a DBMS_RLS policy. The following
ALTER ROLE command grants privileges to an Advanced Server role that exempt the
specified role from any defined DBMS_RLS policies:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [POLICYEXEMPT | EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY]

This command is the functional equivalent of:

GRANT EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY TO role_name

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Use the following command to revoke the privilege:

ALTER ROLE role_name

WITH [NOPOLICYEXEMPT | NO EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY]

Please note: the POLICYEXEMPT and NOPOLICYEXEMPT keywords should be considered

deprecated syntax; we recommend using the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY and NO EXEMPT
ACCESS POLICY syntax options.

See Also

CREATE ROLE, DROP ROLE, GRANT, REVOKE, SET ROLE

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2.3.8 ALTER SEQUENCE

Name

ALTER SEQUENCE -- change the definition of a sequence generator

Synopsis

ALTER SEQUENCE name [ INCREMENT BY increment ]

[ MINVALUE minvalue ] [ MAXVALUE maxvalue ]
[ CACHE cache | NOCACHE ] [ CYCLE ]

Description

ALTER SEQUENCE changes the parameters of an existing sequence generator. Any

parameter not specifically set in the ALTER SEQUENCE command retains its prior setting.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a sequence to be altered.

increment

The clause INCREMENT BY increment is optional. A positive value will make

an ascending sequence, a negative one a descending sequence. If unspecified, the
old increment value will be maintained.

minvalue

The optional clause MINVALUE minvalue determines the minimum value a

sequence can generate. If not specified, the current minimum value will be
maintained. Note that the key words, NO MINVALUE, may be used to set this
behavior back to the defaults of 1 and -263-1 for ascending and descending
sequences, respectively, however, this term is not compatible with Oracle
databases.

maxvalue

The optional clause MAXVALUE maxvalue determines the maximum value for
the sequence. If not specified, the current maximum value will be maintained.
Note that the key words, NO MAXVALUE, may be used to set this behavior back to

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the defaults of 263-1 and -1 for ascending and descending sequences, respectively,
however, this term is not compatible with Oracle databases.

cache

The optional clause CACHE cache specifies how many sequence numbers are to
be preallocated and stored in memory for faster access. The minimum value is 1
(only one value can be generated at a time, i.e., NOCACHE). If unspecified, the old
cache value will be maintained.

CYCLE

The CYCLE option allows the sequence to wrap around when the maxvalue or
minvalue has been reached by an ascending or descending sequence
respectively. If the limit is reached, the next number generated will be the
minvalue or maxvalue, respectively. If not specified, the old cycle behavior
will be maintained. Note that the key words, NO CYCLE, may be used to alter the
sequence so that it does not recycle, however, this term is not compatible with
Oracle databases.

Notes

To avoid blocking of concurrent transactions that obtain numbers from the same
sequence, ALTER SEQUENCE is never rolled back; the changes take effect immediately
and are not reversible.

ALTER SEQUENCE will not immediately affect NEXTVAL results in backends, other than
the current one, that have pre-allocated (cached) sequence values. They will use up all
cached values prior to noticing the changed sequence parameters. The current backend
will be affected immediately.

Examples

Change the increment and cache value of sequence, serial.

ALTER SEQUENCE serial INCREMENT BY 2 CACHE 5;

See Also

CREATE SEQUENCE, DROP SEQUENCE

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2.3.9 ALTER SESSION

Name

ALTER SESSION -- change a runtime parameter

Synopsis

ALTER SESSION SET name = value

Description

The ALTER SESSION command changes runtime configuration parameters. ALTER

SESSION only affects the value used by the current session. Some of these parameters are
provided solely for compatibility with Oracle syntax and have no effect whatsoever on
the runtime behavior of Advanced Server. Others will alter a corresponding Advanced
Server database server runtime configuration parameter.

Parameters

name

Name of a settable runtime parameter. Available parameters are listed below.

value

New value of parameter.

Configuration Parameters

The following configuration parameters can be modified using the ALTER SESSION
command:

NLS_DATE_FORMAT (string)

Sets the display format for date and time values as well as the rules for
interpreting ambiguous date input values. Has the same effect as setting the
Advanced Server datestyle runtime configuration parameter.

NLS_LANGUAGE (string)

Sets the language in which messages are displayed. Has the same effect as setting
the Advanced Server lc_messages runtime configuration parameter.

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NLS_LENGTH_SEMANTICS (string)

Valid values are BYTE and CHAR. The default is BYTE. This parameter is provided
for syntax compatibility only and has no effect in the Advanced Server.

OPTIMIZER_MODE (string)

Sets the default optimization mode for queries. Valid values are ALL_ROWS,
CHOOSE, FIRST_ROWS, FIRST_ROWS_10, FIRST_ROWS_100, and
FIRST_ROWS_1000. The default is CHOOSE. This parameter is implemented in
Advanced Server.

QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED (string)

Valid values are TRUE, FALSE, and FORCE. The default is FALSE. This parameter
is provided for syntax compatibility only and has no effect in Advanced Server.

QUERY_REWRITE_INTEGRITY (string)

Valid values are ENFORCED, TRUSTED, and STALE_TOLERATED. The default is

ENFORCED. This parameter is provided for syntax compatibility only and has no
effect in Advanced Server.

Examples

Set the language to U.S. English in UTF-8 encoding. Note that in this example, the value,
en_US.UTF-8, is in the format that must be specified for Advanced Server. This form is
not compatible with Oracle databases.

ALTER SESSION SET NLS_LANGUAGE = 'en_US.UTF-8';

Set the date display format.

ALTER SESSION SET NLS_DATE_FORMAT = 'dd/mm/yyyy';

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2.3.10 ALTER TABLE

Name

ALTER TABLE -- change the definition of a table

Synopsis

ALTER TABLE name

action [, ...]
ALTER TABLE name
RENAME COLUMN column TO new_column
ALTER TABLE name
RENAME TO new_name

where action is one of:

ADD column type [ column_constraint [ ... ] ]

DROP COLUMN column
ADD table_constraint
DROP CONSTRAINT constraint_name [ CASCADE ]

Description

ALTER TABLE changes the definition of an existing table. There are several subforms:

ADD column type

This form adds a new column to the table using the same syntax as CREATE
TABLE.

DROP COLUMN

This form drops a column from a table. Indexes and table constraints involving
the column will be automatically dropped as well.

ADD table_constraint

This form adds a new constraint to a table using the same syntax as CREATE
TABLE.

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DROP CONSTRAINT

This form drops constraints on a table. Currently, constraints on tables are not
required to have unique names, so there may be more than one constraint
matching the specified name. All matching constraints will be dropped.

RENAME

The RENAME forms change the name of a table (or an index, sequence, or view) or
the name of an individual column in a table. There is no effect on the stored data.

You must own the table to use ALTER TABLE.

Parameters

name

The name (possibly schema-qualified) of an existing table to alter.

column

Name of a new or existing column.

new_column

New name for an existing column.

new_name

New name for the table.

type

Data type of the new column.

table_constraint

New table constraint for the table.

constraint_name

Name of an existing constraint to drop.

CASCADE

Automatically drop objects that depend on the dropped constraint.

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Notes

When you invoke ADD COLUMN, all existing rows in the table are initialized with the
columns default value (null if no DEFAULT clause is specified). Adding a column with a
non-null default will require the entire table to be rewritten. This may take a significant
amount of time for a large table; and it will temporarily require double the disk space.
Adding a CHECK or NOT NULL constraint requires scanning the table to verify that
existing rows meet the constraint.

The DROP COLUMN form does not physically remove the column, but simply makes it
invisible to SQL operations. Subsequent insert and update operations in the table will
store a null value for the column. Thus, dropping a column is quick but it will not
immediately reduce the on-disk size of your table, as the space occupied by the dropped
column is not reclaimed. The space will be reclaimed over time as existing rows are
updated.

Changing any part of a system catalog table is not permitted. Refer to CREATE TABLE
for a further description of valid parameters.

Examples

To add a column of type VARCHAR2 to a table:

ALTER TABLE emp ADD address VARCHAR2(30);

To drop a column from a table:

ALTER TABLE emp DROP COLUMN address;

To rename an existing column:

ALTER TABLE emp RENAME COLUMN address TO city;

To rename an existing table:

ALTER TABLE emp RENAME TO employee;

To add a check constraint to a table:

ALTER TABLE emp ADD CONSTRAINT sal_chk CHECK (sal > 500);

To remove a check constraint from a table:

ALTER TABLE emp DROP CONSTRAINT sal_chk;

See Also

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CREATE TABLE, DROP TABLE

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2.3.11 ALTER TABLESPACE

Name

ALTER TABLESPACE -- change the definition of a tablespace

Synopsis

ALTER TABLESPACE name RENAME TO newname

Description

ALTER TABLESPACE changes the definition of a tablespace.

Parameters

name

The name of an existing tablespace.

newname

The new name of the tablespace. The new name cannot begin with pg_, as such
names are reserved for system tablespaces.

Examples

Rename tablespace empspace to employee_space:

ALTER TABLESPACE empspace RENAME TO employee_space;

See Also

DROP TABLESPACE

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2.3.12 ALTER USER IDENTIFIED BY

Name

ALTER USER -- change a database user account

Synopsis

ALTER USER role_name IDENTIFIED BY password REPLACE prev_password

Description

A role without the CREATEROLE privilege may use this command to change their own
password. An unprivileged role must include the REPLACE clause and their previous
password if PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION is not NULL in their profile. When the
REPLACE clause is used by a non-superuser, the server will compare the password
provided to the existing password and raise an error if the passwords do not match.

A database superuser can use this command to change the password associated with any
role. If a superuser includes the REPLACE clause, the clause is ignored; a non-matching
value for the previous password will not throw an error.

If the role for which the password is being changed has the SUPERUSER attribute, then a
superuser must issue this command. A role with the CREATEROLE attribute can use this
command to change the password associated with a role that is not a superuser.

Parameters

role_name

The name of the role whose password is to be altered.

password

The roles new password.

prev_password

The roles previous password.

Examples

Change a user password:

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ALTER USER john IDENTIFIED BY xyRP35z REPLACE 23PJ74a;

See Also

CREATE USER, DROP USER

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2.3.13 ALTER USER|ROLE PROFILE MANAGEMENT CLAUSES

Name

ALTER USER|ROLE

Synopsis

ALTER USER|ROLE name [[WITH] option[]

where option can be the following compatible clauses:

PROFILE profile_name
| ACCOUNT {LOCK|UNLOCK}
| PASSWORD EXPIRE [AT 'timestamp']

or option can be the following non-compatible clauses:

| PASSWORD SET AT 'timestamp'

| LOCK TIME 'timestamp'
| STORE PRIOR PASSWORD {'password' 'timestamp} [, ...]

For information about the administrative clauses of the ALTER USER or ALTER ROLE
command that are supported by Advanced Server, please see the PostgreSQL core
documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-commands.html

Only a database superuser can use the ALTER USER|ROLE clauses that enforce profile
management. The clauses enforce the following behaviors:

Include the PROFILE clause and a profile_name to associate a pre-defined

profile with a role, or to change which pre-defined profile is associated with a
user.

Include the ACCOUNT clause and the LOCK or UNLOCK keyword to specify that the
user account should be placed in a locked or unlocked state.

Include the LOCK TIME 'timestamp' clause and a date/time value to lock the
role at the specified time, and unlock the role at the time indicated by the
PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME parameter of the profile assigned to this role. If LOCK
TIME is used with the ACCOUNT LOCK clause, the role can only be unlocked by a
database superuser with the ACCOUNT UNLOCK clause.

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Include the PASSWORD EXPIRE clause with the AT 'timestamp' keywords to
specify a date/time when the password associated with the role will expire. If you
omit the AT 'timestamp' keywords, the password will expire immediately.

Include the PASSWORD SET AT 'timestamp' keywords to set the password

modification date to the time specified.

Include the STORE PRIOR PASSWORD {'password' 'timestamp} [, ...]

clause to modify the password history, adding the new password and the time the
password was set.

Each login role may only have one profile. To discover the profile that is currently
associated with a login role, query the profile column of the DBA_USERS view.

Parameters

name

The name of the role with which the specified profile will be associated.

password

The password associated with the role.

profile_name

The name of the profile that will be associated with the role.

timestamp

The date and time at which the clause will be enforced. When specifying a value
for timestamp, enclose the value in single-quotes.

Notes

For information about the Postgres-compatible clauses of the ALTER USER or ALTER
ROLE command, see the PostgreSQL core documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-alterrole.html

Examples

The following command uses the ALTER USER PROFILE command to associate a
profile named acctg with a user named john:

ALTER USER john PROFILE acctg_profile;

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The following command uses the ALTER ROLE PROFILE command to associate a
profile named acctg with a user named john:

ALTER ROLE john PROFILE acctg_profile;

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2.3.14 CALL

Name

CALL

Synopsis

CALL procedure_name '('[argument_list]')'

Description

Use the CALL statement to invoke a procedure. To use the CALL statement, you must
have EXECUTE privileges on the procedure that the CALL statement is invoking.

Parameters

procedure_name

procedure_name is the (optionally schema-qualified) procedure name.

argument_list

argument_list specifies a comma-separated list of arguments required by the

procedure. Note that each member of argument_list corresponds to a formal
argument expected by the procedure. Each formal argument may be an IN
parameter, an OUT parameter, or an INOUT parameter.

Examples

The CALL statement may take one of several forms, depending on the arguments required
by the procedure:

CALL update_balance();
CALL update_balance(1,2,3);

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2.3.15 COMMENT

Name

COMMENT -- define or change the comment of an object

Synopsis

COMMENT ON
{
TABLE table_name |
COLUMN table_name.column_name
} IS 'text'

Description

COMMENT stores a comment about a database object. To modify a comment, issue a new
COMMENT command for the same object. Only one comment string is stored for each
object. To remove a comment, specify the empty string (two consecutive single quotes
with no intervening space) for text. Comments are automatically dropped when the
object is dropped.

Parameters

table_name

The name of the table to be commented. The table name may be schema-
qualified.

table_name.column_name

The name of a column within table_name to be commented. The table name

may be schema-qualified.

text

The new comment.

Notes

There is presently no security mechanism for comments: any user connected to a

database can see all the comments for objects in that database (although only superusers
can change comments for objects that they dont own). Do not put security-critical
information in comments.

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Examples

Attach a comment to the table emp:

COMMENT ON TABLE emp IS 'Current employee information';

Attach a comment to the empno column of the emp table:

COMMENT ON COLUMN emp.empno IS 'Employee identification number';

Remove these comments:

COMMENT ON TABLE emp IS '';

COMMENT ON COLUMN emp.empno IS '';

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2.3.16 COMMIT

Name

COMMIT -- commit the current transaction

Synopsis

COMMIT [ WORK ]

Description

COMMIT commits the current transaction. All changes made by the transaction become
visible to others and are guaranteed to be durable if a crash occurs.

Parameters

WORK

Optional key word - has no effect.

Notes

Use ROLLBACK to abort a transaction. Issuing COMMIT when not inside a transaction
does no harm.

Examples

To commit the current transaction and make all changes permanent:

COMMIT;

See Also

ROLLBACK, ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT

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2.3.17 CREATE DATABASE

Name

CREATE DATABASE -- create a new database

Synopsis

CREATE DATABASE name

Description

CREATE DATABASE creates a new database.

To create a database, you must be a superuser or have the special CREATEDB privilege.
Normally, the creator becomes the owner of the new database. Non-superusers with
CREATEDB privilege can only create databases owned by them.

The new database will be created by cloning the standard system database template1.

Parameters

name

The name of the database to be created.

Notes

CREATE DATABASE cannot be executed inside a transaction block.

Errors along the line of could not initialize database directory are most likely related to
insufficient permissions on the data directory, a full disk, or other file system problems.

Examples

To create a new database:

CREATE DATABASE employees;

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2.3.18 CREATE [PUBLIC] DATABASE LINK

Name

CREATE [PUBLIC] DATABASE LINK -- create a new database link.

Synopsis

CREATE [ PUBLIC ] DATABASE LINK name

CONNECT TO { CURRENT_USER |
username IDENTIFIED BY 'password'}
USING { libpq 'libpq_connection_string' |
postgres_fdw 'fdw_connection_string' |
[ oci ] 'oracle_connection_string' }

Description

CREATE DATABASE LINK creates a new database link. A database link is an object that
allows a reference to a table or view in a remote database within a DELETE, INSERT,
SELECT or UPDATE command. A database link is referenced by appending @dblink to
the table or view name referenced in the SQL command where dblink is the name of
the database link.

Note: It is suggested in the USING clause that the foreign data wrapper postgres_fdw
be used instead of libpq. The libpq option may be deprecated in a future Advanced
Server release.

Database links can be public or private. A public database link is one that can be used by
any user. A private database link can be used only by the database links owner.
Specification of the PUBLIC option creates a public database link. If omitted, a private
database link is created.

When the CREATE DATABASE LINK command is given, the database link name and the
given connection attributes are stored in the Advanced Server system table named,
pg_catalog.edb_dblink. When using a given database link, the database containing
the edb_dblink entry defining this database link is called the local database. The server
and database whose connection attributes are defined within the edb_dblink entry is
called the remote database

A SQL command containing a reference to a database link must be issued while

connected to the local database. When the SQL command is executed, the appropriate
authentication and connection is made to the remote database to access the table or view
to which the @dblink reference is appended.

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Note: A database link cannot be used to access a remote database within a standby
database server. Standby database servers are used for high availability, load balancing,
and replication.

For information about high availability, load balancing, and replication for Postgres
database servers, see the PostgreSQL core documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/high-availability.html

Note: For Advanced Server 10, the CREATE DATABASE LINK command is tested against
and certified for use with Oracle version 10g Release 2 (10.2), Oracle version 11g
Release 2 (11.2), and Oracle version 12c Release 1 (12.1).

Parameters

PUBLIC

Create a public database link that can be used by any user. If omitted, then the
database link is private and can only be used by the database links owner.

name

The name of the database link.

username

The username to be used for connecting to the remote database.

CURRENT_USER

Include CURRENT_USER to specify that Advanced Server should use the user
mapping associated with the role that is using the link when establishing a
connection to the remote server.

password

The password for username.

libpq

Specifies a libpq connection to a remote Advanced Server database.

Note: It is suggested that the foreign data wrapper postgres_fdw be used

instead of libpq. The libpq option may be deprecated in a future Advanced
Server release.

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libpq_connection_string

Specify the connection information for a libpq connection.

postgres_fdw

Specifies foreign data wrapper postgres_fdw as the connection to a remote

Advanced Server database. If postgres_fdw has not been installed on the
database, use the CREATE EXTENSION command to install postgres_fdw. For
more information, please see the CREATE EXTENSION command in the
PostgreSQL Core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-createextension.html

fdw_connection_string

Specify the connection information for the postgres_fdw foreign data wrapper.
The connection format is the same as libpq_connection_string.

oci

Specifies a connection to a remote Oracle database. This is Advanced Servers

default behavior.

oracle_connection_string

Specify the connection information for an oci connection.

Notes

To create a non-public database link you must have the CREATE DATABASE LINK
privilege. To create a public database link you must have the CREATE PUBLIC
DATABASE LINK privilege.

If you are executing a SQL command that references a database link to a remote Oracle
database, Advanced Server needs a way to know where the correct Oracle installation
resides on disk. Set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable on Linux (or PATH on
Windows) to the lib directory of the Oracle client installation directory.

For Windows only, you can instead set the value of the oracle_home configuration
parameter in the postgresql.conf file. The value specified in the oracle_home
configuration parameter will override the Windows PATH environment variable.

The LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable on Linux (PATH environment variable or

oracle_home configuration parameter on Windows) must be set properly each time you
start Advanced Server.

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When using a Linux service script to start Advanced Server, be sure LD_LIBRARY_PATH
has been set within the service script so it is in effect when the script invokes the pg_ctl
utility to start Advanced Server.

For Windows only: To set the oracle_home configuration parameter in the

postgresql.conf file, edit the file, adding the following line:

oracle_home = 'lib_directory '

Substitute the name of the Windows directory that contains oci.dll for
lib_directory.

After setting the oracle_home configuration parameter, you must restart the server for
the changes to take effect. Restart the server from the Windows Services console.

Examples

Creating an oci-dblink Database Link

The following example demonstrates using the CREATE DATABASE LINK command to
create a database link (named chicago) that connects an instance of Advanced Server to
an Oracle server via an oci-dblink connection. The connection information tells
Advanced Server to log in to Oracle as user admin, whose password is mypassword.
Including the oci option tells Advanced Server that this is an oci-dblink connection; the
connection string, '//127.0.0.1/acctg' specifies the server address and name of the
database.

CREATE DATABASE LINK chicago

CONNECT TO admin IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword'
USING oci '//127.0.0.1/acctg';

Note: You can specify a hostname in the connection string (in place of an IP address).

Creating a libpq Database Link

The following example demonstrates using the CREATE DATABASE LINK command to
create a database link (named boston) that connects an instance of Advanced Server to a
Postgres Server via a libpq connection. The connection information tells Advanced
Server to log in to Postgres as user admin, whose password is mypassword. Including
the libpq option tells Advanced Server that this is a libpq connection; the connection
string, 'host=127.0.0.1 dbname=sales' specifies the server address and name of
the database.

CREATE DATABASE LINK boston

CONNECT TO admin IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword'
USING libpq 'host=127.0.0.1 dbname=sales';

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Note: You can specify a hostname in the connection string (in place of an IP address).

Creating a postgres_fdw Database Link

The following example demonstrates using the CREATE DATABASE LINK command to
create a database link (named bedford) that connects an instance of Advanced Server to
another Advanced Server instance via a postgres_fdw foreign data wrapper
connection. The connection information tells Advanced Server to log in as user admin,
whose password is mypassword. Including the postgres_fdw option tells Advanced
Server that this is a postgres_fdw connection; the connection string, 'host=127.0.0.1
port=5444 dbname=marketing' specifies the server address and name of the
database.

CREATE DATABASE LINK bedford

CONNECT TO admin IDENTIFIED BY 'mypassword'
USING postgres_fdw 'host=127.0.0.1 port=5444 dbname=marketing';

Note: You can specify a hostname in the connection string (in place of an IP address).

Using a Database Link

The following examples demonstrate using a database link with Advanced Server to
connect to an Oracle database. The examples assume that a copy of the Advanced Server
sample applications emp table has been created in an Oracle database and a second
Advanced Server database cluster with the sample application is accepting connections at
port 5443.

Create a public database link named, oralink, to an Oracle database named, xe, located
at 127.0.0.1 on port 1521. Connect to the Oracle database with username, edb, and
password, password.

CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK oralink CONNECT TO edb IDENTIFIED BY 'password'

USING '//127.0.0.1:1521/xe';

Issue a SELECT command on the emp table in the Oracle database using database link,
oralink.

SELECT * FROM emp@oralink;

empno | ename | job | mgr | hiredate | sal | comm | deptno

-------+--------+-----------+------+--------------------+------+------+--------
7369 | SMITH | CLERK | 7902 | 17-DEC-80 00:00:00 | 800 | | 20
7499 | ALLEN | SALESMAN | 7698 | 20-FEB-81 00:00:00 | 1600 | 300 | 30
7521 | WARD | SALESMAN | 7698 | 22-FEB-81 00:00:00 | 1250 | 500 | 30
7566 | JONES | MANAGER | 7839 | 02-APR-81 00:00:00 | 2975 | | 20
7654 | MARTIN | SALESMAN | 7698 | 28-SEP-81 00:00:00 | 1250 | 1400 | 30
7698 | BLAKE | MANAGER | 7839 | 01-MAY-81 00:00:00 | 2850 | | 30
7782 | CLARK | MANAGER | 7839 | 09-JUN-81 00:00:00 | 2450 | | 10
7788 | SCOTT | ANALYST | 7566 | 19-APR-87 00:00:00 | 3000 | | 20
7839 | KING | PRESIDENT | | 17-NOV-81 00:00:00 | 5000 | | 10
7844 | TURNER | SALESMAN | 7698 | 08-SEP-81 00:00:00 | 1500 | 0 | 30
7876 | ADAMS | CLERK | 7788 | 23-MAY-87 00:00:00 | 1100 | | 20

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7900 | JAMES | CLERK | 7698 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00 | 950 | | 30
7902 | FORD | ANALYST | 7566 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00 | 3000 | | 20
7934 | MILLER | CLERK | 7782 | 23-JAN-82 00:00:00 | 1300 | | 10
(14 rows)

Create a private database link named, edblink, to the Advanced Server database named,
edb, located on localhost, running on port 5443. Connect to the Advanced Server
database with username, enterprisedb, and password, password.

CREATE DATABASE LINK edblink CONNECT TO enterprisedb IDENTIFIED BY 'password'

USING libpq 'host=localhost port=5443 dbname=edb';

Display attributes of database links, oralink and edblink, from the local
edb_dblink system table:

SELECT lnkname, lnkuser, lnkconnstr FROM pg_catalog.edb_dblink;

lnkname | lnkuser | lnkconnstr

---------+--------------+-------------------------------------
oralink | edb | //127.0.0.1:1521/xe
edblink | enterprisedb | host=localhost port=5443 dbname=edb
(2 rows)

Perform a join of the emp table from the Oracle database with the dept table from the
Advanced Server database:

SELECT d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename, e.job, e.sal, e.comm FROM

emp@oralink e, dept@edblink d WHERE e.deptno = d.deptno ORDER BY 1, 3;

deptno | dname | empno | ename | job | sal | comm

--------+------------+-------+--------+-----------+------+------
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7782 | CLARK | MANAGER | 2450 |
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7839 | KING | PRESIDENT | 5000 |
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7934 | MILLER | CLERK | 1300 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7369 | SMITH | CLERK | 800 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7566 | JONES | MANAGER | 2975 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7788 | SCOTT | ANALYST | 3000 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7876 | ADAMS | CLERK | 1100 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7902 | FORD | ANALYST | 3000 |
30 | SALES | 7499 | ALLEN | SALESMAN | 1600 | 300
30 | SALES | 7521 | WARD | SALESMAN | 1250 | 500
30 | SALES | 7654 | MARTIN | SALESMAN | 1250 | 1400
30 | SALES | 7698 | BLAKE | MANAGER | 2850 |
30 | SALES | 7844 | TURNER | SALESMAN | 1500 | 0
30 | SALES | 7900 | JAMES | CLERK | 950 |
(14 rows)

The same query can be made with the Oracle database and an Advanced Server database
using the postgres_fdw foreign data wrapper to create the Advanced Server database
link.

Create a private database link named, fdwlink, to the Advanced Server database named,
edb, located on host 192.168.2.22 running on port 5444. Connect to the Advanced
Server database with username, enterprisedb, and password, password.

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CREATE DATABASE LINK fdwlink CONNECT TO enterprisedb IDENTIFIED BY 'password'
USING postgres_fdw 'host=192.168.2.22 port=5444 dbname=edb';

Display attributes of database links, oralink and fdwlink, from the local
edb_dblink system table:

SELECT lnkname, lnkuser, lnkconnstr FROM pg_catalog.edb_dblink;

lnkname | lnkuser | lnkconnstr

---------+--------------+----------------------------------------
oralink | edb | //127.0.0.1:1521/xe
fdwlink | enterprisedb |
(2 rows)

Perform a join of the emp table from the Oracle database with the dept table from the
Advanced Server database:

SELECT d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename, e.job, e.sal, e.comm FROM

emp@oralink e, dept@fdwlink d WHERE e.deptno = d.deptno ORDER BY 1, 3;

deptno | dname | empno | ename | job | sal | comm

--------+------------+-------+--------+-----------+------+------
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7782 | CLARK | MANAGER | 2450 |
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7839 | KING | PRESIDENT | 5000 |
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7934 | MILLER | CLERK | 1300 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7369 | SMITH | CLERK | 800 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7566 | JONES | MANAGER | 2975 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7788 | SCOTT | ANALYST | 3000 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7876 | ADAMS | CLERK | 1100 |
20 | RESEARCH | 7902 | FORD | ANALYST | 3000 |
30 | SALES | 7499 | ALLEN | SALESMAN | 1600 | 300
30 | SALES | 7521 | WARD | SALESMAN | 1250 | 500
30 | SALES | 7654 | MARTIN | SALESMAN | 1250 | 1400
30 | SALES | 7698 | BLAKE | MANAGER | 2850 |
30 | SALES | 7844 | TURNER | SALESMAN | 1500 | 0
30 | SALES | 7900 | JAMES | CLERK | 950 |
(14 rows)

Pushdown for an oci Database Link

When the oci-dblink is used to execute SQL statements on a remote Oracle database,
there are certain circumstances where pushdown of the processing occurs on the foreign
server.

Pushdown refers to the occurrence of processing on the foreign (that is, the remote)
server instead of the local client where the SQL statement was issued. Pushdown can
result in performance improvement since the data is processed on the remote server
before being returned to the local client.

Pushdown applies to statements with the standard SQL join operations (inner join, left
outer join, right outer join, and full outer join). Pushdown still occurs even when a sort is
specified on the resulting data set.

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In order for pushdown to occur, certain basic conditions must be met. The tables involved
in the join operation must belong to the same foreign server and use the identical
connection information to the foreign server (that is, the same database link defined with
the CREATE DATABASE LINK command).

In order to determine if pushdown is to be used for a SQL statement, display the

execution plan by using the EXPLAIN command.

For information about the EXPLAIN command, please see the PostgreSQL Core
documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-explain.html

The following examples use the database link created as shown by the following:

CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK oralink CONNECT TO edb IDENTIFIED BY 'password'

USING '//192.168.2.23:1521/xe';

The following example shows the execution plan of an inner join:

EXPLAIN (verbose,costs off) SELECT d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename FROM
dept@oralink d, emp@oralink e WHERE d.deptno = e.deptno ORDER BY 1, 3;

QUERY PLAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign Scan
Output: d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename
Relations: (_dblink_dept_1 d) INNER JOIN (_dblink_emp_2 e)
Remote Query: SELECT r1.deptno, r1.dname, r2.empno, r2.ename FROM (dept r1 INNER
JOIN emp r2 ON ((r1.deptno = r2.deptno))) ORDER BY r1.deptno ASC NULLS LAST, r2.empno
ASC NULLS LAST
(4 rows)

Note that the INNER JOIN operation occurs under the Foreign Scan section. The output
of this join is the following:
deptno | dname | empno | ename
--------+------------+-------+--------
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7782 | CLARK
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7839 | KING
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7934 | MILLER
20 | RESEARCH | 7369 | SMITH
20 | RESEARCH | 7566 | JONES
20 | RESEARCH | 7788 | SCOTT
20 | RESEARCH | 7876 | ADAMS
20 | RESEARCH | 7902 | FORD
30 | SALES | 7499 | ALLEN
30 | SALES | 7521 | WARD
30 | SALES | 7654 | MARTIN
30 | SALES | 7698 | BLAKE
30 | SALES | 7844 | TURNER
30 | SALES | 7900 | JAMES
(14 rows)

The following shows the execution plan of a left outer join:

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EXPLAIN (verbose,costs off) SELECT d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename FROM
dept@oralink d LEFT OUTER JOIN emp@oralink e ON d.deptno = e.deptno ORDER BY 1, 3;

QUERY PLAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign Scan
Output: d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename
Relations: (_dblink_dept_1 d) LEFT JOIN (_dblink_emp_2 e)
Remote Query: SELECT r1.deptno, r1.dname, r2.empno, r2.ename FROM (dept r1 LEFT JOIN
emp r2 ON ((r1.deptno = r2.deptno))) ORDER BY r1.deptno ASC NULLS LAST, r2.empno ASC
NULLS LAST
(4 rows)

The output of this join is the following:

deptno | dname | empno | ename
--------+------------+-------+--------
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7782 | CLARK
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7839 | KING
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7934 | MILLER
20 | RESEARCH | 7369 | SMITH
20 | RESEARCH | 7566 | JONES
20 | RESEARCH | 7788 | SCOTT
20 | RESEARCH | 7876 | ADAMS
20 | RESEARCH | 7902 | FORD
30 | SALES | 7499 | ALLEN
30 | SALES | 7521 | WARD
30 | SALES | 7654 | MARTIN
30 | SALES | 7698 | BLAKE
30 | SALES | 7844 | TURNER
30 | SALES | 7900 | JAMES
40 | OPERATIONS | |
(15 rows)

The following example shows a case where the entire processing is not pushed down
because the emp joined table resides locally instead of on the same foreign server.

EXPLAIN (verbose,costs off) SELECT d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename FROM

dept@oralink d LEFT OUTER JOIN emp e ON d.deptno = e.deptno ORDER BY 1, 3;

QUERY PLAN
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sort
Output: d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename
Sort Key: d.deptno, e.empno
-> Hash Left Join
Output: d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename
Hash Cond: (d.deptno = e.deptno)
-> Foreign Scan on _dblink_dept_1 d
Output: d.deptno, d.dname, d.loc
Remote Query: SELECT deptno, dname, NULL FROM dept
-> Hash
Output: e.empno, e.ename, e.deptno
-> Seq Scan on public.emp e
Output: e.empno, e.ename, e.deptno
(13 rows)

The output of this join is the same as the previous left outer join example.

Creating a Foreign Table from a Database Link

Note: The procedure described in this section is not compatible with Oracle databases.

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After you have created a database link, you can create a foreign table based upon this
database link. The foreign table can then be used to access the remote table referencing it
with the foreign table name instead of using the database link syntax. Using the database
link requires appending @dblink to the table or view name referenced in the SQL
command where dblink is the name of the database link.

This technique can be used for either an oci-dblink connection for remote Oracle access,
or a libpq or postgres_fdw connection for remote Postgres access.

The following example shows the creation of a foreign table to access a remote Oracle
table.

First, create a database link as previously described. The following is the creation of a
database link named oralink for connecting to the Oracle database.

CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK oralink CONNECT TO edb IDENTIFIED BY 'password'

USING '//127.0.0.1:1521/xe';

The following query shows the database link:

SELECT lnkname, lnkuser, lnkconnstr FROM pg_catalog.edb_dblink;

lnkname | lnkuser | lnkconnstr

---------+---------+---------------------
oralink | edb | //127.0.0.1:1521/xe
(1 row)

When you create the database link, Advanced Server creates a corresponding foreign
server. The following query displays the foreign server:
SELECT srvname, srvowner, srvfdw, srvtype, srvoptions FROM pg_foreign_server;

srvname | srvowner | srvfdw | srvtype | srvoptions

---------+----------+--------+---------+-------------------------------
oralink | 10 | 14005 | | {connstr=//127.0.0.1:1521/xe}
(1 row)

For more information about foreign servers, please see the CREATE SERVER command in
the PostgreSQL Core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-createserver.html

Create the foreign table as shown by the following:

CREATE FOREIGN TABLE emp_ora (

empno NUMERIC(4),
ename VARCHAR(10),
job VARCHAR(9),
mgr NUMERIC(4),
hiredate TIMESTAMP WITHOUT TIME ZONE,
sal NUMERIC(7,2),
comm NUMERIC(7,2),

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deptno NUMERIC(2)
)
SERVER oralink
OPTIONS (table_name 'emp', schema_name 'edb'
);

Note the following in the CREATE FOREIGN TABLE command:

The name specified in the SERVER clause at the end of the CREATE FOREIGN
TABLE command is the name of the foreign server, which is oralink in this
example as displayed in the srvname column from the query on
pg_foreign_server.
The table name and schema name are specified in the OPTIONS clause by the
table and schema options.
The column names specified in the CREATE FOREIGN TABLE command must
match the column names in the remote table.
Generally, CONSTRAINT clauses may not be accepted or enforced on the foreign
table as they are assumed to have been defined on the remote table.

For more information about the CREATE FOREIGN TABLE command, please see the
PostgreSQL Core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-createforeigntable.html

The following is a query on the foreign table:

SELECT * FROM emp_ora;

empno | ename | job | mgr | hiredate | sal | comm | deptno

-------+--------+-----------+------+--------------------+---------+---------+--------
7369 | SMITH | CLERK | 7902 | 17-DEC-80 00:00:00 | 800.00 | | 20
7499 | ALLEN | SALESMAN | 7698 | 20-FEB-81 00:00:00 | 1600.00 | 300.00 | 30
7521 | WARD | SALESMAN | 7698 | 22-FEB-81 00:00:00 | 1250.00 | 500.00 | 30
7566 | JONES | MANAGER | 7839 | 02-APR-81 00:00:00 | 2975.00 | | 20
7654 | MARTIN | SALESMAN | 7698 | 28-SEP-81 00:00:00 | 1250.00 | 1400.00 | 30
7698 | BLAKE | MANAGER | 7839 | 01-MAY-81 00:00:00 | 2850.00 | | 30
7782 | CLARK | MANAGER | 7839 | 09-JUN-81 00:00:00 | 2450.00 | | 10
7788 | SCOTT | ANALYST | 7566 | 19-APR-87 00:00:00 | 3000.00 | | 20
7839 | KING | PRESIDENT | | 17-NOV-81 00:00:00 | 5000.00 | | 10
7844 | TURNER | SALESMAN | 7698 | 08-SEP-81 00:00:00 | 1500.00 | 0.00 | 30
7876 | ADAMS | CLERK | 7788 | 23-MAY-87 00:00:00 | 1100.00 | | 20
7900 | JAMES | CLERK | 7698 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00 | 950.00 | | 30
7902 | FORD | ANALYST | 7566 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00 | 3000.00 | | 20
7934 | MILLER | CLERK | 7782 | 23-JAN-82 00:00:00 | 1300.00 | | 10
(14 rows)

In contrast, the following is a query on the same remote table, but using the database link
instead of the foreign table:
SELECT * FROM emp@oralink;

empno | ename | job | mgr | hiredate | sal | comm | deptno

-------+--------+-----------+------+--------------------+------+------+--------
7369 | SMITH | CLERK | 7902 | 17-DEC-80 00:00:00 | 800 | | 20
7499 | ALLEN | SALESMAN | 7698 | 20-FEB-81 00:00:00 | 1600 | 300 | 30
7521 | WARD | SALESMAN | 7698 | 22-FEB-81 00:00:00 | 1250 | 500 | 30

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7566 | JONES | MANAGER | 7839 | 02-APR-81 00:00:00 | 2975 | | 20
7654 | MARTIN | SALESMAN | 7698 | 28-SEP-81 00:00:00 | 1250 | 1400 | 30
7698 | BLAKE | MANAGER | 7839 | 01-MAY-81 00:00:00 | 2850 | | 30
7782 | CLARK | MANAGER | 7839 | 09-JUN-81 00:00:00 | 2450 | | 10
7788 | SCOTT | ANALYST | 7566 | 19-APR-87 00:00:00 | 3000 | | 20
7839 | KING | PRESIDENT | | 17-NOV-81 00:00:00 | 5000 | | 10
7844 | TURNER | SALESMAN | 7698 | 08-SEP-81 00:00:00 | 1500 | 0 | 30
7876 | ADAMS | CLERK | 7788 | 23-MAY-87 00:00:00 | 1100 | | 20
7900 | JAMES | CLERK | 7698 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00 | 950 | | 30
7902 | FORD | ANALYST | 7566 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00 | 3000 | | 20
7934 | MILLER | CLERK | 7782 | 23-JAN-82 00:00:00 | 1300 | | 10
(14 rows)

See Also

DROP DATABASE LINK

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2.3.19 CREATE DIRECTORY

Name

CREATE DIRECTORY -- create an alias for a file system directory path

Synopsis

CREATE DIRECTORY name AS 'pathname'

Description

The CREATE DIRECTORY command creates an alias for a file system directory
pathname. You must be a database superuser to use this command.

When the alias is specified as the appropriate parameter to the programs of the
UTL_FILE package, the operating system files are created in, or accessed from the
directory corresponding to the given alias.

Parameters

name

The directory alias name.

pathname

The fully-qualified directory path represented by the alias name. The CREATE
DIRECTORY command does not create the operating system directory. The
physical directory must be created independently using the appropriate operating
system commands.

Notes

The operating system user id, enterprisedb, must have the appropriate read and/or
write privileges on the directory if the UTL_FILE package is to be used to create and/or
read files using the directory.

The directory alias is stored in the pg_catalog.edb_dir system catalog table. Note
that edb_dir is not a table compatible with Oracle databases.

The directory alias can also be viewed from the Oracle catalog views
SYS.ALL_DIRECTORIES and SYS.DBA_DIRECTORIES, which are compatible with
Oracle databases.

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Use the DROP DIRECTORY command to delete the directory alias. When a directory alias
is deleted, the corresponding physical file system directory is not affected. The file
system directory must be deleted using the appropriate operating system commands.

In a Linux system, the directory name separator is a forward slash (/).

In a Windows system, the directory name separator can be specified as a forward slash
(/) or two consecutive backslashes (\\).

Examples

Create an alias named empdir for directory /tmp/empdir on Linux:

CREATE DIRECTORY empdir AS '/tmp/empdir';

Create an alias named empdir for directory C:\TEMP\EMPDIR on Windows:

CREATE DIRECTORY empdir AS 'C:/TEMP/EMPDIR';

View all of the directory aliases:

SELECT * FROM pg_catalog.edb_dir;

dirname | dirowner | dirpath | diracl

---------+----------+----------------+--------
empdir | 10 | C:/TEMP/EMPDIR |
(1 row)

View the directory aliases using a view compatible with Oracle databases:

SELECT * FROM SYS.ALL_DIRECTORIES;

owner | directory_name | directory_path

--------------+----------------+----------------
ENTERPRISEDB | EMPDIR | C:/TEMP/EMPDIR
(1 row)

See Also

DROP DIRECTORY

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2.3.20 CREATE FUNCTION

Name

CREATE FUNCTION -- define a new function

Synopsis

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] FUNCTION name [ (parameters) ]

RETURN data_type
[
IMMUTABLE
| STABLE
| VOLATILE
| DETERMINISTIC
| [ NOT ] LEAKPROOF
| CALLED ON NULL INPUT
| RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
| STRICT
| [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY INVOKER
| [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY DEFINER
| AUTHID DEFINER
| AUTHID CURRENT_USER
| PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE }
| COST execution_cost
| ROWS result_rows
| SET configuration_parameter
{ TO value | = value | FROM CURRENT }
...]
{ IS | AS }
[ declarations ]
BEGIN
statements
END [ name ];

Description

CREATE FUNCTION defines a new function. CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION will

either create a new function, or replace an existing definition.

If a schema name is included, then the function is created in the specified schema.
Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the new function must not
match any existing function with the same argument types in the same schema. However,
functions of different input argument types may share a name (this is called overloading).
(Overloading of functions is an Advanced Server feature - overloading of stored
functions is not compatible with Oracle databases.)

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To update the definition of an existing function, use CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION.
It is not possible to change the name or argument types of a function this way (if you
tried, you would actually be creating a new, distinct function). Also, CREATE OR
REPLACE FUNCTION will not let you change the return type of an existing function. To
do that, you must drop and recreate the function.

The user that creates the function becomes the owner of the function.

Parameters

name

name is the identifier of the function. If you specify the [OR REPLACE] clause
and a function with the same name already exists in the schema, the new function
will replace the existing one. If you do not specify [OR REPLACE], the new
function will not replace the existing function with the same name in the same
schema.

parameters

parameters is a list of formal parameters.

data_type

data_type is the data type of the value returned by the functions RETURN
statement.

declarations

declarations are variable, cursor, type, or subprogram declarations. If

subprogram declarations are included, they must be declared after all other
variable, cursor, and type declarations.

statements

statements are SPL program statements (the BEGIN - END block may contain
an EXCEPTION section).

IMMUTABLE
STABLE
VOLATILE

These attributes inform the query optimizer about the behavior of the function;
you can specify only one choice. VOLATILE is the default behavior.

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IMMUTABLE indicates that the function cannot modify the database and always
reaches the same result when given the same argument values; it does not do
database lookups or otherwise use information not directly present in its argument
list. If you include this clause, any call of the function with all-constant
arguments can be immediately replaced with the function value.

STABLE indicates that the function cannot modify the database, and that within a
single table scan, it will consistently return the same result for the same argument
values, but that its result could change across SQL statements. This is the
appropriate selection for function that depend on database lookups, parameter
variables (such as the current time zone), etc.

VOLATILE indicates that the function value can change even within a single table
scan, so no optimizations can be made. Please note that any function that has
side-effects must be classified volatile, even if its result is quite predictable, to
prevent calls from being optimized away.

DETERMINISTIC

DETERMINISTIC is a synonym for IMMUTABLE. A DETERMINISTIC function

cannot modify the database and always reaches the same result when given the
same argument values; it does not do database lookups or otherwise use
information not directly present in its argument list. If you include this clause,
any call of the function with all-constant arguments can be immediately replaced
with the function value.

[ NOT ] LEAKPROOF

A LEAKPROOK function has no side effects, and reveals no information about the
values used to call the function.

CALLED ON NULL INPUT

RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
STRICT

CALLED ON NULL INPUT (the default) indicates that the procedure will be called
normally when some of its arguments are NULL. It is the author's responsibility to
check for NULL values if necessary and respond appropriately.

RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT or STRICT indicates that the procedure always
returns NULL whenever any of its arguments are NULL. If these clauses are
specified, the procedure is not executed when there are NULL arguments; instead a
NULL result is assumed automatically.

[ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY DEFINER

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SECURITY DEFINER specifies that the function will execute with the privileges of
the user that created it; this is the default. The key word EXTERNAL is allowed for
SQL conformance, but is optional.

[ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY INVOKER

The SECURITY INVOKER clause indicates that the function will execute with the
privileges of the user that calls it. The key word EXTERNAL is allowed for SQL
conformance, but is optional.

AUTHID DEFINER
AUTHID CURRENT_USER

The AUTHID DEFINER clause is a synonym for [EXTERNAL] SECURITY

DEFINER. If the AUTHID clause is omitted or if AUTHID DEFINER is specified,
the rights of the function owner are used to determine access privileges to
database objects.

The AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause is a synonym for [EXTERNAL] SECURITY

INVOKER. If AUTHID CURRENT_USER is specified, the rights of the current user
executing the function are used to determine access privileges.

PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE }

The PARALLEL clause enables the use of parallel sequential scans (parallel mode).
A parallel sequential scan uses multiple workers to scan a relation in parallel
during a query in contrast to a serial sequential scan.

When set to UNSAFE, the function cannot be executed in parallel mode. The
presence of such a function in a SQL statement forces a serial execution plan.
This is the default setting if the PARALLEL clause is omitted.

When set to RESTRICTED, the function can be executed in parallel mode, but the
execution is restricted to the parallel group leader. If the qualification for any
particular relation has anything that is parallel restricted, that relation won't be
chosen for parallelism.

When set to SAFE, the function can be executed in parallel mode with no
restriction.

COST execution_cost

execution_cost is a positive number giving the estimated execution cost for

the function, in units of cpu_operator_cost. If the function returns a set, this
is the cost per returned row. Larger values cause the planner to try to avoid
evaluating the function more often than necessary.

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ROWS result_rows

result_rows is a positive number giving the estimated number of rows that the
planner should expect the function to return. This is only allowed when the
function is declared to return a set. The default assumption is 1000 rows.

SET configuration_parameter { TO value | = value | FROM CURRENT }

The SET clause causes the specified configuration parameter to be set to the
specified value when the function is entered, and then restored to its prior value
when the function exits. SET FROM CURRENT saves the session's current value of
the parameter as the value to be applied when the function is entered.

If a SET clause is attached to a function, then the effects of a SET LOCAL

command executed inside the function for the same variable are restricted to the
function; the configuration parameter's prior value is restored at function exit. An
ordinary SET command (without LOCAL) overrides the SET clause, much as it
would do for a previous SET LOCAL command, with the effects of such a
command persisting after procedure exit, unless the current transaction is rolled
back.

Please Note: The STRICT, LEAKPROOF, PARALLEL, COST, ROWS and SET keywords
provide extended functionality for Advanced Server and are not supported by Oracle.

Notes

Advanced Server allows function overloading; that is, the same name can be used for
several different functions so long as they have distinct input (IN, IN OUT) argument
data types.

Examples

The function emp_comp takes two numbers as input and returns a computed value. The
SELECT command illustrates use of the function.

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION emp_comp (

p_sal NUMBER,
p_comm NUMBER
) RETURN NUMBER
IS
BEGIN
RETURN (p_sal + NVL(p_comm, 0)) * 24;
END;

SELECT ename "Name", sal "Salary", comm "Commission", emp_comp(sal, comm)

"Total Compensation" FROM emp;

Name | Salary | Commission | Total Compensation

--------+---------+------------+--------------------
SMITH | 800.00 | | 19200.00

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ALLEN | 1600.00 | 300.00 | 45600.00
WARD | 1250.00 | 500.00 | 42000.00
JONES | 2975.00 | | 71400.00
MARTIN | 1250.00 | 1400.00 | 63600.00
BLAKE | 2850.00 | | 68400.00
CLARK | 2450.00 | | 58800.00
SCOTT | 3000.00 | | 72000.00
KING | 5000.00 | | 120000.00
TURNER | 1500.00 | 0.00 | 36000.00
ADAMS | 1100.00 | | 26400.00
JAMES | 950.00 | | 22800.00
FORD | 3000.00 | | 72000.00
MILLER | 1300.00 | | 31200.00
(14 rows)

Function sal_range returns a count of the number of employees whose salary falls in
the specified range. The following anonymous block calls the function a number of times
using the arguments default values for the first two calls.

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION sal_range (

p_sal_min NUMBER DEFAULT 0,
p_sal_max NUMBER DEFAULT 10000
) RETURN INTEGER
IS
v_count INTEGER;
BEGIN
SELECT COUNT(*) INTO v_count FROM emp
WHERE sal BETWEEN p_sal_min AND p_sal_max;
RETURN v_count;
END;

BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number of employees with a salary: ' ||
sal_range);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number of employees with a salary of at least '
|| '$2000.00: ' || sal_range(2000.00));
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number of employees with a salary between '
|| '$2000.00 and $3000.00: ' || sal_range(2000.00, 3000.00));

END;

Number of employees with a salary: 14

Number of employees with a salary of at least $2000.00: 6
Number of employees with a salary between $2000.00 and $3000.00: 5

The following example demonstrates using the AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause and
STRICT keyword in a function declaration:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION dept_salaries(dept_id int) RETURN NUMBER

STRICT
AUTHID CURRENT_USER
BEGIN
RETURN QUERY (SELECT sum(salary) FROM emp WHERE deptno = id);
END;

Include the STRICT keyword to instruct the server to return NULL if any input parameter
passed is NULL; if a NULL value is passed, the function will not execute.

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The dept_salaries function executes with the privileges of the role that is calling the
function. If the current user does not have sufficient privileges to perform the SELECT
statement querying the emp table (to display employee salaries), the function will report
an error. To instruct the server to use the privileges associated with the role that defined
the function, replace the AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause with the AUTHID DEFINER
clause.

Pragmas

PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCE

Advanced Server accepts but ignores syntax referencing PRAGMA

RESTRICT_REFERENCE.

See Also DROP FUNCTION

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2.3.21 CREATE INDEX

Name

CREATE INDEX -- define a new index

Synopsis

CREATE [ UNIQUE ] INDEX name ON table

( { column | ( expression ) } )
[ TABLESPACE tablespace ]

Description

CREATE INDEX constructs an index, name, on the specified table. Indexes are primarily
used to enhance database performance (though inappropriate use will result in slower
performance).

Note: An index cannot be created on a partitioned table.

The key field(s) for the index are specified as column names, or alternatively as
expressions written in parentheses. Multiple fields can be specified to create multicolumn
indexes.

An index field can be an expression computed from the values of one or more columns of
the table row. This feature can be used to obtain fast access to data based on some
transformation of the basic data. For example, an index computed on UPPER(col)
would allow the clause WHERE UPPER(col) = 'JIM' to use an index.

Advanced Server provides the B-tree index method. The B-tree index method is an
implementation of Lehman-Yao high-concurrency B-trees.

Indexes are not used for IS NULL clauses by default.

All functions and operators used in an index definition must be "immutable", that is, their
results must depend only on their arguments and never on any outside influence (such as
the contents of another table or the current time). This restriction ensures that the
behavior of the index is well-defined. To use a user-defined function in an index
expression remember to mark the function immutable when you create it.

Parameters

UNIQUE

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Causes the system to check for duplicate values in the table when the index is
created (if data already exist) and each time data is added. Attempts to insert or
update data which would result in duplicate entries will generate an error.

name

The name of the index to be created. No schema name can be included here; the
index is always created in the same schema as its parent table.

table

The name (possibly schema-qualified) of the table to be indexed.

column

The name of a column in the table.

expression

An expression based on one or more columns of the table. The expression usually
must be written with surrounding parentheses, as shown in the syntax. However,
the parentheses may be omitted if the expression has the form of a function call.

tablespace

The tablespace in which to create the index. If not specified,

default_tablespace is used, or the databases default tablespace if
default_tablespace is an empty string.

Notes

Up to 32 fields may be specified in a multicolumn index.

Examples

To create a B-tree index on the column, ename, in the table, emp:

CREATE INDEX name_idx ON emp (ename);

To create the same index as above, but have it reside in the index_tblspc tablespace:

CREATE INDEX name_idx ON emp (ename) TABLESPACE index_tblspc;

See Also

DROP INDEX, ALTER INDEX

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2.3.22 CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW

Name

CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW -- define a new materialized view

Synopsis

CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW name

[build_clause][create_mv_refresh] AS subquery

Where build_clause is:

BUILD {IMMEDIATE | DEFERRED}

Where create_mv_refresh is:

REFRESH [COMPLETE] [ON DEMAND]

Description

CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW defines a view of a query that is not updated each time
the view is referenced in a query. By default, the view is populated when the view is
created; you can include the BUILD DEFERRED keywords to delay the population of the
view.

A materialized view may be schema-qualified; if you specify a schema name when

invoking the CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW command, the view will be created in the
specified schema. The view name must be distinct from the name of any other view,
table, sequence, or index in the same schema.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a view to be created.

subquery

A SELECT statement that specifies the contents of the view. Refer to SELECT for
more information about valid queries.

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build_clause

Include a build_clause to specify when the view should be populated. Specify

BUILD IMMEDIATE, or BUILD DEFERRED:

BUILD IMMEDIATE instructs the server to populate the view immediately.

This is the default behavior.

BUILD DEFERRED instructs the server to populate the view at a later time
(during a REFRESH operation).

create_mv_refresh

Include the create_mv_refresh clause to specify when the contents of a

materialized view should be updated. The clause contains the REFRESH keyword
followed by COMPLETE and/or ON DEMAND, where:

COMPLETE instructs the server to discard the current content and reload
the materialized view by executing the view's defining query when the
materialized view is refreshed.

ON DEMAND instructs the server to refresh the materialized view on

demand by calling the DBMS_MVIEW package or by calling the Postgres
REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW statement. This is the default behavior.

Notes

Materialized views are read only - the server will not allow an INSERT, UPDATE, or
DELETE on a view.

Access to tables referenced in the view is determined by permissions of the view owner;
the user of a view must have permissions to call all functions used by the view.

For more information about the Postgres REFRESH MATERIALIZED VIEW command,
please see the PostgreSQL Core Documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-refreshmaterializedview.html

Examples

The following statement creates a materialized view named dept_30:

CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW dept_30 BUILD IMMEDIATE AS SELECT * FROM emp WHERE
deptno = 30;

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The view contains information retrieved from the emp table about any employee that
works in department 30.

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2.3.23 CREATE PACKAGE

Name

CREATE PACKAGE -- define a new package specification

Synopsis

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] PACKAGE name

[ AUTHID { DEFINER | CURRENT_USER } ]
{ IS | AS }
[ declaration; ] [, ...]
[ { PROCEDURE proc_name
[ (argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype [ DEFAULT value ]
[, ...]) ];
[ PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCES(name,
{ RNDS | RNPS | TRUST | WNDS | WNPS } [, ... ] ); ]
|
FUNCTION func_name
[ (argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype [ DEFAULT value ]
[, ...]) ]
RETURN rettype [ DETERMINISTIC ];
[ PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCES(name,
{ RNDS | RNPS | TRUST | WNDS | WNPS } [, ... ] ); ]
}
] [, ...]
END [ name ]

Description

CREATE PACKAGE defines a new package specification. CREATE OR REPLACE

PACKAGE will either create a new package specification, or replace an existing
specification.

If a schema name is included, then the package is created in the specified schema.
Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the new package must not
match any existing package in the same schema unless the intent is to update the
definition of an existing package, in which case use CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE.

The user that creates the procedure becomes the owner of the package.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the package to create.

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DEFINER | CURRENT_USER

Specifies whether the privileges of the package owner (DEFINER) or the

privileges of the current user executing a program in the package
(CURRENT_USER) are to be used to determine whether or not access is allowed to
database objects referenced in the package. DEFINER is the default.

declaration

A public variable, type, cursor, or REF CURSOR declaration.

proc_name

The name of a public procedure.

argname

The name of an argument.

IN | IN OUT | OUT

The argument mode.

argtype

The data type(s) of the programs arguments.

DEFAULT value

Default value of an input argument.

func_name

The name of a public function.

rettype

The return data type.

DETERMINISTIC

DETERMINISTIC is a synonym for IMMUTABLE. A DETERMINISTIC

procedure cannot modify the database and always reaches the same result when
given the same argument values; it does not do database lookups or otherwise use
information not directly present in its argument list. If you include this clause,
any call of the procedure with all-constant arguments can be immediately
replaced with the procedure value.

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RNDS | RNPS | TRUST | WNDS | WNPS

The keywords are accepted for compatibility and ignored.

Examples

The package specification, empinfo, contains three public components - a public

variable, a public procedure, and a public function.

CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE empinfo

IS
emp_name VARCHAR2(10);
PROCEDURE get_name (
p_empno NUMBER
);
FUNCTION display_counter
RETURN INTEGER;
END;

See Also

DROP PACKAGE

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2.3.24 CREATE PACKAGE BODY

Name

CREATE BODY PACKAGE -- define a new package body

Synopsis

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] PACKAGE BODY name

{ IS | AS }
[ declaration; ] [, ...]
[ { PROCEDURE proc_name
[ (argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype [ DEFAULT value ]
[, ...]) ]
[ STRICT ]
[ LEAKPROOF ]
[ PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE } ]
[ COST execution_cost ]
[ ROWS result_rows ]
[ SET config_param { TO value | = value | FROM CURRENT } ]
{ IS | AS }
program_body
END [ proc_name ];
|
FUNCTION func_name
[ (argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype [ DEFAULT value ]
[, ...]) ]
RETURN rettype [ DETERMINISTIC ]
[ STRICT ]
[ LEAKPROOF ]
[ PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE } ]
[ COST execution_cost ]
[ ROWS result_rows ]
[ SET config_param { TO value | = value | FROM CURRENT } ]
{ IS | AS }
program_body
END [ func_name ];
}
] [, ...]
[ BEGIN
statement; [, ...] ]
END [ name ]

Description

CREATE PACKAGE BODY defines a new package body. CREATE OR REPLACE

PACKAGE BODY will either create a new package body, or replace an existing body.

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If a schema name is included, then the package body is created in the specified schema.
Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the new package body must
match an existing package specification in the same schema. The new package body
name must not match any existing package body in the same schema unless the intent is
to update the definition of an existing package body, in which case use CREATE OR
REPLACE PACKAGE BODY.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the package body to create.

declaration

A private variable, type, cursor, or REF CURSOR declaration.

proc_name

The name of a public or private procedure. If proc_name exists in the package

specification with an identical signature, then it is public, otherwise it is private.

argname

The name of an argument.

IN | IN OUT | OUT

The argument mode.

argtype

The data type(s) of the programs arguments.

DEFAULT value

Default value of an input argument.

STRICT

The STRICT keyword specifies that the function will not be executed if called
with a NULL argument; instead the function will return NULL.

LEAKPROOF

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The LEAKPROOF keyword specifies that the function will not reveal any
information about arguments, other than through a return value.

PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE }

The PARALLEL clause enables the use of parallel sequential scans (parallel mode).
A parallel sequential scan uses multiple workers to scan a relation in parallel
during a query in contrast to a serial sequential scan.

When set to UNSAFE, the procedure or function cannot be executed in parallel

mode. The presence of such a procedure or function forces a serial execution plan.
This is the default setting if the PARALLEL clause is omitted.

When set to RESTRICTED, the procedure or function can be executed in parallel

mode, but the execution is restricted to the parallel group leader. If the
qualification for any particular relation has anything that is parallel restricted, that
relation won't be chosen for parallelism.

When set to SAFE, the procedure or function can be executed in parallel mode
with no restriction.

execution_cost

execution_cost specifies a positive number giving the estimated execution

cost for the function, in units of cpu_operator_cost. If the function returns a
set, this is the cost per returned row. The default is 0.0025.

result_rows

result_rows is the estimated number of rows that the query planner should
expect the function to return. The default is 1000.

SET

Use the SET clause to specify a parameter value for the duration of the function:

config_param specifies the parameter name.

value specifies the parameter value.

FROM CURRENT guarantees that the parameter value is restored when the
function ends.

program_body

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The declarations and SPL statements that comprise the body of the function or
procedure.

The declarations may include variable, type, REF CURSOR, or subprogram

declarations. If subprogram declarations are included, they must be declared after
all other variable, type, and REF CURSOR declarations.

func_name

The name of a public or private function. If func_name exists in the package

specification with an identical signature, then it is public, otherwise it is private.

rettype

The return data type.

DETERMINISTIC

Include DETERMINISTIC to specify that the function will always return the same
result when given the same argument values. A DETERMINISTIC function must
not modify the database.

Note: The DETERMINISTIC keyword is equivalent to the PostgreSQL

IMMUTABLE option.

Note: If DETERMINISTIC is specified for a public function in the package body,

it must also be specified for the function declaration in the package specification.
For private functions, there is no function declaration in the package specification.

statement

An SPL program statement. Statements in the package initialization section are

executed once per session the first time the package is referenced.

Please Note: The STRICT, LEAKPROOF, PARALLEL, COST, ROWS and SET keywords
provide extended functionality for Advanced Server and are not supported by Oracle.

Examples

The following is the package body for the empinfo package.

CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY empinfo

IS
v_counter INTEGER;
PROCEDURE get_name (
p_empno NUMBER
)
IS

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BEGIN
SELECT ename INTO emp_name FROM emp WHERE empno = p_empno;
v_counter := v_counter + 1;
END;
FUNCTION display_counter
RETURN INTEGER
IS
BEGIN
RETURN v_counter;
END;
BEGIN
v_counter := 0;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Initialized counter');
END;

The following two anonymous blocks execute the procedure and function in the
empinfo package and display the public variable.

BEGIN
empinfo.get_name(7369);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Employee Name : ' || empinfo.emp_name);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number of queries: ' || empinfo.display_counter);
END;

Initialized counter
Employee Name : SMITH
Number of queries: 1

BEGIN
empinfo.get_name(7900);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Employee Name : ' || empinfo.emp_name);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Number of queries: ' || empinfo.display_counter);
END;

Employee Name : JAMES

Number of queries: 2

See Also

CREATE PACKAGE, DROP PACKAGE

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2.3.25 CREATE PROCEDURE

Name

CREATE PROCEDURE -- define a new stored procedure

Synopsis

CREATE [OR REPLACE] PROCEDURE name [ (parameters) ]

[
IMMUTABLE
| STABLE
| VOLATILE
| DETERMINISTIC
| [ NOT ] LEAKPROOF
| CALLED ON NULL INPUT
| RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
| STRICT
| [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY INVOKER
| [ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY DEFINER
| AUTHID DEFINER
| AUTHID CURRENT_USER
| PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE }
| COST execution_cost
| ROWS result_rows
| SET configuration_parameter
{ TO value | = value | FROM CURRENT }
...]
{ IS | AS }
[ declarations ]
BEGIN
statements
END [ name ];

Description

CREATE PROCEDURE defines a new stored procedure. CREATE OR REPLACE

PROCEDURE will either create a new procedure, or replace an existing definition.

If a schema name is included, then the procedure is created in the specified schema.
Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the new procedure must not
match any existing procedure in the same schema unless the intent is to update the
definition of an existing procedure, in which case use CREATE OR REPLACE
PROCEDURE.

Parameters

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name

name is the identifier of the procedure. If you specify the [OR REPLACE] clause
and a procedure with the same name already exists in the schema, the new
procedure will replace the existing one. If you do not specify [OR REPLACE],
the new procedure will not replace the existing procedure with the same name in
the same schema.

parameters

parameters is a list of formal parameters.

declarations

declarations are variable, cursor, type, or subprogram declarations. If

subprogram declarations are included, they must be declared after all other
variable, cursor, and type declarations.

statements

statements are SPL program statements (the BEGIN - END block may contain
an EXCEPTION section).

IMMUTABLE
STABLE
VOLATILE

These attributes inform the query optimizer about the behavior of the procedure;
you can specify only one choice. VOLATILE is the default behavior.

IMMUTABLE indicates that the procedure cannot modify the database and always
reaches the same result when given the same argument values; it does not do
database lookups or otherwise use information not directly present in its argument
list. If you include this clause, any call of the procedure with all-constant
arguments can be immediately replaced with the procedure value.

STABLE indicates that the procedure cannot modify the database, and that within a
single table scan, it will consistently return the same result for the same argument
values, but that its result could change across SQL statements. This is the
appropriate selection for procedures that depend on database lookups, parameter
variables (such as the current time zone), etc.

VOLATILE indicates that the procedure value can change even within a single
table scan, so no optimizations can be made. Please note that any function that
has side-effects must be classified volatile, even if its result is quite predictable, to
prevent calls from being optimized away.

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DETERMINISTIC

DETERMINISTIC is a synonym for IMMUTABLE. A DETERMINISTIC

procedure cannot modify the database and always reaches the same result when
given the same argument values; it does not do database lookups or otherwise use
information not directly present in its argument list. If you include this clause,
any call of the procedure with all-constant arguments can be immediately
replaced with the procedure value.

[ NOT ] LEAKPROOF

A LEAKPROOK procedure has no side effects, and reveals no information about the
values used to call the procedure.

CALLED ON NULL INPUT

RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT
STRICT

CALLED ON NULL INPUT (the default) indicates that the procedure will be called
normally when some of its arguments are NULL. It is the author's responsibility to
check for NULL values if necessary and respond appropriately.

RETURNS NULL ON NULL INPUT or STRICT indicates that the procedure always
returns NULL whenever any of its arguments are NULL. If these clauses are
specified, the procedure is not executed when there are NULL arguments; instead a
NULL result is assumed automatically.

[ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY DEFINER

SECURITY DEFINER specifies that the procedure will execute with the privileges
of the user that created it; this is the default. The key word EXTERNAL is allowed
for SQL conformance, but is optional.

[ EXTERNAL ] SECURITY INVOKER

The SECURITY INVOKER clause indicates that the procedure will execute with the
privileges of the user that calls it. The key word EXTERNAL is allowed for SQL
conformance, but is optional.

AUTHID DEFINER
AUTHID CURRENT_USER

The AUTHID DEFINER clause is a synonym for [EXTERNAL] SECURITY

DEFINER. If the AUTHID clause is omitted or if AUTHID DEFINER is specified,
the rights of the procedure owner are used to determine access privileges to
database objects.

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The AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause is a synonym for [EXTERNAL] SECURITY
INVOKER. If AUTHID CURRENT_USER is specified, the rights of the current user
executing the procedure are used to determine access privileges.

PARALLEL { UNSAFE | RESTRICTED | SAFE }

The PARALLEL clause enables the use of parallel sequential scans (parallel mode).
A parallel sequential scan uses multiple workers to scan a relation in parallel
during a query in contrast to a serial sequential scan.

When set to UNSAFE, the procedure cannot be executed in parallel mode. The
presence of such a procedure forces a serial execution plan. This is the default
setting if the PARALLEL clause is omitted.

When set to RESTRICTED, the procedure can be executed in parallel mode, but
the execution is restricted to the parallel group leader. If the qualification for any
particular relation has anything that is parallel restricted, that relation won't be
chosen for parallelism.

When set to SAFE, the procedure can be executed in parallel mode with no
restriction.

COST execution_cost

execution_cost is a positive number giving the estimated execution cost for

the procedure, in units of cpu_operator_cost. If the procedure returns a set,
this is the cost per returned row. Larger values cause the planner to try to avoid
evaluating the function more often than necessary.

ROWS result_rows

result_rows is a positive number giving the estimated number of rows that the
planner should expect the procedure to return. This is only allowed when the
procedure is declared to return a set. The default assumption is 1000 rows.

SET configuration_parameter { TO value | = value | FROM CURRENT }

The SET clause causes the specified configuration parameter to be set to the
specified value when the procedure is entered, and then restored to its prior value
when the procedure exits. SET FROM CURRENT saves the session's current value
of the parameter as the value to be applied when the procedure is entered.

If a SET clause is attached to a procedure, then the effects of a SET LOCAL

command executed inside the procedure for the same variable are restricted to the
procedure; the configuration parameter's prior value is restored at procedure exit.
An ordinary SET command (without LOCAL) overrides the SET clause, much as it

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would do for a previous SET LOCAL command, with the effects of such a
command persisting after procedure exit, unless the current transaction is rolled
back.

Please Note: The STRICT, LEAKPROOF, PARALLEL, COST, ROWS and SET keywords
provide extended functionality for Advanced Server and are not supported by Oracle.

Examples

The following procedure lists the employees in the emp table:

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE list_emp

IS
v_empno NUMBER(4);
v_ename VARCHAR2(10);
CURSOR emp_cur IS
SELECT empno, ename FROM emp ORDER BY empno;
BEGIN
OPEN emp_cur;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('EMPNO ENAME');
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('----- -------');
LOOP
FETCH emp_cur INTO v_empno, v_ename;
EXIT WHEN emp_cur%NOTFOUND;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_empno || ' ' || v_ename);
END LOOP;
CLOSE emp_cur;
END;

EXEC list_emp;

EMPNO ENAME
----- -------
7369 SMITH
7499 ALLEN
7521 WARD
7566 JONES
7654 MARTIN
7698 BLAKE
7782 CLARK
7788 SCOTT
7839 KING
7844 TURNER
7876 ADAMS
7900 JAMES
7902 FORD
7934 MILLER

The following procedure uses IN OUT and OUT arguments to return an employees
number, name, and job based upon a search using first, the given employee number, and
if that is not found, then using the given name. An anonymous block calls the procedure.

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE emp_job (

p_empno IN OUT emp.empno%TYPE,
p_ename IN OUT emp.ename%TYPE,
p_job OUT emp.job%TYPE
)

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IS
v_empno emp.empno%TYPE;
v_ename emp.ename%TYPE;
v_job emp.job%TYPE;
BEGIN
SELECT ename, job INTO v_ename, v_job FROM emp WHERE empno = p_empno;
p_ename := v_ename;
p_job := v_job;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Found employee # ' || p_empno);
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN
BEGIN
SELECT empno, job INTO v_empno, v_job FROM emp
WHERE ename = p_ename;
p_empno := v_empno;
p_job := v_job;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Found employee ' || p_ename);
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Could not find an employee with ' ||
'number, ' || p_empno || ' nor name, ' || p_ename);
p_empno := NULL;
p_ename := NULL;
p_job := NULL;
END;
END;

DECLARE
v_empno emp.empno%TYPE;
v_ename emp.ename%TYPE;
v_job emp.job%TYPE;
BEGIN
v_empno := 0;
v_ename := 'CLARK';
emp_job(v_empno, v_ename, v_job);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Employee No: ' || v_empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Name : ' || v_ename);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Job : ' || v_job);
END;

Found employee CLARK

Employee No: 7782
Name : CLARK
Job : MANAGER

The following example demonstrates using the AUTHID DEFINER and SET clauses in a
procedure declaration. The update_salary procedure conveys the privileges of the
role that defined the procedure to the role that is calling the procedure (while the
procedure executes):

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE update_salary(id INT, new_salary NUMBER)

SET SEARCH_PATH = 'public' SET WORK_MEM = '1MB'
AUTHID DEFINER IS
BEGIN
UPDATE emp SET salary = new_salary WHERE emp_id = id;
END;

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Include the SET clause to set the procedure's search path to public and the work
memory to 1MB. Other procedures, functions and objects will not be affected by these
settings.

In this example, the AUTHID DEFINER clause temporarily grants privileges to a role that
might otherwise not be allowed to execute the statements within the procedure. To
instruct the server to use the privileges associated with the role invoking the procedure,
replace the AUTHID DEFINER clause with the AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause.

See Also

DROP PROCEDURE

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2.3.26 CREATE PROFILE

Name

CREATE PROFILE create a new profile

Synopsis

CREATE PROFILE profile_name

[LIMIT {parameter value} ... ];

Description

CREATE PROFILE creates a new profile. Include the LIMIT clause and one or more
space-delimited parameter/value pairs to specify the rules enforced by Advanced
Server.

Advanced Server creates a default profile named DEFAULT. When you use the CREATE
ROLE command to create a new role, the new role is automatically associated with the
DEFAULT profile. If you upgrade from a previous version of Advanced Server to
Advanced Server 10, the upgrade process will automatically create the roles in the
upgraded version to the DEFAULT profile.

You must be a superuser to use CREATE PROFILE.

Include the LIMIT clause and one or more space-delimited parameter/value pairs to
specify the rules enforced by Advanced Server.

Parameters

profile_name

The name of the profile.

parameter

The password attribute that will be monitored by the rule.

value

The value the parameter must reach before an action is taken by the server.

Advanced Server supports the value shown below for each parameter:

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FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS specifies the number of failed login attempts that a user
may make before the server locks the user out of their account for the length of time
specified by PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME. Supported values are:

An INTEGER value greater than 0.

DEFAULT - the value of FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS specified in the
DEFAULT profile.
UNLIMITED the connecting user may make an unlimited number of failed
login attempts.

PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME specifies the length of time that must pass before the server
unlocks an account that has been locked because of FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS.
Supported values are:

A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion

of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED the account is locked until it is manually unlocked by a
database superuser.

PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME specifies the number of days that the current password may
be used before the user is prompted to provide a new password. Include the
PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME clause when using the PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME clause to
specify the number of days that will pass after the password expires before
connections by the role are rejected. If PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME is not specified, the
password will expire on the day specified by the default value of
PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME, and the user will not be allowed to execute any command
until a new password is provided. Supported values are:

A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion

of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The password does not have an expiration date.

PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME specifies the length of the grace period after a password

expires until the user is forced to change their password. When the grace period
expires, a user will be allowed to connect, but will not be allowed to execute any
command until they update their expired password. Supported values are:

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A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion
of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The grace period is infinite.

PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME specifies the number of days a user must wait before re-
using a password. The PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME and PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX
parameters are intended to be used together. If you specify a finite value for one of
these parameters while the other is UNLIMITED, old passwords can never be reused.
If both parameters are set to UNLIMITED there are no restrictions on password reuse.
Supported values are:

A NUMERIC value greater than or equal to 0. To specify a fractional portion

of a day, specify a decimal value. For example, use the value 4.5 to specify 4
days, 12 hours.
DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The password can be re-used without restrictions.

PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX specifies the number of password changes that must occur

before a password can be reused. The PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME and
PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX parameters are intended to be used together. If you specify a
finite value for one of these parameters while the other is UNLIMITED, old passwords
can never be reused. If both parameters are set to UNLIMITED there are no
restrictions on password reuse. Supported values are:

An INTEGER value greater than or equal to 0.

DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX specified in the DEFAULT
profile.
UNLIMITED The password can be re-used without restrictions.

PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION specifies password complexity. Supported values

are:

The name of a PL/SQL function.

DEFAULT - the value of PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION specified in the
DEFAULT profile.
NULL

Notes

Use DROP PROFILE command to remove the profile.

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Examples

The following command creates a profile named acctg. The profile specifies that if a
user has not authenticated with the correct password in five attempts, the account will be
locked for one day:

CREATE PROFILE acctg LIMIT

FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS 5
PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME 1;

The following command creates a profile named sales. The profile specifies that a user
must change their password every 90 days:

CREATE PROFILE sales LIMIT

PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME 90
PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME 3;

If the user has not changed their password before the 90 days specified in the profile has
passed, they will be issued a warning at login. After a grace period of 3 days, their
account will not be allowed to invoke any commands until they change their password.

The following command creates a profile named accts. The profile specifies that a user
cannot re-use a password within 180 days of the last use of the password, and must
change their password at least 5 times before re-using the password:

CREATE PROFILE accts LIMIT

PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME 180
PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX 5;

The following command creates a profile named resources; the profile calls a user-
defined function named password_rules that will verify that the password provided
meets their standards for complexity:

CREATE PROFILE resources LIMIT

PASSWORD_VERIFY_FUNCTION password_rules;

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2.3.27 CREATE QUEUE

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) with the CREATE QUEUE
SQL command. This syntax can be used in association with DBMS_AQADM.

Name

CREATE QUEUE create a queue.

Synopsis

Use CREATE QUEUE to define a new queue:

CREATE QUEUE name QUEUE TABLE queue_table_name [ ( {

option_name option_value} [, ... ] ) ]

where option_name and the corresponding option_value can be:

TYPE [normal_queue | exception_queue]

RETRIES [INTEGER]

RETRYDELAY [DOUBLE PRECISION]

RETENTION [DOUBLE PRECISION]

Description

The CREATE QUEUE command allows a database superuser or any user with the system-
defined aq_administrator_role privilege to create a new queue in the current
database.

If the name of the queue is schema-qualified, the queue is created in the specified
schema. If a schema is not included in the CREATE QUEUE command, the queue is
created in the current schema. A queue may only be created in the schema in which the
queue table resides. The name of the queue must be unique from the name of any other
queue in the same schema.

Use DROP QUEUE to remove a queue.

Parameters

name

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The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the queue to be created.

queue_table_name

The name of the queue table with which this queue is associated.

option_name option_value

The name of any options that will be associated with the new queue, and the
corresponding value for the option. If the call to CREATE QUEUE includes
duplicate option names, the server will return an error. The following values are
supported:

TYPE Specify normal_queue to indicate that the queue is a normal queue, or

exception_queue to indicate that the queue is an exception queue. An
exception queue will only accept dequeue operations.
RETRIES An INTEGER value that specifies the maximum number of attempts to
remove a message from a queue.
RETRYDELAY A DOUBLE PRECISION value that specifies the number of seconds after a
ROLLBACK that the server will wait before retrying a message.
RETENTION A DOUBLE PRECISION value that specifies the number of seconds that a
message will be saved in the queue table after dequeueing.

Example

The following command creates a queue named work_order that is associated with a
queue table named work_order_table:

CREATE QUEUE work_order QUEUE TABLE work_order_table (RETRIES 5, RETRYDELAY

2);

The server will allow 5 attempts to remove a message from the queue, and enforce a retry
delay of 2 seconds between attempts.

See Also

ALTER QUEUE, DROP QUEUE

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2.3.28 CREATE QUEUE TABLE

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) with the CREATE QUEUE
TABLE SQL command. This syntax can be used in association with DBMS_AQADM.

Name

CREATE QUEUE TABLE-- create a new queue table.

Synopsis

Use CREATE QUEUE TABLE to define a new queue table:

CREATE QUEUE TABLE name OF type_name [ ( { option_name

option_value } [, ... ] ) ]

where option_name and the corresponding option_value can be:

option_name option_value
SORT_LIST priority, enq_time
MULTIPLE_CONSUMERS FALSE, TRUE
MESSAGE_GROUPING NONE, TRANSACTIONAL
STORAGE_CLAUSE TABLESPACE tablespace_name, PCTFREE integer,
PCTUSED integer, INITRANS integer, MAXTRANS
integer, STORAGE storage_option
Where storage_option is one or more of the following:
MINEXTENTS integer, MAXEXTENTS integer,
PCTINCREASE integer, INITIAL size_clause, NEXT,
FREELISTS integer, OPTIMAL size_clause,
BUFFER_POOL {KEEP|RECYCLE|DEFAULT}.

Please note that only the TABLESPACE option is enforced; all

others are accepted for compatibility and ignored. Use the
TABLESPACE clause to specify the name of a tablespace in
which the table will be created.

Description

CREATE QUEUE TABLE allows a superuser or a user with the

aq_administrator_role privilege to create a new queue table.

If the call to CREATE QUEUE TABLE includes a schema name, the queue table is created in
the specified schema. If no schema name is provided, the new queue table is created in
the current schema.

The name of the queue table must be unique from the name of any other queue table in
the same schema.

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Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the new queue table.

type_name

The name of an existing type that describes the payload of each entry in the queue
table. For information about defining a type, see CREATE TYPE.

option_name option_value

The name of any options that will be associated with the new queue table, and the
corresponding value for the option. If the call to CREATE QUEUE TABLE includes
duplicate option names, the server will return an error. The following values are
accepted:

SORT_LIST Use the SORT_LIST option to control the dequeueing order of the
queue; specify the names of the column(s) that will be used to sort the
queue (in ascending order). The currently accepted values are the
following combinations of enq_time and priority:
enq_time. priority
priority. enq_time
priority
enq_time
Any other value will return an ERROR.
MULTIPLE_CONSUMERS A BOOLEAN value that indicates if a message can have more than one
consumer (TRUE), or are limited to one consumer per message ( FALSE).
MESSAGE_GROUPING Specify none to indicate that each message should be dequeued
individually, or transactional to indicate that messages that are
added to the queue as a result of one transaction should be dequeued as
a group.
STORAGE_CLAUSE Use STORAGE_CLAUSE to specify table attributes.
STORAGE_CLAUSE may be TABLESPACE tablespace_name,
PCTFREE integer, PCTUSED integer, INITRANS integer,
MAXTRANS integer, STORAGE storage_option

Where storage_option is one or more of the following:

MINEXTENTS integer, MAXEXTENTS integer, PCTINCREASE
integer, INITIAL size_clause, NEXT, FREELISTS
integer, OPTIMAL size_clause, BUFFER_POOL
{KEEP|RECYCLE|DEFAULT}.

Please note that only the TABLESPACE option is enforced; all others are
accepted for compatibility and ignored. Use the TABLESPACE clause to
specify the name of a tablespace in which the table will be created.

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Example

You must create a user-defined type before creating a queue table; the type describes the
columns and data types within the table. The following command creates a type named
work_order:

CREATE TYPE work_order AS (name VARCHAR2, project TEXT, completed BOOLEAN);

The following command uses the work_order type to create a queue table named
work_order_table:

CREATE QUEUE TABLE work_order_table OF work_order (sort_list (enq_time,

priority));

See Also

ALTER QUEUE TABLE, DROP QUEUE TABLE

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2.3.29 CREATE ROLE

Name

CREATE ROLE -- define a new database role

Synopsis

CREATE ROLE name [IDENTIFIED BY password [REPLACE old_password]]

Description

CREATE ROLE adds a new role to the Advanced Server database cluster. A role is an
entity that can own database objects and have database privileges; a role can be
considered a user, a group, or both depending on how it is used. The newly created
role does not have the LOGIN attribute, so it cannot be used to start a session. Use the
ALTER ROLE command to give the role LOGIN rights. You must have CREATEROLE
privilege or be a database superuser to use the CREATE ROLE command.

If the IDENTIFIED BY clause is specified, the CREATE ROLE command also creates a
schema owned by, and with the same name as the newly created role.

Note that roles are defined at the database cluster level, and so are valid in all databases
in the cluster.

Parameters

name

The name of the new role.

IDENTIFIED BY password

Sets the roles password. (A password is only of use for roles having the LOGIN
attribute, but you can nonetheless define one for roles without it.) If you do not
plan to use password authentication you can omit this option.

Notes

Use ALTER ROLE to change the attributes of a role, and DROP ROLE to remove a role. The
attributes specified by CREATE ROLE can be modified by later ALTER ROLE commands.

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Use GRANT and REVOKE to add and remove members of roles that are being used as
groups.

The maximum length limit for role name and password is 63 characters.

Examples

Create a role (and a schema) named, admins, with a password:

CREATE ROLE admins IDENTIFIED BY Rt498zb;

See Also

ALTER ROLE, DROP ROLE, GRANT, REVOKE, SET ROLE

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2.3.30 CREATE SCHEMA

Name

CREATE SCHEMA -- define a new schema

Synopsis

CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION username schema_element [ ... ]

Description

This variation of the CREATE SCHEMA command creates a new schema owned by
username and populated with one or more objects. The creation of the schema and
objects occur within a single transaction so either all objects are created or none of them
including the schema. (Please note: if you are using an Oracle database, no new schema
is created username, and therefore the schema, must pre-exist.)

A schema is essentially a namespace: it contains named objects (tables, views, etc.)

whose names may duplicate those of other objects existing in other schemas. Named
objects are accessed either by qualifying their names with the schema name as a prefix,
or by setting a search path that includes the desired schema(s). Unqualified objects are
created in the current schema (the one at the front of the search path, which can be
determined with the function CURRENT_SCHEMA). (The search path concept and the
CURRENT_SCHEMA function are not compatible with Oracle databases.)

CREATE SCHEMA includes subcommands to create objects within the schema. The
subcommands are treated essentially the same as separate commands issued after creating
the schema. All the created objects will be owned by the specified user.

Parameters

username

The name of the user who will own the new schema. The schema will be named
the same as username. Only superusers may create schemas owned by users
other than themselves. (Please note: In Advanced Server the role, username,
must already exist, but the schema must not exist. In Oracle, the user
(equivalently, the schema) must exist.)

schema_element

An SQL statement defining an object to be created within the schema. CREATE

TABLE, CREATE VIEW, and GRANT are accepted as clauses within CREATE

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SCHEMA. Other kinds of objects may be created in separate commands after the
schema is created.

Notes

To create a schema, the invoking user must have the CREATE privilege for the current
database. (Of course, superusers bypass this check.)

In Advanced Server, there are other forms of the CREATE SCHEMA command that are not
compatible with Oracle databases.

Examples

CREATE SCHEMA AUTHORIZATION enterprisedb

CREATE TABLE empjobs (ename VARCHAR2(10), job VARCHAR2(9))
CREATE VIEW managers AS SELECT ename FROM empjobs WHERE job = 'MANAGER'
GRANT SELECT ON managers TO PUBLIC;

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2.3.31 CREATE SEQUENCE

Name

CREATE SEQUENCE -- define a new sequence generator

Synopsis

CREATE SEQUENCE name [ INCREMENT BY increment ]

[ { NOMINVALUE | MINVALUE minvalue } ]
[ { NOMAXVALUE | MAXVALUE maxvalue } ]
[ START WITH start ] [ CACHE cache | NOCACHE ] [ CYCLE ]

Description

CREATE SEQUENCE creates a new sequence number generator. This involves creating
and initializing a new special single-row table with the name, name. The generator will
be owned by the user issuing the command.

If a schema name is given then the sequence is created in the specified schema, otherwise
it is created in the current schema. The sequence name must be distinct from the name of
any other sequence, table, index, or view in the same schema.

After a sequence is created, use the functions NEXTVAL and CURRVAL to operate on the
sequence. These functions are documented in Section 2.4.9.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the sequence to be created.

increment

The optional clause INCREMENT BY increment specifies the value to add to the
current sequence value to create a new value. A positive value will make an
ascending sequence, a negative one a descending sequence. The default value is 1.

NOMINVALUE | MINVALUE minvalue

The optional clause MINVALUE minvalue determines the minimum value a

sequence can generate. If this clause is not supplied, then defaults will be used.
The defaults are 1 and -263-1 for ascending and descending sequences,

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respectively. Note that the key words, NOMINVALUE, may be used to set this
behavior to the default.

NOMAXVALUE | MAXVALUE maxvalue

The optional clause MAXVALUE maxvalue determines the maximum value for
the sequence. If this clause is not supplied, then default values will be used. The
defaults are 263-1 and -1 for ascending and descending sequences, respectively.
Note that the key words, NOMAXVALUE, may be used to set this behavior to the
default.

start

The optional clause START WITH start allows the sequence to begin anywhere.
The default starting value is minvalue for ascending sequences and maxvalue
for descending ones.

cache

The optional clause CACHE cache specifies how many sequence numbers are to
be preallocated and stored in memory for faster access. The minimum value is 1
(only one value can be generated at a time, i.e., NOCACHE), and this is also the
default.

CYCLE

The CYCLE option allows the sequence to wrap around when the maxvalue or
minvalue has been reached by an ascending or descending sequence
respectively. If the limit is reached, the next number generated will be the
minvalue or maxvalue, respectively.

If CYCLE is omitted (the default), any calls to NEXTVAL after the sequence has
reached its maximum value will return an error. Note that the key words, NO
CYCLE, may be used to obtain the default behavior, however, this term is not
compatible with Oracle databases.

Notes

Sequences are based on big integer arithmetic, so the range cannot exceed the range of an
eight-byte integer (-9223372036854775808 to 9223372036854775807). On some older
platforms, there may be no compiler support for eight-byte integers, in which case
sequences use regular INTEGER arithmetic (range -2147483648 to +2147483647).

Unexpected results may be obtained if a cache setting greater than one is used for a
sequence object that will be used concurrently by multiple sessions. Each session will
allocate and cache successive sequence values during one access to the sequence object

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and increase the sequence objects last value accordingly. Then, the next cache-1 uses of
NEXTVAL within that session simply return the preallocated values without touching the
sequence object. So, any numbers allocated but not used within a session will be lost
when that session ends, resulting in "holes" in the sequence.

Furthermore, although multiple sessions are guaranteed to allocate distinct sequence

values, the values may be generated out of sequence when all the sessions are considered.
For example, with a cache setting of 10, session A might reserve values 1..10 and return
NEXTVAL=1, then session B might reserve values 11..20 and return NEXTVAL=11 before
session A has generated NEXTVAL=2. Thus, with a cache setting of one it is safe to
assume that NEXTVAL values are generated sequentially; with a cache setting greater
than one you should only assume that the NEXTVAL values are all distinct, not that they
are generated purely sequentially. Also, the last value will reflect the latest value reserved
by any session, whether or not it has yet been returned by NEXTVAL.

Examples

Create an ascending sequence called serial, starting at 101:

CREATE SEQUENCE serial START WITH 101;

Select the next number from this sequence:

SELECT serial.NEXTVAL FROM DUAL;

nextval
---------
101
(1 row)

Create a sequence called supplier_seq with the NOCACHE option:

CREATE SEQUENCE supplier_seq

MINVALUE 1
START WITH 1
INCREMENT BY 1
NOCACHE;

Select the next number from this sequence:

SELECT supplier_seq.NEXTVAL FROM DUAL;

nextval
---------
1
(1 row)

See Also

ALTER SEQUENCE, DROP SEQUENCE

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2.3.32 CREATE SYNONYM

Name

CREATE SYNONYM -- define a new synonym

Synopsis

CREATE [OR REPLACE] [PUBLIC] SYNONYM [schema.]syn_name

FOR object_schema.object_name[@dblink_name];

Description

CREATE SYNONYM defines a synonym for certain types of database objects. Advanced
Server supports synonyms for:

tables
views
materialized views
sequences
packages
stored procedures
stored functions
types
objects that are accessible through a database link
other synonyms

Parameters:

syn_name

syn_name is the name of the synonym. A synonym name must be unique within
a schema.

schema

schema specifies the name of the schema that the synonym resides in. If you do
not specify a schema name, the synonym is created in the first existing schema in
your search path.

object_name

object_name specifies the name of the object.

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object_schema

object_schema specifies the name of the schema that the referenced object
resides in.

dblink_name

dblink_name specifies the name of the database link through which an object is
accessed.

Include the REPLACE clause to replace an existing synonym definition with a new
synonym definition.

Include the PUBLIC clause to create the synonym in the public schema. The CREATE
PUBLIC SYNONYM command, compatible with Oracle databases, creates a synonym that
resides in the public schema:

CREATE [OR REPLACE] PUBLIC SYNONYM syn_name FOR

object_schema.object_name;

This just a shorthand way to write:

CREATE [OR REPLACE] SYNONYM public.syn_name FOR

object_schema.object_name;

Notes

Access to the object referenced by the synonym is determined by the permissions of the
current user of the synonym; the synonym user must have the appropriate permissions on
the underlying database object.

Examples

Create a synonym for the emp table in a schema named, enterprisedb:

CREATE SYNONYM personnel FOR enterprisedb.emp;

See Also

DROP SYNONYM

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2.3.33 CREATE TABLE

Name

CREATE TABLE -- define a new table

Synopsis

CREATE [ GLOBAL TEMPORARY ] TABLE table_name (

{ column_name data_type [ DEFAULT default_expr ]
[ column_constraint [ ... ] ] | table_constraint } [, ...]
)
[ ON COMMIT { PRESERVE ROWS | DELETE ROWS } ]
[ TABLESPACE tablespace ]

where column_constraint is:

[ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
{ NOT NULL |
NULL |
UNIQUE [ USING INDEX TABLESPACE tablespace ] |
PRIMARY KEY [ USING INDEX TABLESPACE tablespace ] |
CHECK (expression) |
REFERENCES reftable [ ( refcolumn ) ]
[ ON DELETE action ] }
[ DEFERRABLE | NOT DEFERRABLE ] [ INITIALLY DEFERRED |
INITIALLY IMMEDIATE ]

and table_constraint is:

[ CONSTRAINT constraint_name ]
{ UNIQUE ( column_name [, ...] )
[ USING INDEX TABLESPACE tablespace ] |
PRIMARY KEY ( column_name [, ...] )
[ USING INDEX TABLESPACE tablespace ] |
CHECK ( expression ) |
FOREIGN KEY ( column_name [, ...] )
REFERENCES reftable [ ( refcolumn [, ...] ) ]
[ ON DELETE action ] }
[ DEFERRABLE | NOT DEFERRABLE ]
[ INITIALLY DEFERRED | INITIALLY IMMEDIATE ]

Description

CREATE TABLE will create a new, initially empty table in the current database. The table
will be owned by the user issuing the command.

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If a schema name is given (for example, CREATE TABLE myschema.mytable ...) then
the table is created in the specified schema. Otherwise it is created in the current schema.
Temporary tables exist in a special schema, so a schema name may not be given when
creating a temporary table. The table name must be distinct from the name of any other
table, sequence, index, or view in the same schema.

CREATE TABLE also automatically creates a data type that represents the composite type
corresponding to one row of the table. Therefore, tables cannot have the same name as
any existing data type in the same schema.

A table cannot have more than 1600 columns. (In practice, the effective limit is lower
because of tuple-length constraints).

The optional constraint clauses specify constraints (or tests) that new or updated rows
must satisfy for an insert or update operation to succeed. A constraint is an SQL object
that helps define the set of valid values in the table in various ways.

There are two ways to define constraints: table constraints and column constraints. A
column constraint is defined as part of a column definition. A table constraint definition
is not tied to a particular column, and it can encompass more than one column. Every
column constraint can also be written as a table constraint; a column constraint is only a
notational convenience if the constraint only affects one column.

Parameters

GLOBAL TEMPORARY

If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Temporary tables are

automatically dropped at the end of a session, or optionally at the end of the
current transaction (see ON COMMIT below). Existing permanent tables with the
same name are not visible to the current session while the temporary table exists,
unless they are referenced with schema-qualified names. In addition, temporary
tables are not visible outside the session in which it was created. (This aspect of
global temporary tables is not compatible with Oracle databases.) Any indexes
created on a temporary table are automatically temporary as well.

table_name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.

column_name

The name of a column to be created in the new table.

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data_type

The data type of the column. This may include array specifiers. For more
information on the data types included with Advanced Server, refer to Section 0.

DEFAULT default_expr

The DEFAULT clause assigns a default data value for the column whose column
definition it appears within. The value is any variable-free expression (subqueries
and cross-references to other columns in the current table are not allowed). The
data type of the default expression must match the data type of the column.

The default expression will be used in any insert operation that does not specify a
value for the column. If there is no default for a column, then the default is null.

CONSTRAINT constraint_name

An optional name for a column or table constraint. If not specified, the system
generates a name.

NOT NULL

The column is not allowed to contain null values.

NULL

The column is allowed to contain null values. This is the default.

This clause is only available for compatibility with non-standard SQL databases.
Its use is discouraged in new applications.

UNIQUE - column constraint

UNIQUE (column_name [, ...] ) - table constraint

The UNIQUE constraint specifies that a group of one or more distinct columns of a
table may contain only unique values. The behavior of the unique table constraint
is the same as that for column constraints, with the additional capability to span
multiple columns.

For the purpose of a unique constraint, null values are not considered equal.

Each unique table constraint must name a set of columns that is different from the
set of columns named by any other unique or primary key constraint defined for
the table. (Otherwise it would just be the same constraint listed twice.)

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PRIMARY KEY - column constraint
PRIMARY KEY ( column_name [, ...] ) - table constraint

The primary key constraint specifies that a column or columns of a table may
contain only unique (non-duplicate), non-null values. Technically, PRIMARY KEY
is merely a combination of UNIQUE and NOT NULL, but identifying a set of
columns as primary key also provides metadata about the design of the schema, as
a primary key implies that other tables may rely on this set of columns as a unique
identifier for rows.

Only one primary key can be specified for a table, whether as a column constraint
or a table constraint.

The primary key constraint should name a set of columns that is different from
other sets of columns named by any unique constraint defined for the same table.

CHECK (expression)

The CHECK clause specifies an expression producing a Boolean result which new
or updated rows must satisfy for an insert or update operation to succeed.
Expressions evaluating to TRUE or unknown succeed. Should any row of an
insert or update operation produce a FALSE result an error exception is raised and
the insert or update does not alter the database. A check constraint specified as a
column constraint should reference that columns value only, while an expression
appearing in a table constraint may reference multiple columns.

Currently, CHECK expressions cannot contain subqueries nor refer to variables

other than columns of the current row.

REFERENCES reftable [ ( refcolumn ) ] [ ON DELETE action ] - column constraint

FOREIGN KEY ( column [, ...] ) REFERENCES reftable [ ( refcolumn [, ...] ) ] [ ON
DELETE action ] - table constraint

These clauses specify a foreign key constraint, which requires that a group of one
or more columns of the new table must only contain values that match values in
the referenced column(s) of some row of the referenced table. If refcolumn is
omitted, the primary key of the reftable is used. The referenced columns must
be the columns of a unique or primary key constraint in the referenced table.

In addition, when the data in the referenced columns is changed, certain actions
are performed on the data in this tables columns. The ON DELETE clause
specifies the action to perform when a referenced row in the referenced table is
being deleted. Referential actions cannot be deferred even if the constraint is
deferrable. Here are the following possible actions for each clause:

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CASCADE

Delete any rows referencing the deleted row, or update the value of the
referencing column to the new value of the referenced column,
respectively.

SET NULL

Set the referencing column(s) to NULL.

If the referenced column(s) are changed frequently, it may be wise to add an

index to the foreign key column so that referential actions associated with the
foreign key column can be performed more efficiently.

DEFERRABLE
NOT DEFERRABLE

This controls whether the constraint can be deferred. A constraint that is not
deferrable will be checked immediately after every command. Checking of
constraints that are deferrable may be postponed until the end of the transaction
(using the SET CONSTRAINTS command). NOT DEFERRABLE is the default. Only
foreign key constraints currently accept this clause. All other constraint types are
not deferrable.

INITIALLY IMMEDIATE
INITIALLY DEFERRED

If a constraint is deferrable, this clause specifies the default time to check the
constraint. If the constraint is INITIALLY IMMEDIATE, it is checked after each
statement. This is the default. If the constraint is INITIALLY DEFERRED, it is
checked only at the end of the transaction. The constraint check time can be
altered with the SET CONSTRAINTS command.

ON COMMIT

The behavior of temporary tables at the end of a transaction block can be

controlled using ON COMMIT. The two options are:

PRESERVE ROWS

No special action is taken at the ends of transactions. This is the default

behavior. (Note that this aspect is not compatible with Oracle databases.
The Oracle default is DELETE ROWS.)

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DELETE ROWS

All rows in the temporary table will be deleted at the end of each
transaction block. Essentially, an automatic TRUNCATE is done at each
commit.

TABLESPACE tablespace

The tablespace is the name of the tablespace in which the new table is to be
created. If not specified, default tablespace is used, or the databases default
tablespace if default_tablespace is an empty string.

USING INDEX TABLESPACE tablespace

This clause allows selection of the tablespace in which the index associated with a
UNIQUE or PRIMARY KEY constraint will be created. If not specified, default
tablespace is used, or the databases default tablespace if
default_tablespace is an empty string.

Notes

Advanced Server automatically creates an index for each unique constraint and primary
key constraint to enforce the uniqueness. Thus, it is not necessary to create an explicit
index for primary key columns. (See CREATE INDEX for more information.)

Examples

Create table dept and table emp:

CREATE TABLE dept (

deptno NUMBER(2) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT dept_pk PRIMARY KEY,
dname VARCHAR2(14),
loc VARCHAR2(13)
);
CREATE TABLE emp (
empno NUMBER(4) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT emp_pk PRIMARY KEY,
ename VARCHAR2(10),
job VARCHAR2(9),
mgr NUMBER(4),
hiredate DATE,
sal NUMBER(7,2),
comm NUMBER(7,2),
deptno NUMBER(2) CONSTRAINT emp_ref_dept_fk
REFERENCES dept(deptno)
);

Define a unique table constraint for the table dept. Unique table constraints can be
defined on one or more columns of the table.

CREATE TABLE dept (

deptno NUMBER(2) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT dept_pk PRIMARY KEY,

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dname VARCHAR2(14) CONSTRAINT dept_dname_uq UNIQUE,
loc VARCHAR2(13)
);

Define a check column constraint:

CREATE TABLE emp (

empno NUMBER(4) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT emp_pk PRIMARY KEY,
ename VARCHAR2(10),
job VARCHAR2(9),
mgr NUMBER(4),
hiredate DATE,
sal NUMBER(7,2) CONSTRAINT emp_sal_ck CHECK (sal > 0),
comm NUMBER(7,2),
deptno NUMBER(2) CONSTRAINT emp_ref_dept_fk
REFERENCES dept(deptno)
);

Define a check table constraint:

CREATE TABLE emp (

empno NUMBER(4) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT emp_pk PRIMARY KEY,
ename VARCHAR2(10),
job VARCHAR2(9),
mgr NUMBER(4),
hiredate DATE,
sal NUMBER(7,2),
comm NUMBER(7,2),
deptno NUMBER(2) CONSTRAINT emp_ref_dept_fk
REFERENCES dept(deptno),
CONSTRAINT new_emp_ck CHECK (ename IS NOT NULL AND empno > 7000)
);

Define a primary key table constraint for the table jobhist. Primary key table
constraints can be defined on one or more columns of the table.

CREATE TABLE jobhist (

empno NUMBER(4) NOT NULL,
startdate DATE NOT NULL,
enddate DATE,
job VARCHAR2(9),
sal NUMBER(7,2),
comm NUMBER(7,2),
deptno NUMBER(2),
chgdesc VARCHAR2(80),
CONSTRAINT jobhist_pk PRIMARY KEY (empno, startdate)
);

This assigns a literal constant default value for the column, job and makes the default
value of hiredate be the date at which the row is inserted.

CREATE TABLE emp (

empno NUMBER(4) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT emp_pk PRIMARY KEY,
ename VARCHAR2(10),
job VARCHAR2(9) DEFAULT 'SALESMAN',
mgr NUMBER(4),
hiredate DATE DEFAULT SYSDATE,

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sal NUMBER(7,2),
comm NUMBER(7,2),
deptno NUMBER(2) CONSTRAINT emp_ref_dept_fk
REFERENCES dept(deptno)
);

Create table dept in tablespace diskvol1:

CREATE TABLE dept (

deptno NUMBER(2) NOT NULL CONSTRAINT dept_pk PRIMARY KEY,
dname VARCHAR2(14),
loc VARCHAR2(13)
) TABLESPACE diskvol1;

See Also

ALTER TABLE, DROP TABLE

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2.3.34 CREATE TABLE AS

Name

CREATE TABLE AS -- define a new table from the results of a query

Synopsis

CREATE [ GLOBAL TEMPORARY ] TABLE table_name

[ (column_name [, ...] ) ]
[ ON COMMIT { PRESERVE ROWS | DELETE ROWS } ]
[ TABLESPACE tablespace ]
AS query

Description

CREATE TABLE AS creates a table and fills it with data computed by a SELECT
command. The table columns have the names and data types associated with the output
columns of the SELECT (except that you can override the column names by giving an
explicit list of new column names).

CREATE TABLE AS bears some resemblance to creating a view, but it is really quite
different: it creates a new table and evaluates the query just once to fill the new table
initially. The new table will not track subsequent changes to the source tables of the
query. In contrast, a view re-evaluates its defining SELECT statement whenever it is
queried.

Parameters

GLOBAL TEMPORARY

If specified, the table is created as a temporary table. Refer to CREATE TABLE for
details.

table_name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be created.

column_name

The name of a column in the new table. If column names are not provided, they
are taken from the output column names of the query.

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query

A query statement ( a SELECT command). Refer to SELECT for a description of

the allowed syntax.

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2.3.35 CREATE TRIGGER

Name

CREATE TRIGGER -- define a new trigger

Synopsis

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] TRIGGER name

{ BEFORE | AFTER | INSTEAD OF }
{ INSERT | UPDATE | DELETE }
[ OR { INSERT | UPDATE | DELETE } ] [, ...]
ON table
[ REFERENCING { OLD AS old | NEW AS new } ...]
[ FOR EACH ROW ]
[ WHEN condition ]
[ DECLARE
declaration; [, ...] ]
BEGIN
statement; [, ...]
[ EXCEPTION
{ WHEN exception [ OR exception ] [...] THEN
statement; [, ...] } [, ...]
]
END

Description

CREATE TRIGGER defines a new trigger. CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER will either
create a new trigger, or replace an existing definition.

If you are using the CREATE TRIGGER keywords to create a new trigger, the name of the
new trigger must not match any existing trigger defined on the same table. New triggers
will be created in the same schema as the table on which the triggering event is defined.

If you are updating the definition of an existing trigger, use the CREATE OR REPLACE
TRIGGER keywords.

When you use syntax that is compatible with Oracle to create a trigger, the trigger runs as
a SECURITY DEFINER function.

Parameters

name

The name of the trigger to create.

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BEFORE | AFTER

Determines whether the trigger is fired before or after the triggering event.

INSERT | UPDATE | DELETE

Defines the triggering event.

table

The name of the table on which the triggering event occurs.

condition

condition is a Boolean expression that determines if the trigger will actually be

executed; if condition evaluates to TRUE, the trigger will fire.

If the trigger definition includes the FOR EACH ROW keywords, the WHEN clause
can refer to columns of the old and/or new row values by writing
OLD.column_name or NEW.column_name respectively. INSERT triggers cannot
refer to OLD and DELETE triggers cannot refer to NEW.

If the trigger includes the INSTEAD OF keywords, it may not include a WHEN
clause. A WHEN clause cannot contain subqueries.

REFERENCING { OLD AS old | NEW AS new } ...

REFERENCING clause to reference old rows and new rows, but restricted in that
old may only be replaced by an identifier named old or any equivalent that is
saved in all lowercase (for example, REFERENCING OLD AS old,
REFERENCING OLD AS OLD, or REFERENCING OLD AS "old"). Also, new
may only be replaced by an identifier named new or any equivalent that is saved
in all lowercase (for example, REFERENCING NEW AS new, REFERENCING
NEW AS NEW, or REFERENCING NEW AS "new").

Either one, or both phrases OLD AS old and NEW AS new may be specified in
the REFERENCING clause (for example, REFERENCING NEW AS New OLD AS
Old).

This clause is not compatible with Oracle databases in that identifiers other than
old or new may not be used.

FOR EACH ROW

Determines whether the trigger should be fired once for every row affected by the
triggering event, or just once per SQL statement. If specified, the trigger is fired

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once for every affected row (row-level trigger), otherwise the trigger is a
statement-level trigger.

declaration

A variable, type, REF CURSOR, or subprogram declaration. If subprogram

declarations are included, they must be declared after all other variable, type, and
REF CURSOR declarations.

statement

An SPL program statement. Note that a DECLARE - BEGIN - END block is

considered an SPL statement unto itself. Thus, the trigger body may contain
nested blocks.

exception

An exception condition name such as NO_DATA_FOUND, OTHERS, etc.

Examples

The following is a statement-level trigger that fires after the triggering statement (insert,
update, or delete on table emp) is executed.

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER user_audit_trig

AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE OR DELETE ON emp
DECLARE
v_action VARCHAR2(24);
BEGIN
IF INSERTING THEN
v_action := ' added employee(s) on ';
ELSIF UPDATING THEN
v_action := ' updated employee(s) on ';
ELSIF DELETING THEN
v_action := ' deleted employee(s) on ';
END IF;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('User ' || USER || v_action ||
TO_CHAR(SYSDATE,'YYYY-MM-DD'));
END;

The following is a row-level trigger that fires before each row is either inserted, updated,
or deleted on table emp.

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER emp_sal_trig

BEFORE DELETE OR INSERT OR UPDATE ON emp
FOR EACH ROW
DECLARE
sal_diff NUMBER;
BEGIN
IF INSERTING THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Inserting employee ' || :NEW.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('..New salary: ' || :NEW.sal);
END IF;

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IF UPDATING THEN
sal_diff := :NEW.sal - :OLD.sal;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Updating employee ' || :OLD.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('..Old salary: ' || :OLD.sal);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('..New salary: ' || :NEW.sal);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('..Raise : ' || sal_diff);
END IF;
IF DELETING THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Deleting employee ' || :OLD.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('..Old salary: ' || :OLD.sal);
END IF;
END;

See Also

DROP TRIGGER

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2.3.36 CREATE TYPE

Name

CREATE TYPE -- define a new user-defined type, which can be an object type, a
collection type (a nested table type or a varray type), or a composite type.

Synopsis

Object Type

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] TYPE name

[ AUTHID { DEFINER | CURRENT_USER } ]
{ IS | AS } OBJECT
( { attribute { datatype | objtype | collecttype } }
[, ...]
[ method_spec ] [, ...]
) [ [ NOT ] { FINAL | INSTANTIABLE } ] ...

where method_spec is:

[ [ NOT ] { FINAL | INSTANTIABLE } ] ...

[ OVERRIDING ]
subprogram_spec

and subprogram_spec is:

{ MEMBER | STATIC }
{ PROCEDURE proc_name
[ ( [ SELF [ IN | IN OUT ] name ]
[, argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype
[ DEFAULT value ]
] ...)
]
|
FUNCTION func_name
[ ( [ SELF [ IN | IN OUT ] name ]
[, argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype
[ DEFAULT value ]
] ...)
]
RETURN rettype
}

Nested Table Type

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CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] TYPE name { IS | AS } TABLE OF
{ datatype | objtype | collecttype }

Varray Type

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] TYPE name { IS | AS }

{ VARRAY | VARYING ARRAY } (maxsize) OF { datatype | objtype }

Composite Type

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] TYPE name { IS | AS }

( [ attribute datatype ][, ...]
)

Description

CREATE TYPE defines a new, user-defined data type. The types that can be created are an
object type, a nested table type, a varray type, or a composite type. Nested table and
varray types belong to the category of types known as collections.

Composite types are not compatible with Oracle databases. However, composite types
can be accessed by SPL programs as with other types described in this section.

Note: For packages only, a composite type can be included in a user-defined record type
declared with the TYPE IS RECORD statement within the package specification or
package body. Such nested structure is not permitted in other SPL programs such as
functions, procedures, triggers, etc.

In the CREATE TYPE command, if a schema name is included, then the type is created in
the specified schema, otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the new
type must not match any existing type in the same schema unless the intent is to update
the definition of an existing type, in which case use CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE.

Note: The OR REPLACE option cannot be currently used to add, delete, or modify the
attributes of an existing object type. Use the DROP TYPE command to first delete the
existing object type. The OR REPLACE option can be used to add, delete, or modify the
methods in an existing object type.

Note: The PostgreSQL form of the ALTER TYPE ALTER ATTRIBUTE command can be
used to change the data type of an attribute in an existing object type. However, the
ALTER TYPE command cannot add or delete attributes in the object type.

The user that creates the type becomes the owner of the type.

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Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the type to create.

DEFINER | CURRENT_USER

Specifies whether the privileges of the object type owner (DEFINER) or the
privileges of the current user executing a method in the object type
(CURRENT_USER) are to be used to determine whether or not access is allowed to
database objects referenced in the object type. DEFINER is the default.

attribute

The name of an attribute in the object type or composite type.

datatype

The data type that defines an attribute of the object type or composite type, or the
elements of the collection type that is being created.

objtype

The name of an object type that defines an attribute of the object type or the
elements of the collection type that is being created.

collecttype

The name of a collection type that defines an attribute of the object type or the
elements of the collection type that is being created.

FINAL
NOT FINAL

For an object type, specifies whether or not a subtype can be derived from the
object type. FINAL (subtype cannot be derived from the object type) is the
default.

For method_spec, specifies whether or not the method may be overridden in a

subtype. NOT FINAL (method may be overridden in a subtype) is the default.

INSTANTIABLE
NOT INSTANTIABLE

For an object type, specifies whether or not an object instance can be created of
this object type. INSTANTIABLE (an instance of this object type can be created) is

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the default. If NOT INSTANTIABLE is specified, then NOT FINAL must be
specified as well. If method_spec for any method in the object type contains the
NOT INSTANTIABLE qualifier, then the object type, itself, must be defined with
NOT INSTANTIABLE and NOT FINAL following the closing parenthesis of the
object type specification.

For method_spec, specifies whether or not the object type definition provides an
implementation for the method. INSTANTIABLE (the CREATE TYPE BODY
command for the object type provides the implementation of the method) is the
default. If NOT INSTANTIABLE is specified, then the CREATE TYPE BODY
command for the object type must not contain the implementation of the method.

OVERRIDING

If OVERRIDING is specified, method_spec overrides an identically named

method with the same number of identically named method arguments with the
same data types, in the same order, and the same return type (if the method is a
function) as defined in a supertype.

MEMBER
STATIC

Specify MEMBER if the subprogram operates on an object instance. Specify

STATIC if the subprogram operates independently of any particular object
instance.

proc_name

The name of the procedure to create.

SELF [ IN | IN OUT ] name

For a member method there is an implicit, built-in parameter named SELF whose
data type is that of the object type being defined. SELF refers to the object
instance that is currently invoking the method. SELF can be explicitly declared as
an IN or IN OUT parameter in the parameter list. If explicitly declared, SELF
must be the first parameter in the parameter list. If SELF is not explicitly declared,
its parameter mode defaults to IN OUT for member procedures and IN for
member functions.

argname

The name of an argument. The argument is referenced by this name within the
method body.

argtype

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The data type(s) of the methods arguments. The argument types may be a base
data type or a user-defined type such as a nested table or an object type. A length
must not be specified for any base type - for example, specify VARCHAR2, not
VARCHAR2(10).

DEFAULT value

Supplies a default value for an input argument if one is not supplied in the method
call. DEFAULT may not be specified for arguments with modes IN OUT or OUT.

func_name

The name of the function to create.

rettype

The return data type, which may be any of the types listed for argtype. As for
argtype, a length must not be specified for rettype.

maxsize

The maximum number of elements permitted in the varray.

Examples

Creating an Object Type

Create object type addr_obj_typ.

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE addr_obj_typ AS OBJECT (

street VARCHAR2(30),
city VARCHAR2(20),
state CHAR(2),
zip NUMBER(5)
);

Create object type emp_obj_typ that includes a member method display_emp.

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE emp_obj_typ AS OBJECT (

empno NUMBER(4),
ename VARCHAR2(20),
addr ADDR_OBJ_TYP,
MEMBER PROCEDURE display_emp (SELF IN OUT emp_obj_typ)
);

Create object type dept_obj_typ that includes a static method get_dname.

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE dept_obj_typ AS OBJECT (

deptno NUMBER(2),
STATIC FUNCTION get_dname (p_deptno IN NUMBER) RETURN VARCHAR2,

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MEMBER PROCEDURE display_dept
);

Creating a Collection Type

Create a nested table type, budget_tbl_typ, of data type, NUMBER(8,2).

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE budget_tbl_typ IS TABLE OF NUMBER(8,2);

Creating and Using a Composite Type

The following example shows the usage of a composite type accessed from an
anonymous block.

The composite type is created by the following:

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE emphist_typ AS (

empno NUMBER(4),
ename VARCHAR2(10),
hiredate DATE,
job VARCHAR2(9),
sal NUMBER(7,2)
);

The following is the anonymous block that accesses the composite type:

DECLARE
v_emphist EMPHIST_TYP;
BEGIN
v_emphist.empno := 9001;
v_emphist.ename := 'SMITH';
v_emphist.hiredate := '01-AUG-17';
v_emphist.job := 'SALESMAN';
v_emphist.sal := 8000.00;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(' EMPNO: ' || v_emphist.empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(' ENAME: ' || v_emphist.ename);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('HIREDATE: ' || v_emphist.hiredate);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(' JOB: ' || v_emphist.job);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(' SAL: ' || v_emphist.sal);
END;

EMPNO: 9001
ENAME: SMITH
HIREDATE: 01-AUG-17 00:00:00
JOB: SALESMAN
SAL: 8000.00

The following example shows the usage of a composite type accessed from a user-
defined record type, declared within a package body.

The composite type is created by the following:

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE salhist_typ AS (

startdate DATE,
job VARCHAR2(9),

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sal NUMBER(7,2)
);

The package specification is defined by the following:

CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE emp_salhist

IS
PROCEDURE fetch_emp (
p_empno IN NUMBER
);
END;

The package body is defined by the following:

CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY emp_salhist

IS
TYPE emprec_typ IS RECORD (
empno NUMBER(4),
ename VARCHAR(10),
salhist SALHIST_TYP
);
TYPE emp_arr_typ IS TABLE OF emprec_typ INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
emp_arr emp_arr_typ;

PROCEDURE fetch_emp (
p_empno IN NUMBER
)
IS
CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT e.empno, e.ename, h.startdate, h.job, h.sal
FROM emp e, jobhist h
WHERE e.empno = p_empno
AND e.empno = h.empno;

i INTEGER := 0;
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('EMPNO ENAME STARTDATE JOB ' ||
'SAL ');
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('----- ------- --------- --------- ' ||
'---------');

FOR r_emp IN emp_cur LOOP

i := i + 1;
emp_arr(i) := (r_emp.empno, r_emp.ename,
(r_emp.startdate, r_emp.job, r_emp.sal));
END LOOP;

FOR i IN 1 .. emp_arr.COUNT LOOP

DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(emp_arr(i).empno || ' ' ||
RPAD(emp_arr(i).ename,8) || ' ' ||
TO_CHAR(emp_arr(i).salhist.startdate,'DD-MON-YY') || ' ' ||
RPAD(emp_arr(i).salhist.job,10) || ' ' ||
TO_CHAR(emp_arr(i).salhist.sal,'99,999.99'));
END LOOP;
END;
END;

Note that in the declaration of the TYPE emprec_typ IS RECORD data structure in the
package body, the salhist field is defined with the SALHIST_TYP composite type as
created by the CREATE TYPE salhist_typ statement.

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The associative array definition TYPE emp_arr_typ IS TABLE OF emprec_typ
references the record type data structure emprec_typ that includes the field salhist
that is defined with the SALHIST_TYP composite type.

Invocation of the package procedure that loads the array from a join of the emp and
jobhist tables, then displays the array content is shown by the following:

EXEC emp_salhist.fetch_emp(7788);

EMPNO ENAME STARTDATE JOB SAL

----- ------- --------- --------- ---------
7788 SCOTT 19-APR-87 CLERK 1,000.00
7788 SCOTT 13-APR-88 CLERK 1,040.00
7788 SCOTT 05-MAY-90 ANALYST 3,000.00

EDB-SPL Procedure successfully completed

See Also

CREATE TYPE BODY, DROP TYPE

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2.3.37 CREATE TYPE BODY

Name

CREATE TYPE BODY -- define a new object type body

Synopsis

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] TYPE BODY name

{ IS | AS }
method_spec [...]
END

where method_spec is:

subprogram_spec

and subprogram_spec is:

{ MEMBER | STATIC }
{ PROCEDURE proc_name
[ ( [ SELF [ IN | IN OUT ] name ]
[, argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype
[ DEFAULT value ]
] ...)
]
{ IS | AS }
program_body
END;
|
FUNCTION func_name
[ ( [ SELF [ IN | IN OUT ] name ]
[, argname [ IN | IN OUT | OUT ] argtype
[ DEFAULT value ]
] ...)
]
RETURN rettype
{ IS |AS }
program_body
END;
}

Description

CREATE TYPE BODY defines a new object type body. CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE
BODY will either create a new object type body, or replace an existing body.

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If a schema name is included, then the object type body is created in the specified
schema. Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The name of the new object type
body must match an existing object type specification in the same schema. The new
object type body name must not match any existing object type body in the same schema
unless the intent is to update the definition of an existing object type body, in which case
use CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE BODY.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the object type for which a body is to
be created.

MEMBER
STATIC

Specify MEMBER if the subprogram operates on an object instance. Specify

STATIC if the subprogram operates independently of any particular object
instance.

proc_name

The name of the procedure to create.

SELF [ IN | IN OUT ] name

For a member method there is an implicit, built-in parameter named SELF whose
data type is that of the object type being defined. SELF refers to the object
instance that is currently invoking the method. SELF can be explicitly declared as
an IN or IN OUT parameter in the parameter list. If explicitly declared, SELF
must be the first parameter in the parameter list. If SELF is not explicitly declared,
its parameter mode defaults to IN OUT for member procedures and IN for
member functions.

argname

The name of an argument. The argument is referenced by this name within the
method body.

argtype

The data type(s) of the methods arguments. The argument types may be a base
data type or a user-defined type such as a nested table or an object type. A length
must not be specified for any base type - for example, specify VARCHAR2, not
VARCHAR2(10).

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DEFAULT value

Supplies a default value for an input argument if one is not supplied in the method
call. DEFAULT may not be specified for arguments with modes IN OUT or OUT.

program_body

The declarations and SPL statements that comprise the body of the function or
procedure.

func_name

The name of the function to create.

rettype

The return data type, which may be any of the types listed for argtype. As for
argtype, a length must not be specified for rettype.

Examples

Create the object type body for object type emp_obj_typ given in the example for the
CREATE TYPE command.

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE BODY emp_obj_typ AS

MEMBER PROCEDURE display_emp (SELF IN OUT emp_obj_typ)
IS
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Employee No : ' || empno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Name : ' || ename);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Street : ' || addr.street);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('City/State/Zip: ' || addr.city || ', ' ||
addr.state || ' ' || LPAD(addr.zip,5,'0'));
END;
END;

Create the object type body for object type dept_obj_typ given in the example for the
CREATE TYPE command.

CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE BODY dept_obj_typ AS

STATIC FUNCTION get_dname (p_deptno IN NUMBER) RETURN VARCHAR2
IS
v_dname VARCHAR2(14);
BEGIN
CASE p_deptno
WHEN 10 THEN v_dname := 'ACCOUNING';
WHEN 20 THEN v_dname := 'RESEARCH';
WHEN 30 THEN v_dname := 'SALES';
WHEN 40 THEN v_dname := 'OPERATIONS';
ELSE v_dname := 'UNKNOWN';
END CASE;
RETURN v_dname;
END;

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MEMBER PROCEDURE display_dept
IS
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Dept No : ' || SELF.deptno);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Dept Name : ' ||
dept_obj_typ.get_dname(SELF.deptno));
END;
END;

See Also

CREATE TYPE, DROP TYPE

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2.3.38 CREATE USER

Name

CREATE USER -- define a new database user account

Synopsis

CREATE USER name [IDENTIFIED BY password]

Description

CREATE USER adds a new user to an Advanced Server database cluster. You must be a
database superuser to use this command.

When the CREATE USER command is given, a schema will also be created with the same
name as the new user and owned by the new user. Objects with unqualified names
created by this user will be created in this schema.

Parameters

name

The name of the user.

password

The users password. The password can be changed later using ALTER USER.

Notes

The maximum length allowed for the user name and password is 63 characters.

Examples

Create a user named, john.

CREATE USER john IDENTIFIED BY abc;

See Also

DROP USER

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2.3.39 CREATE USER|ROLE PROFILE MANAGEMENT

CLAUSES

Name

CREATE USER|ROLE

Synopsis

CREATE USER|ROLE name [[WITH] option []]

where option can be the following compatible clauses:

PROFILE profile_name
| ACCOUNT {LOCK|UNLOCK}
| PASSWORD EXPIRE [AT 'timestamp']

or option can be the following non-compatible clauses:

| LOCK TIME 'timestamp'

For information about the administrative clauses of the CREATE USER or CREATE ROLE
command that are supported by Advanced Server, please see the PostgreSQL core
documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-commands.html

Description

CREATE ROLE|USER PROFILE adds a new role with an associated profile to an

Advanced Server database cluster.

Roles created with the CREATE USER command are (by default) login roles. Roles
created with the CREATE ROLE command are (by default) not login roles. To create a
login account with the CREATE ROLE command, you must include the LOGIN keyword.

Only a database superuser can use the CREATE USER|ROLE clauses that enforce profile
management; these clauses enforce the following behaviors:

Include the PROFILE clause and a profile_name to associate a pre-defined

profile with a role, or to change which pre-defined profile is associated with a
user.

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Include the ACCOUNT clause and the LOCK or UNLOCK keyword to specify that the
user account should be placed in a locked or unlocked state.

Include the LOCK TIME 'timestamp' clause and a date/time value to lock the
role at the specified time, and unlock the role at the time indicated by the
PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME parameter of the profile assigned to this role. If LOCK
TIME is used with the ACCOUNT LOCK clause, the role can only be unlocked by a
database superuser with the ACCOUNT UNLOCK clause.

Include the PASSWORD EXPIRE clause with the optional AT 'timestamp'

keywords to specify a date/time when the password associated with the role will
expire. If you omit the AT 'timestamp' keywords, the password will expire
immediately.

Each login role may only have one profile. To discover the profile that is currently
associated with a login role, query the profile column of the DBA_USERS view.

Parameters

name

The name of the role.

profile_name

The name of the profile associated with the role.

timestamp

The date and time at which the clause will be enforced. When specifying a value
for timestamp, enclose the value in single-quotes.

Examples

The following example uses CREATE USER to create a login role named john who is
associated with the acctg_profile profile:

CREATE USER john PROFILE acctg_profile IDENTIFIED BY 1safepwd;

john can log in to the server, using the password 1safepwd.

The following example uses CREATE ROLE to create a login role named john who is
associated with the acctg_profile profile:

CREATE ROLE john PROFILE acctg_profile LOGIN PASSWORD 1safepwd;

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john can log in to the server, using the password 1safepwd.

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2.3.40 CREATE VIEW

Name

CREATE VIEW -- define a new view

Synopsis

CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] VIEW name [ ( column_name [, ...] ) ]

AS query

Description

CREATE VIEW defines a view of a query. The view is not physically materialized.
Instead, the query is run every time the view is referenced in a query.

CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW is similar, but if a view of the same name already exists, it
is replaced.

If a schema name is given (for example, CREATE VIEW myschema.myview ...) then the
view is created in the specified schema. Otherwise it is created in the current schema. The
view name must be distinct from the name of any other view, table, sequence, or index in
the same schema.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a view to be created.

column_name

An optional list of names to be used for columns of the view. If not given, the
column names are deduced from the query.

query

A query (that is, a SELECT statement) which will provide the columns and rows
of the view.

Refer to SELECT for more information about valid queries.

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Notes

Currently, views are read only - the system will not allow an insert, update, or delete on a
view. You can get the effect of an updatable view by creating rules that rewrite inserts,
etc. on the view into appropriate actions on other tables.

Access to tables referenced in the view is determined by permissions of the view owner.
However, functions called in the view are treated the same as if they had been called
directly from the query using the view. Therefore the user of a view must have
permissions to call all functions used by the view.

Examples

Create a view consisting of all employees in department 30:

CREATE VIEW dept_30 AS SELECT * FROM emp WHERE deptno = 30;

See Also

DROP VIEW

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2.3.41 DELETE

Name

DELETE -- delete rows of a table

Synopsis

DELETE [ optimizer_hint ] FROM table[@dblink ]

[ WHERE condition ]
[ RETURNING return_expression [, ...]
{ INTO { record | variable [, ...] }
| BULK COLLECT INTO collection [, ...] } ]

Description

DELETE deletes rows that satisfy the WHERE clause from the specified table. If the WHERE
clause is absent, the effect is to delete all rows in the table. The result is a valid, but
empty table.

Note: The TRUNCATE command provides a faster mechanism to remove all rows from a
table.

The RETURNING INTO { record | variable [, ...] } clause may only be

specified if the DELETE command is used within an SPL program. In addition the result
set of the DELETE command must not include more than one row, otherwise an exception
is thrown. If the result set is empty, then the contents of the target record or variables are
set to null.

The RETURNING BULK COLLECT INTO collection [, ...] clause may only be
specified if the DELETE command is used within an SPL program. If more than one
collection is specified as the target of the BULK COLLECT INTO clause, then each
collection must consist of a single, scalar field i.e., collection must not be a
record. The result set of the DELETE command may contain none, one, or more rows.
return_expression evaluated for each row of the result set, becomes an element in
collection starting with the first element. Any existing rows in collection are
deleted. If the result set is empty, then collection will be empty.

You must have the DELETE privilege on the table to delete from it, as well as the SELECT
privilege for any table whose values are read in the condition.

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Parameters

optimizer_hint

Comment-embedded hints to the optimizer for selection of an execution plan.

table

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table.

dblink

Database link name identifying a remote database. See the CREATE DATABASE
LINK command for information on database links.

condition

A value expression that returns a value of type BOOLEAN that determines the rows
which are to be deleted.

return_expression

An expression that may include one or more columns from table. If a column
name from table is specified in return_expression, the value substituted for
the column when return_expression is evaluated is the value from the
deleted row.

record

A record whose field the evaluated return_expression is to be assigned. The

first return_expression is assigned to the first field in record, the second
return_expression is assigned to the second field in record, etc. The
number of fields in record must exactly match the number of expressions and
the fields must be type-compatible with their assigned expressions.

variable

A variable to which the evaluated return_expression is to be assigned. If

more than one return_expression and variable are specified, the first
return_expression is assigned to the first variable, the second
return_expression is assigned to the second variable, etc. The number of
variables specified following the INTO keyword must exactly match the number
of expressions following the RETURNING keyword and the variables must be
type-compatible with their assigned expressions.

collection

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A collection in which an element is created from the evaluated
return_expression. There can be either a single collection which may be a
collection of a single field or a collection of a record type, or there may be more
than one collection in which case each collection must consist of a single field.
The number of return expressions must match in number and order the number of
fields in all specified collections. Each corresponding return_expression and
collection field must be type-compatible.

Examples

Delete all rows for employee 7900 from the jobhist table:

DELETE FROM jobhist WHERE empno = 7900;

Clear the table jobhist:

DELETE FROM jobhist;

See Also

TRUNCATE

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2.3.42 DROP DATABASE LINK

Name

DROP DATABASE LINK -- remove a database link

Synopsis

DROP [ PUBLIC ] DATABASE LINK name

Description

DROP DATABASE LINK drops existing database links. To execute this command you
must be a superuser or the owner of the database link.

Parameters

name

The name of a database link to be removed.

PUBLIC

Indicates that name is a public database link.

Examples

Remove the public database link named, oralink:

DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK oralink;

Remove the private database link named, edblink:

DROP DATABASE LINK edblink;

See Also

CREATE DATABASE LINK

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2.3.43 DROP DIRECTORY

Name

DROP DIRECTORY -- remove a directory alias for a file system directory path

Synopsis

DROP DIRECTORY name

Description

DROP DIRECTORY drops an existing alias for a file system directory path that was
created with the CREATE DIRECTORY command. To execute this command you must be
a superuser.

When a directory alias is deleted, the corresponding physical file system directory is not
affected. The file system directory must be deleted using the appropriate operating
system commands.

Parameters

name

The name of a directory alias to be removed.

Examples

Remove the directory alias named empdir:

DROP DIRECTORY empdir;

See Also

CREATE DIRECTORY

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2.3.44 DROP FUNCTION

Name

DROP FUNCTION -- remove a function

Synopsis

DROP FUNCTION name

[ ([ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype ] [, ...]) ]

Description

DROP FUNCTION removes the definition of an existing function. To execute this

command you must be a superuser or the owner of the function. All input (IN, IN OUT)
argument data types to the function must be specified if there is at least one input
argument. (This requirement is not compatible with Oracle databases. In Oracle, only the
function name is specified. Advanced Server allows overloading of function names, so
the function signature given by the input argument data types is required in the Advanced
Server DROP FUNCTION command.)

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing function.

argmode

The mode of an argument: IN, IN OUT, or OUT. If omitted, the default is IN. Note
that DROP FUNCTION does not actually pay any attention to OUT arguments, since
only the input arguments are needed to determine the functions identity. So it is
sufficient to list only the IN and IN OUT arguments. (Specification of argmode is
not compatible with Oracle databases and applies only to Advanced Server.)

argname

The name of an argument. Note that DROP FUNCTION does not actually pay any
attention to argument names, since only the argument data types are needed to
determine the functions identity. (Specification of argname is not compatible
with Oracle databases and applies only to Advanced Server.)

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argtype

The data type of an argument of the function. (Specification of argtype is not

compatible with Oracle databases and applies only to Advanced Server.)

Examples

The following command removes the emp_comp function.

DROP FUNCTION emp_comp(NUMBER, NUMBER);

See Also

CREATE FUNCTION

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2.3.45 DROP INDEX

Name

DROP INDEX -- remove an index

Synopsis

DROP INDEX name

Description

DROP INDEX drops an existing index from the database system. To execute this
command you must be a superuser or the owner of the index. If any objects depend on the
index, an error will be given and the index will not be dropped.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an index to remove.

Examples

This command will remove the index, name_idx:

DROP INDEX name_idx;

See Also

ALTER INDEX, CREATE INDEX

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2.3.46 DROP PACKAGE

Name

DROP PACKAGE -- remove a package

Synopsis

DROP PACKAGE [ BODY ] name

Description

DROP PACKAGE drops an existing package. To execute this command you must be a
superuser or the owner of the package. If BODY is specified, only the package body is
removed the package specification is not dropped. If BODY is omitted, both the package
specification and body are removed.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a package to remove.

Examples

This command will remove the emp_admin package:

DROP PACKAGE emp_admin;

See Also

CREATE PACKAGE, CREATE PACKAGE BODY

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2.3.47 DROP PROCEDURE

Name

DROP PROCEDURE -- remove a procedure

Synopsis

DROP PROCEDURE name

Description

DROP PROCEDURE removes the definition of an existing procedure. To execute this

command you must be a superuser or the owner of the procedure.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing procedure.

Examples

The following command removes the select_emp procedure.

DROP PROCEDURE select_emp;

See Also

CREATE PROCEDURE

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2.3.48 DROP PROFILE

Name

DROP PROFILE drop a user-defined profile

Synopsis

DROP PROFILE [IF EXISTS] profile_name [CASCADE | RESTRICT];

Description

Include the IF EXISTS clause to instruct the server to not throw an error if the specified
profile does not exist. The server will issue a notice if the profile does not exist.

Include the optional CASCADE clause to reassign any users that are currently associated
with the profile to the default profile, and then drop the profile. Include the optional
RESTRICT clause to instruct the server to not drop any profile that is associated with a
role. This is the default behavior.

Parameters

profile_name

The name of the profile being dropped.

Example

The following example drops a profile named acctg_profile:

DROP PROFILE acctg_profile CASCADE;

The command first re-associates any roles associated with the acctg_profile profile
with the default profile, and then drops the acctg_profile profile.

The following example drops a profile named acctg_profile:

DROP PROFILE acctg_profile RESTRICT;

The RESTRICT clause in the command instructs the server to not drop acctg_profile
if there are any roles associated with the profile.

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2.3.49 DROP QUEUE

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) with the DROP QUEUE
SQL command. This syntax can be used in association with DBMS_AQADM.

Name

DROP QUEUE -- drop an existing queue.

Synopsis

Use DROP QUEUE to drop an existing queue:

DROP QUEUE [IF EXISTS] name

Description

DROP QUEUE allows a superuser or a user with the aq_administrator_role

privilege to drop an existing queue.

Parameters

name

The name (possibly schema-qualified) of the queue that is being dropped.

IF EXISTS

Include the IF EXISTS clause to instruct the server to not return an error if the
queue does not exist. The server will issue a notice.

Examples

The following example drops a queue named work_order:

DROP QUEUE work_order;

See Also

CREATE QUEUE, ALTER QUEUE

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2.3.50 DROP QUEUE TABLE

Advanced Server includes extra syntax (not offered by Oracle) with the DROP QUEUE
TABLE SQL command. This syntax can be used in association with DBMS_AQADM.

Name

DROP QUEUE TABLE-- drop a queue table.

Synopsis

Use DROP QUEUE TABLE to delete a queue table:

DROP QUEUE TABLE [ IF EXISTS ] name [, ...]

[CASCADE | RESTRICT]

Description

DROP QUEUE TABLE allows a superuser or a user with the aq_administrator_role

privilege to delete a queue table.

Parameters

name

The name (possibly schema-qualified) of the queue table that will be deleted.

IF EXISTS

Include the IF EXISTS clause to instruct the server to not return an error if the
queue table does not exist. The server will issue a notice.

CASCADE

Include the CASCADE keyword to automatically delete any objects that depend
on the queue table.

RESTRICT

Include the RESTRICT keyword to instruct the server to refuse to delete the
queue table if any objects depend on it. This is the default.

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Example

The following example deletes a queue table named work_order_table and any
objects that depend on it:

DROP QUEUE TABLE work_order_table CASCADE;

See Also

CREATE QUEUE TABLE, ALTER QUEUE TABLE

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2.3.51 DROP SYNONYM

Name

DROP SYNONYM -- remove a synonym

Synopsis

DROP [PUBLIC] SYNONYM [schema.]syn_name

Description

DROP SYNONYM deletes existing synonyms. To execute this command you must be a
superuser or the owner of the synonym, and have USAGE privileges on the schema in
which the synonym resides.

Parameters:

syn_name

syn_name is the name of the synonym. A synonym name must be unique within
a schema.

schema

schema specifies the name of the schema that the synonym resides in.

Like any other object that can be schema-qualified, you may have two synonyms with the
same name in your search path. To disambiguate the name of the synonym that you are
dropping, include a schema name. Unless a synonym is schema qualified in the DROP
SYNONYM command, Advanced Server deletes the first instance of the synonym it finds in
your search path.

You can optionally include the PUBLIC clause to drop a synonym that resides in the
public schema. The DROP PUBLIC SYNONYM command, compatible with Oracle
databases, drops a synonym that resides in the public schema:

DROP PUBLIC SYNONYM syn_name;

The following example drops the synonym, personnel:

DROP SYNONYM personnel;

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2.3.52 DROP ROLE

Name

DROP ROLE -- remove a database role

Synopsis

DROP ROLE name [ CASCADE ]

Description

DROP ROLE removes the specified role. To drop a superuser role, you must be a
superuser yourself; to drop non-superuser roles, you must have CREATEROLE privilege.

A role cannot be removed if it is still referenced in any database of the cluster; an error
will be raised if so. Before dropping the role, you must drop all the objects it owns (or
reassign their ownership) and revoke any privileges the role has been granted.

It is not necessary to remove role memberships involving the role; DROP ROLE
automatically revokes any memberships of the target role in other roles, and of other
roles in the target role. The other roles are not dropped nor otherwise affected.

Alternatively, if the only objects owned by the role belong within a schema that is owned
by the role and has the same name as the role, the CASCADE option can be specified. In
this case the issuer of the DROP ROLE name CASCADE command must be a superuser
and the named role, the schema, and all objects within the schema will be deleted.

Parameters

name

The name of the role to remove.

CASCADE

If specified, also drops the schema owned by, and with the same name as the role
(and all objects owned by the role belonging to the schema) as long as no other
dependencies on the role or the schema exist.

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Examples

To drop a role:

DROP ROLE admins;

See Also

CREATE ROLE, SET ROLE, GRANT, REVOKE

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2.3.53 DROP SEQUENCE

Name

DROP SEQUENCE -- remove a sequence

Synopsis

DROP SEQUENCE name [, ...]

Description

DROP SEQUENCE removes sequence number generators. To execute this command you
must be a superuser or the owner of the sequence.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of a sequence.

Examples

To remove the sequence, serial:

DROP SEQUENCE serial;

See Also

ALTER SEQUENCE, CREATE SEQUENCE

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2.3.54 DROP TABLE

Name

DROP TABLE -- remove a table

Synopsis

DROP TABLE name [CASCADE | RESTRICT | CASCADE CONSTRAINTS]

Description

DROP TABLE removes tables from the database. Only its owner may destroy a table. To
empty a table of rows, without destroying the table, use DELETE. DROP TABLE always
removes any indexes, rules, triggers, and constraints that exist for the target table.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to drop.

Include the RESTRICT keyword to specify that the server should refuse to drop the table
if any objects depend on it. This is the default behavior; the DROP TABLE command will
report an error if any objects depend on the table.

Include the CASCADE clause to drop any objects that depend on the table.

Include the CASCADE CONSTRAINTS clause to specify that Advanced Server should drop
any dependent constraints (excluding other object types) on the specified table.

Examples

The following command drops a table named emp that has no dependencies:

DROP TABLE emp;

The outcome of a DROP TABLE command will vary depending on whether the table has
any dependencies - you can control the outcome by specifying a drop behavior. For
example, if you create two tables, orders and items, where the items table is
dependent on the orders table:

CREATE TABLE orders

(order_id int PRIMARY KEY, order_date date, );

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CREATE TABLE items
(order_id REFERENCES orders, quantity int, );

Advanced Server will perform one of the following actions when dropping the orders
table, depending on the drop behavior that you specify:

If you specify DROP TABLE orders RESTRICT, Advanced Server will report an
error.

If you specify DROP TABLE orders CASCADE, Advanced Server will drop the
orders table and the items table.

If you specify DROP TABLE orders CASCADE CONSTRAINTS, Advanced

Server will drop the orders table and remove the foreign key specification from
the items table, but not drop the items table.

See Also

ALTER TABLE, CREATE TABLE

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2.3.55 DROP TABLESPACE

Name

DROP TABLESPACE -- remove a tablespace

Synopsis

DROP TABLESPACE tablespacename

Description

DROP TABLESPACE removes a tablespace from the system.

A tablespace can only be dropped by its owner or a superuser. The tablespace must be
empty of all database objects before it can be dropped. It is possible that objects in other
databases may still reside in the tablespace even if no objects in the current database are
using the tablespace.

Parameters

tablespacename

The name of a tablespace.

Examples

To remove tablespace employee_space from the system:

DROP TABLESPACE employee_space;

See Also

ALTER TABLESPACE

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2.3.56 DROP TRIGGER

Name

DROP TRIGGER -- remove a trigger

Synopsis

DROP TRIGGER name

Description

DROP TRIGGER removes a trigger from its associated table. The command must be run
by a superuser or the owner of the table on which the trigger is defined.

Parameters

name

The name of a trigger to remove.

Examples

Remove trigger emp_sal_trig:

DROP TRIGGER emp_sal_trig;

See Also

CREATE TRIGGER

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2.3.57 DROP TYPE

Name

DROP TYPE -- remove a type definition

Synopsis

DROP TYPE [ BODY ] name

Description

DROP TYPE removes the type definition. To execute this command you must be a
superuser or the owner of the type.

The optional BODY qualifier applies only to object type definitions, not to collection types
nor to composite types. If BODY is specified, only the object type body is removed the
object type specification is not dropped. If BODY is omitted, both the object type
specification and body are removed.

The type will not be deleted if there are other database objects dependent upon the named
type.

Parameters

name

The name of a type definition to remove.

Examples

Drop object type addr_obj_typ.

DROP TYPE addr_obj_typ;

Drop nested table type budget_tbl_typ.

DROP TYPE budget_tbl_typ;

See Also

CREATE TYPE, CREATE TYPE BODY

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2.3.58 DROP USER

Name

DROP USER -- remove a database user account

Synopsis

DROP USER name [ CASCADE ]

Description

DROP USER removes the specified user. To drop a superuser, you must be a superuser
yourself; to drop non-superusers, you must have CREATEROLE privilege.

A user cannot be removed if it is still referenced in any database of the cluster; an error
will be raised if so. Before dropping the user, you must drop all the objects it owns (or
reassign their ownership) and revoke any privileges the user has been granted.

However, it is not necessary to remove role memberships involving the user; DROP USER
automatically revokes any memberships of the target user in other roles, and of other
roles in the target user. The other roles are not dropped nor otherwise affected.

Alternatively, if the only objects owned by the user belong within a schema that is owned
by the user and has the same name as the user, the CASCADE option can be specified. In
this case the issuer of the DROP USER name CASCADE command must be a superuser
and the named user, the schema, and all objects within the schema will be deleted.

Parameters

name

The name of the user to remove.

CASCADE

If specified, also drops the schema owned by, and with the same name as the user
(and all objects owned by the user belonging to the schema) as long as no other
dependencies on the user or the schema exist.

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Examples

To drop a user account who owns no objects nor has been granted any privileges on other
objects:

DROP USER john;

To drop user account, john, who has not been granted any privileges on any objects, and
does not own any objects outside of a schema named, john, that is owned by user, john:

DROP USER john CASCADE;

See Also

CREATE USER, ALTER USER

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2.3.59 DROP VIEW

Name

DROP VIEW -- remove a view

Synopsis

DROP VIEW name

Description

DROP VIEW drops an existing view. To execute this command you must be a database
superuser or the owner of the view. The named view will not be deleted if other objects
are dependent upon this view (such as a view of a view).

The form of the DROP VIEW command compatible with Oracle does not support a
CASCADE clause; to drop a view and it's dependencies, use the PostgreSQL-compatible
form of the DROP VIEW command. For more information, see the PostgreSQL core
documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/sql-dropview.html

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the view to remove.

Examples

This command will remove the view called dept_30:

DROP VIEW dept_30;

See Also

CREATE VIEW

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2.3.60 EXEC

Name

EXEC

Synopsis

EXEC function_name ['('[argument_list]')']

Description

EXECUTE .

Parameters

procedure_name

procedure_name is the (optionally schema-qualified) function name.

argument_list

argument_list specifies a comma-separated list of arguments required by the

function. Note that each member of argument_list corresponds to a formal
argument expected by the function. Each formal argument may be an IN
parameter, an OUT parameter, or an INOUT parameter.

Examples

The EXEC statement may take one of several forms, depending on the arguments required
by the function:

EXEC update_balance;
EXEC update_balance();
EXEC update_balance(1,2,3);

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2.3.61 GRANT

Name

GRANT -- define access privileges

Synopsis

GRANT { { SELECT | INSERT | UPDATE | DELETE | REFERENCES }

[,...] | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }
ON tablename
TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

GRANT { { INSERT | UPDATE | REFERENCES } (column [, ...]) }

[, ...]
ON tablename
TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

GRANT { SELECT | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON sequencename
TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

GRANT { EXECUTE | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON FUNCTION progname
( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype ] [, ...] )
TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

GRANT { EXECUTE | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON PROCEDURE progname
[ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype ] [, ...] ) ]
TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

GRANT { EXECUTE | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON PACKAGE packagename
TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH GRANT OPTION ]

GRANT role [, ...]

TO { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ WITH ADMIN OPTION ]

GRANT { CONNECT | RESOURCE | DBA } [, ...]

TO { username | groupname } [, ...]

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[ WITH ADMIN OPTION ]

GRANT CREATE [ PUBLIC ] DATABASE LINK

TO { username | groupname }

GRANT DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK

TO { username | groupname }

GRANT EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY

TO { username | groupname }

Description

The GRANT command has three basic variants: one that grants privileges on a database
object (table, view, sequence, or program), one that grants membership in a role, and one
that grants system privileges. These variants are similar in many ways, but they are
different enough to be described separately.

In Advanced Server, the concept of users and groups has been unified into a single type
of entity called a role. In this context, a user is a role that has the LOGIN attribute the
role may be used to create a session and connect to an application. A group is a role that
does not have the LOGIN attribute the role may not be used to create a session or
connect to an application.

A role may be a member of one or more other roles, so the traditional concept of users
belonging to groups is still valid. However, with the generalization of users and groups,
users may belong to users, groups may belong to groups, and groups may belong
to users, forming a general multi-level hierarchy of roles. User names and group names
share the same namespace therefore it is not necessary to distinguish whether a grantee is
a user or a group in the GRANT command.

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2.3.62 GRANT on Database Objects

This variant of the GRANT command gives specific privileges on a database object to a
role. These privileges are added to those already granted, if any.

The key word PUBLIC indicates that the privileges are to be granted to all roles,
including those that may be created later. PUBLIC may be thought of as an implicitly
defined group that always includes all roles. Any particular role will have the sum of
privileges granted directly to it, privileges granted to any role it is presently a member of,
and privileges granted to PUBLIC.

If the WITH GRANT OPTION is specified, the recipient of the privilege may in turn grant
it to others. Without a grant option, the recipient cannot do that. Grant options cannot be
granted to PUBLIC.

There is no need to grant privileges to the owner of an object (usually the user that
created it), as the owner has all privileges by default. (The owner could, however, choose
to revoke some of his own privileges for safety.) The right to drop an object or to alter its
definition in any way is not described by a grantable privilege; it is inherent in the owner,
and cannot be granted or revoked. The owner implicitly has all grant options for the
object as well.

Depending on the type of object, the initial default privileges may include granting some
privileges to PUBLIC. The default is no public access for tables and EXECUTE privilege
for functions, procedures, and packages. The object owner may of course revoke these
privileges. (For maximum security, issue the REVOKE in the same transaction that creates
the object; then there is no window in which another user may use the object.)

The possible privileges are:

SELECT

Allows SELECT from any column of the specified table, view, or sequence. For
sequences, this privilege also allows the use of the currval function.

INSERT

Allows INSERT of a new row into the specified table.

UPDATE

Allows UPDATE of a column of the specified table. SELECT ... FOR UPDATE
also requires this privilege (besides the SELECT privilege).

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DELETE

Allows DELETE of a row from the specified table.

REFERENCES

To create a foreign key constraint, it is necessary to have this privilege on both the
referencing and referenced tables.

EXECUTE

Allows the use of the specified package, procedure, or function. When applied to
a package, allows the use of all of the packages public procedures, public
functions, public variables, records, cursors and other public objects and object
types. This is the only type of privilege that is applicable to functions, procedures,
and packages.

The Advanced Server syntax for granting the EXECUTE privilege is not fully
compatible with Oracle databases. Advanced Server requires qualification of the
program name by one of the keywords, FUNCTION, PROCEDURE, or PACKAGE
whereas these keywords must be omitted in Oracle. For functions, Advanced
Server requires all input (IN, IN OUT) argument data types after the function
name (including an empty parenthesis if there are no function arguments). For
procedures, all input argument data types must be specified if the procedure has
one or more input arguments. In Oracle, function and procedure signatures must
be omitted. This is due to the fact that all programs share the same namespace in
Oracle, whereas functions, procedures, and packages have their own individual
namespace in Advanced Server to allow program name overloading to a certain
extent.

ALL PRIVILEGES

Grant all of the available privileges at once.

The privileges required by other commands are listed on the reference page of the
respective command.

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2.3.63 GRANT on Roles

This variant of the GRANT command grants membership in a role to one or more other
roles. Membership in a role is significant because it conveys the privileges granted to a
role to each of its members.

If the WITH ADMIN OPTION is specified, the member may in turn grant membership in
the role to others, and revoke membership in the role as well. Without the admin option,
ordinary users cannot do that.

Database superusers can grant or revoke membership in any role to anyone. Roles having
the CREATEROLE privilege can grant or revoke membership in any role that is not a
superuser.

There are three pre-defined roles that have the following meanings:

CONNECT

Granting the CONNECT role is equivalent to giving the grantee the LOGIN
privilege. The grantor must have the CREATEROLE privilege.

RESOURCE

Granting the RESOURCE role is equivalent to granting the CREATE and USAGE
privileges on a schema that has the same name as the grantee. This schema must
exist before the grant is given. The grantor must have the privilege to grant
CREATE or USAGE privileges on this schema to the grantee.

DBA

Granting the DBA role is equivalent to making the grantee a superuser. The grantor
must be a superuser.

Notes

The REVOKE command is used to revoke access privileges.

When a non-owner of an object attempts to GRANT privileges on the object, the command
will fail outright if the user has no privileges whatsoever on the object. As long as a
privilege is available, the command will proceed, but it will grant only those privileges
for which the user has grant options. The GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES forms will issue a
warning message if no grant options are held, while the other forms will issue a warning
if grant options for any of the privileges specifically named in the command are not held.

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(In principle these statements apply to the object owner as well, but since the owner is
always treated as holding all grant options, the cases can never occur.)

It should be noted that database superusers can access all objects regardless of object
privilege settings. This is comparable to the rights of root in a Unix system. As with
root, its unwise to operate as a superuser except when absolutely necessary.

If a superuser chooses to issue a GRANT or REVOKE command, the command is performed

as though it were issued by the owner of the affected object. In particular, privileges
granted via such a command will appear to have been granted by the object owner. (For
role membership, the membership appears to have been granted by the containing role
itself.)

GRANT and REVOKE can also be done by a role that is not the owner of the affected
object, but is a member of the role that owns the object, or is a member of a role that
holds privileges WITH GRANT OPTION on the object. In this case the privileges will be
recorded as having been granted by the role that actually owns the object or holds the
privileges WITH GRANT OPTION.

For example, if table t1 is owned by role g1, of which role u1 is a member, then
u1 can grant privileges on t1 to u2, but those privileges will appear to have been
granted directly by g1. Any other member of role g1 could revoke them later.

If the role executing GRANT holds the required privileges indirectly via more than one
role membership path, it is unspecified which containing role will be recorded as having
done the grant. In such cases it is best practice to use SET ROLE to become the specific
role you want to do the GRANT as.

Currently, Advanced Server does not support granting or revoking privileges for
individual columns of a table. One possible workaround is to create a view having just
the desired columns and then grant privileges to that view.

Examples

Grant insert privilege to all users on table emp:

GRANT INSERT ON emp TO PUBLIC;

Grant all available privileges to user mary on view salesemp:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON salesemp TO mary;

Note that while the above will indeed grant all privileges if executed by a superuser or the
owner of emp, when executed by someone else it will only grant those permissions for
which the someone else has grant options.

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Grant membership in role admins to user joe:

GRANT admins TO joe;

Grant CONNECT privilege to user joe:

GRANT CONNECT TO joe;

See Also

REVOKE, SET ROLE

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2.3.64 GRANT on System Privileges

This variant of the GRANT command gives a role the ability to perform certain system
operations within a database. System privileges relate to the ability to create or delete
certain database objects that are not necessarily within the confines of one schema. Only
database superusers can grant system privileges.

CREATE [PUBLIC] DATABASE LINK

The CREATE [PUBLIC] DATABASE LINK privilege allows the specified role to create a
database link. Include the PUBLIC keyword to allow the role to create public database
links; omit the PUBLIC keyword to allow the specified role to create private database
links.

DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK

The DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK privilege allows a role to drop a public database
link. System privileges are not required to drop a private database link. A private
database link may be dropped by the link owner or a database superuser.

EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY

The EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege allows a role to execute a SQL command
without invoking any policy function that may be associated with the target database
object. That is, the role is exempt from all security policies in the database.

The EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege is not inheritable by membership to a role that
has the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege. For example, the following sequence of
GRANT commands does not result in user joe obtaining the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY
privilege even though joe is granted membership to the enterprisedb role, which has
been granted the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege:

GRANT EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY TO enterprisedb;

GRANT enterprisedb TO joe;

The rolpolicyexempt column of the system catalog table pg_authid is set to true
if a role has the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege.

Examples

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Grant CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK privilege to user joe:

GRANT CREATE PUBLIC DATABASE LINK TO joe;

Grant DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK privilege to user joe:

GRANT DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK TO joe;

Grant the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege to user joe:

GRANT EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY TO joe;

Using the ALTER ROLE Command to Assign System Privileges

The Advanced Server ALTER ROLE command also supports syntax that you can use to
assign:

the privilege required to create a public or private database link.

the privilege required to drop a public database link.

the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege.

The ALTER ROLE syntax is functionally equivalent to the respective commands

compatible with Oracle databases.

See Also

REVOKE, ALTER ROLE

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2.3.65 INSERT

Name

INSERT -- create new rows in a table

Synopsis

INSERT INTO table[@dblink ] [ ( column [, ...] ) ]

{ VALUES ( { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...] )
[ RETURNING return_expression [, ...]
{ INTO { record | variable [, ...] }
| BULK COLLECT INTO collection [, ...] } ]
| query }

Description

INSERT allows you to insert new rows into a table. You can insert a single row at a time
or several rows as a result of a query.

The columns in the target list may be listed in any order. Each column not present in the
target list will be inserted using a default value, either its declared default value or null.

If the expression for each column is not of the correct data type, automatic type
conversion will be attempted.

The RETURNING INTO { record | variable [, ...] } clause may only be

specified when the INSERT command is used within an SPL program and only when the
VALUES clause is used.

The RETURNING BULK COLLECT INTO collection [, ...] clause may only be
specified if the INSERT command is used within an SPL program. If more than one
collection is specified as the target of the BULK COLLECT INTO clause, then each
collection must consist of a single, scalar field i.e., collection must not be a
record. return_expression evaluated for each inserted row, becomes an element in
collection starting with the first element. Any existing rows in collection are
deleted. If the result set is empty, then collection will be empty.

You must have INSERT privilege to a table in order to insert into it. If you use the query
clause to insert rows from a query, you also need to have SELECT privilege on any table
used in the query.

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Parameters

table

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table.

dblink

Database link name identifying a remote database. See the CREATE DATABASE
LINK command for information on database links.

column

The name of a column in table.

expression

An expression or value to assign to column.

DEFAULT

This column will be filled with its default value.

query

A query (SELECT statement) that supplies the rows to be inserted. Refer to the
SELECT command for a description of the syntax.

return_expression

An expression that may include one or more columns from table. If a column
name from table is specified in return_expression, the value substituted for
the column when return_expression is evaluated is determined as follows:

If the column specified in return_expression is assigned a value in

the INSERT command, then the assigned value is used in the evaluation of
return_expression.

If the column specified in return_expression is not assigned a value

in the INSERT command and there is no default value for the column in
the tables column definition, then null is used in the evaluation of
return_expression.

If the column specified in return_expression is not assigned a value

in the INSERT command and there is a default value for the column in the

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tables column definition, then the default value is used in the evaluation
of return_expression.

record

A record whose field the evaluated return_expression is to be assigned. The

first return_expression is assigned to the first field in record, the second
return_expression is assigned to the second field in record, etc. The
number of fields in record must exactly match the number of expressions and
the fields must be type-compatible with their assigned expressions.

variable

A variable to which the evaluated return_expression is to be assigned. If

more than one return_expression and variable are specified, the first
return_expression is assigned to the first variable, the second
return_expression is assigned to the second variable, etc. The number of
variables specified following the INTO keyword must exactly match the number
of expressions following the RETURNING keyword and the variables must be
type-compatible with their assigned expressions.

collection

A collection in which an element is created from the evaluated

return_expression. There can be either a single collection which may be a
collection of a single field or a collection of a record type, or there may be more
than one collection in which case each collection must consist of a single field.
The number of return expressions must match in number and order the number of
fields in all specified collections. Each corresponding return_expression and
collection field must be type-compatible.

Examples

Insert a single row into table emp:

INSERT INTO emp VALUES (8021,'JOHN','SALESMAN',7698,'22-FEB-07',1250,500,30);

In this second example, the column, comm, is omitted and therefore it will have the
default value of null:

INSERT INTO emp (empno, ename, job, mgr, hiredate, sal, deptno)
VALUES (8022,'PETERS','CLERK',7698,'03-DEC-06',950,30);

The third example uses the DEFAULT clause for the hiredate and comm columns rather
than specifying a value:

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INSERT INTO emp VALUES (8023,'FORD','ANALYST',7566,NULL,3000,NULL,20);

This example creates a table for the department names and then inserts into the table by
selecting from the dname column of the dept table:

CREATE TABLE deptnames (

deptname VARCHAR2(14)
);
INSERT INTO deptnames SELECT dname FROM dept;

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2.3.66 LOCK

Name

LOCK -- lock a table

Synopsis

LOCK TABLE name [, ...] IN lockmode MODE [ NOWAIT ]

where lockmode is one of:

ROW SHARE | ROW EXCLUSIVE | SHARE | SHARE ROW EXCLUSIVE |

EXCLUSIVE

Description

LOCK TABLE obtains a table-level lock, waiting if necessary for any conflicting locks to
be released. If NOWAIT is specified, LOCK TABLE does not wait to acquire the desired
lock: if it cannot be acquired immediately, the command is aborted and an error is
emitted. Once obtained, the lock is held for the remainder of the current transaction.
(There is no UNLOCK TABLE command; locks are always released at transaction end.)

When acquiring locks automatically for commands that reference tables, Advanced
Server always uses the least restrictive lock mode possible. LOCK TABLE provides for
cases when you might need more restrictive locking. For example, suppose an application
runs a transaction at the isolation level read committed and needs to ensure that data in a
table remains stable for the duration of the transaction. To achieve this you could obtain
SHARE lock mode over the table before querying. This will prevent concurrent data
changes and ensure subsequent reads of the table see a stable view of committed data,
because SHARE lock mode conflicts with the ROW EXCLUSIVE lock acquired by writers,
and your LOCK TABLE name IN SHARE MODE statement will wait until any concurrent
holders of ROW EXCLUSIVE mode locks commit or roll back. Thus, once you obtain the
lock, there are no uncommitted writes outstanding; furthermore none can begin until you
release the lock.

To achieve a similar effect when running a transaction at the isolation level serializable,
you have to execute the LOCK TABLE statement before executing any data modification
statement. A serializable transactions view of data will be frozen when its first data
modification statement begins. A later LOCK TABLE will still prevent concurrent writes -
but it wont ensure that what the transaction reads corresponds to the latest committed
values.

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If a transaction of this sort is going to change the data in the table, then it should use
SHARE ROW EXCLUSIVE lock mode instead of SHARE mode.

This ensures that only one transaction of this type runs at a time. Without this, a deadlock
is possible: two transactions might both acquire SHARE mode, and then be unable to also
acquire ROW EXCLUSIVE mode to actually perform their updates. (Note that a
transactions own locks never conflict, so a transaction can acquire ROW EXCLUSIVE
mode when it holds SHARE mode - but not if anyone else holds SHARE mode.) To avoid
deadlocks, make sure all transactions acquire locks on the same objects in the same order,
and if multiple lock modes are involved for a single object, then transactions should
always acquire the most restrictive mode first.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table to lock.

The command LOCK TABLE a, b; is equivalent to LOCK TABLE a; LOCK

TABLE b. The tables are locked one-by-one in the order specified in the LOCK
TABLE command.

lockmode

The lock mode specifies which locks this lock conflicts with.

If no lock mode is specified, then the server uses the most restrictive mode,
ACCESS EXCLUSIVE. (ACCESS EXCLUSIVE is not compatible with Oracle
databases. In Advanced Server, this configuration mode ensures that no other
transaction can access the locked table in any manner.)

NOWAIT

Specifies that LOCK TABLE should not wait for any conflicting locks to be
released: if the specified lock cannot be immediately acquired without waiting,
the transaction is aborted.

Notes

All forms of LOCK require UPDATE and/or DELETE privileges.

LOCK TABLE is useful only inside a transaction block since the lock is dropped as soon
as the transaction ends. A LOCK TABLE command appearing outside any transaction
block forms a self-contained transaction, so the lock will be dropped as soon as it is
obtained.

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LOCK TABLE only deals with table-level locks, and so the mode names involving ROW are
all misnomers. These mode names should generally be read as indicating the intention of
the user to acquire row-level locks within the locked table. Also, ROW EXCLUSIVE mode
is a sharable table lock. Keep in mind that all the lock modes have identical semantics so
far as LOCK TABLE is concerned, differing only in the rules about which modes conflict
with which.

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2.3.67 REVOKE

Name

REVOKE -- remove access privileges

Synopsis

REVOKE { { SELECT | INSERT | UPDATE | DELETE | REFERENCES }

[,...] | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }
ON tablename
FROM { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

REVOKE { SELECT | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON sequencename
FROM { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

REVOKE { EXECUTE | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON FUNCTION progname
( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype ] [, ...] )
FROM { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

REVOKE { EXECUTE | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON PROCEDURE progname
[ ( [ [ argmode ] [ argname ] argtype ] [, ...] ) ]
FROM { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

REVOKE { EXECUTE | ALL [ PRIVILEGES ] }

ON PACKAGE packagename
FROM { username | groupname | PUBLIC } [, ...]
[ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

REVOKE role [, ...] FROM { username | groupname | PUBLIC }

[, ...]
[ CASCADE | RESTRICT ]

REVOKE { CONNECT | RESOURCE | DBA } [, ...]

FROM { username | groupname } [, ...]

REVOKE CREATE [ PUBLIC ] DATABASE LINK

FROM { username | groupname }

REVOKE DROP PUBLIC DATABASE LINK

FROM { username | groupname }

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REVOKE EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY

FROM { username | groupname }

Description

The REVOKE command revokes previously granted privileges from one or more roles.
The key word PUBLIC refers to the implicitly defined group of all roles.

See the description of the GRANT command for the meaning of the privilege types.

Note that any particular role will have the sum of privileges granted directly to it,
privileges granted to any role it is presently a member of, and privileges granted to
PUBLIC. Thus, for example, revoking SELECT privilege from PUBLIC does not
necessarily mean that all roles have lost SELECT privilege on the object: those who have
it granted directly or via another role will still have it.

If the privilege had been granted with the grant option, the grant option for the privilege
is revoked as well as the privilege, itself.

If a user holds a privilege with grant option and has granted it to other users then the
privileges held by those other users are called dependent privileges. If the privilege or the
grant option held by the first user is being revoked and dependent privileges exist, those
dependent privileges are also revoked if CASCADE is specified, else the revoke action will
fail. This recursive revocation only affects privileges that were granted through a chain of
users that is traceable to the user that is the subject of this REVOKE command. Thus, the
affected users may effectively keep the privilege if it was also granted through other
users.

Note: CASCADE is not an option compatible with Oracle databases. By default Oracle
always cascades dependent privileges, but Advanced Server requires the CASCADE
keyword to be explicitly given, otherwise the REVOKE command will fail.

When revoking membership in a role, GRANT OPTION is instead called ADMIN OPTION,
but the behavior is similar.

Notes

A user can only revoke privileges that were granted directly by that user. If, for example,
user A has granted a privilege with grant option to user B, and user B has in turned
granted it to user C, then user A cannot revoke the privilege directly from C. Instead, user
A could revoke the grant option from user B and use the CASCADE option so that the
privilege is in turn revoked from user C. For another example, if both A and B have
granted the same privilege to C, A can revoke his own grant but not Bs grant, so C will
still effectively have the privilege.

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When a non-owner of an object attempts to REVOKE privileges on the object, the
command will fail outright if the user has no privileges whatsoever on the object. As long
as some privilege is available, the command will proceed, but it will revoke only those
privileges for which the user has grant options. The REVOKE ALL PRIVILEGES forms
will issue a warning message if no grant options are held, while the other forms will issue
a warning if grant options for any of the privileges specifically named in the command
are not held. (In principle these statements apply to the object owner as well, but since the
owner is always treated as holding all grant options, the cases can never occur.)

If a superuser chooses to issue a GRANT or REVOKE command, the command is performed

as though it were issued by the owner of the affected object. Since all privileges
ultimately come from the object owner (possibly indirectly via chains of grant options), it
is possible for a superuser to revoke all privileges, but this may require use of CASCADE
as stated above.

REVOKE can also be done by a role that is not the owner of the affected object, but is a
member of the role that owns the object, or is a member of a role that holds privileges
WITH GRANT OPTION on the object. In this case the command is performed as though it
were issued by the containing role that actually owns the object or holds the privileges
WITH GRANT OPTION. For example, if table t1 is owned by role g1, of which role u1 is
a member, then u1 can revoke privileges on t1 that are recorded as being granted by g1.
This would include grants made by u1 as well as by other members of role g1.

If the role executing REVOKE holds privileges indirectly via more than one role
membership path, it is unspecified which containing role will be used to perform the
command. In such cases it is best practice to use SET ROLE to become the specific role
you want to do the REVOKE as. Failure to do so may lead to revoking privileges other
than the ones you intended, or not revoking anything at all.

Please Note: The Advanced Server ALTER ROLE command also supports syntax that
revokes the system privileges required to create a public or private database link, or
exemptions from fine-grained access control policies (DBMS_RLS). The ALTER ROLE
syntax is functionally equivalent to the respective REVOKE command, compatible with
Oracle databases.

Examples

Revoke insert privilege for the public on table emp:

REVOKE INSERT ON emp FROM PUBLIC;

Revoke all privileges from user mary on view salesemp:

REVOKE ALL PRIVILEGES ON salesemp FROM mary;

Note that this actually means revoke all privileges that I granted.

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Revoke membership in role admins from user joe:

REVOKE admins FROM joe;

Revoke CONNECT privilege from user joe:

REVOKE CONNECT FROM joe;

Revoke CREATE DATABASE LINK privilege from user joe:

REVOKE CREATE DATABASE LINK FROM joe;

Revoke the EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY privilege from user joe:

REVOKE EXEMPT ACCESS POLICY FROM joe;

See Also

GRANT, SET ROLE

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2.3.68 ROLLBACK

Name

ROLLBACK -- abort the current transaction

Synopsis

ROLLBACK [ WORK ]

Description

ROLLBACK rolls back the current transaction and causes all the updates made by the
transaction to be discarded.

Parameters

WORK

Optional key word - has no effect.

Notes

Use COMMIT to successfully terminate a transaction.

Issuing ROLLBACK when not inside a transaction does no harm.

Examples

To abort all changes:

ROLLBACK;

See Also

COMMIT, ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT, SAVEPOINT

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2.3.69 ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT

Name

ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT -- roll back to a savepoint

Synopsis

ROLLBACK [ WORK ] TO [ SAVEPOINT ] savepoint_name

Description

Roll back all commands that were executed after the savepoint was established. The
savepoint remains valid and can be rolled back to again later, if needed.

ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT implicitly destroys all savepoints that were established after
the named savepoint.

Parameters

savepoint_name

The savepoint to which to roll back.

Notes

Specifying a savepoint name that has not been established is an error.

ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT is not supported within SPL programs.

Examples

To undo the effects of the commands executed savepoint depts was established:

\set AUTOCOMMIT off

INSERT INTO dept VALUES (50, 'HR', 'NEW YORK');
SAVEPOINT depts;
INSERT INTO emp (empno, ename, deptno) VALUES (9001, 'JONES', 50);
INSERT INTO emp (empno, ename, deptno) VALUES (9002, 'ALICE', 50);
ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT depts;

See Also

COMMIT, ROLLBACK, SAVEPOINT

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2.3.70 SAVEPOINT

Name

SAVEPOINT -- define a new savepoint within the current transaction

Synopsis

SAVEPOINT savepoint_name

Description

SAVEPOINT establishes a new savepoint within the current transaction.

A savepoint is a special mark inside a transaction that allows all commands that are
executed after it was established to be rolled back, restoring the transaction state to what
it was at the time of the savepoint.

Parameters

savepoint_name

The name to be given to the savepoint.

Notes

Use ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT to roll back to a savepoint.

Savepoints can only be established when inside a transaction block. There can be
multiple savepoints defined within a transaction.

When another savepoint is established with the same name as a previous savepoint, the
old savepoint is kept, though only the more recent one will be used when rolling back.

SAVEPOINT is not supported within SPL programs.

Examples

To establish a savepoint and later undo the effects of all commands executed after it was
established:

\set AUTOCOMMIT off

INSERT INTO dept VALUES (50, 'HR', 'NEW YORK');
SAVEPOINT depts;
INSERT INTO emp (empno, ename, deptno) VALUES (9001, 'JONES', 50);

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INSERT INTO emp (empno, ename, deptno) VALUES (9002, 'ALICE', 50);
SAVEPOINT emps;
INSERT INTO jobhist VALUES (9001,'17-SEP-07',NULL,'CLERK',800,NULL,50,'New
Hire');
INSERT INTO jobhist VALUES (9002,'20-SEP-07',NULL,'CLERK',700,NULL,50,'New
Hire');
ROLLBACK TO depts;
COMMIT;

The above transaction will commit a row into the dept table, but the inserts into the emp
and jobhist tables are rolled back.

See Also

COMMIT, ROLLBACK, ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT

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2.3.71 SELECT

Name

SELECT -- retrieve rows from a table or view

Synopsis

SELECT [ optimizer_hint ] [ ALL | DISTINCT ]

* | expression [ AS output_name ] [, ...]
FROM from_item [, ...]
[ WHERE condition ]
[ [ START WITH start_expression ]
CONNECT BY { PRIOR parent_expr = child_expr |
child_expr = PRIOR parent_expr }
[ ORDER SIBLINGS BY expression [ ASC | DESC ] [, ...] ] ]
[ GROUP BY { expression | ROLLUP ( expr_list ) |
CUBE ( expr_list ) | GROUPING SETS ( expr_list ) } [, ...]
[ LEVEL ] ]
[ HAVING condition [, ...] ]
[ { UNION [ ALL ] | INTERSECT | MINUS } select ]
[ ORDER BY expression [ ASC | DESC ] [, ...] ]
[ FOR UPDATE [WAIT n|NOWAIT|SKIP LOCKED]]

where from_item can be one of:

table_name[@dblink ] [ alias ]
( select ) alias
from_item [ NATURAL ] join_type from_item
[ ON join_condition | USING ( join_column [, ...] ) ]

Description

SELECT retrieves rows from one or more tables. The general processing of SELECT is as
follows:

1. All elements in the FROM list are computed. (Each element in the FROM list is a
real or virtual table.) If more than one element is specified in the FROM list, they
are cross-joined together. (See FROM clause, below.)
2. If the WHERE clause is specified, all rows that do not satisfy the condition are
eliminated from the output. (See WHERE clause, below.)
3. If the GROUP BY clause is specified, the output is divided into groups of rows that
match on one or more values. If the HAVING clause is present, it eliminates groups
that do not satisfy the given condition. (See GROUP BY clause and HAVING clause
below.)

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4. Using the operators UNION, INTERSECT, and MINUS, the output of more than one
SELECT statement can be combined to form a single result set. The UNION
operator returns all rows that are in one or both of the result sets. The INTERSECT
operator returns all rows that are strictly in both result sets. The MINUS operator
returns the rows that are in the first result set but not in the second. In all three
cases, duplicate rows are eliminated. In the case of the UNION operator, if ALL is
specified then duplicates are not eliminated. (See UNION clause, INTERSECT
clause, and MINUS clause below.)
5. The actual output rows are computed using the SELECT output expressions for
each selected row. (See SELECT list below.)
6. The CONNECT BY clause is used to select data that has a hierarchical relationship.
Such data has a parent-child relationship between rows. (See CONNECT BY
clause.)
7. If the ORDER BY clause is specified, the returned rows are sorted in the specified
order. If ORDER BY is not given, the rows are returned in whatever order the
system finds fastest to produce. (See ORDER BY clause below.)
8. DISTINCT eliminates duplicate rows from the result. ALL (the default) will return
all candidate rows, including duplicates. (See DISTINCT clause below.)
9. The FOR UPDATE clause causes the SELECT statement to lock the selected rows
against concurrent updates. (See FOR UPDATE clause below.)

You must have SELECT privilege on a table to read its values. The use of FOR UPDATE
requires UPDATE privilege as well.

Parameters

optimizer_hint

Comment-embedded hints to the optimizer for selection of an execution plan. See

Section 3.4 for information about optimizer hints.

2.3.71.1 FROM Clause

The FROM clause specifies one or more source tables for a SELECT statement. The syntax
is:

FROM source [, ...]

Where source can be one of following elements:

table_name[@dblink ]

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The name (optionally schema-qualified) of an existing table or view. dblink is a
database link name identifying a remote database. See the CREATE DATABASE
LINK command for information on database links.

alias

A substitute name for the FROM item containing the alias. An alias is used for
brevity or to eliminate ambiguity for self-joins (where the same table is scanned
multiple times). When an alias is provided, it completely hides the actual name of
the table or function; for example given FROM foo AS f, the remainder of the
SELECT must refer to this FROM item as f not foo.

select

A sub-SELECT can appear in the FROM clause. This acts as though its output were
created as a temporary table for the duration of this single SELECT command.
Note that the sub-SELECT must be surrounded by parentheses, and an alias must
be provided for it.

join_type

One of the following:

[ INNNER ] JOIN
LEFT [ OUTER ] JOIN
RIGHT [ OUTER ] JOIN
FULL [ OUTER ] JOIN
CROSS JOIN

For the INNER and OUTER join types, a join condition must be specified, namely
exactly one of NATURAL, ON join_condition, or USING (join_column [,
...] ). See below for the meaning. For CROSS JOIN, none of these clauses
may appear.

A JOIN clause combines two FROM items. Use parentheses if necessary to

determine the order of nesting. In the absence of parentheses, JOINs nest left-to-
right. In any case JOIN binds more tightly than the commas separating FROM
items.

CROSS JOIN and INNER JOIN produce a simple Cartesian product, the same
result as you get from listing the two items at the top level of FROM, but restricted
by the join condition (if any). CROSS JOIN is equivalent to INNER JOIN ON
(TRUE), that is, no rows are removed by qualification. These join types are just a
notational convenience, since they do nothing you couldnt do with plain FROM
and WHERE.

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LEFT OUTER JOIN returns all rows in the qualified Cartesian product (i.e., all
combined rows that pass its join condition), plus one copy of each row in the left-
hand table for which there was no right-hand row that passed the join condition.
This left-hand row is extended to the full width of the joined table by inserting
null values for the right-hand columns. Note that only the JOIN clauses own
condition is considered while deciding which rows have matches. Outer
conditions are applied afterwards.

Conversely, RIGHT OUTER JOIN returns all the joined rows, plus one row for
each unmatched right-hand row (extended with nulls on the left). This is just a
notational convenience, since you could convert it to a LEFT OUTER JOIN by
switching the left and right inputs.

FULL OUTER JOIN returns all the joined rows, plus one row for each unmatched
left-hand row (extended with nulls on the right), plus one row for each unmatched
right-hand row (extended with nulls on the left).

ON join_condition

join_condition is an expression resulting in a value of type BOOLEAN (similar

to a WHERE clause) that specifies which rows in a join are considered to match.

USING (join_column [, ...] )

A clause of the form USING (a, b, ... ) is shorthand for ON

left_table.a = right_table.a AND left_table.b =
right_table.b .... Also, USING implies that only one of each pair of equivalent
columns will be included in the join output, not both.

NATURAL

NATURAL is shorthand for a USING list that mentions all columns in the two tables
that have the same names.

If multiple sources are specified, the result is the Cartesian product (cross join) of all the
sources. Usually qualification conditions are added to restrict the returned rows to a small
subset of the Cartesian product.

Example

The following example selects all of the entries from the dept table:

SELECT * FROM dept;

deptno | dname | loc
-------+-------------+-----------
10 | ACCOUNTING | NEW YORK
20 | RESEARCH | DALLAS

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30 | SALES | CHICAGO
40 | OPERATIONS | BOSTON
(4 rows)

2.3.71.2 WHERE Clause

The optional WHERE clause has the form:

WHERE condition

where condition is any expression that evaluates to a result of type BOOLEAN. Any row
that does not satisfy this condition will be eliminated from the output. A row satisfies the
condition if it returns TRUE when the actual row values are substituted for any variable
references.

Example

The following example joins the contents of the emp and dept tables, WHERE the value of
the deptno column in the emp table is equal to the value of the deptno column in the
deptno table:

SELECT d.deptno, d.dname, e.empno, e.ename, e.mgr, e.hiredate

FROM emp e, dept d
WHERE d.deptno = e.deptno;

deptno | dname | empno | ename | mgr | hiredate

--------+------------+-------+--------+------+--------------------
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7934 | MILLER | 7782 | 23-JAN-82 00:00:00
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7782 | CLARK | 7839 | 09-JUN-81 00:00:00
10 | ACCOUNTING | 7839 | KING | | 17-NOV-81 00:00:00
20 | RESEARCH | 7788 | SCOTT | 7566 | 19-APR-87 00:00:00
20 | RESEARCH | 7566 | JONES | 7839 | 02-APR-81 00:00:00
20 | RESEARCH | 7369 | SMITH | 7902 | 17-DEC-80 00:00:00
20 | RESEARCH | 7876 | ADAMS | 7788 | 23-MAY-87 00:00:00
20 | RESEARCH | 7902 | FORD | 7566 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00
30 | SALES | 7521 | WARD | 7698 | 22-FEB-81 00:00:00
30 | SALES | 7844 | TURNER | 7698 | 08-SEP-81 00:00:00
30 | SALES | 7499 | ALLEN | 7698 | 20-FEB-81 00:00:00
30 | SALES | 7698 | BLAKE | 7839 | 01-MAY-81 00:00:00
30 | SALES | 7654 | MARTIN | 7698 | 28-SEP-81 00:00:00
30 | SALES | 7900 | JAMES | 7698 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00
(14 rows)

2.3.71.3 GROUP BY Clause

The optional GROUP BY clause has the form:

GROUP BY { expression | ROLLUP ( expr_list ) |

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CUBE ( expr_list ) | GROUPING SETS ( expr_list ) } [, ...]

GROUP BY will condense into a single row all selected rows that share the same values
for the grouped expressions. expression can be an input column name, or the name or
ordinal number of an output column (SELECT list item), or an arbitrary expression
formed from input-column values. In case of ambiguity, a GROUP BY name will be
interpreted as an input-column name rather than an output column name.

ROLLUP, CUBE, and GROUPING SETS are extensions to the GROUP BY clause for
supporting multidimensional analysis. See Section 2.3.71.3 for information on using
these extensions.

Aggregate functions, if any are used, are computed across all rows making up each
group, producing a separate value for each group (whereas without GROUP BY, an
aggregate produces a single value computed across all the selected rows). When GROUP
BY is present, it is not valid for the SELECT list expressions to refer to ungrouped
columns except within aggregate functions, since there would be more than one possible
value to return for an ungrouped column.

Example

The following example computes the sum of the sal column in the emp table, grouping
the results by department number:

SELECT deptno, SUM(sal) AS total

FROM emp
GROUP BY deptno;

deptno | total
--------+----------
10 | 8750.00
20 | 10875.00
30 | 9400.00
(3 rows)

2.3.71.4 HAVING Clause

The optional HAVING clause has the form:

HAVING condition

where condition is the same as specified for the WHERE clause.

HAVING eliminates group rows that do not satisfy the specified condition. HAVING is
different from WHERE; WHERE filters individual rows before the application of GROUP BY,
while HAVING filters group rows created by GROUP BY. Each column referenced in

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condition must unambiguously reference a grouping column, unless the reference appears
within an aggregate function.

Example

To sum the column, sal of all employees, group the results by department number and
show those group totals that are less than 10000:

SELECT deptno, SUM(sal) AS total

FROM emp
GROUP BY deptno
HAVING SUM(sal) < 10000;

deptno | total
--------+---------
10 | 8750.00
30 | 9400.00
(2 rows)

2.3.71.5 SELECT List

The SELECT list (between the key words SELECT and FROM) specifies expressions that
form the output rows of the SELECT statement. The expressions can (and usually do)
refer to columns computed in the FROM clause. Using the clause AS output_name,
another name can be specified for an output column. This name is primarily used to label
the column for display. It can also be used to refer to the columns value in ORDER BY
and GROUP BY clauses, but not in the WHERE or HAVING clauses; there you must write
out the expression instead.

Instead of an expression, * can be written in the output list as a shorthand for all the
columns of the selected rows.

Example

The SELECT list in the following example specifies that the result set should include the
empno column, the ename column, the mgr column and the hiredate column:

SELECT empno, ename, mgr, hiredate FROM emp;

empno | ename | mgr | hiredate

-------+--------+------+--------------------
7934 | MILLER | 7782 | 23-JAN-82 00:00:00
7782 | CLARK | 7839 | 09-JUN-81 00:00:00
7839 | KING | | 17-NOV-81 00:00:00
7788 | SCOTT | 7566 | 19-APR-87 00:00:00
7566 | JONES | 7839 | 02-APR-81 00:00:00
7369 | SMITH | 7902 | 17-DEC-80 00:00:00
7876 | ADAMS | 7788 | 23-MAY-87 00:00:00
7902 | FORD | 7566 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00
7521 | WARD | 7698 | 22-FEB-81 00:00:00
7844 | TURNER | 7698 | 08-SEP-81 00:00:00
7499 | ALLEN | 7698 | 20-FEB-81 00:00:00

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7698 | BLAKE | 7839 | 01-MAY-81 00:00:00
7654 | MARTIN | 7698 | 28-SEP-81 00:00:00
7900 | JAMES | 7698 | 03-DEC-81 00:00:00
(14 rows)

2.3.71.6 UNION Clause

The UNION clause has the form:

select_statement UNION [ ALL ] select_statement

select_statement is any SELECT statement without an ORDER BY or FOR UPDATE

clause. (ORDER BY can be attached to a sub-expression if it is enclosed in parentheses.
Without parentheses, these clauses will be taken to apply to the result of the UNION, not
to its right-hand input expression.)

The UNION operator computes the set union of the rows returned by the involved SELECT
statements. A row is in the set union of two result sets if it appears in at least one of the
result sets. The two SELECT statements that represent the direct operands of the UNION
must produce the same number of columns, and corresponding columns must be of
compatible data types.

The result of UNION does not contain any duplicate rows unless the ALL option is
specified. ALL prevents elimination of duplicates.

Multiple UNION operators in the same SELECT statement are evaluated left to right,
unless otherwise indicated by parentheses.

Currently, FOR UPDATE may not be specified either for a UNION result or for any input
of a UNION.

2.3.71.7 INTERSECT Clause

The INTERSECT clause has the form:

select_statement INTERSECT select_statement

select_statement is any SELECT statement without an ORDER BY or FOR UPDATE

clause.

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The INTERSECT operator computes the set intersection of the rows returned by the
involved SELECT statements. A row is in the intersection of two result sets if it appears in
both result sets.

The result of INTERSECT does not contain any duplicate rows.

Multiple INTERSECT operators in the same SELECT statement are evaluated left to right,
unless parentheses dictate otherwise. INTERSECT binds more tightly than UNION. That is,
A UNION B INTERSECT C will be read as A UNION (B INTERSECT C).

2.3.71.8 MINUS Clause

The MINUS clause has this general form:

select_statement MINUS select_statement

select_statement is any SELECT statement without an ORDER BY or FOR UPDATE

clause.

The MINUS operator computes the set of rows that are in the result of the left SELECT
statement but not in the result of the right one.

The result of MINUS does not contain any duplicate rows.

Multiple MINUS operators in the same SELECT statement are evaluated left to right,
unless parentheses dictate otherwise. MINUS binds at the same level as UNION.

2.3.71.9 CONNECT BY Clause

The CONNECT BY clause determines the parent-child relationship of rows when

performing a hierarchical query. It has the general form:

CONNECT BY { PRIOR parent_expr = child_expr |

child_expr = PRIOR parent_expr }

parent_expr is evaluated on a candidate parent row. If parent_expr =

child_expr results in TRUE for a row returned by the FROM clause, then this row is
considered a child of the parent.

The following optional clauses may be specified in conjunction with the CONNECT BY
clause:

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START WITH start_expression

The rows returned by the FROM clause on which start_expression evaluates

to TRUE become the root nodes of the hierarchy.

ORDER SIBLINGS BY expression [ ASC | DESC ] [, ...]

Sibling rows of the hierarchy are ordered by expression in the result set.

Note: Advanced Server does not support the use of AND (or other operators) in the
CONNECT BY clause.

2.3.71.10 ORDER BY Clause

The optional ORDER BY clause has the form:

ORDER BY expression [ ASC | DESC ] [, ...]

expression can be the name or ordinal number of an output column (SELECT list item),
or it can be an arbitrary expression formed from input-column values.

The ORDER BY clause causes the result rows to be sorted according to the specified
expressions. If two rows are equal according to the leftmost expression, they are
compared according to the next expression and so on. If they are equal according to all
specified expressions, they are returned in an implementation-dependent order.

The ordinal number refers to the ordinal (left-to-right) position of the result column. This
feature makes it possible to define an ordering on the basis of a column that does not
have a unique name. This is never absolutely necessary because it is always possible to
assign a name to a result column using the AS clause.

It is also possible to use arbitrary expressions in the ORDER BY clause, including columns
that do not appear in the SELECT result list. Thus the following statement is valid:

SELECT ename FROM emp ORDER BY empno;

A limitation of this feature is that an ORDER BY clause applying to the result of a UNION,
INTERSECT, or MINUS clause may only specify an output column name or number, not
an expression.

If an ORDER BY expression is a simple name that matches both a result column name and
an input column name, ORDER BY will interpret it as the result column name. This is the

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opposite of the choice that GROUP BY will make in the same situation. This inconsistency
is made to be compatible with the SQL standard.

Optionally one may add the key word ASC (ascending) or DESC (descending) after any
expression in the ORDER BY clause. If not specified, ASC is assumed by default.

The null value sorts higher than any other value. In other words, with ascending sort
order, null values sort at the end, and with descending sort order, null values sort at the
beginning.

Character-string data is sorted according to the locale-specific collation order that was
established when the database cluster was initialized.

Examples

The following two examples are identical ways of sorting the individual results according
to the contents of the second column (dname):

SELECT * FROM dept ORDER BY dname;

deptno | dname | loc

--------+------------+----------
10 | ACCOUNTING | NEW YORK
40 | OPERATIONS | BOSTON
20 | RESEARCH | DALLAS
30 | SALES | CHICAGO
(4 rows)

SELECT * FROM dept ORDER BY 2;

deptno | dname | loc

--------+------------+----------
10 | ACCOUNTING | NEW YORK
40 | OPERATIONS | BOSTON
20 | RESEARCH | DALLAS
30 | SALES | CHICAGO
(4 rows)

2.3.71.11 DISTINCT Clause

If a SELECT statement specifies DISTINCT, all duplicate rows are removed from the
result set (one row is kept from each group of duplicates). The ALL keyword specifies
the opposite: all rows are kept; that is the default.

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2.3.71.12 FOR UPDATE Clause

The FOR UPDATE clause takes the form:

FOR UPDATE [WAIT n|NOWAIT|SKIP LOCKED]

FOR UPDATE causes the rows retrieved by the SELECT statement to be locked as though
for update. This prevents a row from being modified or deleted by other transactions
until the current transaction ends; any transaction that attempts to UPDATE, DELETE, or
SELECT FOR UPDATE a selected row will be blocked until the current transaction ends.
If an UPDATE, DELETE, or SELECT FOR UPDATE from another transaction has already
locked a selected row or rows, SELECT FOR UPDATE will wait for the first transaction to
complete, and will then lock and return the updated row (or no row, if the row was
deleted).

FOR UPDATE cannot be used in contexts where returned rows cannot be clearly identified
with individual table rows (for example, with aggregation).

Use FOR UPDATE options to specify locking preferences:

Include the WAIT n keywords to specify the number of seconds (or fractional
seconds) that the SELECT statement will wait for a row locked by another session.
Use a decimal form to specify fractional seconds; for example, WAIT 1.5
instructs the server to wait one and a half seconds. Specify up to 4 digits to the
right of the decimal.

Include the NOWAIT keyword to report an error immediately if a row cannot be

locked by the current session.

Include SKIP LOCKED to instruct the server to lock rows if possible, and skip
rows that are already locked by another session.

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2.3.72 SET CONSTRAINTS

Name

SET CONSTRAINTS -- set constraint checking modes for the current transaction

Synopsis

SET CONSTRAINTS { ALL | name [, ...] } { DEFERRED | IMMEDIATE }

Description

SET CONSTRAINTS sets the behavior of constraint checking within the current
transaction. IMMEDIATE constraints are checked at the end of each statement. DEFERRED
constraints are not checked until transaction commit. Each constraint has its own
IMMEDIATE or DEFERRED mode.

Upon creation, a constraint is given one of three characteristics: DEFERRABLE

INITIALLY DEFERRED, DEFERRABLE INITIALLY IMMEDIATE, or NOT
DEFERRABLE. The third class is always IMMEDIATE and is not affected by the SET
CONSTRAINTS command. The first two classes start every transaction in the indicated
mode, but their behavior can be changed within a transaction by SET CONSTRAINTS.

SET CONSTRAINTS with a list of constraint names changes the mode of just those
constraints (which must all be deferrable). If there are multiple constraints matching any
given name, all are affected. SET CONSTRAINTS ALL changes the mode of all
deferrable constraints.

When SET CONSTRAINTS changes the mode of a constraint from DEFERRED to

IMMEDIATE, the new mode takes effect retroactively: any outstanding data modifications
that would have been checked at the end of the transaction are instead checked during the
execution of the SET CONSTRAINTS command. If any such constraint is violated, the
SET CONSTRAINTS fails (and does not change the constraint mode). Thus, SET
CONSTRAINTS can be used to force checking of constraints to occur at a specific point in
a transaction.

Currently, only foreign key constraints are affected by this setting. Check and unique
constraints are always effectively not deferrable.

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Notes

This command only alters the behavior of constraints within the current transaction.
Thus, if you execute this command outside of a transaction block it will not appear to
have any effect.

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2.3.73 SET ROLE

Name

SET ROLE -- set the current user identifier of the current session

Synopsis

SET ROLE { rolename | NONE }

Description

This command sets the current user identifier of the current SQL session context to be
rolename. After SET ROLE, permissions checking for SQL commands is carried out as
though the named role were the one that had logged in originally.

The specified rolename must be a role that the current session user is a member of. (If
the session user is a superuser, any role can be selected.)

NONE resets the current user identifier to be the current session user identifier. These
forms may be executed by any user.

Notes

Using this command, it is possible to either add privileges or restrict ones privileges. If
the session user role has the INHERITS attribute, then it automatically has all the
privileges of every role that it could SET ROLE to; in this case SET ROLE effectively
drops all the privileges assigned directly to the session user and to the other roles it is a
member of, leaving only the privileges available to the named role. On the other hand, if
the session user role has the NOINHERITS attribute, SET ROLE drops the privileges
assigned directly to the session user and instead acquires the privileges available to the
named role. In particular, when a superuser chooses to SET ROLE to a non-superuser
role, she loses her superuser privileges.

Examples

User mary takes on the identity of role admins:

SET ROLE admins;

User mary reverts back to her own identity:

SET ROLE NONE;

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2.3.74 SET TRANSACTION

Name

SET TRANSACTION -- set the characteristics of the current transaction

Synopsis

SET TRANSACTION transaction_mode

where transaction_mode is one of:

ISOLATION LEVEL { SERIALIZABLE | READ COMMITTED }

READ WRITE | READ ONLY

Description

The SET TRANSACTION command sets the characteristics of the current transaction. It
has no effect on any subsequent transactions. The available transaction characteristics are
the transaction isolation level and the transaction access mode (read/write or read-only).
The isolation level of a transaction determines what data the transaction can see when
other transactions are running concurrently:

READ COMMITTED

A statement can only see rows committed before it began. This is the default.

SERIALIZABLE

All statements of the current transaction can only see rows committed before the
first query or data-modification statement was executed in this transaction.

The transaction isolation level cannot be changed after the first query or data-
modification statement (SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, or FETCH) of a transaction
has been executed. The transaction access mode determines whether the transaction is
read/write or read-only. Read/write is the default.

When a transaction is read-only, the following SQL commands are disallowed: INSERT,
UPDATE, and DELETE if the table they would write to is not a temporary table; all
CREATE, ALTER, and DROP commands; COMMENT, GRANT, REVOKE, TRUNCATE; and
EXECUTE if the command it would execute is among those listed. This is a high-level
notion of read-only that does not prevent all writes to disk.

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2.3.75 TRUNCATE

Name

TRUNCATE -- empty a table

Synopsis

TRUNCATE TABLE name [DROP STORAGE]

Description

TRUNCATE quickly removes all rows from a table. It has the same effect as an unqualified
DELETE but since it does not actually scan the table, it is faster. This is most useful on
large tables.

The DROP STORAGE clause is accepted for compatibility, but is ignored.

Parameters

name

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to be truncated.

Notes

TRUNCATE cannot be used if there are foreign-key references to the table from other
tables. Checking validity in such cases would require table scans, and the whole point is
not to do one.

TRUNCATE will not run any user-defined ON DELETE triggers that might exist for the
table.

Examples

Truncate the table bigtable:

TRUNCATE TABLE bigtable;

See Also

DROP VIEW, DELETE

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2.3.76 UPDATE

Name

UPDATE -- update rows of a table

Synopsis

UPDATE [ optimizer_hint ] table[@dblink ]

SET column = { expression | DEFAULT } [, ...]
[ WHERE condition ]
[ RETURNING return_expression [, ...]
{ INTO { record | variable [, ...] }
| BULK COLLECT INTO collection [, ...] } ]

Description

UPDATE changes the values of the specified columns in all rows that satisfy the condition.
Only the columns to be modified need be mentioned in the SET clause; columns not
explicitly modified retain their previous values.

The RETURNING INTO { record | variable [, ...] } clause may only be

specified within an SPL program. In addition the result set of the UPDATE command must
not return more than one row, otherwise an exception is thrown. If the result set is empty,
then the contents of the target record or variables are set to null.

The RETURNING BULK COLLECT INTO collection [, ...] clause may only be
specified if the UPDATE command is used within an SPL program. If more than one
collection is specified as the target of the BULK COLLECT INTO clause, then each
collection must consist of a single, scalar field i.e., collection must not be a
record. The result set of the UPDATE command may contain none, one, or more rows.
return_expression evaluated for each row of the result set, becomes an element in
collection starting with the first element. Any existing rows in collection are
deleted. If the result set is empty, then collection will be empty.

You must have the UPDATE privilege on the table to update it, as well as the SELECT
privilege to any table whose values are read in expression or condition.

Parameters

optimizer_hint

Comment-embedded hints to the optimizer for selection of an execution plan.

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table

The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to update.

dblink

Database link name identifying a remote database. See the CREATE DATABASE
LINK command for information on database links.

column

The name of a column in table.

expression

An expression to assign to the column. The expression may use the old values of
this and other columns in the table.

DEFAULT

Set the column to its default value (which will be null if no specific default
expression has been assigned to it).

condition

An expression that returns a value of type BOOLEAN. Only rows for which this
expression returns true will be updated.

return_expression

An expression that may include one or more columns from table. If a column
name from table is specified in return_expression, the value substituted for
the column when return_expression is evaluated is determined as follows:

If the column specified in return_expression is assigned a value in

the UPDATE command, then the assigned value is used in the evaluation of
return_expression.

If the column specified in return_expression is not assigned a value

in the UPDATE command, then the columns current value in the affected
row is used in the evaluation of return_expression.

record

A record whose field the evaluated return_expression is to be assigned. The

first return_expression is assigned to the first field in record, the second

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return_expression is assigned to the second field in record, etc. The
number of fields in record must exactly match the number of expressions and
the fields must be type-compatible with their assigned expressions.

variable

A variable to which the evaluated return_expression is to be assigned. If

more than one return_expression and variable are specified, the first
return_expression is assigned to the first variable, the second
return_expression is assigned to the second variable, etc. The number of
variables specified following the INTO keyword must exactly match the number
of expressions following the RETURNING keyword and the variables must be
type-compatible with their assigned expressions.

collection

A collection in which an element is created from the evaluated

return_expression. There can be either a single collection which may be a
collection of a single field or a collection of a record type, or there may be more
than one collection in which case each collection must consist of a single field.
The number of return expressions must match in number and order the number of
fields in all specified collections. Each corresponding return_expression and
collection field must be type-compatible.

Examples

Change the location to AUSTIN for department 20 in the dept table:

UPDATE dept SET loc = 'AUSTIN' WHERE deptno = 20;

For all employees with job = SALESMAN in the emp table, update the salary by 10% and
increase the commission by 500.

UPDATE emp SET sal = sal * 1.1, comm = comm + 500 WHERE job = 'SALESMAN';

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2.4 Functions and Operators
Advanced Server provides a large number of functions and operators for the built-in data
types.

2.4.1 Logical Operators

The usual logical operators are available: AND, OR, NOT

SQL uses a three-valued Boolean logic where the null value represents "unknown".
Observe the following truth tables:

Table 2-11 AND/OR Truth Table

a b a AND b a OR b
True True True True
True False False True
True Null Null True
False False False False
False Null False Null
Null Null Null Null

Table 2-12 NOT Truth Table

a NOT a
True False
False True
Null Null

The operators AND and OR are commutative, that is, you can switch the left and right
operand without affecting the result.

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2.4.2 Comparison Operators

The usual comparison operators are shown in the following table.

Table 2-13 Comparison Operators

Operator Description
< Less than
> Greater than
<= Less than or equal to
>= Greater than or equal to
= Equal
<> Not equal
!= Not equal

Comparison operators are available for all data types where this makes sense. All
comparison operators are binary operators that return values of type BOOLEAN;
expressions like 1 < 2 < 3 are not valid (because there is no < operator to compare a
Boolean value with 3).

In addition to the comparison operators, the special BETWEEN construct is available.

a BETWEEN x AND y

is equivalent to

a >= x AND a <= y

Similarly,

a NOT BETWEEN x AND y

is equivalent to

a < x OR a > y

There is no difference between the two respective forms apart from the CPU cycles
required to rewrite the first one into the second one internally.

To check whether a value is or is not null, use the constructs

expression IS NULL
expression IS NOT NULL

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Do not write expression = NULL because NULL is not "equal to" NULL. (The null
value represents an unknown value, and it is not known whether two unknown values are
equal.) This behavior conforms to the SQL standard.

Some applications may expect that expression = NULL returns true if expression
evaluates to the null value. It is highly recommended that these applications be modified
to comply with the SQL standard.

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2.4.3 Mathematical Functions and Operators

Mathematical operators are provided for many Advanced Server types. For types without
common mathematical conventions for all possible permutations (e.g., date/time types)
the actual behavior is described in subsequent sections.

The following table shows the available mathematical operators.

Table 2-14 Mathematical Operators

Operator Description Example Result
+ Addition 2 + 3 5
- Subtraction 2 3 -1
* Multiplication 2 * 3 6
/ Division (See the following note.) 4 / 2 2
** Exponentiation Operator 2 ** 3 8

Note: If the db_dialect configuration parameter in the postgresql.conf file is set

to redwood, then division of a pair of INTEGER data types does not result in a truncated
value. Any fractional result is retained as shown by the following example:
edb=# SET db_dialect TO redwood;
SET
edb=# SHOW db_dialect;
db_dialect
------------
redwood
(1 row)

edb=# SELECT CAST('10' AS INTEGER) / CAST('3' AS INTEGER) FROM dual;

?column?
--------------------
3.3333333333333333
(1 row)

This behavior is compatible with Oracle databases where there is no native INTEGER data
type, and any INTEGER data type specification is internally converted to NUMBER(38),
which results in retaining any fractional result.

If the db_dialect configuration parameter is set to postgres, then division of a pair

of INTEGER data types results in a truncated value as shown by the following example:

edb=# SET db_dialect TO postgres;

SET
edb=# SHOW db_dialect;
db_dialect
------------
postgres
(1 row)

edb=# SELECT CAST('10' AS INTEGER) / CAST('3' AS INTEGER) FROM dual;

?column?
----------

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3
(1 row)

This behavior is compatible with PostgreSQL databases where division involving any
pair of INTEGER, SMALLINT, or BIGINT data types results in truncation of the result.
The same truncated result is returned by Advanced Server when db_dialect is set to
postgres as shown in the previous example.

Note however, that even when db_dialect is set to redwood, only division with a pair
of INTEGER data types results in no truncation of the result. Division that includes only
SMALLINT or BIGINT data types, with or without an INTEGER data type, does result in
truncation in the PostgreSQL fashion without retaining the fractional portion as shown by
the following where INTEGER and SMALLINT are involved in the division:

edb=# SHOW db_dialect;

db_dialect
------------
redwood
(1 row)

edb=# SELECT CAST('10' AS INTEGER) / CAST('3' AS SMALLINT) FROM dual;

?column?
----------
3
(1 row)

The following table shows the available mathematical functions. Many of these functions
are provided in multiple forms with different argument types. Except where noted, any
given form of a function returns the same data type as its argument. The functions
working with DOUBLE PRECISION data are mostly implemented on top of the host
systems C library; accuracy and behavior in boundary cases may therefore vary
depending on the host system.

Table 2-15 Mathematical Functions

Function Return Type Description Example Result
ABS(x) Same as x Absolute value ABS(-17.4) 17.4
CEIL(DOUBLE PRECISION Smallest integer not
or NUMBER) Same as input CEIL(-42.8) -42
less than argument
EXP(DOUBLE PRECISION 2.71828182845904
or NUMBER) Same as input Exponential EXP(1.0)
52
FLOOR(DOUBLE PRECISION Largest integer not
or NUMBER) Same as input FLOOR(-42.8) 43
greater than argument
LN(DOUBLE PRECISION or 0.69314718055994
NUMBER) Same as input Natural logarithm LN(2.0)
53
LOG(b NUMBER, x 6.00000000000000
NUMBER)
NUMBER Logarithm to base b LOG(2.0, 64.0) 00
Same as
MOD(y, x) Remainder of y/x MOD(9, 4) 1
argument types
Same as
NVL(x, y)
argument types; If x is null, then NVL NVL(9, 0) 9
where both returns y
arguments are of

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Function Return Type Description Example Result
the same data
type
POWER(a DOUBLE
DOUBLE a raised to the power 729.000000000000
PRECISION, b DOUBLE POWER(9.0, 3.0)
PRECISION of b 0000
PRECISION)
POWER(a NUMBER, b a raised to the power 729.000000000000
NUMBER POWER(9.0, 3.0)
NUMBER) of b 0000
ROUND(DOUBLE PRECISION Round to nearest
or NUMBER) Same as input ROUND(42.4) 42
integer
ROUND(v NUMBER, s
NUMBER
Round to s decimal ROUND(42.4382, 2) 42.44
INTEGER) places
SIGN(DOUBLE PRECISION Sign of the argument SIGN(-8.4)
or NUMBER) Same as input -1
(-1, 0, +1)
SQRT(DOUBLE PRECISION 1.41421356237309
or NUMBER) Same as input Square root SQRT(2.0)
5
TRUNC(DOUBLE PRECISION
or NUMBER) Same as input Truncate toward zero TRUNC(42.8) 42

TRUNC(v NUMBER, s
NUMBER
Truncate to s decimal TRUNC(42.4382, 2) 42.43
INTEGER) places
Return the bucket to
which op would be
WIDTH_BUCKET(op
assigned in an WIDTH_BUCKET(5.35,
NUMBER, b1 NUMBER, b2 INTEGER 3
NUMBER, count INTEGER) equidepth histogram 0.024, 10.06, 5)
with count buckets,
in the range b1 to b2

The following table shows the available trigonometric functions. All trigonometric
functions take arguments and return values of type DOUBLE PRECISION.

Table 2-16 Trigonometric Functions

Function Description
ACOS(x) Inverse cosine
ASIN(x) Inverse sine
ATAN(x) Inverse tangent
ATAN2(x, y) Inverse tangent of x/y
COS(x) Cosine
SIN(x) Sine
TAN(x) Tangent

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2.4.4 String Functions and Operators

This section describes functions and operators for examining and manipulating string
values. Strings in this context include values of the types CHAR, VARCHAR2, and CLOB.
Unless otherwise noted, all of the functions listed below work on all of these types, but be
wary of potential effects of automatic padding when using the CHAR type. Generally, the
functions described here also work on data of non-string types by converting that data to
a string representation first.

Table 2-17 SQL String Functions and Operators

Return
Function Description Example Result
Type
'Enterprise' ||
string || string CLOB String concatenation 'DB'
EnterpriseDB
CONCAT(string,
string)
CLOB String concatenation 'a' || 'b' ab

Converts a VARCHAR2 value

HEXTORAW(varchar2) RAW HEXTORAW('303132') '012'
to a RAW value
Converts a RAW value to a
RAWTOHEX(raw) VARCHAR2 RAWTOHEX('012') '303132'
HEXADECIMAL value
Finds the location of a set of
characters in a string, starting
at position start in the INSTR('PETER PIPER
INSTR(string, set, [
start [, occurrence ] INTEGER string, string, and looking
PICKED a PECK of
30
for the first, second, third and PICKLED
])
so on occurrences of the set. PEPPERS','PI',1,3)
Returns 0 if the set is not
found.
Returns the position of the INSTRB('PETER PIPER
PICKED a PECK of
INSTRB(string, set) INTEGER set within the string. 13
PICKLED PEPPERS',
Returns 0 if set is not found.'PICK')
Returns the position of the INSTRB('PETER PIPER
PICKED a PECK of
INSTRB(string, set, set within the string,
INTEGER PICKLED 30
start) beginning at start. Returns PEPPERS','PICK',
0 if set is not found. 14)
Returns the position of the INSTRB('PETER PIPER
specified occurrence of set PICKED a PECK of
INSTRB(string, set,
INTEGER within the string, beginning PICKLED 30
start, occurrence) PEPPERS','PICK', 1,
at start. Returns 0 if set is 2)
not found.
LOWER(string) CLOB Convert string to lower case LOWER('TOM') tom
Extract substring starting from
start and going for count
SUBSTR(string, start SUBSTR('This is a
CLOB characters. If count is not is
[, count ]) test',6,2)
specified, the string is clipped
from the start till the end.
SUBSTRB(string, start Same as SUBSTR except SUBSTRB('abc',3)
CLOB c
[, count ]) start and count are in (assuming a double-byte

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Return
Function Description Example Result
Type
number of bytes. character set)
SUBSTR2(string, start SUBSTR2('This is a
[, count ])
CLOB Alias for SUBSTR. test',6,2)
is
SUBSTR2('abc',3)
SUBSTR2(string, start
CLOB Alias for SUBSTRB. (assuming a double-byte c
[, count ])
character set)
SUBSTR4(string, start SUBSTR4('This is a
[, count ])
CLOB Alias for SUBSTR. test',6,2)
is
SUBSTR4('abc',3)
SUBSTR4(string, start
CLOB Alias for SUBSTRB. (assuming a double-byte c
[, count ])
character set)
SUBSTRC(string, start SUBSTRC('This is a
[, count ])
CLOB Alias for SUBSTR. test',6,2)
is
SUBSTRC('abc',3)
SUBSTRC(string, start
[, count ])
CLOB Alias for SUBSTRB. (assuming a double-byte c
character set)
Remove the longest string
TRIM([ LEADING |
containing only the characters
TRAILING | BOTH ] [ TRIM(BOTH 'x' FROM
characters ] FROM
CLOB (a space by default) from the 'xTomxx') Tom
string) start/end/both ends of the
string.
Removes all the characters
specified in set from the left
LTRIM('abcdefghi',
LTRIM(string [, set]) CLOB of a given string. If set is 'abc') defghi
not specified, a blank space is
used as default.
Removes all the characters
specified in set from the right
RTRIM('abcdefghi',
RTRIM(string [, set]) CLOB of a given string. If set is 'ghi') abcdef
not specified, a blank space is
used as default.
UPPER(string) CLOB Convert string to upper case UPPER('tom') TOM

Additional string manipulation functions are available and are listed in the following
table. Some of them are used internally to implement the SQL-standard string functions
listed in Table 2-17.

Table 2-18 Other String Functions

Function Return Type Description Example Result
ASCII code of the first byte
ASCII(string) INTEGER ASCII('x') 120
of the argument
CHR(INTEGER) CLOB
Character with the given CHR(65) A
ASCII code
Finds first match of expr
Same as
with expr1a, expr2a, etc.
DECODE(expr, expr1a, argument
When match found, returns DECODE(3, 1,'One',
expr1b [, expr2a, types of
expr2b ]... [, default corresponding parameter 2,'Two', 3,'Three', Three
expr1b, 'Not found')
]) pair, expr1b, expr2b, etc.
expr2b,...,
If no match found, returns
default
default. If no match found

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Function Return Type Description Example Result
and default not specified,
returns null.
Convert the first letter of
each word to uppercase and
the rest to lowercase. Words
Hi
INITCAP(string) CLOB are sequences of INITCAP('hi THOMAS')
Thomas
alphanumeric characters
separated by non-
alphanumeric characters.
LENGTH INTEGER
Returns the number of LENGTH('Cte d''Azur') 11
characters in a string value.
INTEGER This function is identical in LENGTHC('Cte d''Azur') 11

LENGTHC
functionality to LENGTH; the
function name is supported
for compatibility.
INTEGER This function is identical in LENGTH2('Cte d''Azur') 11

LENGTH2
functionality to LENGTH; the
function name is supported
for compatibility.
INTEGER This function is identical in LENGTH4('Cte d''Azur') 11

LENGTH4
functionality to LENGTH; the
function name is supported
for compatibility.
INTEGER Returns the number of bytes LENGTHB('Cte d''Azur') 12
LENGTHB required to hold the given
value.
Fill up string to size,
length by prepending the
characters, fill (a space by
LPAD(string, length
CLOB default). If string is LPAD('hi', 5, 'xy') xyxhi
INTEGER [, fill ])
already longer than length
then it is truncated (on the
right).
Replaces one value in a
string with another. If you
REPLACE(string,
do not specify a value for REPLACE( 'GEORGE',
search_string [, CLOB EGOREG
replace_string, the 'GE', 'EG')
replace_string ]
search_string value
when found, is removed.
Fill up string to size,
length by appending the
RPAD(string, length
CLOB
characters, fill (a space by RPAD('hi', 5, 'xy') hixyx
INTEGER [, fill ]) default). If string is
already longer than length
then it is truncated.
Any character in string
that matches a character in
TRANSLATE(string, from, TRANSLATE('12345',
to)
CLOB the from set is replaced by '14', 'ax')
a23x5
the corresponding character
in the to set.

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2.4.5 Pattern Matching String Functions

Advanced Server offers support for the REGEXP_COUNT, REGEXP_INSTR and

REGEXP_SUBSTR functions. These functions search a string for a pattern specified by a
regular expression, and return information about occurrences of the pattern within the
string. The pattern should be a POSIX-style regular expression; for more information
about forming a POSIX-style regular expression, please refer to the core documentation
at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/functions-matching.html

2.4.5.1 REGEXP_COUNT

REGEXP_COUNT searches a string for a regular expression, and returns a count of the
times that the regular expression occurs. The signature is:

INTEGER REGEXP_COUNT
(
srcstr TEXT,
pattern TEXT,
position DEFAULT 1
modifier DEFAULT NULL
)

Parameters

srcstr

srcstr specifies the string to search.

pattern

pattern specifies the regular expression for which REGEXP_COUNT will search.

position

position is an integer value that indicates the position in the source string at
which REGEXP_COUNT will begin searching. The default value is 1.

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modifier

modifier specifies values that control the pattern matching behavior. The
default value is NULL. For a complete list of the modifiers supported by
Advanced Server, see the PostgreSQL core documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/functions-matching.html

Example

In the following simple example, REGEXP_COUNT returns a count of the number of times
the letter i is used in the character string 'reinitializing':

edb=# SELECT REGEXP_COUNT('reinitializing', 'i', 1) FROM DUAL;

regexp_count
--------------
5
(1 row)

In the first example, the command instructs REGEXP_COUNT begins counting in the first
position; if we modify the command to start the count on the 6th position:

edb=# SELECT REGEXP_COUNT('reinitializing', 'i', 6) FROM DUAL;

regexp_count
--------------
3
(1 row)

REGEXP_COUNT returns 3; the count now excludes any occurrences of the letter i that
occur before the 6th position.

2.4.5.2 REGEXP_INSTR

REGEXP_INSTR searches a string for a POSIX-style regular expression. This function

returns the position within the string where the match was located. The signature is:

INTEGER REGEXP_INSTR
(
srcstr TEXT,
pattern TEXT,
position INT DEFAULT 1,
occurrence INT DEFAULT 1,
returnparam INT DEFAULT 0,
modifier TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
subexpression INT DEFAULT 0,
)

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Parameters:

srcstr

srcstr specifies the string to search.

pattern

pattern specifies the regular expression for which REGEXP_INSTR will search.

position

position specifies an integer value that indicates the start position in a source
string. The default value is 1.

occurrence

occurrence specifies which match is returned if more than one occurrence of

the pattern occurs in the string that is searched. The default value is 1.

returnparam

returnparam is an integer value that specifies the location within the string that
REGEXP_INSTR should return. The default value is 0. Specify:

0 to return the location within the string of the first character that matches
pattern.

A value greater than 0 to return the position of the first character

following the end of the pattern.

modifier

modifier specifies values that control the pattern matching behavior. The
default value is NULL. For a complete list of the modifiers supported by
Advanced Server, see the PostgreSQL core documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/functions-matching.html

subexpression

subexpression is an integer value that identifies the portion of the pattern

that will be returned by REGEXP_INSTR. The default value of subexpression
is 0.

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If you specify a value for subexpression, you must include one (or more) set
of parentheses in the pattern that isolate a portion of the value being searched
for. The value specified by subexpression indicates which set of parentheses
should be returned; for example, if subexpression is 2, REGEXP_INSTR will
return the position of the second set of parentheses.

Example

In the following simple example, REGEXP_INSTR searches a string that contains the a
phone number for the first occurrence of a pattern that contains three consecutive digits:

edb=# SELECT REGEXP_INSTR('800-555-1212', '[0-9][0-9][0-9]', 1, 1) FROM DUAL;

regexp_instr
--------------
1
(1 row)

The command instructs REGEXP_INSTR to return the position of the first occurrence. If
we modify the command to return the start of the second occurrence of three consecutive
digits:

edb=# SELECT REGEXP_INSTR('800-555-1212', '[0-9][0-9][0-9]', 1, 2) FROM DUAL;

regexp_instr
--------------
5
(1 row)

REGEXP_INSTR returns 5; the second occurrence of three consecutive digits begins in the
5th position.

2.4.5.3 REGEXP_SUBSTR

The REGEXP_SUBSTR function searches a string for a pattern specified by a POSIX

compliant regular expression. REGEXP_SUBSTR returns the string that matches the
pattern specified in the call to the function. The signature of the function is:

TEXT REGEXP_SUBSTR
(
srcstr TEXT,
pattern TEXT,
position INT DEFAULT 1,
occurrence INT DEFAULT 1,
modifier TEXT DEFAULT NULL,
subexpression INT DEFAULT 0
)

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Parameters:

srcstr

srcstr specifies the string to search.

pattern

pattern specifies the regular expression for which REGEXP_SUBSTR will search.

position

position specifies an integer value that indicates the start position in a source
string. The default value is 1.

occurrence

occurrence specifies which match is returned if more than one occurrence of

the pattern occurs in the string that is searched. The default value is 1.

modifier

modifier specifies values that control the pattern matching behavior. The
default value is NULL. For a complete list of the modifiers supported by
Advanced Server, see the PostgreSQL core documentation available at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/functions-matching.html

subexpression

subexpression is an integer value that identifies the portion of the pattern

that will be returned by REGEXP_SUBSTR. The default value of subexpression
is 0.

If you specify a value for subexpression, you must include one (or more) set
of parentheses in the pattern that isolate a portion of the value being searched
for. The value specified by subexpression indicates which set of parentheses
should be returned; for example, if subexpression is 2, REGEXP_SUBSTR will
return the value contained within the second set of parentheses.

Example

In the following simple example, REGEXP_SUBSTR searches a string that contains a

phone number for the first set of three consecutive digits:

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edb=# SELECT REGEXP_SUBSTR('800-555-1212', '[0-9][0-9][0-9]', 1, 1) FROM
DUAL;
regexp_substr
---------------
800
(1 row)

It locates the first occurrence of three digits and returns the string (800); if we modify the
command to check for the second occurrence of three consecutive digits:

edb=# SELECT REGEXP_SUBSTR('800-555-1212', '[0-9][0-9][0-9]', 1, 2) FROM

DUAL;
regexp_substr
---------------
555
(1 row)

REGEXP_SUBSTR returns 555, the contents of the second substring.

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2.4.6 Pattern Matching Using the LIKE Operator

Advanced Server provides pattern matching using the traditional SQL LIKE operator.
The syntax for the LIKE operator is as follows.

string LIKE pattern [ ESCAPE escape-character ]

string NOT LIKE pattern [ ESCAPE escape-character ]

Every pattern defines a set of strings. The LIKE expression returns TRUE if string is
contained in the set of strings represented by pattern. As expected, the NOT LIKE
expression returns FALSE if LIKE returns TRUE, and vice versa. An equivalent expression
is NOT (string LIKE pattern).

If pattern does not contain percent signs or underscore, then the pattern only represents
the string itself; in that case LIKE acts like the equals operator. An underscore (_) in
pattern stands for (matches) any single character; a percent sign (%) matches any string
of zero or more characters.

Some examples:

'abc' LIKE 'abc' true

'abc' LIKE 'a%' true
'abc' LIKE '_b_' true
'abc' LIKE 'c' false

LIKE pattern matches always cover the entire string. To match a pattern anywhere within
a string, the pattern must therefore start and end with a percent sign.

To match a literal underscore or percent sign without matching other characters, the
respective character in pattern must be preceded by the escape character. The default
escape character is the backslash but a different one may be selected by using the
ESCAPE clause. To match the escape character itself, write two escape characters.

Note that the backslash already has a special meaning in string literals, so to write a
pattern constant that contains a backslash you must write two backslashes in an SQL
statement. Thus, writing a pattern that actually matches a literal backslash means writing
four backslashes in the statement. You can avoid this by selecting a different escape
character with ESCAPE; then a backslash is not special to LIKE anymore. (But it is still
special to the string literal parser, so you still need two of them.)

Its also possible to select no escape character by writing ESCAPE ''. This effectively
disables the escape mechanism, which makes it impossible to turn off the special
meaning of underscore and percent signs in the pattern.

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2.4.7 Data Type Formatting Functions

The Advanced Server formatting functions described in the following table provide a
powerful set of tools for converting various data types (date/time, integer, floating point,
numeric) to formatted strings and for converting from formatted strings to specific data
types. These functions all follow a common calling convention: the first argument is the
value to be formatted and the second argument is a string template that defines the output
or input format.

Table 2-19 Formatting Functions

Return
Function Description Example Result
Type
Convert a date/time
to a string with
TO_CHAR(DATE [,
VARCHAR2
output, format. If TO_CHAR(SYSDATE, 'MM/DD/YYYY 07/25/2007
format ]) omitted default HH12:MI:SS AM') 09:43:02 AM
format is DD-MON-
YY.
Convert a timestamp
to a string with
TO_CHAR(TIMESTAMP [,
VARCHAR2
output, format. If TO_CHAR(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, 08/13/2015
format ]) omitted default 'MM/DD/YYYY HH12:MI:SS AM') 08:55:22 PM
format is DD-MON-
YY.
Convert an integer to
TO_CHAR(INTEGER [,
VARCHAR2 a string with output, TO_CHAR(2412, '999,999S') 2,412+
format ])
format
Convert a decimal
TO_CHAR(NUMBER [, TO_CHAR(10125.35,
format ])
VARCHAR2 number to a string '999,999.99')
10,125.35
with output, format
Convert a floating-
TO_CHAR(DOUBLE
VARCHAR2 point number to a TO_CHAR(CAST(123.5282 AS
123.53
PRECISION, format) string with output, REAL), '999.99')
format
Convert a date TO_DATE('2007-07-04
TO_DATE(string [, 04-JUL-07
format ])
DATEformatted string to a 13:39:10', 'YYYY-MM-DD 13:39:10
DATE data type HH24:MI:SS')
Convert a number
TO_NUMBER(string [, TO_NUMBER('2,412-',
format ])
NUMBER formatted string to a '999,999S') -2412
NUMBER data type
Convert a timestamp TO_TIMESTAMP('05 Dec 2000
TO_TIMESTAMP(string, 05-DEC-00
TIMESTAMP formatted string to a 08:30:25 pm', 'DD Mon YYYY
format) 20:30:25
TIMESTAMP data type hh12:mi:ss pm')

In an output template string (for TO_CHAR), there are certain patterns that are recognized
and replaced with appropriately-formatted data from the value to be formatted. Any text
that is not a template pattern is simply copied verbatim. Similarly, in an input template

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string (for anything but TO_CHAR), template patterns identify the parts of the input data
string to be looked at and the values to be found there.

The following table shows the template patterns available for formatting date values
using the TO_CHAR and TO_DATE functions.

Table 2-20 Template Date/Time Format Patterns

Pattern Description
HH Hour of day (01-12)
HH12 Hour of day (01-12)
HH24 Hour of day (00-23)
MI Minute (00-59)
SS Second (00-59)
SSSSS Seconds past midnight (0-86399)
FFn
Fractional seconds where n is an optional integer from 1 to 9 for the number of digits to
return. If omitted, the default is 6.
AM or A.M. or PM
or P.M. Meridian indicator (uppercase)
am or a.m. or pm
or p.m. Meridian indicator (lowercase)
Y,YYY Year (4 and more digits) with comma
YEAR Year (spelled out)
SYEAR Year (spelled out) (BC dates prefixed by a minus sign)
YYYY Year (4 and more digits)
SYYYY Year (4 and more digits) (BC dates prefixed by a minus sign)
YYY Last 3 digits of year
YY Last 2 digits of year
Y Last digit of year
IYYY ISO year (4 and more digits)
IYY Last 3 digits of ISO year
IY Last 2 digits of ISO year
I Last 1 digit of ISO year
BC or B.C. or AD
or A.D. Era indicator (uppercase)
bc or b.c. or ad
or a.d. Era indicator (lowercase)
MONTH Full uppercase month name
Month Full mixed-case month name
month Full lowercase month name
MON Abbreviated uppercase month name (3 chars in English, localized lengths vary)
Mon Abbreviated mixed-case month name (3 chars in English, localized lengths vary)
mon Abbreviated lowercase month name (3 chars in English, localized lengths vary)
MM Month number (01-12)
DAY Full uppercase day name
Day Full mixed-case day name
day Full lowercase day name
DY Abbreviated uppercase day name (3 chars in English, localized lengths vary)
Dy Abbreviated mixed-case day name (3 chars in English, localized lengths vary)
dy Abbreviated lowercase day name (3 chars in English, localized lengths vary)

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Pattern Description
DDD Day of year (001-366)
DD Day of month (01-31)
D Day of week (1-7; Sunday is 1)
W Week of month (1-5) (The first week starts on the first day of the month)
WW Week number of year (1-53) (The first week starts on the first day of the year)
IW ISO week number of year; the first Thursday of the new year is in week 1
CC Century (2 digits); the 21st century starts on 2001-01-01
SCC Same as CC except BC dates are prefixed by a minus sign
J Julian Day (days since January 1, 4712 BC)
Q Quarter
RM Month in Roman numerals (I-XII; I=January) (uppercase)
rm Month in Roman numerals (i-xii; i=January) (lowercase)
First 2 digits of the year when given only the last 2 digits of the year. Result is based upon an
algorithm using the current year and the given 2-digit year. The first 2 digits of the given 2-
digit year will be the same as the first 2 digits of the current year with the following
exceptions:
RR
If the given 2-digit year is < 50 and the last 2 digits of the current year is >= 50, then the first
2 digits for the given year is 1 greater than the first 2 digits of the current year.

If the given 2-digit year is >= 50 and the last 2 digits of the current year is < 50, then the first
2 digits for the given year is 1 less than the first 2 digits of the current year.
Only affects TO_DATE function. Allows specification of 2-digit or 4-digit year. If 2-digit
RRRR year given, then returns first 2 digits of year like RR format. If 4-digit year given, returns the
given 4-digit year.

Certain modifiers may be applied to any template pattern to alter its behavior. For
example, FMMonth is the Month pattern with the FM modifier. The following table shows
the modifier patterns for date/time formatting.

Table 2-21 Template Pattern Modifiers for Date/Time Formatting

Modifier Description Example
FM prefix Fill mode (suppress padding blanks and zeros) FMMonth
TH suffix Uppercase ordinal number suffix DDTH
th suffix Lowercase ordinal number suffix DDth
FX prefix Fixed format global option (see usage notes) FX Month DD Day
SP suffix Spell mode DDSP

Usage notes for date/time formatting:

FM suppresses leading zeroes and trailing blanks that would otherwise be added to
make the output of a pattern fixed-width.
TO_TIMESTAMP and TO_DATE skip multiple blank spaces in the input string if the
FX option is not used. FX must be specified as the first item in the template. For
example TO_TIMESTAMP('2000 JUN', 'YYYY MON') is correct, but

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TO_TIMESTAMP('2000 JUN', 'FXYYYY MON') returns an error, because
TO_TIMESTAMP expects one space only.
Ordinary text is allowed in TO_CHAR templates and will be output literally.
In conversions from string to timestamp or date, the CC field is ignored if there
is a YYY, YYYY or Y,YYY field. If CC is used with YY or Y then the year is
computed as (CC-1)*100+YY.

The following table shows the template patterns available for formatting numeric values.

Table 2-22 Template Patterns for Numeric Formatting

Pattern Description
9 Value with the specified number of digits
0 Value with leading zeroes
. (period) Decimal point
, (comma) Group (thousand) separator
$ Dollar sign
PR Negative value in angle brackets
S Sign anchored to number (uses locale)
L Currency symbol (uses locale)
D Decimal point (uses locale)
G Group separator (uses locale)
MI Minus sign specified in right-most position (if number < 0)
RN or rn Roman numeral (input between 1 and 3999)
V Shift specified number of digits (see notes)

Usage notes for numeric formatting:

9 results in a value with the same number of digits as there are 9s. If a digit is not
available it outputs a space.
TH does not convert values less than zero and does not convert fractional
numbers.

V effectively multiplies the input values by 10n, where n is the number of digits following
V. TO_CHAR does not support the use of V combined with a decimal point. (E.g.,
99.9V99 is not allowed.)

The following table shows some examples of the use of the TO_CHAR and TO_DATE
functions.

Table 2-23 TO_CHAR Examples

Expression Result
TO_CHAR(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, 'Day, DD HH12:MI:SS') 'Tuesday , 06 05:39:18'
TO_CHAR(CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, 'Tuesday, 6 05:39:18'
'FMDay, FMDD HH12:MI:SS')
TO_CHAR(-0.1, '99.99') ' -.10'
TO_CHAR(-0.1, 'FM9.99') '-.1'

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Expression Result
TO_CHAR(0.1, '0.9') ' 0.1'
TO_CHAR(12, '9990999.9') ' 0012.0'
TO_CHAR(12, 'FM9990999.9') '0012.'
TO_CHAR(485, '999') ' 485'
TO_CHAR(-485, '999') '-485'
TO_CHAR(1485, '9,999') ' 1,485'
TO_CHAR(1485, '9G999') ' 1,485'
TO_CHAR(148.5, '999.999') ' 148.500'
TO_CHAR(148.5, 'FM999.999') '148.5'
TO_CHAR(148.5, 'FM999.990') '148.500'
TO_CHAR(148.5, '999D999') ' 148.500'
TO_CHAR(3148.5, '9G999D999') ' 3,148.500'
TO_CHAR(-485, '999S') '485-'
TO_CHAR(-485, '999MI') '485-'
TO_CHAR(485, '999MI') '485 '
TO_CHAR(485, 'FM999MI') '485'
TO_CHAR(-485, '999PR') '<485>'
TO_CHAR(485, 'L999') '$ 485'
TO_CHAR(485, 'RN') ' CDLXXXV'
TO_CHAR(485, 'FMRN') 'CDLXXXV'
TO_CHAR(5.2, 'FMRN') 'V'
TO_CHAR(12, '99V999') ' 12000'
TO_CHAR(12.4, '99V999') ' 12400'
TO_CHAR(12.45, '99V9') ' 125'

2.4.7.1 IMMUTABLE TO_CHAR(TIMESTAMP, format) Function

There are certain cases of the TO_CHAR function that can result in usage of an
IMMUTABLE form of the function. Basically, a function is IMMUTABLE if the function
does not modify the database, and the function returns the same, consistent value
dependent upon only its input parameters. That is, the settings of configuration
parameters, the locale, the content of the database, etc. do not affect the results returned
by the function.

For more information about function volatility categories VOLATILE, STABLE, and
IMMUTABLE, please see the PostgreSQL Core documentation at:

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/10/static/xfunc-volatility.html

A particular advantage of an IMMUTABLE function is that it can be used in the CREATE

INDEX command to create an index based on that function.

In order for the TO_CHAR function to use the IMMUTABLE form the following conditions
must be satisfied:

The first parameter of the TO_CHAR function must be of data type TIMESTAMP.

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The format specified in the second parameter of the TO_CHAR function must not
affect the return value of the function based on factors such as language, locale,
etc. For example a format of 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS' can be used for an
IMMUTABLE form of the function since, regardless of locale settings, the result of
the function is the date and time expressed solely in numeric form. However, a
format of 'DD-MON-YYYY' cannot be used for an IMMUTABLE form of the
function because the 3-character abbreviation of the month may return different
results depending upon the locale setting.

Format patterns that result in a non-immutable function include any variations of spelled
out or abbreviated months (MONTH, MON), days (DAY, DY), median indicators (AM, PM), or
era indicators (BC, AD).

For the following example, a table with a TIMESTAMP column is created.

CREATE TABLE ts_tbl (ts_col TIMESTAMP);

The following shows the successful creation of an index with the IMMUTABLE form of the
TO_CHAR function.

edb=# CREATE INDEX ts_idx ON ts_tbl (TO_CHAR(ts_col,'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS'));

CREATE INDEX
edb=# \dS ts_idx
Index "public.ts_idx"
Column | Type | Definition
---------+-------------------+---------------------------------------------------------
----
to_char | character varying | to_char(ts_col, 'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS'::character
varying)
btree, for table "public.ts_tbl"

The following results in an error because the format specified in the TO_CHAR function
prevents the use of the IMMUTABLE form since the 3-character month abbreviation, MON,
may result in different return values based on the locale setting.

edb=# CREATE INDEX ts_idx_2 ON ts_tbl (TO_CHAR(ts_col, 'DD-MON-YYYY'));

ERROR: functions in index expression must be marked IMMUTABLE

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2.4.8 Date/Time Functions and Operators

Table 2-25 shows the available functions for date/time value processing, with details
appearing in the following subsections. The following table illustrates the behaviors of
the basic arithmetic operators (+, -). For formatting functions, refer to Section 2.4.7. You
should be familiar with the background information on date/time data types from Section
2.2.4.

Table 2-24 Date/Time Operators

Operator Example Result
+ DATE '2001-09-28' + 7 05-OCT-01 00:00:00
+ TIMESTAMP '2001-09-28 13:30:00' + 3 01-OCT-01 13:30:00
- DATE '2001-10-01' 7 24-SEP-01 00:00:00
- TIMESTAMP '2001-09-28 13:30:00' - 3 25-SEP-01 13:30:00
TIMESTAMP '2001-09-29 03:00:00' -
- @ 1 day 15 hours
TIMESTAMP '2001-09-27 12:00:00'

In the date/time functions of the following table the use of the DATE and TIMESTAMP
data types are interchangeable.

Table 2-25 Date/Time Functions

Return
Function Description Example Result
Type
ADD_MONTHS(DATE,
DATE
Add months to a date; see ADD_MONTHS('28-FEB-97', 31-MAY-97
NUMBER) Section 2.4.8.1 3.8) 00:00:00
Current date; see Section
CURRENT_DATE DATE CURRENT_DATE 04-JUL-07
2.4.8.8
Returns the current date
04-JUL-07
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP and time; see Section CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
15:33:23.484
2.4.8.8
EXTRACT(hour FROM
EXTRACT(field FROM DOUBLE Get subfield; see Section TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20
TIMESTAMP) PRECISION 2.4.8.2
20:38:40')
Returns the last day of the
month represented by the
given date. If the given
30-APR-98
LAST_DAY(DATE) DATE date contains a time LAST_DAY('14-APR-98')
00:00:00
portion, it is carried
forward to the result
unchanged.
Current date and time
LOCALTIMESTAMP [ (start of current 04-JUL-07
TIMESTAMP LOCALTIMESTAMP
(precision) ] transaction); see Section 15:33:23.484
2.4.8.8
Number of months
MONTHS_BETWEEN(DATE, MONTHS_BETWEEN('28-FEB-
DATE)
NUMBER between two dates; see 07', '30-NOV-06')
3
Section 2.4.8.3
NEXT_DAY(DATE, DATE Date falling on NEXT_DAY('16-APR- 20-APR-07

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Return
Function Description Example Result
Type
dayofweek) dayofweek following 07','FRI') 00:00:00
specified date; see Section
2.4.8.4
NEW_TIME(TO_DATE
NEW_TIME(DATE,
DATE
Converts a date and time '2005/05/29 01:45', 2005/05/29
VARCHAR, VARCHAR) to an alternate time zone 'AST', 'PST') 21:45:00

Converts a number to a
SELECT
NUMTODSINTERVAL(NUMB specified day or second 4 days
INTERVAL numtodsinterval(100,
ER, INTERVAL) interval; see Section 04:00:00
hour);
2.4.8.9.
Converts a number to a
SELECT
NUMTOYMINTERVAL(NUMB specified year or month 8 years 4
INTERVAL numtoyminterval(100,
ER, INTERVAL) interval; see Section mons
month);
2.4.8.10.
Date rounded according to
ROUND(DATE [, format ROUND(TO_DATE('29-MAY- 01-JUN-05
])
DATE format; see Section 05'),'MON') 00:00:00
2.4.8.6
SYS_EXTRACT_UTC(CAST('24
SYS_EXTRACT_UTC(TIME
STAMP WITH TIME TIMESTAMP
Returns Coordinated -MAR-11 12:30:00PM - 24-MAR-11
Universal Time 04:00' AS TIMESTAMP WITH 16:30:00
ZONE)
TIME ZONE))
Returns current date and 01-AUG-12
SYSDATE DATE SYSDATE
time 11:12:34
01-AUG-12
Returns current date and
SYSTIMESTAMP() TIMESTAMP SYSTIMESTAMP 11:11:23.665
time 229 -07:00
Truncate according to 01-MAY-05
TRUNC(TO_DATE('29-MAY-
TRUNC(DATE [format]) DATE format; see Section 05'), 'MON')
2.4.8.7 00:00:00

2.4.8.1 ADD_MONTHS

The ADD_MONTHS functions adds (or subtracts if the second parameter is negative) the
specified number of months to the given date. The resulting day of the month is the same
as the day of the month of the given date except when the day is the last day of the month
in which case the resulting date always falls on the last day of the month.

Any fractional portion of the number of months parameter is truncated before performing
the calculation.

If the given date contains a time portion, it is carried forward to the result unchanged.

The following are examples of the ADD_MONTHS function.

SELECT ADD_MONTHS('13-JUN-07',4) FROM DUAL;

add_months
--------------------
13-OCT-07 00:00:00

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(1 row)

SELECT ADD_MONTHS('31-DEC-06',2) FROM DUAL;

add_months
--------------------
28-FEB-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ADD_MONTHS('31-MAY-04',-3) FROM DUAL;

add_months
--------------------
29-FEB-04 00:00:00
(1 row)

2.4.8.2 EXTRACT

The EXTRACT function retrieves subfields such as year or hour from date/time values.
The EXTRACT function returns values of type DOUBLE PRECISION. The following are
valid field names:

YEAR

The year field

SELECT EXTRACT(YEAR FROM TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40') FROM DUAL;

date_part
-----------
2001
(1 row)

MONTH

The number of the month within the year (1 - 12)

SELECT EXTRACT(MONTH FROM TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40') FROM DUAL;

date_part
-----------
2
(1 row)

DAY

The day (of the month) field (1 - 31)

SELECT EXTRACT(DAY FROM TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40') FROM DUAL;

date_part
-----------
16
(1 row)

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HOUR

The hour field (0 - 23)

SELECT EXTRACT(HOUR FROM TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40') FROM DUAL;

date_part
-----------
20
(1 row)

MINUTE

The minutes field (0 - 59)

SELECT EXTRACT(MINUTE FROM TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40') FROM DUAL;

date_part
-----------
38
(1 row)

SECOND

The seconds field, including fractional parts (0 - 59)

SELECT EXTRACT(SECOND FROM TIMESTAMP '2001-02-16 20:38:40') FROM DUAL;

date_part
-----------
40
(1 row)

2.4.8.3 MONTHS_BETWEEN

The MONTHS_BETWEEN function returns the number of months between two dates. The
result is a numeric value which is positive if the first date is greater than the second date
or negative if the first date is less than the second date.

The result is always a whole number of months if the day of the month of both date
parameters is the same, or both date parameters fall on the last day of their respective
months.

The following are some examples of the MONTHS_BETWEEN function.

SELECT MONTHS_BETWEEN('15-DEC-06','15-OCT-06') FROM DUAL;

months_between
----------------
2
(1 row)

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SELECT MONTHS_BETWEEN('15-OCT-06','15-DEC-06') FROM DUAL;

months_between
----------------
-2
(1 row)

SELECT MONTHS_BETWEEN('31-JUL-00','01-JUL-00') FROM DUAL;

months_between
----------------
0.967741935
(1 row)

SELECT MONTHS_BETWEEN('01-JAN-07','01-JAN-06') FROM DUAL;

months_between
----------------
12
(1 row)

2.4.8.4 NEXT_DAY

The NEXT_DAY function returns the first occurrence of the given weekday strictly greater
than the given date. At least the first three letters of the weekday must be specified - e.g.,
SAT. If the given date contains a time portion, it is carried forward to the result
unchanged.

The following are examples of the NEXT_DAY function.

SELECT NEXT_DAY(TO_DATE('13-AUG-07','DD-MON-YY'),'SUNDAY') FROM DUAL;

next_day
--------------------
19-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT NEXT_DAY(TO_DATE('13-AUG-07','DD-MON-YY'),'MON') FROM DUAL;

next_day
--------------------
20-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

2.4.8.5 NEW_TIME

The NEW_TIME function converts a date and time from one time zone to another.
NEW_TIME returns a value of type DATE. The syntax is:

NEW_TIME(DATE, time_zone1, time_zone2)

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time_zone1 and time_zone2 must be string values from the Time Zone column of the
following table:

Table 2-26 Time Zones

Time Zone Offset from UTC Description
AST UTC+4 Atlantic Standard Time
ADT UTC+3 Atlantic Daylight Time
BST UTC+11 Bering Standard Time
BDT UTC+10 Bering Daylight Time
CST UTC+6 Central Standard Time
CDT UTC+5 Central Daylight Time
EST UTC+5 Eastern Standard Time
EDT UTC+4 Eastern Daylight Time
GMT UTC Greenwich Mean Time
HST UTC+10 Alaska-Hawaii Standard Time
HDT UTC+9 Alaska-Hawaii Daylight Time
MST UTC+7 Mountain Standard Time
MDT UTC+6 Mountain Daylight Time
NST UTC+3:30 Newfoundland Standard Time
PST UTC+8 Pacific Standard Time
PDT UTC+7 Pacific Daylight Time
YST UTC+9 Yukon Standard Time
YDT UTC+8 Yukon Daylight Time

Following is an example of the NEW_TIME function.

SELECT NEW_TIME(TO_DATE('08-13-07 10:35:15','MM-DD-YY HH24:MI:SS'),'AST',

'PST') "Pacific Standard Time" FROM DUAL;

Pacific Standard Time

---------------------
13-AUG-07 06:35:15
(1 row)

2.4.8.6 ROUND

The ROUND function returns a date rounded according to a specified template pattern. If
the template pattern is omitted, the date is rounded to the nearest day. The following table
shows the template patterns for the ROUND function.

Table 2-27 Template Date Patterns for the ROUND Function

Pattern Description
Returns January 1, cc01 where cc is first 2 digits of the given year if last 2 digits <=
CC, SCC 50, or 1 greater than the first 2 digits of the given year if last 2 digits > 50; (for AD
years)
SYYY, YYYY, Returns January 1, yyyy where yyyy is rounded to the nearest year; rounds down on
YEAR, SYEAR, June 30, rounds up on July 1

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Pattern Description
YYY, YY, Y
Rounds to the beginning of the ISO year which is determined by rounding down if
IYYY, IYY, IY, I the month and day is on or before June 30th, or by rounding up if the month and day
is July 1st or later
Returns the first day of the quarter determined by rounding down if the month and
Q day is on or before the 15th of the second month of the quarter, or by rounding up if
the month and day is on the 16th of the second month or later of the quarter
Returns the first day of the specified month if the day of the month is on or prior to
MONTH, MON, MM,
RM the 15th; returns the first day of the following month if the day of the month is on
the 16th or later
WW
Round to the nearest date that corresponds to the same day of the week as the first
day of the year
IW
Round to the nearest date that corresponds to the same day of the week as the first
day of the ISO year
W
Round to the nearest date that corresponds to the same day of the week as the first
day of the month
Rounds to the start of the nearest day; 11:59:59 AM or earlier rounds to the start of
DDD, DD, J
the same day; 12:00:00 PM or later rounds to the start of the next day
DAY, DY, D Rounds to the nearest Sunday
HH, HH12, HH24 Round to the nearest hour
MI Round to the nearest minute

Following are examples of usage of the ROUND function.

The following examples round to the nearest hundred years.

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('1950','YYYY'),'CC'),'DD-MON-YYYY') "Century"

FROM DUAL;

Century
-------------
01-JAN-1901
(1 row)

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('1951','YYYY'),'CC'),'DD-MON-YYYY') "Century"

FROM DUAL;

Century
-------------
01-JAN-2001
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest year.

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('30-JUN-1999','DD-MON-YYYY'),'Y'),'DD-MON-YYYY')
"Year" FROM DUAL;

Year
-------------
01-JAN-1999
(1 row)

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('01-JUL-1999','DD-MON-YYYY'),'Y'),'DD-MON-YYYY')
"Year" FROM DUAL;

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Year
-------------
01-JAN-2000
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest ISO year. The first example rounds to 2004
and the ISO year for 2004 begins on December 29th of 2003. The second example rounds
to 2005 and the ISO year for 2005 begins on January 3rd of that same year.

(An ISO year begins on the first Monday from which a 7 day span, Monday thru Sunday,
contains at least 4 days of the new year. Thus, it is possible for the beginning of an ISO
year to start in December of the prior year.)

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('30-JUN-2004','DD-MON-YYYY'),'IYYY'),'DD-MON-
YYYY') "ISO Year" FROM DUAL;

ISO Year
-------------
29-DEC-2003
(1 row)

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('01-JUL-2004','DD-MON-YYYY'),'IYYY'),'DD-MON-
YYYY') "ISO Year" FROM DUAL;

ISO Year
-------------
03-JAN-2005
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest quarter.

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('15-FEB-07','DD-MON-YY'),'Q') "Quarter" FROM DUAL;

Quarter
--------------------
01-JAN-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('16-FEB-07','DD-MON-YY'),'Q') "Quarter" FROM DUAL;

Quarter
--------------------
01-APR-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest month.

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('15-DEC-07','DD-MON-YY'),'MONTH') "Month" FROM DUAL;

Month
--------------------
01-DEC-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('16-DEC-07','DD-MON-YY'),'MONTH') "Month" FROM DUAL;

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Month
--------------------
01-JAN-08 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest week. The first day of 2007 lands on a
Monday so in the first example, January 18th is closest to the Monday that lands on
January 15th. In the second example, January 19th is closer to the Monday that falls on
January 22nd.

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('18-JAN-07','DD-MON-YY'),'WW') "Week" FROM DUAL;

Week
--------------------
15-JAN-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('19-JAN-07','DD-MON-YY'),'WW') "Week" FROM DUAL;

Week
--------------------
22-JAN-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest ISO week. An ISO week begins on a
Monday. In the first example, January 1, 2004 is closest to the Monday that lands on
December 29, 2003. In the second example, January 2, 2004 is closer to the Monday that
lands on January 5, 2004.

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('01-JAN-04','DD-MON-YY'),'IW') "ISO Week" FROM DUAL;

ISO Week
--------------------
29-DEC-03 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('02-JAN-04','DD-MON-YY'),'IW') "ISO Week" FROM DUAL;

ISO Week
--------------------
05-JAN-04 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest week where a week is considered to start on
the same day as the first day of the month.

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('05-MAR-07','DD-MON-YY'),'W') "Week" FROM DUAL;

Week
--------------------
08-MAR-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('04-MAR-07','DD-MON-YY'),'W') "Week" FROM DUAL;

Week
--------------------

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01-MAR-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest day.

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('04-AUG-07 11:59:59 AM','DD-MON-YY HH:MI:SS AM'),'J')

"Day" FROM DUAL;

Day
--------------------
04-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('04-AUG-07 12:00:00 PM','DD-MON-YY HH:MI:SS AM'),'J')

"Day" FROM DUAL;

Day
--------------------
05-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the start of the nearest day of the week (Sunday).

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('08-AUG-07','DD-MON-YY'),'DAY') "Day of Week" FROM DUAL;

Day of Week
--------------------
05-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT ROUND(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07','DD-MON-YY'),'DAY') "Day of Week" FROM DUAL;

Day of Week
--------------------
12-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest hour.

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07 08:29','DD-MON-YY HH:MI'),'HH'),'DD-

MON-YY HH24:MI:SS') "Hour" FROM DUAL;

Hour
--------------------
09-AUG-07 08:00:00
(1 row)

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07 08:30','DD-MON-YY HH:MI'),'HH'),'DD-

MON-YY HH24:MI:SS') "Hour" FROM DUAL;

Hour
--------------------
09-AUG-07 09:00:00
(1 row)

The following examples round to the nearest minute.

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SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07 08:30:29','DD-MON-YY
HH:MI:SS'),'MI'),'DD-MON-YY HH24:MI:SS') "Minute" FROM DUAL;

Minute
--------------------
09-AUG-07 08:30:00
(1 row)

SELECT TO_CHAR(ROUND(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07 08:30:30','DD-MON-YY

HH:MI:SS'),'MI'),'DD-MON-YY HH24:MI:SS') "Minute" FROM DUAL;

Minute
--------------------
09-AUG-07 08:31:00
(1 row)

2.4.8.7 TRUNC

The TRUNC function returns a date truncated according to a specified template pattern. If
the template pattern is omitted, the date is truncated to the nearest day. The following
table shows the template patterns for the TRUNC function.

Table 2-28 Template Date Patterns for the TRUNC Function

Pattern Description
CC, SCC Returns January 1, cc01 where cc is first 2 digits of the given year
SYYY, YYYY,
YEAR, SYEAR, Returns January 1, yyyy where yyyy is the given year
YYY, YY, Y
IYYY, IYY, IY, I Returns the start date of the ISO year containing the given date
Q Returns the first day of the quarter containing the given date
MONTH, MON, MM,
RM Returns the first day of the specified month

WW
Returns the largest date just prior to, or the same as the given date that corresponds
to the same day of the week as the first day of the year
IW Returns the start of the ISO week containing the given date
W
Returns the largest date just prior to, or the same as the given date that corresponds
to the same day of the week as the first day of the month
DDD, DD, J Returns the start of the day for the given date
DAY, DY, D Returns the start of the week (Sunday) containing the given date
HH, HH12, HH24 Returns the start of the hour
MI Returns the start of the minute

Following are examples of usage of the TRUNC function.

The following example truncates down to the hundred years unit.

SELECT TO_CHAR(TRUNC(TO_DATE('1951','YYYY'),'CC'),'DD-MON-YYYY') "Century"

FROM DUAL;

Century
-------------
01-JAN-1901

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(1 row)

The following example truncates down to the year.

SELECT TO_CHAR(TRUNC(TO_DATE('01-JUL-1999','DD-MON-YYYY'),'Y'),'DD-MON-YYYY')
"Year" FROM DUAL;

Year
-------------
01-JAN-1999
(1 row)

The following example truncates down to the beginning of the ISO year.

SELECT TO_CHAR(TRUNC(TO_DATE('01-JUL-2004','DD-MON-YYYY'),'IYYY'),'DD-MON-
YYYY') "ISO Year" FROM DUAL;

ISO Year
-------------
29-DEC-2003
(1 row)

The following example truncates down to the start date of the quarter.

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('16-FEB-07','DD-MON-YY'),'Q') "Quarter" FROM DUAL;

Quarter
--------------------
01-JAN-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates to the start of the month.

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('16-DEC-07','DD-MON-YY'),'MONTH') "Month" FROM DUAL;

Month
--------------------
01-DEC-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates down to the start of the week determined by the first
day of the year. The first day of 2007 lands on a Monday so the Monday just prior to
January 19th is January 15th.

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('19-JAN-07','DD-MON-YY'),'WW') "Week" FROM DUAL;

Week
--------------------
15-JAN-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

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The following example truncates to the start of an ISO week. An ISO week begins on a
Monday. January 2, 2004 falls in the ISO week that starts on Monday, December 29,
2003.

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('02-JAN-04','DD-MON-YY'),'IW') "ISO Week" FROM DUAL;

ISO Week
--------------------
29-DEC-03 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates to the start of the week where a week is considered to
start on the same day as the first day of the month.

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('21-MAR-07','DD-MON-YY'),'W') "Week" FROM DUAL;

Week
--------------------
15-MAR-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates to the start of the day.

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('04-AUG-07 12:00:00 PM','DD-MON-YY HH:MI:SS AM'),'J')

"Day" FROM DUAL;

Day
--------------------
04-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates to the start of the week (Sunday).

SELECT TRUNC(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07','DD-MON-YY'),'DAY') "Day of Week" FROM DUAL;

Day of Week
--------------------
05-AUG-07 00:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates to the start of the hour.

SELECT TO_CHAR(TRUNC(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07 08:30','DD-MON-YY HH:MI'),'HH'),'DD-

MON-YY HH24:MI:SS') "Hour" FROM DUAL;

Hour
--------------------
09-AUG-07 08:00:00
(1 row)

The following example truncates to the minute.

SELECT TO_CHAR(TRUNC(TO_DATE('09-AUG-07 08:30:30','DD-MON-YY

HH:MI:SS'),'MI'),'DD-MON-YY HH24:MI:SS') "Minute" FROM DUAL;

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Minute
--------------------
09-AUG-07 08:30:00
(1 row)

2.4.8.8 CURRENT DATE/TIME

Advanced Server provides a number of functions that return values related to the current
date and time. These functions all return values based on the start time of the current
transaction.

CURRENT_DATE
CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
LOCALTIMESTAMP
LOCALTIMESTAMP(precision)

CURRENT_DATE returns the current date and time based on the start time of the current
transaction. The value of CURRENT_DATE will not change if called multiple times within
a transaction.

SELECT CURRENT_DATE FROM DUAL;

date
-----------
06-AUG-07

CURRENT_TIMESTAMP returns the current date and time. When called from a single SQL
statement, it will return the same value for each occurrence within the statement. If
called from multiple statements within a transaction, may return different values for each
occurrence. If called from a function, may return a different value than the value
returned by current_timestamp in the caller.

SELECT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, CURRENT_TIMESTAMP FROM DUAL;

current_timestamp | current_timestamp
----------------------------------+----------------------------------
02-SEP-13 17:52:29.261473 +05:00 | 02-SEP-13 17:52:29.261474 +05:00

LOCALTIMESTAMP can optionally be given a precision parameter which causes the result
to be rounded to that many fractional digits in the seconds field. Without a precision
parameter, the result is given to the full available precision.

SELECT LOCALTIMESTAMP FROM DUAL;

timestamp
------------------------
06-AUG-07 16:11:35.973
(1 row)

SELECT LOCALTIMESTAMP(2) FROM DUAL;

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timestamp
-----------------------
06-AUG-07 16:11:44.58
(1 row)

Since these functions return the start time of the current transaction, their values do not
change during the transaction. This is considered a feature: the intent is to allow a single
transaction to have a consistent notion of the current time, so that multiple
modifications within the same transaction bear the same time stamp. Other database
systems may advance these values more frequently.

2.4.8.9 NUMTODSINTERVAL

The NUMTODSINTERVAL function converts a numeric value to a time interval that

includes day through second interval units. When calling the function, specify the
smallest fractional interval type to be included in the result set. The valid interval types
are DAY, HOUR, MINUTE, and SECOND.

The following example converts a numeric value to a time interval that includes days and
hours:

SELECT numtodsinterval(100, hour);

numtodsinterval
---------------
4 days 04:00:00
(1 row)

The following example converts a numeric value to a time interval that includes minutes
and seconds:

SELECT numtodsinterval(100, second);

numtodsinterval
---------------
1 min 40 secs
(1 row)

2.4.8.10 NUMTOYMINTERVAL

The NUMTOYMINTERVAL function converts a numeric value to a time interval that

includes year through month interval units. When calling the function, specify the
smallest fractional interval type to be included in the result set. The valid interval types
are YEAR and MONTH.

The following example converts a numeric value to a time interval that includes years
and months:

SELECT numtoyminterval(100, month);

numtoyminterval
---------------
8 years 4 mons

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(1 row)

The following example converts a numeric value to a time interval that includes years
only:

SELECT numtoyminterval(100, year);

numtoyminterval
---------------
100 years
(1 row)

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2.4.9 Sequence Manipulation Functions

This section describes Advanced Servers functions for operating on sequence objects.
Sequence objects (also called sequence generators or just sequences) are special single-
row tables created with the CREATE SEQUENCE command. A sequence object is usually
used to generate unique identifiers for rows of a table. The sequence functions, listed
below, provide simple, multiuser-safe methods for obtaining successive sequence values
from sequence objects.

sequence.NEXTVAL
sequence.CURRVAL

sequence is the identifier assigned to the sequence in the CREATE SEQUENCE

command. The following describes the usage of these functions.

NEXTVAL

Advance the sequence object to its next value and return that value. This is done
atomically: even if multiple sessions execute NEXTVAL concurrently, each will
safely receive a distinct sequence value.

CURRVAL

Return the value most recently obtained by NEXTVAL for this sequence in the
current session. (An error is reported if NEXTVAL has never been called for this
sequence in this session.) Notice that because this is returning a session-local
value, it gives a predictable answer whether or not other sessions have executed
NEXTVAL since the current session did.

If a sequence object has been created with default parameters, NEXTVAL calls on it will
return successive values beginning with 1. Other behaviors can be obtained by using
special parameters in the CREATE SEQUENCE command.

Important: To avoid blocking of concurrent transactions that obtain numbers from the
same sequence, a NEXTVAL operation is never rolled back; that is, once a value has been
fetched it is considered used, even if the transaction that did the NEXTVAL later aborts.
This means that aborted transactions may leave unused "holes" in the sequence of
assigned values.

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2.4.10 Conditional Expressions

The following section describes the SQL-compliant conditional expressions available in

Advanced Server.

2.4.10.1 CASE

The SQL CASE expression is a generic conditional expression, similar to if/else

statements in other languages:

CASE WHEN condition THEN result

[ WHEN ... ]
[ ELSE result ]
END

CASE clauses can be used wherever an expression is valid. condition is an expression

that returns a BOOLEAN result. If the result is TRUE then the value of the CASE expression
is the result that follows the condition. If the result is FALSE any subsequent WHEN
clauses are searched in the same manner. If no WHEN condition is TRUE then the value
of the CASE expression is the result in the ELSE clause. If the ELSE clause is omitted
and no condition matches, the result is NULL.

An example:

SELECT * FROM test;

a
---
1
2
3
(3 rows)

SELECT a,
CASE WHEN a=1 THEN 'one'
WHEN a=2 THEN 'two'
ELSE 'other'
END
FROM test;

a | case
---+-------
1 | one
2 | two
3 | other
(3 rows)

The data types of all the result expressions must be convertible to a single output type.

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The following simple CASE expression is a specialized variant of the general form
above:

CASE expression
WHEN value THEN result
[ WHEN ... ]
[ ELSE result ]
END

The expression is computed and compared to all the value specifications in the WHEN
clauses until one is found that is equal. If no match is found, the result in the ELSE
clause (or a null value) is returned.

The example above can be written using the simple CASE syntax:

SELECT a,
CASE a WHEN 1 THEN 'one'
WHEN 2 THEN 'two'
ELSE 'other'
END
FROM test;

a | case
---+-------
1 | one
2 | two
3 | other
(3 rows)

A CASE expression does not evaluate any subexpressions that are not needed to determine
the result. For example, this is a possible way of avoiding a division-by-zero failure:

SELECT ... WHERE CASE WHEN x <> 0 THEN y/x > 1.5 ELSE false END;

2.4.10.2 COALESCE

The COALESCE function returns the first of its arguments that is not null. Null is returned
only if all arguments are null.

COALESCE(value [, value2 ] ... )

It is often used to substitute a default value for null values when data is retrieved for
display or further computation. For example:

SELECT COALESCE(description, short_description, '(none)') ...

Like a CASE expression, COALESCE will not evaluate arguments that are not needed to
determine the result; that is, arguments to the right of the first non-null argument are not
evaluated. This SQL-standard function provides capabilities similar to NVL and IFNULL,
which are used in some other database systems.

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2.4.10.3 NULLIF

The NULLIF function returns a null value if value1 and value2 are equal; otherwise it
returns value1.

NULLIF(value1, value2)

This can be used to perform the inverse operation of the COALESCE example given
above:

SELECT NULLIF(value1, '(none)') ...

If value1 is (none), return a null, otherwise return value1.

2.4.10.4 NVL

The NVL function returns the first of its arguments that is not null. NVL evaluates the first
expression; if that expression evaluates to NULL, NVL returns the second expression.

NVL(expr1, expr2)

The return type is the same as the argument types; all arguments must have the same data
type (or be coercible to a common type). NVL returns NULL if all arguments are NULL.

The following example computes a bonus for non-commissioned employees, If an

employee is a commissioned employee, this expression returns the employees
commission; if the employee is not a commissioned employee (that is, his commission is
NULL), this expression returns a bonus that is 10% of his salary.

bonus = NVL(emp.commission, emp.salary * .10)

2.4.10.5 NVL2

NVL2 evaluates an expression, and returns either the second or third expression,
depending on the value of the first expression. If the first expression is not NULL, NVL2
returns the value in expr2; if the first expression is NULL, NVL2 returns the value in
expr3.

NVL2(expr1, expr2, expr3)

The return type is the same as the argument types; all arguments must have the same data
type (or be coercible to a common type).

The following example computes a bonus for commissioned employees - if a given

employee is a commissioned employee, this expression returns an amount equal to 110%

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of his commission; if the employee is not a commissioned employee (that is, his
commission is NULL), this expression returns 0.

bonus = NVL2(emp.commission, emp.commission * 1.1, 0)

2.4.10.6 GREATEST and LEAST

The GREATEST and LEAST functions select the largest or smallest value from a list of any
number of expressions.

GREATEST(value [, value2 ] ... )

LEAST(value [, value2 ] ... )

The expressions must all be convertible to a common data type, which will be the type of
the result. Null values in the list are ignored. The result will be null only if all the
expressions evaluate to null.

Note that GREATEST and LEAST are not in the SQL standard, but are a common
extension.

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2.4.11 Aggregate Functions

Aggregate functions compute a single result value from a set of input values. The built-in
aggregate functions are listed in the following tables.

Table 2-29 General-Purpose Aggregate Functions

Function Argument Type Return Type Description
INTEGER, REAL, NUMBER for any integer
DOUBLE PRECISION, type, DOUBLE PRECISION
NUMBER
AVG(expression) for a floating-point The average (arithmetic mean) of
argument, otherwise the all input values
same as the argument data
type
COUNT(*) BIGINT Number of input rows
COUNT(expression)
Any BIGINT
Number of input rows for which
the value of expression is not null
Any numeric, string, Maximum value of expression
MAX(expression) Same as argument type
date/time, or bytea type across all input values
Any numeric, string, Minimum value of expression
MIN(expression) Same as argument type
date/time, or bytea type across all input values
INTEGER, REAL, BIGINT for SMALLINT or
DOUBLE PRECISION, INTEGER arguments,
NUMBER
NUMBER for BIGINT
SUM(expression) arguments, DOUBLE Sum of expression across all input
PRECISION for floating- values
point arguments, otherwise
the same as the argument
data type

It should be noted that except for COUNT, these functions return a null value when no
rows are selected. In particular, SUM of no rows returns null, not zero as one might
expect. The COALESCE function may be used to substitute zero for null when necessary.

The following table shows the aggregate functions typically used in statistical analysis.
(These are separated out merely to avoid cluttering the listing of more-commonly-used
aggregates.) Where the description mentions N, it means the number of input rows for
which all the input expressions are non-null. In all cases, null is returned if the
computation is meaningless, for example when N is zero.

Table 2-30 Aggregate Functions for Statistics

Function Argument Type Return Type Description
CORR(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION Correlation coefficient
COVAR_POP(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION Population covariance
COVAR_SAMP(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION Sample covariance
Average of the independent
REGR_AVGX(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION
variable (sum(X) / N)

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Function Argument Type Return Type Description
Average of the dependent
REGR_AVGY(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION
variable (sum(Y) / N)
Number of input rows in
REGR_COUNT(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION which both expressions are
nonnull
y-intercept of the least-
squares-fit linear equation
REGR_INTERCEPT(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION
determined by the (X, Y)
pairs
REGR_R2(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION
Square of the correlation
coefficient
Slope of the least-squares-
fit linear equation
REGR_SLOPE(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION
determined by the (X, Y)
pairs
Sum (X2) sum (X)2 / N
REGR_SXX(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION (sum of squares of the
independent variable)
Sum (X*Y) sum (X) * sum
REGR_SXY(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION (Y) / N (sum of products
of independent times
dependent variable)
Sum (Y2) sum (Y)2 / N
REGR_SYY(Y, X) DOUBLE PRECISION DOUBLE PRECISION (sum of squares of the
dependent variable)
INTEGER, REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION for
Historic alias for
STDDEV(expression) DOUBLE PRECISION, floating-point arguments, STDDEV_SAMP
NUMBER otherwise NUMBER
INTEGER, REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION for Population standard
STDDEV_POP(expression) DOUBLE PRECISION, floating-point arguments, deviation of the input
NUMBER otherwise NUMBER values
INTEGER, REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION for
Sample standard deviation
STDDEV_SAMP(expression) DOUBLE PRECISION, floating-point arguments,
NUMBER of the input values
otherwise NUMBER
INTEGER, REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION for
Historical alias for
VARIANCE(expression) DOUBLE PRECISION, floating-point arguments, VAR_SAMP
NUMBER otherwise NUMBER
Population variance of the
INTEGER, REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION for
input values (square of the
VAR_POP(expression) DOUBLE PRECISION, floating-point arguments,
NUMBER population standard
otherwise NUMBER
deviation)
INTEGER, REAL, DOUBLE PRECISION for Sample variance of the
VAR_SAMP(expression) DOUBLE PRECISION, floating-point arguments, input values (square of the
NUMBER otherwise NUMBER sample standard deviation)

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2.4.12 Subquery Expressions

This section describes the SQL-compliant subquery expressions available in Advanced

Server. All of the expression forms documented in this section return Boolean
(TRUE/FALSE) results.

2.4.12.1 EXISTS

The argument of EXISTS is an arbitrary SELECT statement, or subquery. The subquery is

evaluated to determine whether it returns any rows. If it returns at least one row, the
result of EXISTS is TRUE; if the subquery returns no rows, the result of EXISTS is
FALSE.

EXISTS(subquery)

The subquery can refer to variables from the surrounding query, which will act as
constants during any one evaluation of the subquery.

The subquery will generally only be executed far enough to determine whether at least
one row is returned, not all the way to completion. It is unwise to write a subquery that
has any side effects (such as calling sequence functions); whether the side effects occur
or not may be difficult to predict.

Since the result depends only on whether any rows are returned, and not on the contents
of those rows, the output list of the subquery is normally uninteresting. A common
coding convention is to write all EXISTS tests in the form EXISTS(SELECT 1 WHERE
...). There are exceptions to this rule however, such as subqueries that use INTERSECT.

This simple example is like an inner join on deptno, but it produces at most one output
row for each dept row, even though there are multiple matching emp rows:

SELECT dname FROM dept WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM emp WHERE emp.deptno =
dept.deptno);

dname
------------
ACCOUNTING
RESEARCH
SALES
(3 rows)

2.4.12.2 IN
The right-hand side is a parenthesized subquery, which must return exactly one column.
The left-hand expression is evaluated and compared to each row of the subquery result.

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The result of IN is TRUE if any equal subquery row is found. The result is FALSE if no
equal row is found (including the special case where the subquery returns no rows).

expression IN (subquery)

Note that if the left-hand expression yields NULL, or if there are no equal right-hand
values and at least one right-hand row yields NULL, the result of the IN construct will be
NULL, not FALSE. This is in accordance with SQLs normal rules for Boolean
combinations of null values.

As with EXISTS, its unwise to assume that the subquery will be evaluated completely.

2.4.12.3 NOT IN

The right-hand side is a parenthesized subquery, which must return exactly one column.
The left-hand expression is evaluated and compared to each row of the subquery result.
The result of NOT IN is TRUE if only unequal subquery rows are found (including the
special case where the subquery returns no rows). The result is FALSE if any equal row is
found.

expression NOT IN (subquery)

Note that if the left-hand expression yields NULL, or if there are no equal right-hand
values and at least one right-hand row yields NULL, the result of the NOT IN construct
will be NULL, not TRUE. This is in accordance with SQLs normal rules for Boolean
combinations of null values.

As with EXISTS, its unwise to assume that the subquery will be evaluated completely.

2.4.12.4 ANY/SOME
The right-hand side is a parenthesized subquery, which must return exactly one column.
The left-hand expression is evaluated and compared to each row of the subquery result
using the given operator, which must yield a Boolean result. The result of ANY is TRUE if
any true result is obtained. The result is FALSE if no true result is found (including the
special case where the subquery returns no rows).

expression operator ANY (subquery)

expression operator SOME (subquery)

SOME is a synonym for ANY. IN is equivalent to = ANY.

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Note that if there are no successes and at least one right-hand row yields NULL for the
operators result, the result of the ANY construct will be NULL, not FALSE. This is in
accordance with SQLs normal rules for Boolean combinations of null values.

As with EXISTS, its unwise to assume that the subquery will be evaluated completely.

2.4.12.5 ALL
The right-hand side is a parenthesized subquery, which must return exactly one column.
The left-hand expression is evaluated and compared to each row of the subquery result
using the given operator, which must yield a Boolean result. The result of ALL is TRUE if
all rows yield true (including the special case where the subquery returns no rows). The
result is FALSE if any false result is found. The result is NULL if the comparison does not
return FALSE for any row, and it returns NULL for at least one row.

expression operator ALL (subquery)

NOT IN is equivalent to <> ALL. As with EXISTS, its unwise to assume that the
subquery will be evaluated completely.

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3 Oracle Catalog Views

The Oracle Catalog Views provide information about database objects in a manner
compatible with the Oracle data dictionary views.

3.1 ALL_ALL_TABLES

The ALL_ALL_TABLES view provides information about the tables accessible by the
current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the tables owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the table belongs.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
tablespace_name TEXT
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
the default tablespace.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING (5) Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.
temporary TEXT Y if the table is temporary; N if the table is permanent.

3.2 ALL_CONS_COLUMNS

The ALL_CONS_COLUMNS view provides information about the columns specified in

constraints placed on tables accessible by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the constraints owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the constraint belongs.
constraint_name TEXT The name of the constraint.
table_name TEXT The name of the table to which the constraint belongs.
column_name TEXT The name of the column referenced in the constraint.
position SMALLINT The position of the column within the object definition.
constraint_def TEXT The definition of the constraint.

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3.3 ALL_CONSTRAINTS

The ALL_CONSTRAINTS view provides information about the constraints placed on

tables accessible by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the constraints owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the constraint belongs.
constraint_name TEXT The name of the constraint.
The constraint type. Possible values are:
C check constraint
F foreign key constraint
P primary key constraint
constraint_type TEXT
U unique key constraint
R referential integrity constraint
V constraint on a view
O with read-only, on a view
table_name TEXT Name of the table to which the constraint belongs.
search_condition TEXT Search condition that applies to a check constraint.
r_owner TEXT Owner of a table referenced by a referential constraint.
r_constraint_name TEXT Name of the constraint definition for a referenced table.
The delete rule for a referential constraint. Possible values
are:
delete_rule TEXT C cascade
R restrict
N no action
deferrable BOOLEAN Specified if the constraint is deferrable (T or F).
deferred BOOLEAN Specifies if the constraint has been deferred (T or F).
index_owner TEXT User name of the index owner.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
constraint_def TEXT The definition of the constraint.

3.4 ALL_DB_LINKS

The ALL_DB_LINKS view provides information about the database links accessible by
the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the database links owner.
db_link TEXT The name of the database link.
CHARACTER
type
VARYING Type of remote server. Value will be either REDWOOD or EDB
username TEXT User name of the user logging in.
host TEXT Name or IP address of the remote server.

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3.5 ALL_DIRECTORIES

The ALL_DIRECTORIES view provides information about all directories created with the
CREATE DIRECTORY command.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
owner
VARYING(30) User name of the directorys owner.
CHARACTER
directory_name
VARYING(30) The alias name assigned to the directory.
CHARACTER
directory_path
VARYING(4000) The path to the directory.

3.6 ALL_IND_COLUMNS

The ALL_IND_COLUMNS view provides information about columns included in indexes

on the tables accessible by the current user.

Name Type Description

index_owner TEXT User name of the indexs owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the index belongs.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
table_owner TEXT User name of the table owner.
table_name TEXT The name of the table to which the index belongs.
column_name TEXT The name of the column.
column_position SMALLINT The position of the column within the index.
column_length SMALLINT The length of the column (in bytes).
char_length NUMERIC The length of the column (in characters).
descend CHARACTER(1) Always set to Y (descending); included for compatibility only.

3.7 ALL_INDEXES

The ALL_INDEXES view provides information about the indexes on tables that may be
accessed by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the indexs owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the index belongs.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
index_type TEXT
The index type is always BTREE. Included for compatibility
only.
table_owner TEXT User name of the owner of the indexed table.
table_name TEXT The name of the indexed table.
table_type TEXT Included for compatibility only. Always set to TABLE.

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Name Type Description
uniqueness TEXT Indicates if the index is UNIQUE or NONUNIQUE.
compression CHARACTER(1)
Always set to N (not compressed). Included for compatibility
only.
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
tablespace_name TEXT
the default tablespace.
logging TEXT Always set to LOGGING. Included for compatibility only.
status TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.
Indicates that the index is partitioned. Currently, always set to
partitioned CHARACTER(3)
NO.
Indicates that an index is on a temporary table. Always set to
temporary CHARACTER(1)
N; included for compatibility only.
secondary CHARACTER(1) Included for compatibility only. Always set to N.
join_index CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.
dropped CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.

3.8 ALL_JOBS

The ALL_JOBS view provides information about all jobs that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

job INTEGER The identifier of the job (Job ID).
log_user TEXT The name of the user that submitted the job.
priv_user TEXT Same as log_user. Included for compatibility only.
schema_user TEXT The name of the schema used to parse the job.
TIMESTAMP WITH
last_date
TIME ZONE The last date that this job executed successfully.
last_sec TEXT Same as last_date.
TIMESTAMP WITH
this_date
TIME ZONE The date that the job began executing.
this_sec TEXT Same as this_date
TIMESTAMP WITH
next_date
TIME ZONE The next date that this job will be executed.
next_sec TEXT Same as next_date.
total_time INTERVAL The execution time of this job (in seconds).
If Y, no attempt will be made to run this job.
broken TEXT
If N, this job will attempt to execute.
interval TEXT Determines how often the job will repeat.
The number of times that the job has failed to complete since
failures BIGINT
its last successful execution.
The job definition (PL/SQL code block) that runs when the
what TEXT
job executes.
CHARACTER
nls_env
VARYING(4000) Always NULL. Provided for compatibility only.
misc_env BYTEA Always NULL. Provided for compatibility only.
instance NUMERIC Always 0. Provided for compatibility only.

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3.9 ALL_OBJECTS

The ALL_OBJECTS view provides information about all objects that reside in the
database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the objects owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the object belongs.
object_name TEXT Name of the object.
TEXT Type of the object possible values are: INDEX, FUNCTION,
object_type PACKAGE, PACKAGE BODY, PROCEDURE, SEQUENCE,
SYNONYM, TABLE, TRIGGER, and VIEW.
CHARACTER Whether or not the state of the object is valid. Currently,
status VARYING Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.
temporary TEXT Y if a temporary object; N if this is a permanent object.

3.10 ALL_PART_KEY_COLUMNS

The ALL_PART_KEY_COLUMNS view provides information about the key columns of the
partitioned tables that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the table.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the
table resides.
name TEXT The name of the table in which the
column resides.
object_type CHARACTER(5) For compatibility only; always TABLE.
column_name TEXT The name of the column on which the key
is defined.
column_position INTEGER 1 for the first column; 2 for the second
column, etc.

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3.11 ALL_PART_TABLES

The ALL_PART_TABLES view provides information about all of the partitioned tables
that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the partitioned table.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table
resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
partitioning_type TEXT The partitioning type used to define table
partitions.
subpartitioning_type TEXT The subpartitioning type used to define table
subpartitions.
partition_count BIGINT The number of partitions in the table.
def_subpartition_count INTEGER The number of subpartitions in the table.
partitioning_key_count INTEGER The number of partitioning keys specified.
subpartitioning_key_count INTEGER The number of subpartitioning keys specified.
status CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(8) VALID.
def_tablespace_name CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
VARYING(30)
def_pct_free NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
def_pct_used NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
def_ini_trans NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
def_max_trans NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
def_initial_extent CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
VARYING(40)
def_next_extent CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
VARYING(40)
def_min_extents CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
VARYING(40)
def_max_extents CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
VARYING(40)
def_pct_increase CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
VARYING(40)
def_freelists NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
def_freelist_groups NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL.
def_logging CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always YES.
VARYING(7)
def_compression CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NONE
VARYING(8)
def_buffer_pool CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(7) DEFAULT
ref_ptn_constraint_name CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL
VARYING(30)
interval CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always NULL
VARYING(1000)

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3.12 ALL_POLICIES

The ALL_POLICIES view provides information on all policies in the database. This view
is accessible only to superusers.

Name Type Description

object_owner TEXT Name of the owner of the object.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the object belongs.
object_name TEXT Name of the object on which the policy applies.
policy_group TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to an empty string.
policy_name TEXT Name of the policy.
TEXT Name of the schema containing the policy function, or the
pf_owner schema containing the package that contains the policy
function.
TEXT Name of the package containing the policy function (if the
package
function belongs to a package).
function TEXT Name of the policy function.
Whether or not the policy applies to SELECT commands.
sel TEXT
Possible values are YES or NO.
ins TEXT
Whether or not the policy applies to INSERT commands.
Possible values are YES or NO.
Whether or not the policy applies to UPDATE commands.
upd TEXT
Possible values are YES or NO.
del TEXT
Whether or not the policy applies to DELETE commands.
Possible values are YES or NO.
Whether or not the policy applies to index maintenance.
idx TEXT
Possible values are YES or NO.
Whether or not the check option is in force for INSERT and
chk_option TEXT
UPDATE commands. Possible values are YES or NO.
Whether or not the policy is enabled on the object. Possible
enable TEXT
values are YES or NO.
static_policy TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to NO.
policy_type TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to UNKNOWN.
long_predicate TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to YES.

3.13 ALL_QUEUES

The ALL_QUEUES view provides information about any currently defined queues.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the queue owner.
name TEXT The name of the queue.
queue_table TEXT The name of the queue table in which the queue resides.
qid OID The system-assigned object ID of the queue.

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Name Type Description
CHARACTER The queue type; may be EXCEPTION_QUEUE,
queue_type
VARYING NON_PERSISTENT_QUEUE, or NORMAL_QUEUE.
max_retries NUMERIC The maximum number of dequeue attempts.
retrydelay NUMERIC The maximum time allowed between retries.
CHARACTER
enqueue_enabled
VARYING YES if the queue allows enqueuing; NO if the queue does not.
CHARACTER
dequeue_enabled
VARYING YES if the queue allows dequeuing; NO if the queue does not.

retention
CHARACTER The number of seconds that a processed message is retained in
VARYING the queue.
CHARACTER
user_comment
VARYING A user-specified comment.
CHARACTER
network_name
VARYING The name of the network on which the queue resides.
CHARACTER YES if the queue resides on a sharded network; NO if the queue
sharded
VARYING does not.

3.14 ALL_QUEUE_TABLES

The ALL_QUEUE_TABLES view provides information about all of the queue tables in the
database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT Role name of the owner of the queue table.
queue_table TEXT The user-specified name of the queue table.
CHARACTER
type
VARYING The type of data stored in the queue table.
object_type TEXT The user-defined payload type.
CHARACTER
sort_order
VARYING The order in which the queue table is sorted.
CHARACTER
recipients
VARYING Always SINGLE.
CHARACTER
message_grouping
VARYING Always NONE.
CHARACTER The release number of the Advanced Server release with
compatible VARYING which this queue table is compatible.
primary_instance NUMERIC Always 0.
secondary_instance NUMERIC Always 0.
The instance number of the instance that owns the queue
owner_instance NUMERIC
table.
CHARACTER
user_comment
VARYING The user comment provided when the table was created.
CHARACTER YES indicates that the queue table is secure; NO indicates that
secure VARYING it is not.

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3.15 ALL_SEQUENCES

The ALL_SEQUENCES view provides information about all user-defined sequences on

which the user has SELECT, or UPDATE privileges.

Name Type Description

sequence_owner TEXT User name of the sequence's owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the sequence resides.
sequence_name TEXT Name of the sequence.
min_value NUMERIC The lowest value that the server will assign to the sequence.
max_value NUMERIC The highest value that the server will assign to the sequence.
increment_by NUMERIC
The value added to the current sequence number to create the
next sequent number.
CHARACTER Specifies if the sequence should wrap when it reaches
cycle_flag
VARYING min_value or max_value.
CHARACTER
order_flag
VARYING Will always return Y.

cache_size NUMERIC
The number of pre-allocated sequence numbers stored in
memory.
last_number NUMERIC The value of the last sequence number saved to disk.

3.16 ALL_SOURCE

The ALL_SOURCE view provides a source code listing of the following program types:
functions, procedures, triggers, package specifications, and package bodies.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the programs owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the program belongs.
name TEXT Name of the program.
TEXT Type of program possible values are: FUNCTION, PACKAGE,
type
PACKAGE BODY, PROCEDURE, and TRIGGER.
line INTEGER Source code line number relative to a given program.
text TEXT Line of source code text.

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3.17 ALL_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS

The ALL_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS view provides information about the key columns of

those partitioned tables which are subpartitioned that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the table.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the
table resides.
name TEXT The name of the table in which the
column resides.
object_type CHARACTER(5) For compatibility only; always TABLE.
column_name TEXT The name of the column on which the key
is defined.
column_position INTEGER 1 for the first column; 2 for the second
column, etc.

3.18 ALL_SYNONYMS

The ALL_SYNONYMS view provides information on all synonyms that may be referenced
by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the synonyms owner.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the synonym resides.
synonym_name TEXT Name of the synonym.
table_owner TEXT User name of the objects owner.
table_schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the object that the synonym refers to.
db_link TEXT The name of any associated database link.

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3.19 ALL_TAB_COLUMNS

The ALL_TAB_COLUMNS view provides information on all columns in all user-defined

tables and views.

Name Type Description

User name of the owner of the table or view in which the
owner CHARACTER VARYING
column resides.
schema_name CHARACTER VARYING Name of the schema in which the table or view resides.
table_name CHARACTER VARYING Name of the table or view.
column_name CHARACTER VARYING Name of the column.
data_type CHARACTER VARYING Data type of the column.
data_length NUMERIC Length of text columns.
data_precision NUMERIC Precision (number of digits) for NUMBER columns.
data_scale NUMERIC Scale of NUMBER columns.
Whether or not the column is nullable. Possible values
nullable CHARACTER(1) are:
Y column is nullable; N column does not allow null.
column_id NUMERIC Relative position of the column within the table or view.
data_default CHARACTER VARYING Default value assigned to the column.

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3.20 ALL_TAB_PARTITIONS

The ALL_TAB_PARTITIONS view provides information about all of the partitions that
reside in the database.

Name Type Description

table_owner TEXT The owner of the table in which the partition resides.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
composite TEXT YES if the table is subpartitioned; NO if the table is not
subpartitioned.
partition_name TEXT The name of the partition.
subpartition_count BIGINT The number of subpartitions in the partition.
high_value TEXT The high partitioning value specified in the CREATE
TABLE statement.
high_value_length INTEGER The length of the partitioning value.
partition_position INTEGER 1 for the first partition; 2 for the second partition, etc.
tablespace_name TEXT The name of the tablespace in which the partition resides.
pct_free NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_used NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
ini_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
initial_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
next_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
min_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_increase NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
freelists NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
freelist_groups NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
logging CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(7)
compression CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NONE
VARYING(8)
num_rows NUMERIC Same as pg_class.reltuples.
blocks INTEGER Same as pg_class.relpages.
empty_blocks NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_space NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
chain_cnt NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_row_len NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
sample_size NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
last_analyzed TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE
buffer_pool CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NULL
VARYING(7)
global_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(3)
user_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO
VARYING(3)
backing_table REGCLASS Name of the partition backing table.

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3.21 ALL_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS

The ALL_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS view provides information about all of the subpartitions

that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

table_owner TEXT The owner of the table in which the subpartition
resides.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
partition_name TEXT The name of the partition.
subpartition_name TEXT The name of the subpartition.
high_value TEXT The high subpartitioning value specified in the CREATE
TABLE statement.
high_value_length INTEGER The length of the subpartitioning value.
subpartition_position INTEGER 1 for the first subpartition; 2 for the second
subpartition, etc.
tablespace_name TEXT The name of the tablespace in which the subpartition
resides.
pct_free NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_used NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
ini_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
initial_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
next_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
min_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_increase NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
freelists NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
freelist_groups NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
logging CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(7)
compression CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NONE
VARYING(8)
num_rows NUMERIC Same as pg_class.reltuples.
blocks INTEGER Same as pg_class.relpages.
empty_blocks NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_space NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
chain_cnt NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_row_len NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
sample_size NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
last_analyzed TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE
buffer_pool CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NULL
VARYING(7)
global_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(3)
user_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO
VARYING(3)
backing_table REGCLASS Name of the subpartition backing table.

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3.22 ALL_TABLES

The ALL_TABLES view provides information on all user-defined tables.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the tables owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the table belongs.
table_name TEXT Name of the table.
TEXT Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
tablespace_name
the default tablespace.
CHARACTER Whether or not the state of the table is valid. Currently,
status
VARYING(5) Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.
temporary CHARACTER(1) Y if this is a temporary table; N if this is not a temporary table.

3.23 ALL_TRIGGERS

The ALL_TRIGGERS view provides information about the triggers on tables that may be
accessed by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the triggers owner.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the trigger resides.
trigger_name TEXT The name of the trigger.
The type of the trigger. Possible values are:
BEFORE ROW
trigger_type TEXT BEFORE STATEMENT
AFTER ROW
AFTER STATEMENT
triggering_event TEXT The event that fires the trigger.
The user name of the owner of the table on which the trigger
table_owner TEXT
is defined.
base_object_type TEXT Included for compatibility only. Value will always be TABLE.
table_name TEXT The name of the table on which the trigger is defined.
TEXT Included for compatibility only. Value will always be
referencing_name
REFERENCING NEW AS NEW OLD AS OLD.
TEXT Status indicates if the trigger is enabled (VALID) or disabled
status
(NOTVALID).
description TEXT Included for compatibility only.
trigger_body TEXT The body of the trigger.
action_statement TEXT The SQL command that executes when the trigger fires.

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3.24 ALL_TYPES

The ALL_TYPES view provides information about the object types available to the
current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the object type.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the type is defined.
type_name TEXT The name of the type.
type_oid OID The object identifier (OID) of the type.
The typecode of the type. Possible values are:
typecode TEXT OBJECT
COLLECTION
OTHER
attributes INTEGER The number of attributes in the type.

3.25 ALL_USERS

The ALL_USERS view provides information on all user names.

Name Type Description

username TEXT Name of the user.
user_id OID Numeric user id assigned to the user.
created TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL.
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE

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3.26 ALL_VIEW_COLUMNS

The ALL_VIEW_COLUMNS view provides information on all columns in all user-defined

views.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
owner
VARYING User name of the views owner.
CHARACTER
schema_name
VARYING Name of the schema in which the view belongs.
CHARACTER
view_name
VARYING Name of the view.
CHARACTER
column_name
VARYING Name of the column.
CHARACTER
data_type
VARYING Data type of the column.
data_length NUMERIC Length of text columns.
data_precision NUMERIC Precision (number of digits) for NUMBER columns.
data_scale NUMERIC Scale of NUMBER columns.
Whether or not the column is nullable possible values are: Y
nullable CHARACTER(1)
column is nullable; N column does not allow null.
column_id NUMERIC Relative position of the column within the view.
data_default CHARACTER Default value assigned to the column.
VARYING

3.27 ALL_VIEWS

The ALL_VIEWS view provides information about all user-defined views.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the views owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the view belongs.
view_name TEXT Name of the view.
text TEXT The SELECT statement that defines the view.

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3.28 DBA_ALL_TABLES

The DBA_ALL_TABLES view provides information about all tables in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the tables owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the table belongs.
table_name TEXT Name of the table.
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
tablespace_name TEXT
the default tablespace.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING(5) Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.

temporary TEXT Y if the table is temporary; N if the table is permanent.

3.29 DBA_CONS_COLUMNS

The DBA_CONS_COLUMNS view provides information about all columns that are included
in constraints that are specified in on all tables in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the constraints owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the constraint belongs.
constraint_name TEXT The name of the constraint.
table_name TEXT The name of the table to which the constraint belongs.
column_name TEXT The name of the column referenced in the constraint.
position SMALLINT The position of the column within the object definition.
constraint_def TEXT The definition of the constraint.

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3.30 DBA_CONSTRAINTS

The DBA_CONSTRAINTS view provides information about all constraints on tables in the
database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the constraints owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the constraint belongs.
constraint_name TEXT The name of the constraint.
The constraint type. Possible values are:
C check constraint
F foreign key constraint
P primary key constraint
constraint_type TEXT
U unique key constraint
R referential integrity constraint
V constraint on a view
O with read-only, on a view
table_name TEXT Name of the table to which the constraint belongs.
search_condition TEXT Search condition that applies to a check constraint.
r_owner TEXT Owner of a table referenced by a referential constraint.
r_constraint_name TEXT Name of the constraint definition for a referenced table.
The delete rule for a referential constraint. Possible values
are:
delete_rule TEXT C cascade
R - restrict
N no action
deferrable BOOLEAN Specified if the constraint is deferrable (T or F).
deferred BOOLEAN Specifies if the constraint has been deferred (T or F).
index_owner TEXT User name of the index owner.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
constraint_def TEXT The definition of the constraint.

3.31 DBA_DB_LINKS

The DBA_DB_LINKS view provides information about all database links in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the database links owner.
db_link TEXT The name of the database link.
CHARACTER
type
VARYING Type of remote server. Value will be either REDWOOD or EDB
username TEXT User name of the user logging in.
host TEXT Name or IP address of the remote server.

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3.32 DBA_DIRECTORIES

The DBA_DIRECTORIES view provides information about all directories created with the
CREATE DIRECTORY command.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
owner
VARYING(30) User name of the directorys owner.
CHARACTER
directory_name
VARYING(30) The alias name assigned to the directory.
CHARACTER
directory_path
VARYING(4000) The path to the directory.

3.33 DBA_IND_COLUMNS

The DBA_IND_COLUMNS view provides information about all columns included in

indexes, on all tables in the database.

Name Type Description

index_owner TEXT User name of the indexs owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the index belongs.
index_name TEXT Name of the index.
table_owner TEXT User name of the tables owner.
table_name TEXT Name of the table in which the index belongs.
column_name TEXT Name of column or attribute of object column.
column_position SMALLINT The position of the column in the index.
column_length SMALLINT The length of the column (in bytes).
char_length NUMERIC The length of the column (in characters).
descend CHARACTER(1) Always set to Y (descending); included for compatibility only.

3.34 DBA_INDEXES

The DBA_INDEXES view provides information about all indexes in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the indexs owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the index resides.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
index_type TEXT
The index type is always BTREE. Included for compatibility
only.
table_owner TEXT User name of the owner of the indexed table.
table_name TEXT The name of the indexed table.
table_type TEXT Included for compatibility only. Always set to TABLE.

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Name Type Description
uniqueness TEXT Indicates if the index is UNIQUE or NONUNIQUE.
compression CHARACTER(1)
Always set to N (not compressed). Included for compatibility
only.
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
tablespace_name TEXT
the default tablespace.
logging TEXT Included for compatibility only. Always set to LOGGING.
status TEXT
Whether or not the state of the object is valid. (VALID or
INVALID).
partitioned CHARACTER(3) Indicates that the index is partitioned. Always set to NO.
Indicates that an index is on a temporary table. Always set to
temporary CHARACTER(1)
N.
secondary CHARACTER(1) Included for compatibility only. Always set to N.
join_index CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.
dropped CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.

3.35 DBA_JOBS

The DBA_JOBS view provides information about all jobs in the database.

Name Type Description

job INTEGER The identifier of the job (Job ID).
log_user TEXT The name of the user that submitted the job.
priv_user TEXT Same as log_user. Included for compatibility only.
schema_user TEXT The name of the schema used to parse the job.
TIMESTAMP WITH
last_date
TIME ZONE The last date that this job executed successfully.
last_sec TEXT Same as last_date.
TIMESTAMP WITH
this_date
TIME ZONE The date that the job began executing.
this_sec TEXT Same as this_date
TIMESTAMP WITH
next_date
TIME ZONE The next date that this job will be executed.
next_sec TEXT Same as next_date.
total_time INTERVAL The execution time of this job (in seconds).
If Y, no attempt will be made to run this job.
broken TEXT
If N, this job will attempt to execute.
interval TEXT Determines how often the job will repeat.
failures BIGINT
The number of times that the job has failed to complete since
its last successful execution.
The job definition (PL/SQL code block) that runs when the
what TEXT
job executes.
CHARACTER
nls_env
VARYING(4000) Always NULL. Provided for compatibility only.
misc_env BYTEA Always NULL. Provided for compatibility only.
instance NUMERIC Always 0. Provided for compatibility only.

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3.36 DBA_OBJECTS

The DBA_OBJECTS view provides information about all objects in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the objects owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the object belongs.
object_name TEXT Name of the object.
Type of the object possible values are: INDEX, FUNCTION,
object_type TEXT PACKAGE, PACKAGE BODY, PROCEDURE, SEQUENCE,
SYNONYM, TABLE, TRIGGER, and VIEW.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.
temporary TEXT Y if the table is temporary; N if the table is permanent.

3.37 DBA_PART_KEY_COLUMNS

The DBA_PART_KEY_COLUMNS view provides information about the key columns of the
partitioned tables that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the table.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the
table resides.
name TEXT The name of the table in which the
column resides.
object_type CHARACTER(5) For compatibility only; always TABLE.
column_name TEXT The name of the column on which the key
is defined.
column_position INTEGER 1 for the first column; 2 for the second
column, etc.

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3.38 DBA_PART_TABLES

The DBA_PART_TABLES view provides information about all of the partitioned tables in
the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the partitioned table.
schema_name TEXT The schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
partitioning_type TEXT The type used to define table partitions.
subpartitioning_type TEXT The subpartitioning type used to define table
subpartitions.
partition_count BIGINT The number of partitions in the table.
def_subpartition_count INTEGER The number of subpartitions in the table.
partitioning_key_count INTEGER The number of partitioning keys specified.
subpartitioning_key_count INTEGER The number of subpartitioning keys specified.
status CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(8) VALID.
def_tablespace_name CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(30) NULL.
def_pct_free NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_pct_used NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_ini_trans NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_max_trans NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_initial_extent CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_next_extent CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_min_extents CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_max_extents CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_pct_increase CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_freelists NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_freelist_groups NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_logging CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always YES.
VARYING(7)
def_compression CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(8) NONE
def_buffer_pool CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(7) DEFAULT
ref_ptn_constraint_name CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(30) NULL
interval CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(1000) NULL

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3.39 DBA_POLICIES

The DBA_POLICIES view provides information on all policies in the database. This view
is accessible only to superusers.

Name Type Description

object_owner TEXT Name of the owner of the object.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the object resides.
object_name TEXT Name of the object to which the policy applies.
TEXT Name of the policy group. Included for compatibility only;
policy_group
always set to an empty string.
policy_name TEXT Name of the policy.
TEXT Name of the schema containing the policy function, or the
pf_owner schema containing the package that contains the policy
function.
TEXT Name of the package containing the policy function (if the
package
function belongs to a package).
function TEXT Name of the policy function.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to SELECT commands.
sel
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to INSERT commands.
ins
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to UPDATE commands.
upd
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to DELETE commands.
del
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to index maintenance.
idx
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the check option is in force for INSERT and
chk_option
UPDATE commands. Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy is enabled on the object. Possible
Enable
values are YES or NO.
static_policy TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to NO.
policy_type TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to UNKNOWN.
long_predicate TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to YES.

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3.40 DBA_PROFILES

The DBA_PROFILES view provides information about existing profiles. The table
includes a row for each profile/resource combination.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
profile
VARYING(128) The name of the profile.
CHARACTER
resource_name
VARYING(32) The name of the resource associated with the profile.
CHARACTER The type of resource governed by the profile; currently
resource_type VARYING(8) PASSWORD for all supported resources.
CHARACTER
limit
VARYING(128) The limit values of the resource.
CHARACTER
common
VARYING(3) YES for a user-created profile; NO for a system-defined profile.

3.41 DBA_QUEUES

The DBA_QUEUES view provides information about any currently defined queues.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the queue owner.
name TEXT The name of the queue.
queue_table TEXT The name of the queue table in which the queue resides.
qid OID The system-assigned object ID of the queue.
CHARACTER The queue type; may be EXCEPTION_QUEUE,
queue_type
VARYING NON_PERSISTENT_QUEUE, or NORMAL_QUEUE.
max_retries NUMERIC The maximum number of dequeue attempts.
retrydelay NUMERIC The maximum time allowed between retries.
CHARACTER
enqueue_enabled
VARYING YES if the queue allows enqueuing; NO if the queue does not.
CHARACTER
dequeue_enabled
VARYING YES if the queue allows dequeuing; NO if the queue does not.

retention
CHARACTER The number of seconds that a processed message is retained in
VARYING the queue.
CHARACTER
user_comment
VARYING A user-specified comment.
CHARACTER
network_name
VARYING The name of the network on which the queue resides.
CHARACTER YES if the queue resides on a sharded network; NO if the queue
sharded
VARYING does not.

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3.42 DBA_QUEUE_TABLES

The DBA_QUEUE_TABLES view provides information about all of the queue tables in the
database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT Role name of the owner of the queue table.
queue_table TEXT The user-specified name of the queue table.
CHARACTER
type
VARYING The type of data stored in the queue table.
object_type TEXT The user-defined payload type.
CHARACTER
sort_order
VARYING The order in which the queue table is sorted.
CHARACTER
recipients
VARYING Always SINGLE.
CHARACTER
message_grouping
VARYING Always NONE.
CHARACTER The release number of the Advanced Server release with
compatible VARYING which this queue table is compatible.
primary_instance NUMERIC Always 0.
secondary_instance NUMERIC Always 0.
The instance number of the instance that owns the queue
owner_instance NUMERIC
table.
CHARACTER
user_comment
VARYING The user comment provided when the table was created.
CHARACTER YES indicates that the queue table is secure; NO indicates that
secure VARYING it is not.

3.43 DBA_ROLE_PRIVS

The DBA_ROLE_PRIVS view provides information on all roles that have been granted to
users. A row is created for each role to which a user has been granted.

Name Type Description

grantee TEXT User name to whom the role was granted.
granted_role TEXT Name of the role granted to the grantee.
TEXT YES if the role was granted with the admin option, NO
admin_option
otherwise.
default_role TEXT YES if the role is enabled when the grantee creates a session.

3.44 DBA_ROLES

The DBA_ROLES view provides information on all roles with the NOLOGIN attribute
(groups).

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Name Type Description
role TEXT Name of a role having the NOLOGIN attribute i.e., a group.
password_required TEXT Included for compatibility only; always N.

3.45 DBA_SEQUENCES

The DBA_SEQUENCES view provides information about all user-defined sequences.

Name Type Description

sequence_owner TEXT User name of the sequence's owner.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the sequence resides.
sequence_name TEXT Name of the sequence.
min_value NUMERIC The lowest value that the server will assign to the sequence.
max_value NUMERIC The highest value that the server will assign to the sequence.
increment_by NUMERIC
The value added to the current sequence number to create the
next sequent number.
CHARACTER Specifies if the sequence should wrap when it reaches
cycle_flag
VARYING min_value or max_value.
CHARACTER
order_flag
VARYING Will always return Y.
The number of pre-allocated sequence numbers stored in
cache_size NUMERIC
memory.
last_number NUMERIC The value of the last sequence number saved to disk.

3.46 DBA_SOURCE

The DBA_SOURCE view provides the source code listing of all objects in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the programs owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the program belongs.
name TEXT Name of the program.
TEXT Type of program possible values are: FUNCTION, PACKAGE,
type
PACKAGE BODY, PROCEDURE, and TRIGGER.
line INTEGER Source code line number relative to a given program.
text TEXT Line of source code text.

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3.47 DBA_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS

The DBA_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS view provides information about the key columns of

those partitioned tables which are subpartitioned that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the table.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the
table resides.
name TEXT The name of the table in which the
column resides.
object_type CHARACTER(5) For compatibility only; always TABLE.
column_name TEXT The name of the column on which the key
is defined.
column_position INTEGER 1 for the first column; 2 for the second
column, etc.

3.48 DBA_SYNONYMS

The DBA_SYNONYM view provides information about all synonyms in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the synonyms owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the synonym belongs.
synonym_name TEXT Name of the synonym.
TEXT User name of the tables owner on which the synonym is
table_owner
defined.
table_schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT Name of the table on which the synonym is defined.
db_link TEXT Name of any associated database link.

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3.49 DBA_TAB_COLUMNS

The DBA_TAB_COLUMNS view provides information about all columns in the database.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER User name of the owner of the table or view in which the
owner
VARYING column resides.
CHARACTER
schema_name
VARYING Name of the schema in which the table or view resides.
CHARACTER
table_name
VARYING Name of the table or view in which the column resides.
CHARACTER
column_name
VARYING Name of the column.
CHARACTER
data_type
VARYING Data type of the column.

data_length NUMERIC Length of text columns.

data_precision NUMERIC Precision (number of digits) for NUMBER columns.
data_scale NUMERIC Scale of NUMBER columns.
Whether or not the column is nullable possible values are:
nullable CHARACTER(1)
Y column is nullable; N column does not allow null.
column_id NUMERIC Relative position of the column within the table or view.
data_default CHARACTER Default value assigned to the column.
VARYING

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3.50 DBA_TAB_PARTITIONS

The DBA_TAB_PARTITIONS view provides information about all of the partitions that
reside in the database.

Name Type Description

table_owner TEXT The owner of the table in which the partition resides.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
composite TEXT YES if the table is subpartitioned; NO if the table is not
subpartitioned.
partition_name TEXT The name of the partition.
subpartition_count BIGINT The number of subpartitions in the partition.
high_value TEXT The high partitioning value specified in the CREATE
TABLE statement.
high_value_length INTEGER The length of the partitioning value.
partition_position INTEGER 1 for the first partition; 2 for the second partition, etc.
tablespace_name TEXT The name of the tablespace in which the partition resides.
pct_free NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_used NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
ini_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
initial_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
next_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
min_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_increase NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
freelists NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
freelist_groups NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
logging CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(7)
compression CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NONE
VARYING(8)
num_rows NUMERIC Same as pg_class.reltuples.
blocks INTEGER Same as pg_class.relpages.
empty_blocks NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_space NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
chain_cnt NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_row_len NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
sample_size NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
last_analyzed TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE
buffer_pool CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NULL
VARYING(7)
global_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(3)
user_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO
VARYING(3)
backing_table REGCLASS Name of the partition backing table.

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3.51 DBA_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS

The DBA_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS view provides information about all of the subpartitions

that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

table_owner TEXT The owner of the table in which the subpartition
resides.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
partition_name TEXT The name of the partition.
subpartition_name TEXT The name of the subpartition.
high_value TEXT The high subpartitioning value specified in the CREATE
TABLE statement.
high_value_length INTEGER The length of the subpartitioning value.
subpartition_position INTEGER 1 for the first subpartition; 2 for the second
subpartition, etc.
tablespace_name TEXT The name of the tablespace in which the subpartition
resides.
pct_free NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_used NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
ini_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
initial_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
next_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
min_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_increase NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
freelists NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
freelist_groups NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
logging CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(7)
compression CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NONE
VARYING(8)
num_rows NUMERIC Same as pg_class.reltuples.
blocks INTEGER Same as pg_class.relpages.
empty_blocks NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_space NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
chain_cnt NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_row_len NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
sample_size NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
last_analyzed TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE
buffer_pool CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NULL
VARYING(7)
global_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(3)
user_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO
VARYING(3)
backing_table REGCLASS Name of the subpartition backing table.

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3.52 DBA_TABLES

The DBA_TABLES view provides information about all tables in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the tables owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the table belongs.
table_name TEXT Name of the table.
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
tablespace_name TEXT
the default tablespace.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING(5) Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.

temporary CHARACTER(1) Y if the table is temporary; N if the table is permanent.

3.53 DBA_TRIGGERS

The DBA_TRIGGERS view provides information about all triggers in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the triggers owner.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the trigger resides.
trigger_name TEXT The name of the trigger.
The type of the trigger. Possible values are:
BEFORE ROW
trigger_type TEXT BEFORE STATEMENT
AFTER ROW
AFTER STATEMENT
triggering_event TEXT The event that fires the trigger.
The user name of the owner of the table on which the trigger
table_owner TEXT
is defined.
base_object_type TEXT Included for compatibility only. Value will always be TABLE.
table_name TEXT The name of the table on which the trigger is defined.
TEXT Included for compatibility only. Value will always be
referencing_names
REFERENCING NEW AS NEW OLD AS OLD.
TEXT Status indicates if the trigger is enabled (VALID) or disabled
status
(NOTVALID).
description TEXT Included for compatibility only.
trigger_body TEXT The body of the trigger.
action_statement TEXT The SQL command that executes when the trigger fires.

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3.54 DBA_TYPES

The DBA_TYPES view provides information about all object types in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The owner of the object type.
schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the type is defined.
type_name TEXT The name of the type.
type_oid OID The object identifier (OID) of the type.
The typecode of the type. Possible values are:
typecode TEXT OBJECT
COLLECTION
OTHER
attributes INTEGER The number of attributes in the type.

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3.55 DBA_USERS

The DBA_USERS view provides information about all users of the database.

Name Type Description

username TEXT User name of the user.
user_id OID ID number of the user.
CHARACTER
password
VARYING(30) The password (encrypted) of the user.
The current status of the account. Possible values
are:
OPEN
EXPIRED
EXPIRED(GRACE)
EXPIRED & LOCKED
CHARACTER
account_status EXPIRED & LOCKED(TIMED)
VARYING(32)
EXPIRED(GRACE) & LOCKED
EXPIRED(GRACE) & LOCKED(TIMED)
LOCKED
LOCKED(TIMED)
Use the edb_get_role_status(role_id)
function to get the current status of the account.
TIMESTAMP
lock_date WITHOUT TIME
If the account status is LOCKED, lock_date
ZONE displays the date and time the account was locked.
TIMESTAMP The expiration date of the password. Use the
expiry_date WITHOUT TIME edb_get_password_expiry_date(role_id)
ZONE function to get the current password expiration date.
default_tablespace TEXT The default tablespace associated with the account.
temporary_tablespace
CHARACTER Included for compatibility only. The value will
VARYING(30) always be '' (an empty string).
TIMESTAMP
Included for compatibility only. The value is
created WITHOUT TIME
ZONE always NULL.
CHARACTER The profile associated with the user.
profile
VARYING(30)
CHARACTER Included for compatibility only. The value is
initial_rsrc_consumer_group
VARYING(30) always NULL.
external_name CHARACTER Included for compatibility only. The value is
VARYING(4000) always NULL.

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3.56 DBA_VIEW_COLUMNS

The DBA_VIEW_COLUMNS view provides information on all columns in the database.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
owner
VARYING User name of the views owner.
CHARACTER
schema_name
VARYING Name of the schema in which the view belongs.
CHARACTER
view_name
VARYING Name of the view.
CHARACTER
column_name
VARYING Name of the column.
CHARACTER
data_type
VARYING Data type of the column.
data_length NUMERIC Length of text columns.
data_precision NUMERIC Precision (number of digits) for NUMBER columns.
data_scale NUMERIC Scale of NUMBER columns.
Whether or not the column is nullable possible values are:
nullable CHARACTER(1)
Y column is nullable; N column does not allow null.
column_id NUMERIC Relative position of the column within the view.
CHARACTER
data_default
VARYING Default value assigned to the column.

3.57 DBA_VIEWS

The DBA_VIEWS view provides information about all views in the database.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the views owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the view belongs.
view_name TEXT Name of the view.
text TEXT The text of the SELECT statement that defines the view.

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3.58 USER_ALL_TABLES

The USER_ALL_TABLES view provides information about all tables owned by the current
user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the table belongs.
table_name TEXT Name of the table.
tablespace_name TEXT
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
the default tablespace.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING(5) Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID..

temporary TEXT Y if the table is temporary; N if the table is permanent.

3.59 USER_CONS_COLUMNS

The USER_CONS_COLUMNS view provides information about all columns that are
included in constraints in tables that are owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT User name of the constraints owner.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the constraint belongs.
constraint_name TEXT The name of the constraint.
table_name TEXT The name of the table to which the constraint belongs.
column_name TEXT The name of the column referenced in the constraint.
position SMALLINT The position of the column within the object definition.
constraint_def TEXT The definition of the constraint.

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3.60 USER_CONSTRAINTS

The USER_CONSTRAINTS view provides information about all constraints placed on

tables that are owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

owner TEXT The name of the owner of the constraint.
schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the constraint belongs.
constraint_name TEXT The name of the constraint.
The constraint type. Possible values are:
C check constraint
F foreign key constraint
P primary key constraint
constraint_type TEXT
U unique key constraint
R referential integrity constraint
V constraint on a view
O with read-only, on a view
table_name TEXT Name of the table to which the constraint belongs.
search_condition TEXT Search condition that applies to a check constraint.
r_owner TEXT Owner of a table referenced by a referential constraint.
r_constraint_name TEXT Name of the constraint definition for a referenced table.
The delete rule for a referential constraint. Possible values
are:
C cascade
delete_rule TEXT
R restrict
N no action

deferrable BOOLEAN Specified if the constraint is deferrable (T or F).

deferred BOOLEAN Specifies if the constraint has been deferred (T or F).
index_owner TEXT User name of the index owner.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
constraint_def TEXT The definition of the constraint.

3.61 USER_DB_LINKS

The USER_DB_LINKS view provides information about all database links that are owned
by the current user.

Name Type Description

db_link TEXT The name of the database link.
CHARACTER
type
VARYING Type of remote server. Value will be either REDWOOD or EDB
username TEXT User name of the user logging in.
password TEXT Password used to authenticate on the remote server.
host TEXT Name or IP address of the remote server.

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3.62 USER_IND_COLUMNS

The USER_IND_COLUMNS view provides information about all columns referred to in

indexes on tables that are owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the index belongs.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
table_name TEXT The name of the table to which the index belongs.
column_name TEXT The name of the column.
column_position SMALLINT The position of the column within the index.
column_length SMALLINT The length of the column (in bytes).
char_length NUMERIC The length of the column (in characters).
descend CHARACTER(1) Always set to Y (descending); included for compatibility only.

3.63 USER_INDEXES

The USER_INDEXES view provides information about all indexes on tables that are
owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the index belongs.
index_name TEXT The name of the index.
Included for compatibility only. The index type is always
index_type TEXT
BTREE.
table_owner TEXT User name of the owner of the indexed table.
table_name TEXT The name of the indexed table.
table_type TEXT Included for compatibility only. Always set to TABLE.
uniqueness TEXT Indicates if the index is UNIQUE or NONUNIQUE.
compression CHARACTER(1)
Included for compatibility only. Always set to N (not
compressed).
tablespace_name TEXT
Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
the default tablespace.
logging TEXT Included for compatibility only. Always set to LOGGING.
status TEXT
Whether or not the state of the object is valid. (VALID or
INVALID).
partitioned CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.
temporary CHARACTER(1) Included for compatibility only. Always set to N.
secondary CHARACTER(1) Included for compatibility only. Always set to N.
join_index CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.
dropped CHARACTER(3) Included for compatibility only. Always set to NO.

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3.64 USER_JOBS

The USER_JOBS view provides information about all jobs owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

job INTEGER The identifier of the job (Job ID).
log_user TEXT The name of the user that submitted the job.
priv_user TEXT Same as log_user. Included for compatibility only.
schema_user TEXT The name of the schema used to parse the job.
TIMESTAMP WITH
last_date
TIME ZONE The last date that this job executed successfully.
last_sec TEXT Same as last_date.
TIMESTAMP WITH
this_date
TIME ZONE The date that the job began executing.
this_sec TEXT Same as this_date.
TIMESTAMP WITH
next_date
TIME ZONE The next date that this job will be executed.
next_sec TEXT Same as next_date.
total_time INTERVAL The execution time of this job (in seconds).
If Y, no attempt will be made to run this job.
broken TEXT
If N, this job will attempt to execute.
interval TEXT Determines how often the job will repeat.
failures BIGINT
The number of times that the job has failed to complete since
its last successful execution.
what TEXT
The job definition (PL/SQL code block) that runs when the
job executes.
CHARACTER
nls_env
VARYING(4000) Always NULL. Provided for compatibility only.
misc_env BYTEA Always NULL. Provided for compatibility only.
instance NUMERIC Always 0. Provided for compatibility only.

3.65 USER_OBJECTS

The USER_OBJECTS view provides information about all objects that are owned by the
current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the object belongs.
object_name TEXT Name of the object.
Type of the object possible values are: INDEX, FUNCTION,
object_type TEXT PACKAGE, PACKAGE BODY, PROCEDURE, SEQUENCE,
SYNONYM, TABLE, TRIGGER, and VIEW.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID.
temporary TEXT Y if the object is temporary; N if the object is not temporary.

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3.66 USER_PART_KEY_COLUMNS

The USER_PART_KEY_COLUMNS view provides information about the key columns of

the partitioned tables that reside in the database.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the
table resides.
name TEXT The name of the table in which the
column resides.
object_type CHARACTER(5) For compatibility only; always TABLE.
column_name TEXT The name of the column on which the key
is defined.
column_position INTEGER 1 for the first column; 2 for the second
column, etc.

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3.67 USER_PART_TABLES

The USER_PART_TABLES view provides information about all of the partitioned tables in
the database that are owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table
resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
partitioning_type TEXT The partitioning type used to define table
partitions.
subpartitioning_type TEXT The subpartitioning type used to define table
subpartitions.
partition_count BIGINT The number of partitions in the table.
def_subpartition_count INTEGER The number of subpartitions in the table.
partitioning_key_count INTEGER The number of partitioning keys specified.
subpartitioning_key_count INTEGER The number of subpartitioning keys specified.
status CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(8) VALID.
def_tablespace_name CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(30) NULL.
def_pct_free NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_pct_used NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_ini_trans NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_max_trans NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_initial_extent CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_min_extents CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_max_extents CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_pct_increase CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(40) NULL.
def_freelists NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_freelist_groups NUMERIC Provided for compatibility only. Always
NULL.
def_logging CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always YES.
VARYING(7)
def_compression CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(8) NONE
def_buffer_pool CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(7) DEFAULT
ref_ptn_constraint_name CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(30) NULL
interval CHARACTER Provided for compatibility only. Always
VARYING(1000) NULL

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3.68 USER_POLICIES

The USER_POLICIES view provides information on policies where the schema

containing the object on which the policy applies has the same name as the current
session user. This view is accessible only to superusers.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the object resides.
object_name TEXT Name of the object on which the policy applies.
TEXT Name of the policy group. Included for compatibility only;
policy_group
always set to an empty string.
policy_name TEXT Name of the policy.
TEXT Name of the schema containing the policy function, or the
pf_owner schema containing the package that contains the policy
function.
TEXT Name of the package containing the policy function (if the
package
function belongs to a package).
function TEXT Name of the policy function.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to SELECT commands.
sel
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to INSERT commands.
ins
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to UPDATE commands.
upd
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to DELETE commands.
del
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy applies to index maintenance.
idx
Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the check option is in force for INSERT and
chk_option
UPDATE commands. Possible values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy is enabled on the object. Possible
enable
values are YES or NO.
TEXT Whether or not the policy is static. Included for compatibility
static_policy
only; always set to NO.
TEXT Policy type. Included for compatibility only; always set to
policy_type
UNKNOWN.
long_predicate TEXT Included for compatibility only; always set to YES.

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3.69 USER_QUEUES

The USER_QUEUES view provides information about any queue on which the current user
has usage privileges.

Name Type Description

name TEXT The name of the queue.
queue_table TEXT The name of the queue table in which the queue resides.
qid OID The system-assigned object ID of the queue.
CHARACTER The queue type; may be EXCEPTION_QUEUE,
queue_type
VARYING NON_PERSISTENT_QUEUE, or NORMAL_QUEUE.
max_retries NUMERIC The maximum number of dequeue attempts.
retrydelay NUMERIC The maximum time allowed between retries.
CHARACTER
enqueue_enabled
VARYING YES if the queue allows enqueuing; NO if the queue does not.
CHARACTER
dequeue_enabled
VARYING YES if the queue allows dequeuing; NO if the queue does not.
CHARACTER The number of seconds that a processed message is retained in
retention
VARYING the queue.
CHARACTER
user_comment
VARYING A user-specified comment.
CHARACTER
network_name
VARYING The name of the network on which the queue resides.
CHARACTER YES if the queue resides on a sharded network; NO if the queue
sharded
VARYING does not.

3.70 USER_QUEUE_TABLES

The USER_QUEUE_TABLES view provides information about all of the queue tables
accessible by the current user.

Name Type Description

queue_table TEXT The user-specified name of the queue table.
CHARACTER
type
VARYING The type of data stored in the queue table.
object_type TEXT The user-defined payload type.
CHARACTER
sort_order
VARYING The order in which the queue table is sorted.
CHARACTER
recipients
VARYING Always SINGLE.
CHARACTER
message_grouping
VARYING Always NONE.
CHARACTER The release number of the Advanced Server release with
compatible VARYING which this queue table is compatible.
primary_instance NUMERIC Always 0.
secondary_instance NUMERIC Always 0.
owner_instance NUMERIC
The instance number of the instance that owns the queue
table.

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Name Type Description
CHARACTER
user_comment
VARYING The user comment provided when the table was created.
CHARACTER YES indicates that the queue table is secure; NO indicates that
secure VARYING it is not.

3.71 USER_ROLE_PRIVS

The USER_ROLE_PRIVS view provides information about the privileges that have been
granted to the current user. A row is created for each role to which a user has been
granted.

Name Type Description

username TEXT The name of the user to which the role was granted.
granted_role TEXT Name of the role granted to the grantee.
TEXT YES if the role was granted with the admin option, NO
admin_option
otherwise.
TEXT
default_role YES if the role is enabled when the grantee creates a session.
os_granted CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO.
VARYING(3)

3.72 USER_SEQUENCES

The USER_SEQUENCES view provides information about all user-defined sequences that
belong to the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the sequence resides.
sequence_name TEXT Name of the sequence.
min_value NUMERIC The lowest value that the server will assign to the sequence.
max_value NUMERIC The highest value that the server will assign to the sequence.
The value added to the current sequence number to create the
increment_by NUMERIC
next sequent number.
CHARACTER Specifies if the sequence should wrap when it reaches
cycle_flag
VARYING min_value or max_value.
CHARACTER
order_flag
VARYING Included for compatibility only; always Y.
cache_size NUMERIC The number of pre-allocated sequence numbers in memory.
last_number NUMERIC The value of the last sequence number saved to disk.

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3.73 USER_SOURCE

The USER_SOURCE view provides information about all programs owned by the current
user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the program belongs.
name TEXT Name of the program.
TEXT Type of program possible values are: FUNCTION, PACKAGE,
type
PACKAGE BODY, PROCEDURE, and TRIGGER.
line INTEGER Source code line number relative to a given program.
text TEXT Line of source code text.

3.74 USER_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS

The USER_SUBPART_KEY_COLUMNS view provides information about the key columns

of those partitioned tables which are subpartitioned that belong to the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
name TEXT The name of the table in which the column resides.
object_type CHARACTER(5) For compatibility only; always TABLE.
column_name TEXT The name of the column on which the key is defined.
column_position INTEGER 1 for the first column; 2 for the second column, etc.

3.75 USER_SYNONYMS

The USER_SYNONYMS view provides information about all synonyms owned by the
current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the synonym resides.
synonym_name TEXT Name of the synonym.
TEXT User name of the tables owner on which the synonym is
table_owner
defined.
table_schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT Name of the table on which the synonym is defined.
db_link TEXT Name of any associated database link.

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3.76 USER_TAB_COLUMNS

The USER_TAB_COLUMNS view displays information about all columns in tables and
views owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
schema_name
VARYING Name of the schema in which the table or view resides.
CHARACTER
table_name
VARYING Name of the table or view in which the column resides.
CHARACTER
column_name
VARYING Name of the column.
CHARACTER
data_type
VARYING Data type of the column.
data_length NUMERIC Length of text columns.
data_precision NUMERIC Precision (number of digits) for NUMBER columns.
data_scale NUMERIC Scale of NUMBER columns.
Whether or not the column is nullable possible values are: Y
nullable CHARACTER(1)
Y column is nullable; N column does not allow null.
column_id NUMERIC Relative position of the column within the table.
data_default CHARACTER Default value assigned to the column.
VARYING

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3.77 USER_TAB_PARTITIONS

The USER_TAB_PARTITIONS view provides information about all of the partitions that
are owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
composite TEXT YES if the table is subpartitioned; NO if the table is not
subpartitioned.
partition_name TEXT The name of the partition.
subpartition_count BIGINT The number of subpartitions in the partition.
high_value TEXT The high partitioning value specified in the CREATE
TABLE statement.
high_value_length INTEGER The length of the partitioning value.
partition_position INTEGER 1 for the first partition; 2 for the second partition, etc.
tablespace_name TEXT The name of the tablespace in which the partition resides.
pct_free NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_used NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
ini_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
initial_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
next_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
min_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_increase NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
freelists NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
freelist_groups NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
logging CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(7)
compression CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NONE
VARYING(8)
num_rows NUMERIC Same as pg_class.reltuples.
blocks INTEGER Same as pg_class.relpages.
empty_blocks NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_space NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
chain_cnt NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_row_len NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
sample_size NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
last_analyzed TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE
buffer_pool CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NULL
VARYING(7)
global_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(3)
user_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO
VARYING(3)
backing_table REGCLASS Name of the partition backing table.

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3.78 USER_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS

The USER_TAB_SUBPARTITIONS view provides information about all of the

subpartitions owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the table resides.
table_name TEXT The name of the table.
partition_name TEXT The name of the partition.
subpartition_name TEXT The name of the subpartition.
high_value TEXT The high subpartitioning value specified in the CREATE
TABLE statement.
high_value_length INTEGER The length of the subpartitioning value.
subpartition_position INTEGER 1 for the first subpartition; 2 for the second
subpartition, etc.
tablespace_name TEXT The name of the tablespace in which the subpartition
resides.
pct_free NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_used NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
ini_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_trans NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
initial_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
next_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
min_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
max_extent NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
pct_increase NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always 0
freelists NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
freelist_groups NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
logging CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(7)
compression CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NONE
VARYING(8)
num_rows NUMERIC Same as pg_class.reltuples.
blocks INTEGER Same as pg_class.relpages.
empty_blocks NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_space NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
chain_cnt NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
avg_row_len NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
sample_size NUMERIC Included for compatibility only; always NULL
last_analyzed TIMESTAMP Included for compatibility only; always NULL
WITHOUT TIME
ZONE
buffer_pool CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NULL
VARYING(7)
global_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always YES
VARYING(3)
user_stats CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always NO
VARYING(3)
backing_table REGCLASS Name of the partition backing table.

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3.79 USER_TABLES

The USER_TABLES view displays information about all tables owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the table belongs.
table_name TEXT Name of the table.
TEXT Name of the tablespace in which the table resides if other than
tablespace_name
the default tablespace.
CHARACTER
status
VARYING(5) Included for compatibility only; always set to VALID..

temporary CHARACTER(1) Y if the table is temporary; N if the table is not temporary.

3.80 USER_TRIGGERS

The USER_TRIGGERS view displays information about all triggers on tables owned by
the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the trigger resides.
trigger_name TEXT The name of the trigger.
The type of the trigger. Possible values are:
BEFORE ROW
trigger_type TEXT BEFORE STATEMENT
AFTER ROW
AFTER STATEMENT
triggering_event TEXT The event that fires the trigger.
table_owner TEXT
The user name of the owner of the table on which the trigger
is defined.
base_object_type TEXT Included for compatibility only. Value will always be TABLE.
table_name TEXT The name of the table on which the trigger is defined.
TEXT Included for compatibility only. Value will always be
referencing_names
REFERENCING NEW AS NEW OLD AS OLD.
TEXT Status indicates if the trigger is enabled (VALID) or disabled
status
(NOTVALID).
description TEXT Included for compatibility only.
trigger_body TEXT The body of the trigger.
action_statement TEXT The SQL command that executes when the trigger fires.

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3.81 USER_TYPES

The USER_TYPES view provides information about all object types owned by the current
user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT The name of the schema in which the type is defined.
type_name TEXT The name of the type.
type_oid OID The object identifier (OID) of the type.
The typecode of the type. Possible values are:
typecode TEXT OBJECT
COLLECTION
OTHER
attributes INTEGER The number of attributes in the type.

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3.82 USER_USERS

The USER_USERS view provides information about the current user.

Name Type Description

username TEXT User name of the user.
user_id OID ID number of the user.
The current status of the account. Possible values
are:
OPEN
EXPIRED
EXPIRED(GRACE)
EXPIRED & LOCKED
EXPIRED & LOCKED(TIMED)
CHARACTER EXPIRED(GRACE) & LOCKED
account_status
VARYING(32) EXPIRED(GRACE) & LOCKED(TIMED)
LOCKED
LOCKED(TIMED)
Use the
edb_get_role_status(role_id)
function to get the current status of the
account.
TIMESTAMP
lock_date WITHOUT TIME
If the account status is LOCKED, lock_date
ZONE displays the date and time the account was locked.
TIMESTAMP
expiry_date WITHOUT TIME The expiration date of the account.
ZONE
default_tablespace TEXT The default tablespace associated with the account.
temporary_tablespace
CHARACTER Included for compatibility only. The value will
VARYING(30) always be '' (an empty string).
TIMESTAMP
Included for compatibility only. The value will
created WITHOUT TIME
ZONE always be NULL.
CHARACTER Included for compatibility only. The value will
initial_rsrc_consumer_group
VARYING(30) always be NULL.
external_name CHARACTER Included for compatibility only; always set to
VARYING(4000) NULL.

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3.83 USER_VIEW_COLUMNS

The USER_VIEW_COLUMNS view provides information about all columns in views owned
by the current user.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
schema_name
VARYING Name of the schema in which the view belongs.
CHARACTER
view_name
VARYING Name of the view.
CHARACTER
column_name
VARYING Name of the column.
CHARACTER
data_type
VARYING Data type of the column.
data_length NUMERIC Length of text columns.
data_precision NUMERIC Precision (number of digits) for NUMBER columns.
data_scale NUMERIC Scale of NUMBER columns.
Whether or not the column is nullable possible values are: Y
nullable CHARACTER(1)
column is nullable; N column does not allow null.
column_id NUMERIC Relative position of the column within the view.
data_default CHARACTER Default value assigned to the column.
VARYING

3.84 USER_VIEWS

The USER_VIEWS view provides information about all views owned by the current user.

Name Type Description

schema_name TEXT Name of the schema in which the view resides.
view_name TEXT Name of the view.
text TEXT The SELECT statement that defines the view.

3.85 V$VERSION

The V$VERSION view provides information about product compatibility.

Name Type Description

banner TEXT Displays product compatibility information.

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3.86 PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION

The PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION view provides version information about product

version compatibility.

Name Type Description

CHARACTER
product
VARYING(74) The name of the product.
CHARACTER
version
VARYING(74 The version number of the product.
status CHARACTER Included for compatibility; always Available.
VARYING(74)

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4 System Catalog Tables

The following system catalog tables contain definitions of database objects. The layout
of the system tables is subject to change; if you are writing an application that depends on
information stored in the system tables, it would be prudent to use an existing catalog
view, or create a catalog view to isolate the application from changes to the system table.

4.1 dual

dual is a single-row, single-column table that is provided for compatibility with Oracle
databases only.

Column Type Modifiers Description

dummy VARCHAR2(1) Provided for compatibility only.

4.2 edb_dir

The edb_dir table contains one row for each alias that points to a directory created with
the CREATE DIRECTORY command. A directory is an alias for a pathname that allows a
user limited access to the host file system.

You can use a directory to fence a user into a specific directory tree within the file
system. For example, the UTL_FILE package offers functions that permit a user to read
and write files and directories in the host file system, but only allows access to paths that
the database administrator has granted access to via a CREATE DIRECTORY command.

Column Type Modifiers Description

dirname "name" not null The name of the alias.
dirowner oid not null The OID of the user that owns the alias.
dirpath text The directory name to which access is granted.
diracl aclitem[] The access control list that determines which users
may access the alias.

4.3 edb_password_history

The edb_password_history table contains one row for each password change. The
table is shared across all databases within a cluster.

Column Type References Description

passhistroleid oid pg_authid.oid The ID of a role.
passhistpassword text Role password in md5 encrypted form.
passhistpasswordsetat timestamptz The time the password was set.

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4.4 edb_policy

The edb_policy table contains one row for each policy.

Column Type Modifiers Description

policyname name not null The policy name.
policygroup oid not null Currently unused.
policyobject oid not null The OID of the table secured by this policy
(the object_schema plus the object_name).
policykind char not null The kind of object secured by this policy:
'r' for a table
'v' for a view
= for a synonym
Currently always 'r'.
policyproc oid not null The OID of the policy function
(function_schema plus policy_function).
policyinsert boolean not null True if the policy is enforced by INSERT
statements.
policyselect boolean not null True if the policy is enforced by SELECT
statements.
policydelete boolean not null True if the policy is enforced by DELETE
statements.
policyupdate boolean not null True if the policy is enforced by UPDATE
statements.
policyindex boolean not null Currently unused.
policyenabled boolean not null True if the policy is enabled.
policyupdatecheck boolean not null True if rows updated by an UPDATE
statement must satisfy the policy.
policystatic boolean not null Currently unused.
policytype integer not null Currently unused.
policyopts integer not null Currently unused.
policyseccols int2vector not null The column numbers for columns listed in
sec_relevant_cols.

4.5 edb_profile

The edb_profile table stores information about the available profiles. edb_profiles
is shared across all databases within a cluster.

Column Type References Description

oid oid Row identifier (hidden attribute;
must be explicitly selected).
prfname name The name of the profile.
prffailedloginattempts integer The number of failed login attempts
allowed by the profile. -1 indicates
that the value from the default
profile should be used. -2 indicates

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Column Type References Description
no limit on failed login attempts.
prfpasswordlocktime integer The password lock time associated
with the profile (in seconds). -1
indicates that the value from the
default profile should be used. -2
indicates that the account should be
locked permanently.
prfpasswordlifetime integer The password life time associated
with the profile (in seconds). -1
indicates that the value from the
default profile should be used. -2
indicates that the password never
expires.
prfpasswordgracetime integer The password grace time associated
with the profile (in seconds). -1
indicates that the value from the
default profile should be used. -2
indicates that the password never
expires.
prfpasswordreusetime integer The number of seconds that a user
must wait before reusing a
password. -1 indicates that the
value from the default profile
should be used. -2 indicates that the
old passwords can never be reused.
prfpasswordreusemax integer The number of password changes
that have to occur before a
password can be reused. -1
indicates that the value from the
default profile should be used. -2
indicates that the old passwords can
never be reused.
prfpasswordverifyfuncdb oid pg_database.oid The OID of the database in which
the password verify function exists.
prfpasswordverifyfunc oid pg_proc.oid The OID of the password verify
function associated with the profile.

4.6 edb_variable

The edb_variable table contains one row for each package level variable (each
variable declared within a package).

Column Type Modifiers Description

varname "name" not null The name of the variable.
varpackage oid not null The OID of the pg_namespace row that stores the
package.
vartype oid not null The OID of the pg_type row that defines the type of
the variable.
varaccess "char" not null + if the variable is visible outside of the package.
- if the variable is only visible within the package.

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Column Type Modifiers Description
Note: Public variables are declared within the
package header; private variables are declared
within the package body.
varsrc text Contains the source of the variable declaration,
including any default value expressions for the
variable.
varseq smallint not null The order in which the variable was declared in the
package.

4.7 pg_synonym

The pg_synonym table contains one row for each synonym created with the CREATE
SYNONYM command or CREATE PUBLIC SYNONYM command.

Column Type Modifiers Description

synname "name" not null The name of the synonym.
synnamespace oid not null Replaces synowner. Contains the OID of the
pg_namespace row where the synonym is stored
synowner oid not null The OID of the user that owns the synonym.
synobjschema "name" not null The schema in which the referenced object is
defined.
synobjname "name" not null The name of the referenced object.
synlink text The (optional) name of the database link in which
the referenced object is defined.

4.8 product_component_version

The product_component_version table contains information about feature

compatibility; an application can query this table at installation or run time to verify that
features used by the application are available with this deployment.

Column Type Description

product character varying (74) The name of the product.
version character varying (74) The version number of the product.
status character varying (74) The status of the release.

Copyright 2007 - 2017 EnterpriseDB Corporation. All rights reserved. 332

 Database Compatibility for Oracle Developers
Reference Guide

5 Acknowledgements
The PostgreSQL 8.3, 8.4, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, and 10 Documentation provided
the baseline for the portions of this guide that are common to PostgreSQL, and is hereby
acknowledged:

Portions of this EnterpriseDB Software and Documentation may utilize the following
copyrighted material, the use of which is hereby acknowledged.

PostgreSQL Documentation, Database Management System

PostgreSQL is Copyright 1996-2017 by the PostgreSQL Global Development Group

and is distributed under the terms of the license of the University of California below.

Postgres95 is Copyright 1994-5 by the Regents of the University of California.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for
any purpose, without fee, and without a written agreement is hereby granted, provided
that the above copyright notice and this paragraph and the following two paragraphs
appear in all copies.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY

FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES,
INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS
DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES,

INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE
PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATIONS TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES,
ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.

Copyright 2007 - 2017 EnterpriseDB Corporation. All rights reserved. 333