LESSON-1

DATABASE CONCEPTS

DATABASE AN INTRODUCTION
A database is an electronic store of data. It is a repository that stores
information about different "things" and also contains relationships among
those different "things." Let us examine some of the basic terms used to describe
the structure of a database:

 A person, place, event, or item is called an entity.

 The facts describing an entity are known as data. For example, if you
were a registrar in a college, you would like to have all the
information about the students. Each student is an entity in such a
scenario.
 Each entity can be described by its characteristics, which are known
as attributes. For example, some of the likely attributes for a college
student are student identification number, last name, first name,
phone number, Social Security number, gender, birthdate, and so on.
 All the related entities are collected together to form an entity set. An
entity set is given a singular name. For example, the STUDENT
entity set contains data about students only. All related entities in the
STUDENT entity set are students. Similarly, a company keeps track
of all its employees in an entity set called EMPLOYEE. The
EMPLOYEE entity set does not contain information about the
company's customers, because it wouldn't make any sense.
 A database is a collection of entity sets. For example, a college's
database may include information about entities such as student,
faculty, course, term, course section, building, registration
information, and so on.
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  The entities in a database are likely to interact with other entities. The
interactions between the entity sets are called relationships. The
interactions are described using active verbs. For example, a student
takes a course section (CRSSECTION), so the relationship between
STUDENT and CRSSEC¬TION is takes. A faculty member teaches
in a building, so the relationship between FACULTY and
BUILDING is teaches.
RELATIONSHIPS
The database design requires you to create entity sets, each describing a set of
related entities. The design also requires you to establish all the relationships
between the entity sets within the database. The different database management
software packages handle the creation and use of relationships in different manners.
Depending on the type of interaction, the relationships are classified into three
categories:
1.One-to-one relationship: A one-to-one relationship is written as 1:1 in short
form. It exists between two entity sets, X and Y, if an entity in entity set X has only
one matching entity in entity set Y, and vice versa. For example, a department in a
college has one chairperson, and a chairperson chairs one department in a college.
An employee manages one department in a company, and only one employee
manages a department.
2.One-to-many relationship: A one-to-many relationship is written as 1:M. It
exists between two entity sets, X and Y, if an entity in entity set X has many
matching entities in entity set Y but an entity in entity set Y has only one matching
entity in entity set X. In such a situation, a 1:M relationship exists between entity
sets X and Y. For example, a faculty teaches for one division in a college, but a
division has many faculty members. The relationshipbetween DIVISION and
FACULTY is 1:M. An employee works in a department, but a department has
many employees. The relationship between DEPARTMENT and EMPLOYEE is
1:M.
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3. Many-to-many relationship: A many-to-many relationship is written as M:N
or M:M. It exists between two entity sets, X and Y, if an entity in entity set X has
many matching entities in entity set Y and an entity in entity set Y has many
matching entities in entity set X. For example, a student takes many courses, and
many students take a course. An employee works on many projects, and a project
has many employees.
DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DBMS)
The database system consists of the following components:
• A database management System (DBMS) software package such as
Microsoft Access, Visual Fox Pro, Microsoft SQL-Server, or Oracle.
• A user-developed and implemented database or databases that include
tables, a data dictionary, and other database objects.
• Custom applications such as data-entry forms, reports, queries, blocks,
and programs.
• Computer hardware personal computers, minicomputers, and
mainframes in a network environment.
• Software—an operating system and a network operating system.
• Personnel a database administrator, a database designer/analyst, a
programmer, and end users.
Data are the raw materials. Information is processed, manipulated, collected,
or organized data. The information is produced when a user uses the applications to

User

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 Applications Database
DBMS

OS Software

Hardware

Database system
transform data managed by the DBMS. The database system is utilized
as a decision-making system and is also referred to as an information
system (IS).
A DBMS based on the relational model is also known as a
Relational Database Management System (RDBMS). An RDBMS not
only manages data but is also responsible for other important
functions:
 It manages the data and relationships stored in the database. It
creates a Data Dictionary as a user creates a database. The Data
Dictionary is a system structure that stores Metadata (data about
data).The Metadata include table names, attribute names, data
types, physical space, relationships, and so on.
 It manages all day-to-day transactions.
 It performs bookkeeping duties, so the user has data
independence at the application level. The applications do not
have information about data characteristics.
 It transforms logical data requests to match physical data
structures. When a user requests data, the RDBMS searches
through the Data Dictionary, filters out unnecessary data, and
displays the results in a readable and understandable form.

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  It allows users to specify validation rules. For example, if only M
and F are possible values for the attribute gender, users can set
validation rules to keep incorrect values from being accepted.
 It secures access through passwords, encryption, and restricted
user rights.
 It provides backup and recovery procedures for physical security
of data.
 It allows users to share data with data-locking capabilities.
 It provides import and export utilities to use data created in other
database or spreadsheet software or to use data in other software.
 It enables users to join tables to view information stored in
different tables within the database. The user is able to design a
database with less redundancy, which means fewer data-entry
errors, fewer data corrections, better data integrity, and a more
efficient database.
RELATIONAL DATABASE MODEL
The need for data is always present. hi the computer age, the need to
represent data in an easy-to-understand, logical form has led to many
different models, such as the relational model, the hierarchical model,
the network model, and the object model. Because of its simplicity in
design and ease in retrieval of data, the relational database model has
been very popular, especially in the personal computer environment.
E. F. Codd developed the relational database model in 1970. The
model is based on mathematical set theory, and it uses a relation as the
building block of the database. The relation is represented by a two-
dimensional, flat structure known as a table. The user does not have to
know the mathematical details or the physical aspects of the data, but
the user views the data in a logical, two-dimensional structure. The

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database system that manages a relational database environment is
known as a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS).
Some of the popular relational database systems are Oracle9i by
Oracle Corporation, Microsoft Access 2000, and Microsoft Visual Fox
Pro 6.0.
A table is a matrix of rows and columns in which each row
represents an entity and each column represents an attribute. In other
words, a table represents an entity set as per database theory, and it
represents a relation as per relational database theory. In daily practice,
the terms table, relation, and entity set are used interchangeably.
INTEGRITY RULES
In any database managed by an RDBMS, it is very important that
the data in the underlying tables be consistent. If consistency is
compromised. the data are not usable. This need led the pioneers of
database field to formulate two integrity rules:
1. Entity integrity: No column in a primary key may be null. The
primarykey provides the means of uniquely identifying a row or an
entity. A nullvalue means a value that is not known, not entered, not
defined, or not applicable. A zero or a space is not considered to be a
null value. If the primary key value is a null value in a row, we do not
have enough informationabout the row to uniquely identify it. The
RDBMS software strictly follows the entity integrity rule and does not
allow users to enter a row without a unique value in the primary key
column.
2. Referential integrity: A foreign key value may be a null value,
or it mustexist as a value of a primary key in the referenced table.
Referential integrity is not fully supported by all commercially
available systems, but Oracle supports it religiously! Oracle does not
allow you to declare a foreign key if it does not exist as a primary key

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in another table. It allows you to leave the foreign key column value as
a null. If a user enters a value in the foreign key column, Oracle cross-
references the referenced primary key column in the other table to
confirm the existence of such a value.
It is not a good practice to use null values in any non-primary key
columns, because this results in extra overhead on the system's part in
search operations. The programmers or query users have to add extra
measures to include or exclude rows with null values. In certain cases,
it is not possible to avoid null values. For example, an employee does
not have a middle initial, an employee is hired but does not have an
assigned department, or a student's major is undefined. In Oracle, a
default value can be assigned to a column, and a user does not have to
enter a value for that column.
THEORETICAL RELATIONAL LANGUAGES
E. F. Codd suggested two theoretical relational languages to use
with the relational model:
1. Relational algebra, a procedural language.
2. Relational calculus, a nonprocedural language.
Third-generation high-level compiler languages can be used to
manipulate data in a table, but they can only work with one row at a
time. In contrast, the relational languages can work on the entire table
or on a group of rows. The multiple-row
manipulation does not even need a looping structure! The relational
languages pro-vide more power with a very little coding. Codd
proposed these languages to embed them in other host languages for
more processing capability and more sophisticated application
development. In the database systems available today, nonprocedural
Structured Query Language (SQL) is used as a data-manipulation

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sublanguage. The theoretical languages have provided the basis for
SQL.
Relational Algebra
Relational algebra is a procedural language, because the user
accomplishes desired results by using a set of operations in a sequence.
It uses set operations on tables to produce new resulting tables. These
resulting tables are then used for subsequent sequential operations. In
Oracle, all operation names are not actually used as programming
terms, and most of these operations do not create a new resulting table,
as shown in the following examples using relational algebra.
The nine operations used by relational algebra are:
1. Union.
2. Intersection.
3. Difference.
4. Projection.
5. Selection.
6. Product.
7. Assignment.
8. Join.
9. Division.
Union. The union of two tables results in retrieval of all rows that
are in one or both tables. The duplicate rows are eliminated from the
resulting table. The resulting table does not contain two rows with
identical data values. There is a basic requirement to perform a union
operation on two tables:
• Both tables must have the same degree.
• The domains of the corresponding columns in two tables must be
same.

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 Such tables are said to be union compatible. In mathematical set
theory, a union can be performed on any two sets, but in relational
algebra, a union can be performed only on union-compatible tables.
Intersection. The intersection of two tables produces a table with
rows that are in both tables. The two tables must be union compatible
to perform an intersection on them.
Difference. The difference of two tables produces a table with
rows that are present in the first table but not in the second table. The
difference can be performed on union-compatible tables only.
Projection. The projection operation allows us to create a table
based on desirable columns from all existing columns in a table. The
undesired columns are ignored. The projection operation returns the
"vertical slices" of a table. The projection is indicated by including the
table name and a list of desired columns:
Selection. The selection operation selects rows from a table
based on a condition or conditions. The conditional operators (=, <>,
>, >=, <, <=) and the logical operators (AND, OR, NOT) are used
along with columns and values to create conditions. The selection
operation returns "horizontal slices" from a table.
Product. A product of two tables is a combination everything
in both tables. It is also known as a Cartesian product. It can cause
huge results with big tables. If the first table has x rows and the second
table has y rows, the resulting product hasx • y rows. If the first table
has m columns and the second table has n columns, the resulting
product has m + n columns.
Assignment. This operation creates a new table from existing
tables. We have been doing it throughout all the other operations.
Assignment (=) gives us an ability to name new tables that are based
on other tables. Note that assignment is not an Oracle term.

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For example,
TABLE_A = PROJ2002 U PROJ2003
TABLE_C = PRO12002 - PROJ2003
Join. The join is one of the most important operations because of its
ability to get related data from a number of tables. The join is based on
common set of values, which does not have to have the same name in
both tables but does have to have the same domain in both tables.
When a join is based on equality of value, it isknown as a natural
join. In Oracle, you will learn about the natural join, or equijoin. and
also about other types of joins, such as outer join, non equijoin, and
,self-join, that are based on the operators other than the equality
operator.
Division. The division operation is the most difficult operation to
comprehend. It is not as simple as division in mathematics. In
relational algebra, it identifies rows in one table that have a certain
relationship to all rows in another table. Let us consider the following
two tables.

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 LESSON -2
DATABASE DESIGN
DATA MODELING
A model is a simplified version of real-life, complex objects.
Databases are complex, and data modeling is a tool to represent the
various components and their relation-ships. The entity-relationship
(E-R) model is a very popular modeling tool among many such tools
available today. Many tools are available for data modeling with E-R.
All tools have some variations in representation of components. The E-
R model provides:
• An excellent communication tool.
• A simple graphical representation of data.
The E-R model uses E-R diagrams (ERD) for graphical representation
of the database components. An entity (or an entity set) is represented
by a rectangle. The name of the entity (set) is written within the
rectangle. Some tools prefer to use uppercase letters only for entities.
The name of an entity set is a singular noun. For example,
EMPLOYEE, CUSTOMER, and DEPARTMENT are singular entity
set names.
A line represents relationship between the two entities. The name of
the relationship is an active verb in lowercase letters. For example,
works; manages, and employs are active verbs. Passive verbs can be
used, but active verbs are preferable
.

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 The types of relationships (1:1, 1:M, and M:N) between entities are called conn-
ectivity or multiplicity. The connectivity is shown with vertical or angled lines next
to each entity, For example, an EMPLOYEE supervises a DEPARTMENT, and a
DEPARTMENT has one EMPLOYEE supervisor. A DIVISION contains many
FACULTY members, but a FACULTY works for one DIVISION. An INVOICE
contains many ITEMs, and an ITEM can be in more than one INVOICE.
Let us put everything together and represent these scenarios with the E-R dia-
gram that shows entities, relationships, and connectivity.
The relationship between two entities can be given using the lower and upper
limits. This information is called the cardinality. The cardinality is written next
to each entity in the form (n, m), where n is the minimum number and m is the
maximum number. For example, (1,1) next to EMPLOYEE means that an
employee can supervise a minimum of one and a maximum of one department.
Similarly, (1,1) next to DEPARTMENT says that one and only one employee
supervises the department. The value (1,N) means a minimum of one and a
maximum equal to any number. Some modern tools do not show cardinality in an
E-R diagram.

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In reality, corporations set rules for the minimum and maximum values for
cardinality. A corporation may decide that a department must have a minimum of
10 employees and a maximum of 25 employees, which results in cardinality of
(10,25). A college decides that a computer-science course section must have at
minimum 5 students to recover the cost incurred and at maximum 35 students,
because the computer lab contains only 35 terminals. An employee can be part of
zero or more than one department, and an item may not be in any invoice! These
types of decisions are known as business rules.
the above E-R diagram with added cardinality. In real life, it is possible to
have an entity that is not related to another entity at all times. The relationship
becomes optional in such a case. In the example of a video rental store. a
customer can rent video movies. In this case. there are times when the customer
has not rented any movie, and there are times when the customer has rented one or
more movies. Similarly, there can be a movie in the database that is or is not rented
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at a particular time.These are called optional relationships and are shown with a
small circle next to the optional entity. The optional relationship can occur in 1:1,
1:M, or M:N relationships, and it can occur on one or both sides of the
relationship.

In relational databases, many-to-many (M:N) relationships are allowed, but

they are not easy to implement. For example, an invoice has many items. and an
item can be in many invoices. Refer to the INVOICE and ITEM relationship . At
this point, you will he introduced to the relational schema, a graphical represen-
tation of tables, their column names, key components, and relations between the
primary key in one table and the foreign key in another. You will also see the
decomposition of an M:N relationship into two 1:M relationships. The
decomposition from M:N to 1:M involves a third entity, known as a composite
entity or an associative entity. The composite entity is created with the primary
key from both tables with M:N relationships.The new entity has a composite key,
which is a combination of primary keys from the original two entities. In the E-R
diagram. a composite entity is drawn as a diamond within a rectangle. The
composite

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entity has a composite primary key with two columns, each of them being
foreign keys referencing the other two entities in the database. For example, the
foreign key INVOICENO in the INVITEM table references the INVOICENO
column in the INVOICE table, and the foreign key ITEMNO in the INVITEM
table references the ITEMNO column in the ITEM table.

In a database, there are entities that cannot exist by themselves. Such

entities are known as weak entities. you will be introduced to two different
sample databases. In the employee database of that chapter, there is an entity
called EMPLOYEE with employees' demographic information and another
entity called DEPENDENT with information about each employee's dependents.
The DEPEN-DENT entity cannot exist by itself. There are no dependents for an
employee who does not exist. In other words, you need the existence of an
employee for his or her dependent to exist in the database. The weak entities are
shown by double-lined rec-tangles

Weak Entity

Some of the other elements considered in the database design are:

• Simple attributes—attributes that cannot be subdivided; for

example, last name, city, or gender.

• Composite attributes—attributes that can be subdivided, into

atomic form; for example, a full name can be subdivided into the last name, first
name, and middle initial.

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 • Single-valued attributes—attributes with a single value; for
example, Employee ID, Social Security number, or date of birth.

• Multivalued attributes—attributes with multiple values; for

example, degree codes or course registration. The multivalued attributes have to
be given special consideration. They can be entered into one attribute with a
value separator mark, or they can be entered in separate attributes with names
like Coursel, Course2, Course3, and so on. Alternatively, a separate, composite
entity can be created.

DEPENDENCY

In Chapter 1, you learned that the primary key in a table identifies an

entity. Every table in the database should have a primary key, which uniquely
identifies an entity. For example, PartNo is a primary key in the PARTS table,
and DeptNo is a primary key in the DEPARTMENT table. In Oracle, if you
create a table and do not defineits primary key. Oracle does not consider it to be
an error. You should define a primary key for all tables for integrity of data.
Each table has other columns that do not make up the primary key for the table.
Such columns are called the nonkey columns. The nonkey columns are
functionally dependent on the primary key column. For example, PartDesc and
Cost in the PARTS table are dependent on the primary key PartNo, and
DeptName is dependent on the primary key DeptNo in the DEPARTMENT
table.

Now, let us take a scenario as shown below. The INVOICE table in does
not have any single column that can uniquely identify an entity. The first choice
would be InvNo. It is not a unique value in the table, however, because an
invoice may contain more than one item and there may be more than one entry
for an invoice. CustNo cannot be the primary key, because there can be many
invoices for a customer and CustNo does not identify an invoice. ItemNo cannot
be the primary key either, because an item may appear in more than one invoice

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and ItemNo does not describe an invoice. The table has a composite primary
key, which consists of InvNo and ItemNo. InvNo and ItemNo together make up
unique values for each row. All other columns that do not constitute the primary
key are nonkey columns, and they are dependent on the primary key.

INVOICE
Inv No InvDate CustN ItemNo CustName ItemName ItemPrice Qty

1001 04/14/03 212 1 Starks Screw $2.25 5

o

1001 04/14/03 212 3 Starks Bolt S3.99 5

1001 04/14/03 212 5 Starks Washer $1.99 9

1002 04/17/03 225 1 Connors Screw $2.25 2

1002 04/17/03 225 2 Connors Nut $5.00 3

1003 04/17/03 239 1 Kapur Screw $2.25 7

1003 04/17/03 239 2 Kapur Nut $5.00 1

1004 04/18/03 211 4 Garcia Hammer $9.99 5

INVOICE table and its columns.

There are three types of dependencies in a table:

1. Total or full dependency: A nonkey column dependent on all primary

key columns shows total dependency.
2. Partial dependency: In partial dependency, a nonkey column is
dependent on part of the primary key.
3. Transitive dependency: In transitive dependency, a nonkey column is
dependent on another nonkey column.

For example, in the INVOICE table, ItemName and ItemPrice are

nonkey columns that are dependent only on a part of the primary key column
ItemNo. Theyare not dependent on the InvNo column. Similarly, the nonkey

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column InvDate is dependent only on InvN o. They are partially dependent on the
primary key columns. The nonkey column CustName is not dependent on any
primary key column but is dependent on another nonkey column, CustNo. It is
said to have transitive dependency. The nonkey column Qty is dependent on both
InvNo and ItemNo, so it is said to have full dependency.
DATABASE DESIGN
Relational database design involves an attempt to synthesize the
database structure to get the "first draft." The initial draft goes through an analysis
phase to improve the structure. More formal techniques are available for the
analysis and improvement of the structure. In the synthesis phase, entities and
their relationships are identified. The characteristics or the columns of all entities
are also identified, and the designer defines the domains for each column. The
candidate keys are picked, and primary keys are selected from them. The minimal
set of columns is used as a primary key. If one column is sufficient to uniquely
identify art entity, there is no need to select two columns to create a composite
key. Avoid using names as primary keys, and break down composite columns into
separate columns. For example, a name should be split into last name and first
name. Once entities, columns, domains, and keys are defined, each entity is
synthesized by creating a table for it. A process called normalization analyzes
tables created by the synthesis process.
NORMAL FORMS
data are repeated from row to row. For example, InvDate, CustNo,
and CustName are repeated for same InvNo. The ItemName is entered repeatedly
from invoice to invoice. There is a large amount of redundant data in a table with
just eight rows! Redundant data can pose a huge problem in databases. First of
all, someone has to enter the same data repeatedly. Second, if a change is made in
one piece of the data, the change has to be made in many places. For example, if
customer Starks changes his or her name to Starks-Johnson, you would go to the

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individual row in INVOICE and make that change. The redundancy may also lead
to anomalies.
Anomalies
A deletion anomaly results when the deletion of information about
one entity leads to the deletion of information about another entity. For example,
if an invoice for customer Garcia is removed, information about item number 4 is
also deleted. An insertion anomaly occurs when the information about an entity
cannot be inserted unless the information about another entity is known. For
example, if the company buys a new item, this information cannot be entered
unless an invoiceis created for a customer with that new item. An update anomaly
can occur if the item price changes to a new price. The price change is valid after
the change date, but not before the change date.
Unnecessary and unwanted redundancy and anomalies are not
appropriate in databases. Such tables are in lower normal form. Normalization is a
technique to re-duce redundancy. It is a decomposition process to split tables. The
splitting is per-formed carefully so that no information is lost. The higher the
normal form is, the lower the redundancy. The table in is in first normal form
(INF).
First Normal Form (INF)
A table is said to be in first normal form, or can be labeled INF, if the following
conditions exist:
 The primary key is defined. This includes a composite key if a single
column cannot be used as a primary key. In our INVOICE table, InvNo and
ItemId are defined as the composite primary key components.
 All nonkey columns show functional dependency on the primary key
components. If you know the invoice number and the item number, you can
find out the invoice date, customer number and name, item name and price,
and quantity ordered. For example, if InvNo = 1001 and ItemNo = 5 are

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 known, then InvDate = 04114/03. ItemName = Washer, ItemPrice = $1.99,
CustNo = 212. and CustName = Starks.
 The table contains no multivalued columns. In a single-valued column, the
intersection of a row and a column returns only one value. In a normalized
table, the intersection of a row and a column is a single value. Some
database packages, such as Unidata and Prime Information, allow multiple
values in a column in a row, but Oracle does not. Fthe INVOICE table of
in unnormalized form. The ItemNo, ItemName, ItemPrice, and Qty
columns are multivalued.
A table that is in INF may have redundant data. A table in 1NF does
not show data consistency and integrity in the long run. The normalization
technique is used to control and reduce redundancy and to bring the table to a
higher normal form.
Second Normal Form (2NF)
A table is said to be in second normal form, or 2NF, if the following
requirements are satisfied:
•All INF requirements are fulfilled.
•There is no partial dependency.
As you already know, partial dependency exists in a table in which
nonkey columns are partially dependent on part of a composite key. Suppose a
table is in 1NF and does not have a composite key. Is it in the second normal form
also? Yes, it is in 2NF, because there is no partial dependency. Partial dependency
only exists in a table with a composite key.
Third Normal Form (3NF)
A table is said to be in third normal form, or 3NF, if the following
requirements are satisfied:
•All 2NF requirements are fulfilled.
•There is no transitive dependency.

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A table that has transitive dependency is not in 3NF, but it needs to be
decomposed further to achieve 3NF. However, a table in 2NF that does not
contain any transitive dependency does not need any further decomposition and is
automatically in 3NF.
Other, higher normal forms are defined in some database texts. Boyce-Codd
normal form (BCNF), fourth normal form (4NF), fifth normal form (5NF), and
do-main key normal form (DKNF) are not covered in this text. In the following
section, you will learn the normalization process by using dependency diagrams.

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 LESSON-3
SQL
Structured Query Language (SQL)
SQL is a Structured Query Language and is the industry standard language to
define and manipulate the data in. Relational Database Management" System. In a
database environment, the interactions between the Client and the Server are only
through SQL. This one-point communication language.in Client-Server architecture
facilitates the data base, connectivity and processing
Structured Query Language is a simple English-like language SQL is also.
pronounced as . ―sequel" and consists of layers. of increasing complexity and
capability. End-users with little orno experience in data processing can learn SQL
features very quickly. It is a Fourth Generation Language.
SQL was first introduced by IBM Research and was introduced into the
commercial market first by Oracle Corporation in 1979. A committee at the
American National,StandardsInstitute hasendorsed SQL as the standard language for
RDBMS.
SQL Provides the following functionalities :
 Creation of tables.
 Querying the exact data.
 Change the data structure and the data.
 Combine and calculate the data to get required information.
Non Procedural Language
SQL is a non-procedural language and is free of logic and,procedural
constructs. In SQL, all we need to say is what we want and not how to go about it. It
aces not require,the.user to specify the methodology for accessing the data.SQL
processes of records rather than one atatime. SQL language can be used by Database
Administrators application programmers decision support personnel and management.

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 SQL facilitates interaction by embeddingSQL Standard programming languages
such as COBOL, FORTRAN, C etc. through a variety of RDBMS tools like
SQL * Plus, Report Generators, Duplication Generators, Form Generators.
Database Access through SQL
SOL operates over database tables. Tables constitute tabular representation of
data withdata residing in the form of a spreadsheet or rows and columns. Each row
has a set of data items and the kerns are called fields.

SQL * Plus
SQL Queries are sent to the Oracle RDBMS using the tool called SQL * Plus. This
isthe principal CLIENTtool for ORACLE. It is an environment through which any
interaction with the database is done using SQL commands.
SQL * Plus program can be used in conjunction with the SQL database language
and its procedural language extension FL/SQL. SQL * Plus enables theuser to
manipulate SQL commands and PL/SQL statements and to perform additional tasks
such as to
 Enter, edit, store, retrieve and run SQL commands
 Format and print calculations, query results in the form of reports.
 List column definitions for any table
 Access and copy data between SQL databases.
Logging to Oracle
TO enter into Oracle and interact with the database usingSQI. * Plus, a usemame
and a password must be given. Logging to oracle can be done by using either the
menu option or by entering.
Plus 80w (From Oracle 8) in the Start - Run Option.
It prompts the user to enter a username and a password. If the system is
connected to multi-user environment, the database alias name must be provided in the
"Host String".
The Database Administrator configures this database alias name.

24
 The figure explains this :

Shortcuts to starting SQL * Plus

While starting SQL * Plus, the username along with the password and the
database alias (if required) can be given. The username and the password must be
separated by a slash (/). For example consider a user called SCOTT and the password
called TIGER.
If the user is connected to the personal database, SQL * Plus can be started by giving.

PLUS SOW SCOTT/TIGER (or) SQL PLUS SCOTT / TIGER

If the user is connected to a network, SQL * Plus can be started by

giving PLUS SOW SCOTT/TIGER @ ORACLE

After this, the SQL prompt appears from where the commands can be entered
and executed.

SQL Buffer

The area where SQL * Plus stores the most recently typed SQL commands or
PL/SQL commands is called SQL Buffer. The command remains in the buffer until
another command is entered. Thus, if the same command or block has to be re-
executed or edited, it can be done without retyping the same. A detailed list of SQL *
Plus commands are dealt later.

25
Note : SQL * Plus commands are not stored in the SQL Buffer and hence may not be re-
run.
SQL Command Classification
Based on the type of action that each command performs, SQL commands can be broadly
classified as follows:
Classifications Description Commands
DDL Is used to define the structure CREATE ALTER DROP,
(Date Definition Language) of a table, or modify the TRUNCATE, RENAME
structure Is used to
manipulate with the data
DML Is used to restrict or grant INSERT, UPDATE,
(Data Manipulation access to tables DELETE
Language)
DCL Is used to restrict or grant GRANT, REVOKE
(Data Control Language) access to tables
TCL Is used to complete fully or COMMIT, SAVEPOINT,
(TransactonControl undo the transactions ROLLBACK
Language) Is used to select records from
Queries the tables or other objects SELECT

Before discussing about creating tables, a detail description about data types is dealt with
Data types
Each literal or column value manipulated by Oracle has a datatype. A value's datatype
associates a fixed set of properties with the Value. Broadly classifying the datatypes, they can be
of two types :

 BUILT-IN
 USER — DEFINED (dealt in a later Chapter)
26
 Built-in datatypes are predefined set of data types set in Oracle. Based on the
type of data that can be stored, built-in datatypes pan be classified as
 Character Datatypes
 Numeric Datatype
 Date Datatype
 0Raw Datatype
 Long Raw Datatype
 Lob Datatype
Character Datatype
Char (n)
Char datatype is a fixed length character data of length n bytes.
Default size is 1 byte and it can hold a maximum of 2000 bytes. Character datatypes pad
blank spaces to the fixedlength if the user enters a value lesser. than the specified length.
Syntax
Char (n)
Example :
X char (4) stores upto 4 characters of data in the column X.
Varchar 2 (size)
Varchar 2 datatype are variable length character strings. They can store alpha-numeric
values and the size must be specified. The maximum length of varchar 2 datatype is 4000 bytes.
Unlike char datatype, blank spaces are not padded to the length of the string. So, this is more
preferred than &erecter datatypes since it does not store the maximum length.
Syntax
Varchar 2 (size)
Example :
X varchar2 (10) stores upto 10 characters of data in the column X.

Numeric datatypes
Number

27
 The number datatypes can store numeric values where p stands for the precision and
stands for the scale. The precision can range between 1 to 38 and the scale ranges from - 84 to
127.
Syntax
Number (p, s)
Example :
Sal number — Here the scale is 0 and the precision is 38.
Sal number(7) — Here the scale is. 0 and the number is a fixed point number of 7
digits
Sal number (7,3) — Stores 5 digits followed by 2 decimal points.
DATA datatype
Date datatype is used to store date and time values. The default formatis DD-MON-YY.
The valid data for a data ranges from January 1,4712 BC to December 31,4712 AD. Date
datatype stores 7 bytes one each for century, year, month, day, hour, minute and second.
RAW Datatype
RAW (n)
RAW datatype stores binary data of length n bytes. The maximum size is 255 bytes.
Specifying the size is a must for this datatype.
Syntax
Raw (n)
LONG Datatype
Stores character data of variable length upto 2 Gigabytes (GB) or 231-1
LONG RAW Datatype
stores unto 2 Gigabytes (GB) of raw binary data. The use of LONG Values
are restricted.

The restrictions are :

 A Table cannot contain more than one LONG column.

28
  LONG columns cannot appear in Integrity constraints (dealt later)
 They cannot appear in WHERE, ORDER BY clauses of
SELECT statements
 Cannot be a part of expressions or conditions.
 Cannotappearin the SELECT list of CREATE TABLE as SELECT.

LOB Datatypes
In addition to the above datatypes, Oracle8 supports LOB datatypes. LOB is the
acronym for LARGE OBJECTS. The LOB datatypes stores upto 4 GB of data. This
datatype is used for storing video clippings, large images, history documents etc..

Create, View, Manipulate data

Data Creation through SQL
This section deals with creation of tables, altering its structure, inserting and
retrieving records and querying complex data using SQL

Using the CREATE TABLE- Command

Oracle Database is made up of tables that contain rows (horizontal) and
contains (vertical). Each column contains a data value at the intersection of A row and a
column the table definition contains the name of the attribute (property of field).and the
type of the data that the column contains To create a table, use CREATE TABLE
command. CREATE Command is used to define the structure of a table or any object.

Syntax:
CREATE TABLE <table name.> (column 1 datatype, column 2 datatype....c.);
Here, tablename refers. to the name of the table or entity, column Hi the name
the-first column, column2 the name of the second column and so on. For each column
there must beanappropriate data type which describes the type of data it can hold: The
statement terminatedby a semi-colon.

29
 The following example illustratesthe Creation of a table:

Example
Create table EMPLOYEE ( Empno NUMBER
Empname CHAR (10),
Doj DATE
This would display
Table created
In the above example, an entity called EMPLOYEE is created. It contains
columnsEmp to that can hold numeric data, Empname that contains character data-andDoj
that containsthe type of data. Table names are case-insensitive.
The structure of the data would look like.
Name
EMPNO NUMBER
EMPNAME CHAR(10)
DOJ DATE
While creating tables, consider the following points
 Tablename must start with alphabet
 Tablename length must not exceed 30 characters
 No two tables can have the, same name
 Reserved words of Oracle are not allowed.

Viewing the Table structure

After creating the table, viewing the structure can be done using
DESCRIBEfollowed bythe name of the table.
Syntax:
DESC [rile] <tablename>
Example:
DESC EMPLOYEE

30
 The output would look like
Name Type
EMPNO NUMBER
EMPNAME CHAR (10)
DOJ DATE

Using the ALTER TABLE Command

A table's structure can be altered using the ALTER Command.The Command allows the
structure of the existing table to be altered by adding new columns or fields dynamically
and modifying the existing fields datatypes. Using this command, one or more
columns can be added.
Syntax:
Alter table <tablename> add (columnl datatype, Column 2 datatype
Alter table<tablename>modify (column 1 datatype. column 2 datatype)
Example :
Consider the previous example where a new column called Salary is to be
added.ALTER TABLE employee ADD (salary NUMBER).
Using INSERT command
Insert command is used to add one or more rows to a table. The values are
separated commas and the values are entered in the same ORDER as specified by the
structure of the table. Insertingrecords into tables can be done in different ways:
 Inserting records into all fields
 Inserting records into selective fields
 . Continuous Insertions.

 Inserting records using SELECT statement.

Case 1:
Consider inserting records onto all the fields in the table.
Syntax:

31
 Insert into <tablename> Values (valuel, value 2, value 3..);
Here, the number of values must correspond to the number of columns in the
table.
Example :
INSERT INTO EmployeeVALUES (1237,‘Kalai‘,10 MAR-2000, 5000);
The messagedisplayed will be:.
I row created.
This command inserts the record Where the employee number is 1000, his name is
Jack and so on.Always character data must be entered within single quotes.
In theabove example, the column calleddoj contains a date datatype while inserting
data values, the values must be enclosed within quotes. The standard format of entering the
date values is DD-MON-YY'.
Note : Any value other than mere number must be placed within single quotes.
Otherwise, it treats the value as a column name.
Case 2:
Consider inserting values intoSelective fields.
Syntax:
Insert into <tablename> (Selective column1, selective column2 ) values (value 1,
value 2)
Example:
INSERT INTO Employee (empno, empname) VALUES (1330,
‗Saravanan‘);
Displays the feedback as
I row created:

Case 3:
Consider continuous insertion of records. In order to insert continuously, use "&"
(ampersand).

32
Syntax :
Insert into <tablename> Values (&Coll, &Co12, &Co13...);
Oracle prompts the user to insert values onto all the columns of the table. The following
example illustrates this..
Example
INSERT INTO employee VALUES (&eno, &name, &doj, &sal);
Output will be:
Enter value: for eno: 1247
Enter valuefor name: Mena
Enter value for doj name:10-jan-2000
Enter value for sal : 5000
old I: insert into employee values (&eno, ‗&name‘, &doj, &sal)
new I : insert into employee values (1247, 'meena', 10-jan-2000', 5000)
I row created.
Here, instead of enclosing the character values. in Quotes each time. it is
enough if it is given while using the Insert command. Now the same command can
be re-executed by giving /(slash) as long as this. is the latest command that is there
in the buffer.
Now, consider inserting_ records continuously for selective fields. This is similar to
case 2 Insert into <tablename> (selective column l, selective column2) Values
(Coll, &co12);
The following example inserts records into the empno and empname columns.
Example :
INSERT INTO Employee(empno, empname) VALUES (&eno, '&name‘);

Output
Enter value for eno : 1440
Enter value for name : Diana
33
 old I: insert into employee values (&eno, ‗&name‘);
new I: insert into employee values (1440,‗Diana‘);
I row created.
Case 4:
Multiple Records can be inserted using a single Insert cornmand along with
Select statement. This case is dealt alter the section on Select Statement.
Note : Using Insert and Values combination, only one record can be inserted
at a time.
Retrieving Records — Using the. SELECT Statement.
Retrieving data from the database is the most common SQL operation. A
database retrieval is called a query and is performed using SELECT statement.
A basic SELECT statement contains two clauses or parts
Select some data (columnname (s)) FROM a table or More tables (table
name(s)) Retrieval of records can be done in various ways:
 Selecting all records from a table
 Retrieving selective columns for all records from a table
 Selecting records based on conditions
 Selecting records in a sorted order
Consider the first case of selecting all the records from the table.
Example
SELECT empno, empname, doj, salary FROM employee;
Here, all the column names are given in the SELECT clause. This can be
further simplified by giving ‗*‘ as follows:
Example
SELECT * FROM employee;
This would display:
EMPNO EMPNAME DOJ SALARY
1237 Kalai 10-MAR-2000 5000

34
1330 Saravanan
1247 Meena 10-JAN-2000 5000
1440 Diana

‗*‘ INDICATED ALL THE COLUMN NAMES.

Note in the above display, there are no values entered in DOJ and Salary Column for
the employee 1001 and 1004. Here the values in these columns are considered to have NULL
values. Anytime it can be updated using the Update Command.
In the second case, the column names must be specified in the SELECT statement.

Syntax :
SELECT Col1, Col2.,
FROM<tablename>;Example:
SELECT empname, salary FROM employee;
The records would be displayed as follows :
EMPNAME SALARY
Kalai 5000
Saravanan
Meena 5000
Diana

This statement retrieves the column values of empname and salary.

Conditional Retrieval
Conditional retrieval enables selective rows to be selected. While selecting rows,
restriction can be applied through a condition that governs the selection. An additional clause
called WHERE must be given along with the SELECT statement to apply the condition to select
a specific set of rows! The order of precedence first goes to the WHERE clause and the records
that match the condition are alone selected.
Syntax:
Select (column name (s)) FROM (table name(s)) WHERE condition(s)

35
Consider selecting employee records whose salary is equal to or greater than 3000. The query
can be -written as.
Example:
SELECT empno, empname, salary FROM employee where salary >=3000;
The records selected Will be,
EMPNO EMPNAME SALARY
1237 Kalai 5000
1247 Meena 5000

Example :
SELECT * FROM employee WHERE salary = 1000;
The display would be no rows selected since there are no records matching, the
condition specified in the WHERE clause.
Retrieving Records in a sorted order
Records selected can be displayed either in ascending order or in descending order based
on the column specified. ORDER BY clause is used to perform this operation,
Syntax :
Select (column narne(s));
FROM (table name(s)) WHERE 6onclitia!i(s)
ORDER BY <column name(s)>
Example :
SELECT * FROM employee ORDER By empname;
This would display
EMPNO EMPNAME DOJ SALARY
1440 Diana .
1237 Kalai 10-MAR-2000 5000
1247 Meena 10-JAN-2000 5000
1330 Saravanan

There is a difference in the display. This query displays all the records in the employee.

36
table sorted in ascending order of the employee name. By default ascending is the order in
which the records are displayed. If the records need to be displayed in descending, use DESC
along with the Column name. For example,
SELECT * FROM employee ORDER BY empname DESC; . .
Here sorting is done. In descending order. So the display will be totally, different as
shown below
EMPNO EMPNAME DOJ
1440 Saravanan SALAR
1247 Meena 10-JAN-2000 5000 Y
1237 Kalai 16-MAR-2000 5000
1330 Diana 5000
Sorting records can be done on more than one column. In this case, sortingis
done on the first column and then within that sorting is done on the second Column.
The following example illustrates this.
suppose mat sorting is to ne done on me salary column is ascending order and then
ilk that on the empname column in descending order.
SELECT tempo, empname, salary FROM employee ORDER. BY. salary, empname
DESC;
This stores first thesalary and within that the employee name which would look here:
EMP NO EMPNAME SALARY
1247 Meena 5000
1237 KALAI 5000.
1440 Saravanan
1330 Diana

Note : DESC denotes descending order and this is not the same as DESC in SQL*
Plus. Copying the Structure with Records.
If theStructure of one table has to be copied on to another table along with the
records, the Create table statement is used in combination with the select statement. The
structure mg with the records is copied on to the second table.
Syntax:

37
 CREATE TABLE <tablename2>AS SELECT <colurnnlist> FROM
<tablename1> where <conditions>]
Example:
Consider creating a table called employee1 whose structure is the same as employee
table. To create this use.
CREATE TABLE employee1 ASSELECT * FROM EMPLOYEE,
Displays the feedback;
Table created.
The structure of the employee 1 would be the same as the structure of employee
table.The records will also be the same. To view the records of employer table, use
SELECT * FROM employee1;
This would display
EMPNO EMPNAME DOJ SALARY
1237 Kalai 10-Mar-2000 5000
1330 Saravanan
1247 Meena 10-JAN-2000 5000
1440 Diana

If only specific columns need to be copied use;

CREATE TALE employee2 AS SELECT empno, empname FROM EMPLOYEE;
The statements given above create new tables called employee 1 andemployees2
respectively. In the case of employee' table, the structure, which exists in the employeetable,
is copied and the records are inserted. In the case of employee2 table, two columns are copied
fromthe employee name with the records and me structure. The above Statements can
alternately written as.

. CREATE TABLE <tablename>

and
38
 INSERT INTO <tablename>SELECT <columnlist> FROM <tablename>
As(explainedin the section on Inserting records using SELECT Statement).
Copying the Structure.
The Structure of one table can be copied on to another table without the
records beingcopied. In order to do this, along with the SELECT statement, add a
WHERE clause which yields to any FALSE condition. The following example explain
this
CREATE TABLE employee 3 AS SELECT * FROM employee WHERE 1=2;
This statement creates a table called Employee3 whose structure is the same as
Employee but the records are not copied since WHERE clause evaluates to FALSE.

LESSON-4
Inserting records using SELECT statement.
39
 Records can be selected and inserted from one table to another table using
INSERT! SELECT statement.
Syntax:
INSERT INTO <tablename> SELECT <columnlist> FROM <tablename>
[WHERE<conditions>],
Example
INSERT INTO employee3 SELECT * FROM employee WHERE
salary>12000;-
The above examplecopies records from employee able to employee3 table where the
records meet the criteria specified in the WHERE clause.
Modifying data — Update Command
The UPDATE command is used to Modify one or a set of rows at a, time
UPDA statement consists Of 2 clauses—UPDATE clause followed lay a SET clause and
an optional 3rdclause - the WHERE clause. The WHERE clause specifies a condition,
which is optional.
UPDATE statement allows the user to specify the table name for which the rows are
to be Modified. The SET clause sits the values of one or more columns as specified b, the
use UPDATE statement Without a WHERE clause updates all the records in the table.

Syntax:
UPDATE <tablename>
SET<col1>=value<col2>=value,….
WHERE<condition>

Example :
Consider the table employee2, add a column called deptno to this table as shown below

40
ALTER TABLE employee 2 ADD deptno NUMBER;
Before the update command is issued on issuing.
SELECT * FRPM employee2;
This display will be:
EMPNO EMPNAME DEPT NO
1237 Kalai
1330 Saravanan
1247 Meena
1440 Diana

There are no values in the deptno column. Since INSERT is used to insert new records,
UPDATE performs the value updation, Now, consider the following UPDATE statement.
UPDATE employee2
SET depth =1 0:
This statement updates all the records of employee table with deptno as 10 and displays
number of records that were modified. Here the display will be,
4rows updated.
Example:
UPDATE employee2
SET deptno=20 WHERE empno>1003;
The deptno column is updated for all the records that satisfy the condition specified in the
WHERE clause. After this cornmand is issued, the select statement for this table would yield.
SELECT * FROM employee2;
ENO EMPNAME DEPT NO
1217 Kalai 10
1330 Saravanan 10
1247 Meena 10
1440 Diana 20

41
To update more than due column, separate the columns with a ‗,‘ as illustrated below. .
UPDATE employeel
SET salary = 6000, doj=.'09-SEP-2000' WHERE doj is NULL;
Here, the salary is Updated to 6000 and the doj is changed to 09-SEP-2000 for employees
whose the date of joining is NULL. After updation the selection from the table would yield.
EMPNO EMPNAME DOJ SALARY
1237 Kalai 10-MAR-2000 5000
1330 Saravanan 09-SEP-2000 6000
1247 Meena 10-JAN-2000 5000
1440 Diana 09-SEP-2000 6000

Removing Data-DELETE Statement

Delete statement removes the rows from the table. The command has a DELETE from
clause and an optional WHERE clause. The DELETE FROM statement names the table on
which the deletion operation is to be performed and the WHERE clause specifies the condition.
Syntax:
DELETE FROM<tablename> [WHERE <condition>]
Example
DELETE FROM employee2 WHERE deptno=20;
his statement removes all the records from the employee 2 table for which thedeptno 20.
The following example removes all the records are from the table.

Example:
DELETE FROM employee 2;

Working with Transactions

Transaction means a logical unit of work that would make sense only on the
completionof all the operation as a whole. This means that, either all the operations in the
unit are completed fully or none of themare completed.- In Oracle, can be any Data

42
Manipulation Language Statements. SQL offers two commands to simulate real-life transactions
in the database. The commands are:
 COMMIT
 ROLLBACK
COMMIT completes the transactiondone by making changes permanently
to thedatabase and initiates a new transaction. ROLLBACK reverts back the changes made
and completes the transaction. The following example illustrates this in a better way :
INSERT INTO <tablename> Values(….);
INSERT INTO <tablename>Values (……..);
UPDATE<tablename> SET ……
COMMIT
Displays
Commit complete

All the changes are made permanently inthe database. The two Insert statements and an Update
statement effect the changes and thecommit completes the transaction.
Now, consider the following :
DELETE FROM <tablename>,
When this statement is issued, the records are deleted from thetable. But if this is done
accidentally, records can be retrieved immediately after the DELETE statement by issuing
the statement.

ROLL BACK;
This statement reverts back the changes made to the table and the records are not
deleted.
Note : All DDL, DCL, statements perform an Implicit Commit.
Temporary Markers

Now, assume that after the DELETE statement is one INSERT statement is issued as

43
given below:
DELETE FROM <tablename> WHERE….
INSERT INTO <tablename> VALUES(……);
ROLLBACK;
Here both the INSERT and the DELETE operations are un-done. In order to avoid
this kind of situations SAVEPOINTs are used. SAVEPOINTS are temporary markers
that are used to divide a lengthy transaction into a smaller ones. They are used along with
ROLLBACK.
Syntax:
SAVEPOINT<savepoint id>;
Where savepoint_id is the name of the savepoint. Multiple savepoints can be
created within a transaction. Re-pharsing the previous example,
DELETE FROM <tablename> WHERE<condition>;
SAVEPOINT S1;
INSERT INTO <tablename> VALUES<…);
ROLLBACK To s1;
……..
In this case, only the deleted statements are rolled back as savepoint has been used
after the Delete statements.
Note : SAVEPOINTS can be used with in transaction. After a transaction is completed,
the same save points cannot be used in the next transaction.
DCL statements are dealt in the chapter on database objects.
Differences between Delete and Truncate
The following table illustrates between Truncate and Delete.

Truncate Delete

44
Deletes all the records Can delete all the records or selective rows
alone
This is a DDL statement This is a DML statement
Commits Implicitly Explicit commit is required and
Hence ROLLBACK
Hence Not Possible can be used to rollback
SQL*PLUS Commands DESC Used to describe the structure of an object
SET PAGE SIZE N Sets the pagesize to n length
set feedback[ON/OFF] SQL displays the feedback for every
statement executed. By turning it off, the
feedback is not displayed on the screen.
SET HEADING[on/off] In query displays, the heading of the
column name is displayed.
By turning it off, the heading is not shown
on the screen. it canbe turned on again.
SET LINE SIZE x Set ‗x‘ number of lines to be displayed on
the screen
SET PAUSE on/off Pauses the display till the user
presses<Enter> key Executes the latest
command in the buffer.
Short Summary
 SQL is a Structured Query Language used for all RDBMS.
 SOL * Plus is a tool that is used to Work With and the commands
.
arc executed.
 SQL* Plus statements are not stored in the buffer.
 DDL — Data Definition Languages that defines the structureof an object.
 They are CREATE, ALTER, DROP, TRUNCATE, RENAME

Constraints :

45
 Data security and Data Integrity are the most important factors in
deciding the success of a system. Constraints are a mechanism, used by Oracle to
restrict invalid data from being entered into the table and thereby maintain the
integrity of` the data. They are otherwise called a Business Rules. These
constraints can be broadly classified into 3 types:
 EntityIntegrity Constraints

 Domain Integrity Constraints

 Referential Integrity Constraint's

Entity Integrity Constraint

Entity Integrity constraints can be Classified as
 PRIMARY KEY

 UNIQUE KEY
Choosing a table‘s Primary Key
A primary key allows each row in a table to be uniquely identified and ensures
that hopduplicate rows exist and no null value are entered. Selecting a primary key
needs the following: guideline:
 Choose a column whose data values are unique

 Choose a column whose data values never change.

A primary key value is used to identify a row in the table. Therefore, primary
key values must not contain any data that is Used for any other purpose. Primary
key can contain one tit more columns of the same table. Together they form a
composite Primary Key.

Using UNIQUE Key Constraints

46
 Unique Key constraint is used to prevent the duplication of key values
within the tows of a table. If values are entered into a column defined with a unique
key, repeating the Sallie data for that column is not possible but it can contain any
number of null values. According to Oracleone null is not equal to another null.
Domain Integrity Constraints
Domain Integrity constraints are based on the column values and any
deviations or violations: are prevented. The two types of Domain Integrity
Constraints are

 Not Null Constraints

 Check Constraints
Choosing NULL Constraint
By Default all columns can contain null values. NOT NULL constraints are
used for columnsthat absolutely require values at all times. NOT NULL
constraints are often combined with other types of constraints to further restrict the
values that can exist in specific columns of a table
Choosing Check Constraints.
Check Constraints are used to check whether the values in the table satisfy the
criteria ispecifie6 for that column. They contain conditions. The conditions
have the following limitations.

Conditions must be a Boolean expression that can be evaluated using the

values in the record being inserted or updated
Conditions must not contain sub-queries.
Conditions cannot contain any SQL functions.
Conditions cannot contain pseudo columns.
Referential integrity Constraint
This constraint establishes the relationship between tables. A single or
combination of columns, which can be related to the other tables, is used to

47
perform this operation. Foreign key is used to establish the relationship. This kind of
relationship can be referred to as a Parent-Child relationship.
The table containing the referenced Key from wile-re other tables refer for
values is called the Parent table and the table containing the foreign key is
called the child table.
Adding Constraints
Constraints can be added in two different ways. There are
 Adding at the time of creating tables
 Adding after creating tables
The next section deals with the adding constraints at the time of creating
tables. Every constraints contains a name followed by the type of the constraint
Adding Entity Integrity Constraints
Both Primary Key and Unique Key constraints can be added at the time of
creation of tables. Let us consider creating a table called item master, which
contain item code, item_name and unit_price.
Example
Create table Item master (item _code number primary key,
Item name varchar2 (20) unique,
Unit Price number (9,2)
);
The table is created along with the constraints. If a constraint is given without
specifying thename of the constraint, Oracle by default assigns a name to the
constraint that is unique. The constraint starts with ‗SYS_C‘ followed by some
numbers.
After creation, records are inserted into the table as follows:
INSERT INTO item_master VALUES (I, 'Pencils', 2.50);
If the same command is executed again, it raises an error.
INSERT INTO item master VALUES (l, 'Pencils', 2.50);

48
 *
ERROR at line 1.
ORA-00001: unique constraint (HEMA.SYS_C00769) violated
By looking at this error message, the user may not understand which value
is violated. in order to avoid this situation, a name has to be provided for every
constraint that is easy to read. Refining the above example

Create table Item_master (item_code number CONSTRAINT

pkit_code primary key.
Item name varchar2(20) CONSTRAINT unque name unique,
Unit_Price number (9,2)
).
Naming the constraints always provide better readability.

Adding Domain Integrity Constraints

The user has to necessarily provide values for the columns containing
NOT NULL values. NOT NULL constraint is ideal in cases where the value
for the column must exist -Consider an organization that needs to store all the
employee information. In this case, the employee name column cannot be left
blank.
What is NULL?
NULL means some un-known value. NULL values can always be updated
later with some values. Remember it is not equal to Zero.
Example
CREATE TABLE employee master(empno NUMBER, empname
varchar2 (20)CONSTRAINT NN_ENAME NOT NULL);
While inserting records to this table,
INSERT INTO employee Master VALUES (1, null);
INSERT INTO employee_master VALUES (1, null)
ERROR at line I
ORA01400 : cannot insert NULL into (―HEMA‖,
―EMPLOYEE_MASTER‖, EMPNAME‖)

49
In the above situation, since empname column has a constraint, it ensures that
sore values are entered and hence the error is raised,
Check constraints are used to perform the checking of condition used on
the value entered. The CHECK constraint is used to enforce business rules as shown
an the followingexample
Example .
CREATE TABLE employee_master (empno NUMBER, empname
VARCHAR2 (20) sex CHAR(1) CONSTRAINT chk_sex CHECK (SEX IN(‗M‘,
‗F‘,‘m‘.‘f‘));
In the sex column, valid values are 'M‘, 'F", 'm, 'f. If values entered do
not match the condition, error message appears on the screen. As shown below:
INSERT INTO employee_masterr VALUES (2, 'Aditya', 'b');
INSERT INTO envloyee_master VALUES (2, 'Aditya', 'b');
*
ERROR. at line 1:
ORA - 02290 : Check constraint (HEMA.CHK_SEX) violated
Another example for using CHECK Constraint is given below. This example checks
for constraint on salary that an organization provides. The minimum salary that the
organization provides 1000 and the maximum is 7000. To check for this type of
constraint use,

Example
CREATE TABLE employee_ master (Empcode NUMBER, ernpname
VARCHAR 2(20), Salary NUMBER CONSTRAINT CHIK_SAL CHECK
(salary BETWEEN 1000 and 7000));
In the above example, BETWEEN operator is used to check if the salary
lies within the range of 1000 to 7000.

50
Relationships between Parent and Child tables
In order to establish a parent-child or master.-detail relationship; referential
integrity constraints are used. The relationship can be from one parent to one or more than
one child. The establishment of a Parent-Child relationship has some restrictions.
Parent table must be created before creating the child table.
The parent table column, which is referenced in the child table must contain
either Primary Key or Unique Key Constraints.
Consider a table called Customer which contains the details of the customers who.
have ordered for products and an Order table that maintains the information about the
orders placed. The structures of the tables look like :
CUST_MASTER

CCODE NUMBER(5)
NAME VARCHAR2(40)
ADDRESS VARCHAR2(100)

ORDER_MASTER

OCODE NUMBER(4)
CCODE NUMBER(5)
ODATE DATE
OVAL NUMBER

Here the Cust_master is the master table and order_master is the child table.
CREATE TABLE cust_master (ccode NUMBER (5) CONSTRAINT
Pk codePRIMARY KEY, name VARCHAR 2(40); Address VARCHAR2
(100)).,
CREATE TABLE order_master (ocode NUMBER(4),ccode
NUMBER (5) CONSTRAINT fk_code REFERENCES cust_master (ccode).
odate DATE, oval NUMBER);

51
 In the above example, now that the master table must be created first and
Only then the child table is created. To establish the relationship. add
REFERENCES clause which refers to the master table.
If the value in the child table refers to a non-existing record in the parent table,
an error israised
Example
-
INSERT INTO cust_master VALUES (1. 'Arun', 'Chennai');
INSERT INTO cust_master VALUES (2, 'Ramesh', 'Bangalore);
Inserting records into child table.
INSERT INTO order_master VALUES (1, 1, '01-JAN-2000', 3000"
The record is inserted in to the child table since the value 1 or customer
code column refers to the parent record in Cust_master table
INSERT INTO order_master VALUES (2,4 '01-Jul-2000', 1000);
INSERT INTO order master VALUES (2,4 '01-3111-2000', 1000 * ERROR
at line I:
ORA - 02291: integrity constraint (HEMA.FK_CCODE) violated parent key
not found. This raises to an error since there is no reference record in the
master table tor Customer.
code 4.

The above - discussed types of constrains are called column level

constraints because they are defined along with the table definition. Another type of
constraint which is shown below is called the Table Level Constraint which is
shown below .
CREATE TABLE employee_master (Empcode NUMBER, embname
VARCHAR2(20); Salary NUMBER, Sex NUMBER,
CONSTRAINT pk empno PRIMARY KEY (empcode), CONSTRAINT
chk_sal CHECK (salary BETWEEN.1000 and 7000) CONSTRAINT
chk_sex CHECK (sex IN (‗M', 'F, 'm', T));

52
 The table - level constraint for adding a referential integrity constraint is Shawn
below. CREAM TABLE order_master (ocode NUMBER (4), ccode
NUMBER (5), odate DATE, oval NUMBER,
CONSTRAINT fk_ccode FOREIGN KEY (ccode) REFERENCES
cust master (ccode));
While creating Table-level constraints for referential Integrity constraint,
FOREIGN KEY along with REFERENCES must be used.
Note: NOT NULL constraints cannot be given for Table-level constraints

Using ALTER Statement

Constraints can be created for existing tables using ALTER statement. The
following example illustrates this. Assume that the tables order master, employee
master, item master are created without constraints.
To add a primary key constraint,
Syntax:
ALTER TABLE<tablename>ADD [CONSTRAINT<constraint name>]
PRIMARY KEY (colname);
Example
ALTER TABLE employee master ADD CONSTRAINT pk_empno PRIMARY
KEY (empcode);
To, add a unique constraint,
Syntax:
ALTER TABLE <tablename> ADD [CONSTRAINT <constraint name)]
UNIQUE (colnarne);
Example
ALTER TABLE item_master ADD [CONSTRAINT unq_narne UNIQUE (item
name);
Check constraints are added using,

53
 Syntax:
ALTER TABLE <tablename> ADD [CONSTRAINT .<constraint name>]
CHECK (colname<condition>);

Example
ALTER TABLE employee master ADD CONSTRAINT ck_sal CHECK
(salary BETWEEN 1000 AND 7000);
In order to add a referential integrity constraint use FOREIGN KEY and
REFERENCES keyword.
Syntax:
ALTER. TABLE <tablename> ADD [<CONSTRAINT <constraint name>]
FOREIGN KEY (colname)REFERENCES <mastertable>(colname);
Example:
ALTER TABLE order_master ADD CONSTRAINT fk_custcode FOREIGN
KEY (ccode) REFERNCES oust master (ccode);
Inserting a NOT NULL constraint using ALTER statement cannot be done
directly. Either MODIFY or CHECK is required to do this functionality.

Example
ALTER TABLE employee_rnaster MODIFY (empname varchar2 (20) not null)
Enabling Constraints
The following CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE statements both define and
enable integrity constraints:
CREATE TABLE emp (
Empno NUMBER (5) PRIMARY KEY,…);
ALTER TABLE emp 1
ADD PRIMARY KEY (empno);
The above two statements add the primary key constraint. The first addsthe
primary key constraint at the time of creation of the table. The next statement tries
to add the constraintalter the table is created. Here if the records are not available,
54
the constraint is added. If records are already present, the ALTER TABLE
statement will fail.
Disabling Constraints
The following CREATE TABLE and ALTER TABLE statements both define
and disable integrity constraints:
CREATE TABLE emp (
empno NUMBER(5) PRIMARY KEY DISABLE, . .);
ALTER TABLE emp
ADD PRIMARY KEY (empno) DISABLE
The above two statements describe the employee number to be primarykey but
initially it is disabled.
Enabling and Disabling Defined Integrity Constraints
Use.the ALTER TABLE command to
Enable a disabled constraint, Using the ENABLE clause
Disable an enabled constraint, using the DISABLE clause

Enabling Disabled Constraints

The following statements are examples of statements thatenable disabled
integrity constraints:
ALTER TABLE dept
ENABLE CONSTRAINT dname_ulcey;
ALTER TABLEdept
ENABLE PRIMARY KEY.
ENABLE UNIQUE (dname, loc);
The above 2 statements triesto enable the constraints:
AnALTERTABLE statement that attempts toenable an integrity
constraint falls When the rowsof the table violate the integrity constraint.

55
Disabling Enabled Constraints
The following statements are examples of statements that disable
enabled integrity constraints;
ALTERTABLE dept.
DISABLE CONSTRAINT dname_ukey;
TABLE dept
DISABLE PRIMARY KEY,
DISBLE UNIQUE (dname, loc);
The reversal of enable is disable. These two statements disables the
enabled constraints. Unlike ENABLE, this does not perform any checking while
disabling.

Dropping Integrity Constraints

Drop an integrity constraint if the rule that it enforces is no longer true or if the
constraint is no longer needed. Drop an integrity constraint using- the ALTER TABLE
command and the DROP clause.-For example the followingstatements drop integrity,
constraints:
ALTER TABLE dept
DROP UNIQUE (dnarne, LOC);
ALTER TABLE emp
DROP PRIMARY KEY,
DROP CONSTRAINT dept_fkey;
DROP TABLE emp CASCADE CONSTRAINTS;
The two Alter statements drops the unique; primacy keys. The third statement drops
the EMP table along with all the constraints.
This chapter gives an insight into the SQL operators, expressions in Oracle and all the
important functions that can be used in Oracle applications through SQL. This chapter also
deals with the Aggregate Functions that are used to group values and display as a singular
value. The usage of Group By and Having clause are also dealt with.

56
  Expressions
 Logical Operators
 Arithmetic Operators
 Comparison Operators
 Built-in Scalar Functions
 Numeric Functions
 Character Functions
 Date Functions
 Conversion Functions
 Aggregate Functions

Operators
Expressions are .a combination of formulae, constants and/or variables using
operators. They are used with operators to perform some action.
Operators
An operator is used to manipulate' individualdata items and return a result. These sets
of data items are calledoperands. Operators are represented by special characters or by
keywords. Forexample a "multiplication operator is represented by ‗*‘. The following
section of this chapter deals with various operators. The various kinds of operators are:
 Arithmetic
 Character
 Comparison/Relational
 Logical
 Set
Arithmetic Operators
Arithmetic operators are used to perform operations on numeric values. The result of
the operation is a numeric value. Some operations can be used for calculating date arithmetic
values. The following table lists out the arithmetic operators.

57
Operator Purpose Example
+ Adds values Select salary + 1000 from employee
- Subtract values Select qoh-qty_ord from order_tab
* Multiplies the values Select salary, salary*. 01 from employee;
/ Divides the values Select marks/ 100 from student.

These operators can be given in conjunction with each other. In these situations,
multiple operators must be used according to the precedence rules within parentheses. If the
parentheses are not provided the order in which arithmetic operators take place changes.
Character Operators
Characters operators are used in expressions to manipulate character strings.
Concatenation operator(||) is used to perform this operation.
Example:
SELECT This is an ‗||‘ Example for ‗||‘ Concatenation operator‘
FROM DUAL:
Displays.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE FOR CONCATENATION OPERATOR
This is an Example for Concatenation operator.
In this example, a system table called ‗DUAL‘ is used. This table contains one column.
The result of concatenating three character strings is another character string. If all the
strings are of character datatype, the resultant also contains the character datatype and is
restricted to 255 characters.
Relational Operators:
Certain operators are used to perform comparisons between values. The result of the
comparison or relational operator containing an expression will either be TRUE, FALSE or
unknown. The following are the list of relational operators.

58
Operator Purpose Example
= Equality test SELECT empno, salary FROM employee WHERE
deptno=10
!=,<> Un-equality test SELECT * FROM employee WHERE salary!=4000
> Greater SELECT *FROM employee than specified value WHERE
salary>2000
< Lesser than SELECT * FROM students WHERE marks<40
specified value
>= Greater than or SELECT * FROM product WHERE unit_price<=4
equal to
<= Lesser than or SELECT * FROM product WHERE unit_price<=4
equal to
Between The value lies UPDATE student SET grade=‘A‘ WHERE marks
within the range BETWEEN 80 AND 90
IN Displays records SELECT * FROM employee WHERE deptno IN
that satisfy the (10,20,30) (Records where the department number is either
list of values 10 or 20 or 30 are displayed)
IS[NOT] Is used to check SELECT * FROM employee WHERE empname
for NULL
Values
IS NULL The only That Value.
operator checks
NULL

LIKE Matches a specified SELECT empname FROM

pattern. To match a single employee WHERE ename
character, Use ‗_‘ and LIKE ‗_A%'
for multiple Characters (Displays employee names
use ‗%‘ Where the second letter of the name is 'A')

59
Logical Operators
A Logical Operator is used to combine the results Of two or more conditions a
produce a single result based on them. Following are the set of Logical Operators.
 AND
 OR
 NOT
AND Operator
Returns TRUE if both the condition are TRUE. Otherwise, it returns FALSE
Example:
SELECT * FROM emp WHEREdeptno=10 AND sal>=4000;
This would display.
EMPNO ENAME JOBMGR HIREDATE SAL COMM DEPTNO
1383 Saran PRESIDENT 7-NOV-81 5000 10
This example checks for both the conditions and the records that match
both the conditions are alone displayed. All the records with deptno 10 and sal greater than
or equal to 4000 are displayed.

OR Operator
 Returns 'TRUE if either of the conditions evaluates to TRUE. Otherwise it returns
FALSE.
Example
SELECT * FROM emp WHERE deptno =10 OR deptno=20;
This display would be as, follows:
EMPNO ENAME JOB MGR HIREDATE SAL COMMDEPTNO
7839 KING PRESIDENT 17-NOV-81 5000 10
7782 CLARK MANAGER 7839 09-JUN-81 2450 10
7566 JONES MANAGER 7839 02-APR-81 2975 20
7902 FORD ANALYST 7566 03-DEC-81 3000 20
7369 SMITH CLERK 7902 17-DEC-80 800 20

60
7788 SCOTT ANALYST 7566 09-DEC-82 3000 20
7876 ADAMS CLERK 7788 12-JAN-83 1100 20
7934 MILLER CLERK 7782 23-JAN-82 1300 10
The example displays records of all the Employees where the deptno is either 10 or 20.

NOT Operator

NOT operator returns TRUE if the enclosed condition evaluates to FALSE and FALSE if
the condition evaluates to TRUE.
Example

SELECT * FROM Student WHERE NOT (sname is NULL);

The example displays all the rows where the student name is NOT NULL.
SET operators
Set operators combine the results of two component queries into a single result
Queriescontaining set operators are caned Compound Queries.
NOTE: The SET operators can compare twosets of data only if the data are of
the same datatype.

The SET. operators are discussed below.

Union
Union operator is used to display all the records selected by either query. Consider
two tables X and Y with the same structure. A UNION operation performed on these two
tables yields records from both the tables without the values being repeated.

X Y

61
 Data in the tables
Table X Table Y

Item code
Da`zi Name Item code Name
1 nTable Poivders 2 Soaps
2 Item Soaps Itemcode
3 Creamt
4 code Pens 4 Pencils

Example
SELECT* FROM X
UNION
SELECT * FROM Y
The output of this query looks like:
ITEMCODE NAME
1 Powers
2 Soaps
3 Creams
4 Pencils
4 pens

UNION ALL OPERATOR

UNION ALL operator works the same way as the UNION Operator . But the
difference is that this operator displays duplicate values also.
Example
SELECT * FROM X
UNION ALL
SELECT * FROM Y
The output of this query looks like:

62
 ITEMCODE NAME
1 Powders
2 Soaps
2 Soaps
3 creams
4 Pencils
4 Pens

INTERSECT operator

All the common distinct values are alone selected by the INTERSECT
operator

X Y

Example
SELECT * FROM x
1NTERSECT

SELECT * FROM Y
This would return
ITEMCO NAME
3 Soaps
MINUS Operator
All the distinct rows selected by the first query but which are not m the
second query are listed

63
Example
SELECT * FROM x
MINUS
SELECT * FROM y

Records available in table X that are not available in table Y are displayed.
The output will look like
ITEMCODE NAME
1 Powders
4 pens
All set operators have equal precedence.If a SQL statement contains multiple
sets of operators. ORACLE evaluates them from left to right. If the order is to be
changed, parentheses
has to be used to explicitly specify another order. These querying tables can
contain .different structures i3ut the type of the data in the tables must match,
Functions
Functions are similar to an operator. A function manipulates. data items and
returns a result. Functions differ from operators in the format in which they appear
with arguments. Functions can be broadly classified into two types.
 Built - In Functions
 User — Defined Functions (dealt in later chapters ) Built — in
functions are predefined functions that perform a specific task. Built —
in functions based on the values that they take to perform a task, can be
classified into two type's.
 Scalar or Single — Row Functions

64
  Aggregate or Group Functions
A single row function returns a single result row for every row-of a queried
table or view, while a group or aggregate. function works on a group of rows.. This-
section deals briefly with the various types of Single -, Row functions.
SCALAR FUNCTIONS
Scalar Functions can be classified as follows:
 Number Functions
 Character Functions
 Returning Number Values
 Returning Character Values
 Date Functions
 Conversion Functions
 Other Functions
Number Functions
Number functions accept numeric input return numeric values. This section
deals with numeric functions.
ABS
Syntax
ABS (n)
Returns the absolute value of n
Example
SELECT ABS (-15) " Absolute " FROM DUAL
Absolute
--------------
15
FLOOR Syntax
Floor (n)
Returns the largest integer equal to or less than n.
Example

65
 SELECT FLOOR (15.7) " FLOOR" FROM DUAL
Floor
----------------
15
CEIL Syntax
CEIL (n)
Returns me smallest integer greater than or equal to n
Example
SELECT CEIL (15.7) " Ceiling " FROM DUAL
Ceiling
________
16
,

EXP Syntax
Exp (n)
Returns e raised to the nth power ; e = 2.71828183….
Example
SELECT EXP (4) " e to the 4th power " FROM DUAL
e to the 4th power
_______
54.59815
LN Syntax
LN(n)
Returns the natural logarithm of n, where n is greater than 0
Example
SELECT LN(95) ―Natural log or 95‖ FROM DUAL
Natural log of 95
__________
4.5538769

66
LOG Syntax

LOG (m,n)
Returns the logarithm , base m, of n. The base m can be any positive
number other than 0 or 1 and n can be any p6sitive number.
Example
SELECT LOG (10,000) " Log base 10 of 100" FROM DUAL
Log base 10 of 100
____________
2
MOD Syntax
MOD (m,u)
Returns the remainder of m divided by n. Returns m if n is 0. Example
SELECT MOD (11,4) " Modulus " FROM DUAL
Modulus
__________
3
POWER Syntax
POWER ( m,n)
Returns m raised to the nth power . The base m and-the exponent n can
be any numbers, but if m is negative , n must be an integer
Example
SELECT POWER (3,2) " Raised " FROM DUAL
Raised
__________

9
ROUND Syntax
ROUND ( n{ ,m} )

67
 Returns n rounded to m places right of the decimal point; if m is
omitted , n is rounded to 0 places . m can be negative to round off
digits left of the decimal point . , m must be an integer.
Example
SELECT ROUND (15.193,1) " Round " FROM DUAL
Round
________

15.2

SIGN Syntax
SIGN (n)
If n < 0. the function returns -1; if n = 0, the function returns 0, if n>0
the function returns 1.
Example
SELECT SIGN (-15) " sign " FROM DUAL
Sign
______
-1
SQRT Syntax
SORT (n)
Returns square root of n. The value of n. cannot be negative SQRT,
returns a " real " result
Example
SELECT SORT (26) " Square root " FROM DUAL
Square root
_________
5.0990195
TRUNC Syntax.
TRUNC (n{ ,m})

68
 Returns n truncated to m 1 places; if in is omitted , n is truncated to 0
places . m can be negative to dill-mate (make zero) m digits left of the
decimal point
Example
SELECT TRUNC (15.79,1) " Truncate " FROM DUAL
Truncate
_______
15.7,

SELECT TRUNC (15,79,-1) " Truncatee‖ FROM DUAL

Truncate
_____________

10
Character Functions
Character functions can return both numeric and character values . The
following &actions arc character functions that return numeric values.
ASCII
Syntax
ASCII(char)
Returns the decimal representation in the databasecharacter set of the first
byte of char . If the database character set is 7- bit ASCII , the function returns an
ASCII Value
Example
SELECT ASCII(‗Q‘) FROM DUAL
ASCII (‗Q')
_________
81

69
INSTR
Syntax
INSTR (chat 1, char2, [,n[,m]])
Searches char I beginning with its nth.character for ruth occurrence of char 2 and
returns the position of the character in char 1 thatis thefirst character of this
occurrence. Ifnis negative. , ORACLE counts and searches backward from the end
of char 1. The value of m must be positive. The default values of both nand m are l,
meaning ORACLE begins searching at the fat character of char I for the first
occurrence of char2, The return value is. relative to the beginning of char 1,
regardless of the value of n, and is expressed in characters.lf the search is
unsuccessful ( if char 2 does not appear m times after the nth character of char 1) the
return value is 0.
Examples
SELECT INSTR(‗CORPORATE FLOOR , OR' 3,2 " Instring " FROM
DUAL
Instring
________
14
SELECT INSTR ( 'CORPORATE FLOOR', 'OR', -3,2 "Reversed Instring" FROM
DUAL
Reversed Instring
_________
INSTRB
Syntax
INSTRB ( Char 1 , Char 2 [ ,n [ ,m }] )
This is the same as INSTR , except that n and the return value are expressed
in bytes rather than in characters. For a single — byte database character set,
INSTRB is equivalent is

70
Example
SELECT INSTRB ('CORPORATE FLOOR ', ' OR‘, 5,2) " Instring in bytes‖
FROM DUAL
Instring in bytes
____________
27
LENGTH
Syntax
LENGTH (Char).
Returns the length of characters in char . If Char hasdata type CHAR ,the
length includes all trailing blanks . If char is null , this function returns null.
Example
SELECT LENGTH (' RADIANT ) " Length in characters‖ 'FROM DUAL
Length in characters
________
7
LENGTHB
Syntax
LENGTHB (char)
Return the length at char in bytes . If char is null, this function returns null,
For a single byte database character set, LENGTHB is equivalent to LENGTH
Example
Assume a double - byte database character set:
SELECT LENGTHB ( ' CANDIDE ) " Length in bytes " FROM DUAL
Length in bytes
____________
14
Character Functions Returning character values.

71
CHR
Syntax
CHR(n)
Returns the character which is the binary equivalent of n in the database
character set.
Example
SELECT CHR(75) ―character‖ FROM DUAL
Character
________
K

CONCAT
Syntax
CONCAT ( char 1, char 2)
Returns char1 concatenated with char 2. This Function is equivalent to the
concatenation (||)
Example
This example uses nesting to concatenate three character strings ;
SELECT CONCATE ( CONCAT ( ename , ' is a ' ). , job )." job " FROM
emp WHERE empno = 7900
Job
_________
JAMES is a CLERK
INIT CAP
Syntax
INITCAP(char)

72
Returns char, with the first letter of each word in uppercase and all other letters in
lowercase. Words are delimited by white spaces or characters that are not
alphanumeric.
Example
SELECT INITCAP(‗the soap‘) Capitalized ― FROM DUAL
Capitalized
__________
The Soap
LPAD
Syntax
LPAD( char 1, n [,char 2]])
Returns char 1, Left- padded to length n with the sequence of characters in
chat,2; char 2 defaults to ", a single blank . If char 1 is longer than ii, this function
returns the portion of char 1 that fits in n.
The argument n is the total length or the return value as it is displayed on the
screen. In most character sets, this is also the number of characters in the return
value. How 'ever, ii C52111 multi- byte character sets, the display length of a
character string can differ from the number of characters in the string.
Example
SELECT LPAD (' Page 1‘, 15, * .‘ )‖ LPAD example " FROM DUAL
LPAD example
____________
***** Page 1
LTRIM
Syntax
LTRIM ( char [ , Set] )
Removes characters that appear in set from the left of char , set defaults to ‗‘,
a single blank

73
 Example
SELECT LTRIM ( ' xyxXxy LAST WORD ', 'xy ') " Left trim example "
FROM DUAL
Left trim example
______________
X xy LAST WORD
REPLACE
Syntax
REPLACE ( char , search _string [ , replacernent_string ] )
Returns char with every occurrence of search_string replaced with
replacement_string. If search replacement_string is omitted or null, all occurrences
of search_string are removed . search string is null, char is returned. TES function
provides a superset of the functionality provided by the TRANSLATE function.
TRANSLATE provides single character , one to of): substitution . REPLACE
allows you to substitute one string for another as well as to real character strings.
Example
SELECT REPLACE (' JACK and JUE',‘J‘,'BL‘) " Changes " FROM DUAL
Changes
_________
BLACK and BLUE
RPAD
Syntax
RPAD ( char1, n [ , char 27])
Returns char1, right — padded to- length n with char2, replicated as many
times as necessary. The default padding is ‗‘, a single blank . If char 1 is longer than
n, functionreturns the portion of char 1 that fits in n.
The argument is the total length of the return value as it is displayed on the
terminal street. In most character sets, this is also the number of characters in the

74
return value. However, in certain multi-byte character sets, the display length of a
character string can differ from the number of characters in the sting.
Example
SELECT RPAD ( enname , 11, ' ab ' ) " RPAD example' FROM crop
WHERE enname =‘ TURNER '
RPAD example
___________
TURNER ababa
RTRIM
Syntax
RTRIM (char [, set])
Returns char, with all the right-most characters that appear in set tenanted; set
defaults to ‗ ‗, single blank . RTRIM works similar to LTRIM
Example
SELECT RTRIM (' TURNER yxXx',' xy' ) " Right trim example FROM
DUAL
Right trim example
_________
TURNER yxX
SOUNDEX
Syntax
SOUNDEX (char)
Returns a character string containing the phonetic representation of char. This
function allows word that are spelled differently, but sound alike in English to be
compared.
Example
SELECT emname FROM emp WHERE SOUNDEX (ename=)
SOUNDEX(SMYTHE‘)
ENNAME

75
 ________
SMITH
SUBSTR
Syntax
SUBSTR (char,m [,n])
Returns a Portion of char , beginning at character m,n characters long . If mis
positive , ORACLE counts from the beginning of char to find the first character. If
m is negative ORACLE counts backwards from the end of char. The value of m
cannot be 0. If n is omitted, ORACLE returns all characters till the end of char. The
value of n cannot be less than 1.
Example
SELECT SUBSTR (' ABCDEFG ' , 3,2) ― substring " FROM DUAL
substring
_______
CD
SELECT SUBSTR (' ABCDEFG ',-3,2 ) " substring " FROM DUAL.
substring
__________
EF
SUBSTRB
Syntax
SUBSTRB (char,m[,n])
The same as SUBSTR , except that the arguments m and nexpressed in bytes,
rather than in characters. Fiat a Single - byte database character set, SUBSTRB
,equivalent to SUBSTR
Example
Assume a double - byte database character set:
SELECT SUBSTRB ('ABCDEFG' , 5,4) " Substring with bytes" FROM
DUAL

76
 Substring with bytes
_________________
CD
TRANSLATE
Syntax
TRANSLATE (char, from , to)
Returns char with all occurrences of from character replaced by its
corresponding to character . Characters in char that are not in from character are not
replaced. The argument from can contain more character is than to. In this case, the
extra characters at the end of from have no corresponding characters in to If these
extra characters appear in char, they are removed from the return value. We cannot
use empty string for to in order to remove all characters in from the return value .
ORACLE interprets the empty string as hull, and if this function ho's null argument ,
it returns null.

Example
This statement translates the given word called ' Miles' to ' Tiles'
SELECT TRANSLATE(‗Miles‘,‘M‘,‘T‘)TRANSLATE example‖
FROM DUAL
Translate example
______________
Tiles

This statement returns a license number with the characters ,removed and
the digits remaining.
SELECT TRANSLATE (‗2 KRW 229', 0123456789
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSFUVWXYZ ‗,‘' 0123456789‘)
―Translate example " FROM DUAL

77
 Translate example

________________

2229

UPPER

Syntax

UPPER (char)
Returnschar, with all letters uppercase . The return value has the same
datatype as the argument char
Example
SELECT UPPER (' Large') " Uppercase " FROM DUAL
uppercase
__________
LARGE

LOWER
Syntax
LOWER (char)
Returns char, with all letters in lowercase. The return value has the same
datatype as the argument char ( CHAR or VARCHR 2 )
Example
SELECT LOWER (‗MR . SAMUEL HILLHOUSE ') "Lowercase "
FROM DUAL

Lowercase
____________________
mr.. samuel hillhouse
Date Functions

78
 Date functions operate on values of the Date datatype . All Date functions
return a value of a DATE data type, except the MONTHS_BETWEEN function
that returns a number.
ADD_MONTHS
Syntax
ADD_MONTHS (d,n)
Return the date d plus n months, The argument n can be any integer. If d is
the last of the month or if the resulting month has fewer days than the day
component of d, thenif result is the last day of the resulting month. Otherwise, the
result has the same day component as d.
Example
SELECT ADD_MONTHS (sysdate, 1 ) ―Next month " FROM DUAL ; Next
month
__________
04- JAN-01

LASTDAY
Syntax
LAST -DAY (d)
Returns the date of the last day of the month that contains d. This function is
determine how many days are left in the current month.
Example
SELECT SYSDATE, LAST_DAY(SYSDATE ) " Last " , LAST DAY
(SYSDATE)- SYSDATE." Days Left ― FROM DUAL
SYSDATE Last Days Left
04-DEC-00 31 – DEC-00 27
‗SELECT ADD_MONTHS ( LAST DAY ( sysdate ) , 5 ) " Five months "
FROM dual ;

79
 Five month
__________
31- MAY -01

MONTHS_BETWEEN
Syntax
'MONTHS_BETWEEN (d1,d2)
Returns number of months between dates dl and d2 . If dl is later than d2, the
result positive; if d 1 is earlier than d2, the result is negative. If dl and d2 are either
the same days o the month or both last days of Months, the result is always an
integer, otherwise ORACLIT calculates the fractional portion of the result based
on a 31 - day month and also considers the difference in time components of dl
and d2.
EXAMPLE
SELECT MONTHS_BETWEEN (sysdate ,' 10 -JAN-00')"Months"
FROM DUAL;

Months
__________
10.829904

NEXT_DAY
Syntax
NEXT_DAY (d,char)
Returns the date of the first weekday named by char that is later than the date
d. The argument char must be a day of the week in the session's date language. The
return value has the same hours, minutes,and seconds component as the argument d.
Example
SEIECT NEXT_DAY('06-DEC-00', TUESDAY") "NEXTDAY"

80
 FROM DUAL;
NEXT DAY
___________
12-DEC-00

ROUND
Syntax
ROUND(d [fmt])
Returns d rounded to the unit specified by the format model fmt. If fmt is
omitted d is rounded to the nearest day.
Example
SELECT ROUND(SYSDATE,'YEAR') "FIRST OF THE YEAR"
FROM DUAL
FIRST OF
_________
01-JAN-01
TRUNC
Syntax
TRUNC (d, [fmt])
Returns d with the time portion of the day truncated to the unit specified by
the format model fmt. If we omit fmt, d is truncated to the nearest day.
Example
SELECT TRUNC (SYSDATE, 'MM') "First of the Month"
FROM DUAL
First of
___________
01-DEC-00

81
Conversion Functions
Conversion Function converts a value from one datatype to another.
Generally, the form of the function names follows the convention datatype TO
datatype. The first datatype is el input datatype; the latter datatype is the output
datatype. This section lists the SQL.converse functions.
TO_CHAR, date conversion
Syntax
TO_CHAR(d[,fmt])
Converts d of DATE datatype- to value of VARCHAR2 ,datatype in the form
specified by the date format tint. If frit is not specified, d is converted to a
VARCHAR2 value in the default date format:
Example
SELECT TO _CHAR.(SYSDATE,'Month DD, YYYY') "New date format‖
FROM dual;
New date format
_____________
December 04,2000

TO_CHAR, number conversion

Syntax
TO _CHAR(n,[,fmt])
Converts n,or NUMBER datatype a Value ofVARCHAR2 datatype, using the
optional number format fmt. If no fmt is provided n is converted to a VARCHAR2
value exactly long enough to hold its significant digits.
Example
SELECT TO CHAR(17145, ‗99G999‘) ―Char‖ FROM DUAL Char
___________
017,145

82
TO_DATE
Syntax
TO_DATE(Char[,fmt])
Converts char of CHAR or VARCHAR2datatype to a value of DATE datatype. The
fmt is a date format specifying the format of char. If the fmt is not specified, char,
must-be in the default date format. If fmt is ‗J‘ for Julian, then char must be a
number.
Do not use the TO DATE function With a DATE value for the char
argument. The returned DATE value can have a different Century value than the
original char, depending-on fat or the default date format.

Example
SELECT TO_DATE (‗September 25,2000,11:00 A.M‘ ‗Month dd, YYYY, HH:MI
A.M.‘) FROM DUAL
Output
TO_DATE(‗
__________
25-SEP-00
The following Table is lists of all the functions:
FUNCTIONS NAME

Numeric functions ABS( ), EXP( ), FLOOR( ), CEIL( ),LN( ),

LOG( ),MOD ( ), POWER( ), ROUND( ), SIGN( ),
SQRT ( ) , T R U N C ( )

Character functions ASCII ( ), INSTR ( ), INSTRB( ) , LENGTH( )

Returning numeric
values
Character functions CHR( ), CONCATO, INITCAP( ), LPAD( ),LTRIM(
returning character values ),REPLACE ( ), RPAD ( ), RTRIM ( ) , SOUNDEX( ),
SUBSTR ( ), SUBSTRB ( ), TRANSLATE( ),
UPPER ( ), LOWER( ),

83
 Date functions ADD_MONTH(),LAST DAY(),MONTHS_BETW
EEN( ), NEXT_ DAY( ),ROUND( ), TRUNC( ),
Date functions ADD_MONTHS(), LAST_DAY(),MONTHS_BETW
EEN( ), NEXT DAY( ),ROUND(), TRUNC( ),

Conversion functions TO CHAR ( ), TO_DATE( ), TO NUMBER( ),

Other functions DUMP ( ), UID( ), GREATEST( ), LEAST( ),

NVL( ), UID, USER, SYSDATE

Aggregate Functions
Aggregate Functions are used to perform queries based on groups of rows
rather than on a single roe Also, group functions allow users to select summary
information‘s from groups of rows. Following are the list of grout, functions.
Function name Description
AVG( ) Computes the average of values
MAX ( ) Finds the maximum of all values
MIN ( ) Calculates the minimum value
COUNT( ) Counts the total number of values/records
SUM ( ) Calculates the sum or total of all values

CREATION OF. SYNONYMS

Database objects
Database Objects are the schema objects. The various data base objects are listed
below:
 Tables
 Views
 Synonyms
 Sequences
 Indexes
 Cluster

84
Creating a simple view
Views are created using the Create command. The definition of the view
will containthe column names given in the query. Syntax for Creating a view.
Syntax:
CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW <viewname> AS< query>]
Example:
This createsa simple view with records selected from the Employee Table.
CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW ernpview AS SELECT ename, depno, sal FROM
emp;
This displays the feed back.
View created.

Dropping Views
Dropping Views can be done using the statement;
DROPVIEW <viewname>
Synonyms
A synonyms is a database .object, which is used -as an alias name for any object.
Thy maidadvantages of using Synonyms are:
Simplify SQL statements
Hide the real identity of an object
Use in database link
Synonyms can be public or private. Synonyms created as a Public Synonyms
areaccessible to all users, The public synonyms are owned by the user group PUBLIC and
can bedropped only by a DBA.
Syntax for creating a synonym name:
Syntax:
CREATE SYNONYM <synonymname>FOR<objectname>;
Example:
CREATE SYNONYM synemp FOR EMP
85
 SELECT * FROM-synemp will display all the employee records in the emp
table.
Dropping Synonyms
Dropping of Synonyms can be done Using theDropcommand:
DROP SYNONYM synemp;
Sequences
Sequences are a set of database objects which can generate unique
or Sequential integer value. They are used for automatically generating primary
key or .unique key values. A sequence can be created in ascending or descending order.
Creating Sequences
CREATE SEQUENCE command is used to create sequence. The syntax for
creating Sequences are:
Syntax:
CREATE SEQUENCE <SEQUENCE NAME>
[<INCREMENT BY><VALUE>
<START WITH><VALUE>
<MIN VALUE><VALUE>
<MAX VALUE.><VALUE>
<CACITE><V AWE>

<CYCLE><VALUE>
where,
INCREMENT BY : specifies the interval between 2 integers. Can bea positive or
negative value but not zero.
STARTWITH : Specifies the first sequence number to be generated.
MINVALUE : Indicates the minimum Value in the sequence. It must be.
less than orequal to STARTWITH and less than MAXVALUE.
MAXVALUE : :Specifies the maximum value the sequence can generate.

86
CYCLE: Indicates that sequence continues to generate'values after
reachingmaximum values .

CACHE : Specifies how many values must be kept in memory forfaster

access.
For Example
CREATE.SEQUENCE s1
STARTWITH
1MINVALUE 1
INCREMENT BY 1
MAX VALUE 20
CYCLE
CACHE 15;
Displays,
Sequencecreated Index
When an index is present and will help the performance of an application request ,
Oracle automatically uses the index; otherwise; Oracle ignores the index
Oracle automatically updates an index to keep it in synch with its table.
. Although indexes can dramatically improve the performance of application
request Unwise to index every column in a table. Indexes are meaningful only for the key
columns application requests specifically use to find rows of interest. Furthermore,
index maintenance generates overhead-unnecessary indexes can actually slow down
your system rather that improve its performance.
Oracle 8 supports several different types of indexes to satisfy many types of
application requirements. The following sections explain more about the various types
of indexes that can create for a table's columns:
When an index. is treated, Oracle fetches and sorts the columns to be indexed
and storesthe ROWID along with index value for row. Oracle loads the index from

87
the bottom They are logically andphysically independent of the data associated with the
tables.
How Indexes ate
When you Create an index, Oracle automatically allocates an index segment to
hold index‘s data in a table space
The tablespace of an index's segment is either the owner's default tablespace
or atablespace specifically named in the CREATE INDEX statement. You do not have
to place index in the same table space as its associated table.
for a unique - index; there isROWID per data value. For a non-Unique index;
ROWED is included, in the key in sorted order, the index key and ROWID sort so non-
unique indexes. Key values containing nulls are not indexed, except for cluster indexes.
Two rowscan bothContainall nulls and not violate a unique index.
Unique indexes
Unique indexes. are indexes. that are defined on columns, Which ensure that no
two can hold the same values... In other Words, it avoids duplication of values.
For example, Primary key and unique constraints are by default Creates unique
index.
Composite Indexes
Composite Indexes are indexes that get created, on more than one
column done based on the leading column. and, then on the subsequent column given
inside the index. They are also called as Concatenation Index.
Creating Indexes:
Indexes can created in the following ways:
Create index<indexname>ON<tablename>(<columnname>)
Example:
CREATE INDEX il ON emp (JOB)
Dropping indexes
Index can be dropped by using. Drop command
88
Syntax:
Drop
index<indexname>Example:
DROP INDEX 11

89
 LESSON-5

Introduction to PL/SQL
Oracle's PL/SQL is a procedural language extension of SQL. It is the
standard programming language for Oracle RDBMS and follows the procedural
approach. It also provides conditional constructs like IF... THEN...,WHILE LOOP
Which are available in other languages like C, Pascal, COBOL,PL/SQL is very
powerful as it combines the flexibility available in SQL with the procedural
constructs. Oracle's PL/SQL adds a lot. of additional capabilities‘ to Oracle
programming in order to do validations, customization, include user interlaces and
handling errors effectively.
What is PL/SQL
PI/SQL is a block-structured language. The basic unit of PL/SQL is called a
BLOCK, which contains declarative statements, executable statements and error
handling statements. These blocks can be nested into one or more blocks.

Features of PL/SQL
 Allows us = to =bed one or more SQL statements together and execute as a
single SQL unit.
 Allows declaration of Variables.
 Allows usage of conditions! co acts
 Allows programm4 of error-handling using exceptions.
 Allows row-by--row processing of data using cursors
 Allows triggers to created arid fired

Advantages of PL/SQL
SQL Support
SQL has become the standard database language because it isflexible, powerful
and easy to learn. Since it is a non-procedural language, a user need not know 4owsthe
statements are processed1eut just needs to indicate the requirement.
90
 allows the usage of all kinds of SQLdata manipulation, cursor control
and transaction control statements as well as me SQL functions, operators and pseudo
columns.

Better performance
Without PL/SQL Oracle Would process SQL statements one at a time. Each
SQL statement results in another Oracle call to Oracle and higher performance
overhead. Since PLSQL can contain SQL statements, all the SQL Statements can
be placed inside PL/SQLthereby reducing the time taken for communication between
the server and the application. This reduces network traffic and results in better
performance.
Support for Object Oriented Programming
Oracle implements the concept of object oriented programming. This allows
the cre6 of software components that are modular, maintainable and reusable.
Using encapsulationoperations with the data object types lets users to move
data-maintenance codes out of scripts and PLSQL blocks into methods.
Portability
Applications written in PL/SQL provides portability to the operating system
andplatformon which they runs. These applications is can run wherever Oracle can
ran.
Higher Productivity
PL/SQL adds functionality to Oracle's non procedural tools like Forms and
Reports.These tools can help to build applications using familiar procedural
Constructs. PLSQL does notdiffer in environments . It works the same way as it
works for other built-in tools. Also i scripts written using one tool can be used by
another tool.

Integration with oracle

Oracle and PLSQL are based on SQL statements. It supports all the SQL
Datatypes.These Datatypes integrate PUSQL with the Oracle Data dictionary.

91
PL/SQL Architecture
Before dismissing the architecture of PL/SQL block the basic unit of a
PLSQL whichis a block needs to be understood. A PLSQL block contains three
parts.
1. Declarative part
2. Executable part
3. Error handling part.

Declarative part
This is the first section of PL/SQL block. This section is used to declare
variables, constants, Every declaration or definition has a memory allocated in the
session's memory. Thekeyword DECLARE represents this part.
Syntax
DECLARE

Set of variables.
Executable part
This part contains all the SQL and PUSQL statements, which are used for
querying processing the data. BEGIN is used to mark the beginning of the
block and END endblock. There must be at least one executable statement within
a set of BEGIN and ENDstatements.
Error handling part
This part is called Exception. This part contains the error handling statements.
Oracle takes the control from the execution part of this part whenever any error is
raised in the program and checks for the exception.
Architecture of PL/SQL
PL/SQL runtime system is a technology, which has an engine that executes
PL/SQL blocks and subprograms. The engine can be installed in the Oracle server or

92
in an application development tool such as Forms and Reports. The engine can reside
in either of the twoenvironment
Oracle server
Oracle tools
These two environments are independent. PL/SQL might be available in
Oracle Server t unavailable in tools or the other way around The PL/SQL engine
processes the procedural Statements and sends the SQL statements to the SQL
statement Executor in the Oracle Server the following figure illustrates this:

PL/SQL Engine in the Oracle Server

Applications development tools that lack a local PL/SQL engine must rely on
oracle to process PL/SQL blocks and subprograms. When it contains the PL/SQL
engine, an oracle server can process PL/SQL blocks and subprograms as well as
single SQL statements. The Oracle server passes the blocks and subprograms to its
local PL/SQL engine. Basically there are 4 types of block
Anonymous Blocks
Named blocks
Stored Subprograms
Triggers.

93
Anonymous Blocks
Anonymous PL/SQL blocks can be embedded in an Oracle precomputer or
OC1 program. Atrun time, the program, lacking a local PL/SQL engine, sends these
blocks to the Oracle Server,wherethey are compiled and executed. Like wise,
interactive tools such as SQL* plus and Enterprise Managerlackign a local
PL/SQL engine, must send anonymous blocks to Oracle.
Named Blocks

Named blocks act in the same way as anonymous blocks except that they
can have names in the form of labels, which are valid only for that program.
Stored Sub programs
Subprograms can be compiled separately and stored permanently in an
Oracle databasenames in the form of labels, which are valid only for that program.

Stored Subprograms
Subprograms can be compiled separately and stored permanently in an
Oracle databaseready to be executed. A subprogram explicitly Created using an
Oracle tool is called a stored subprogram. Once compiled and stored in the data
dictionary, it is a scheme object, which can be referenced by any number of
applications connected to that database.
Subprograms defined within another subprogram or within a PL/SQL block are
called subprograms. They cannot be referenced by other applications and exist only
for the convenient the enclosing block.
Stored subprograms offer higher productivity, better performance,
memory savingsapplication integrity, and tighter security. For example, by
designing applications around a libra stored procedures and functions you can avoid
redundant coding and increase productivity.
Each stored subprogram has a name and is called or manipulated using the
name in On Pl./SQL structure and the associated rules are the same when a

94
subprogram is constructed using them. Procedures and functions are known as
subprograms. They can be called inside triggers also

Oracle has a concept by which all the related subprograms along with the
variables and an can be packaged for defining and deploying an application.
These are called packages.

Database Triggers
A database trigger is a stored subprogram associated with a table, you can
have On automatically fire the database trigger before or after an INSERT,
UPDATE or DELETE statement affects the table. One of the many uses of database
triggers is to audit data modifications.

A database trigger has a typical PL/SQL structure and can call

subprograms.
PL/SQL engine in Oracle Wools

When it contains the PL/SQL engine, an application development tool can

process blocks. The tool passes the blocks to its local Pl/SQL engine. The
engine executesprocedural statements at the application site and sends only SQL
statements to Oracle. Thus, most of the work is done at the application site, not at the
server site.
Furthermore, if the block contains no SQL statements,. The engine executes
the entire block at the application site. This is useful if the application cart benefit
from conditional and iterative control.
Frequently, Oracle Forms applications use SQL statements merely to test the
value of field entries or to do simple computations. By using PL/SQL instead, calls
to the Oracle Server can be avoided. Moreover, PL/SQL functions can be used to
manipulate field entries.
PL/SQL Delimeters
Before writing a simple PL/SQL block first we need to know the basic
delimeters
95
Delimeter Name Description
; Statement Terminator Each statement terminates

:= Assignment Operator with

Useda semicolon.
to assign values to
(A:=10) variables
<<zz>> Label Indicator Used to defined the labels
inside a block
____ Single Line Commenting a single line
comment
/*..*/ Multiline comment Many statements can be
placed inside this and they
.. Range indicator This is used
will not in FOR Loops which
be executed.
indicate the minimum range and
& Substitution variable Used to substitute
maximum range. values to
variables.
Bind or Session Variable Global variable can be
:
accessed
% Attribute Indicator They are used to assign the
datatype of a column to a variable.
DBMS_OUTPUT Used to print messages on the screen
.PUT LINE

Data types
Every constant and variable has a datatype that specifies a storage format and
valid range of values. A part from the datatypes that are available in SQL, PL/SQL
has its own set of datatypes that can be used in PL/SQL blocks.
NUMBER Datatypes
Numeric Datatypes are used to store numeric data and represent quantities,
calculations can be performed on this datatypes.

96
Binary Integer
Binary _integer datatype is used to store signed integers. Its magnituderanges
from 2147483647…2147483647. They are used to store array type ordata. This type
requires storage compared tonumber values.
Subtypes:
A basetype is the datatype from which a datatype is derived. A subtype
associates a base type with a constraint and so defines a subset of values. A
following are the list of sub types available.
• NATURAL.
• NATURALN
• POSITIVE
• POSITIVEN
• SIGNTYPE
Of these NATURAL and POSITIVE datatypes hold all positive numeric.
values. To prevent NULLS from being entered, NATURALN and POSITIVEN are
used. The SIGNTYPE restricts an ,integer variables to the value 1,-1 or 0 depending
on the type oil value entered.
Collection Datatypes
A collection is in ordered group of elements, all of the same type. Each
element has 7 unique subscript that determines the position of the collection. We
shall see more al Collections in the later chapters.

Boolean Datatypes
Logical values TRUE, FALSE, or NULL can be stored using the BOOLEAN
datatype. The datatype has no parameters.
Exception Datatype
This is a datatype that is used to define exception ell-or-handlers, which is
defined by the user. This is dealt in the chapter Exceptions.
Writing a simple program

97
 The following example is used to display a message called 'WELCOME TO
THE WORLD OF PL/SQL'.
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE("WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF
PL/SQL");
END;
Note that the program has no DECLARE part since the program does not use
any variable declaration. Declarative section is required only when variables are to
be used like the following example:
Example
DECLARE
x NUMBER;
BEGIN
x:=56;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (X);
END;
The above example, displays the value 56 winch is stored in the variable x. In
order to accept the value at run-time the assignment operator has to be used.
Note: Although DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE is used to display messages,
the messages will not be displayed unless the environment setting called.SET
SERVEROUTPIJT is turned on. This is a SQL Plus statement .
Example
DECLARE
x NUMBER;
BEGIN
x :=&numb;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (X);
END;

98
 The assignment operator (&) is used to accept the value in the numb variable
and this variable assigned to x. It is similar to the continuous insert Statements ,
Using the SELECT statement inside PL/SQL
As discussed earlier, PL/SQL allows embedding of one or more SQL
statements inside the block. To display a condition based record, the select statement
requires an 'INTO' clause. A SELECT statement must hold an INTO clause where
the- output of the query is assigned to the variables given in the INTO clause. The
following example illustrates this

Example
DECLARE
s NUMBER;
BEGIN
SELECT sal INTO s FROM emp WHERE ernpno=7369;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (‗the salary is ‗||s);
END;
The variables is assigned the salary of the employee' number 7369 and the
result would be displayed.
Declaring Variables
Variables can be declared in various ways. The two examples given above
have shown how to declare variables and assign values to them. Certain variables
can carry default Values which can be used to initialize values and certain other
variables can take constant values. Tb following example illustrates the usage of the
keywords DEFAULT and CONSTANT.
Using DEFAULT DECLARE
S NUMBER DEFAULT 10;
BEGIN
DBMS OUTPUT.PUTLINE (S);
END

99
 In this example, the default value of S i.e. 10 is printed. The value in the
variable s ,can b altered. It can also be re-assigned with any other numerical value.
Using CONSTANT
Consider a situation where variables have to contain constant values; like for
example p1 has to be assigned 3.14
Example
DECLARE
Pi CONSTANT REAL :=3.14;
Area NUMBER ;
R NUMBER:=&R;
BEGIN
Area :=pi*r**2:
DBMS_OUPUT_LINE (' THE AREA OF CIRCLE WITH RADIUS.
'||r||‘IS‘||area);
in the above example, me variable pi is declared as, a constant variable whose
value cannot change anywhere inside me program. Reassigning me value for the
same variable leads to an error.

Using NOT NULL

Besides assigning an initial value, declarations can impose the NOT NULL
constraint, as the following example shows;
Example
DECLARE.
s VARCHAR2(10) NOT NULL :='RADIANT'
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (s);
END

100
 The-difference between using NOT NULL and DEFAULT is that default .
can be assigned to NULL but NOT NULL as the name suggests cannot holdNULL
values.
Control Structures
Often it is necessary to take alternative actions depending on circumstances.
The IF statement allows the execution of a sequence of statements conditionally.
The execution purely depends on the value of condition specified. The working is
similar to the IF conditions in other programming languages. There are three forms
of IF statements.
IF ….THEN
IF….THEN….ELSE
IF….THEN….ELSE IF
IF….THEN
This is the simplest form of the IF statement . This associates a condition with
a sequence of statements enclosed by the key words THEN and END IF . The
following example illustrates. this;
Syntax
IF condition THEN
Sequence_of_statements
End if;
The sequence of statements is executed only if the condition yields TRUE. If
the condition yields FALSE or NULL , the IF statement does nothing In either case,
control passes to The next statement following END IF. An example follows.
Example
DECLARE
s number;
BEGIN
S:=&a,
If s>=10 THEN

101
 DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(‗s greater than or equal to 10‘);
ENDIF
END;
The above example displays the value "S" 'greater than or equal to 10.onIy if
the variable s holds the Value 10 or greater than that;
IF - THEN - ELSE
The second form of IF statement adds the key worn ELSE followed by an
alternative sequence of statements. The general syntax is as follows:
IF condition THEN
Sequence_of_statements 1;
ELSE
Sequence of_ statements2;
ENDIF;
The sequence of statements in the ELSE clause is executedonly if the condition
yields FALSEor NULLS. Thus the ELSE clause ensures that a sequence of
statements is executed.
Modifying the above example;
Example
DECLARE
S number;
BEGIN
S:=&a;
IF S >=10 THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_L1NE('S GREATER THAN OR EQUAL 10‘)
ELSE
DBMS OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (‗S IS LESSER THAN 10')
ENDIF ;
END;

102
 IF –THEN-ELSEIF
The third form of IF Statement uses the key word ELSIF (not ELSIF) to introduce
additionalconditions. Multiple IF conditions are clubbed and written using the
ELSIF clause.
Syntax:
IF CONDITION l THEN
SEQUENCE OF STATEMENTS 1;
ELSIF CONDITION 2 THEN
SEQUENCE _ OF_STATEMENTS2;
ELSE

SEQUENCE _ OF _ STATEMENTS3;
ENDIF;
If the first condition yields FALSE or NULL . the ELSIF clause tests another
condition.An IF statement can have any number of ELSIF clause; the final
ELSE clause is optional.Conditions are evaluated one by one from top to bottom.
If any condition yields TRUE,itsassociated sequence of statements is executed and
control passes to the next statementfollowing ENDIF. If all the conditions yield
FALSE or NULL, the sequence in the ELSE clause is executed. The following
example finds the greatest or two numbersusing IF-THEN-ELSIF

Example:
DECLARE
A NUMBER :=&A
B NUMBER := &B
BEGIN
IF A>B THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (‗THE GREATEST NUMBER IS‘ || A);
ELSIF B > A THEN

103
 DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (` THE GREATEST NUMBER IS‘|| B);
ELSE
DBMS OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (` BOTH ARE EQUAL `);
ENDIF;
END;
The above example accepts two numbers and the conditions are checked and
depending onthe condition that evaluates to TRUE, the message under that
condition is displayed .
When possible, use the ELSIF clause instead of nested IF Statements: This
will make the woe easier to read and understand. Compare the following the IF
statements;

IF conditional 1 THEN IF. condition1 THEN

.Statement 1 statement 1;
ELSE ELSIF condition2 THEN
IF condition2 THEN statement 2;
Statement2; ELSIF condition3 THEN:
ELSE
statement3;
IF condition 3 THIN END IF;
Statement 3;
END IF;
END IF;
END IF;
These statements are logically equivalent. While the statement on the left
obscures the flow of logic, the statement on the right reveals it.
Iterative control

104
 Iterative statements are a set of statements that are performed a number
of times depending on the value in the LOOP statement. There are three basic
forms of LOOP statements.
 LOOP
 WHILE LOOP
 FOR LOOP
LOOP
The simplest formof LOOP statement is the basic ( or infinite)loop, which
encloses a sequence of staternen6 between the keywords LOOP and ENDLOOP.
The syntax is as follows.

Syntax
LOOP
Sequence _ of_ statements,
End LOOP
With each Iteration of the loop, the sequence of the statements is executed
and the control resumes at the top of the loop. The following example shows the
execution of the LOO statement.
Example 7.9
DECLARE
a NUMBER :=10;
BEGIN
LOOP
DBMS OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (a);
END LOOP;
END.
The output leads to an error. Because the number of time the loop must be

105
executed is not specified and it does for an infinite loop. In circler to terminate
the loop some form of termination statement is required. The EXIT statement is
used to perform the operation

Example
DECLARE
A NUMBER :=& A;
BEGIN
LOOP
DBMS OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(A);
a :=a+1;
IF a >20 TIIEN
EXIT;
End if :
END LOOP;
END.
Till the value crosses 20, the loop is executed and once the value for the
variable reach 20, the loop is terminated. using the EXIT statement. This EXIT
statement can be further simplified by the usage of EXIT_WHEN statement.
EXIT WHEN
The EXIT_WHEN statement allows a loop to complete conditionally.
When the EXIT statement is encountered, the condition in the WHEN clause is
evaluated. It the conditions yields TRUE, the loop completes andcontrol passes
to the net statement after the loop. The syntax follows;
BEGIN
EXIT WHEN <CONDITION>
END;

106
 The following example shows the usage of EXIT WHEN statement. This
example is a modification of the previous example with the EXIT statement
Example
DECLARE
a NUMBER:=&A
BEGIN
LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (a);
a:=a+1;
EXIT WHENa>20;
END LOOP;
END;

WHILE LOOP
The while loop statement associates a condition with a sequence of
Statements enclosed by the keywords LOOP and ENDLOOP. The syntax of the
WHILE LOOP
Syntax
WHILE condition loop
Sequence_of_ statements;
END LOOP
Before each iteration of the loop, the condition is evaluated. If the
condition yields TRUE, the sequence of statements is executed and the control at
thetop of the loop. If the. condition yields FALSE or NULL, the loop is bypassed
and control passesto the next statement after end loop: The following example
displays the total of the first 20 numbers using the WHILE loop statement.

107
Example
DECLARE
X integer :=1;
Y integer :=0;
BEGIN
WHILE x<=20
LOOP
Y:=Y+x;
X:=X+1;
END LOOP;
DBMS_ OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (Y);
END;
In the above example, the loop is executed only when the while condition
is satisfied.
FOR LOOP
While the number of iterations for a WHILE loop isunknown untilthe
loopcompletes the number of iterations for a FOR loop is known before the loop
is entered. FOR loops iterate over a specified range of integers. The range is part
of an iteration scheme, which is enclosed within the keywords FOR and LOOP.
The syntax follows;
FOR counter IN[RBVERSE] lower_bound..higher_bound LOOP
Sequence_of_statements;
END LOOP;
The range is evaluated when the FOR loop is first entered and is never re-
evaluated the next example shows the sequence at statements is executed once for

108
each integer in the range. After the each iteration, the loop counter is
incremented. The following example displays the reversal of a string.
Example:
DECLARE
s VARCHAR2 (20):='&s‘;
s1 VARCHAR2 (20);
BEGIN
FOR I IN 1…LENGTH (S)
LOOP
s1:=s1||SUBSTR(s,-I,1);
END LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(s1);
END:
In the above example a string is accepted. The number of iterations is fixed
by the length of the strings. Each character is the string is extracted and assigned
to the variable SI. The variable is called a counter variable and it cannot be
assigned or declared.
Example
DECLARE
s VARCHAR2 (20):='&s‘;
s1 VARCHAR2 (20);
BEGIN
FOR I IN 1…LENGTH (S)
LOOP
s1:=s1||SUBSTR(s,-I,1);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(‗The counter value is‘ ||i).
109
 END LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(s1);
END:
This displays the value ofthe counter variable.
By default iteration proceeds upward from the lower bound to the higher
bound.However, the keyword REVERSE is used, iteration proceeds downward
from the higher bound to the lower bound, as the example given below shows.
After each iteration, the loop counter is decremented.
FOR i IN 1…3 LOOP________assign the values 1,2,3 to i.
Sequence_of statements;_________executes three times
END LOOP;
Nevertheless, the range bounds are to be written in ascending (not
descending )order.Inside a FOR loop, the loop counter can be referenced like a
constant. So, the loop counter can
appear in expressions but it cannot be assigned values, at the following
example shows;
FOR ctr IN 1 .. 10 LOOP
……….
IF NOT finished THEN
INSERT INTO .... VALUES(ctr,....);______ legal
Factor := ctr * 2;______legal
ELSE
Ctr := 10;_____illegal
ENDIF;
END LOOP;
ITERATION SCHEMES

110
 The bounds of a loop range can be literals, variables, or expressions, but
they. must evaluate to integers. For example, the following iteration schemes are
legal.
j IN-5..5
k IN REVERSE first...last
Step IN 0...TRUNC(high/low)*2
Code IN ASCII(`A').... ASCII(‗J‘)

Loop labels
Like PL/SQL blocks loop can be labeled. The label, an undeclared
identifier enclosed by double angle brackets, must appear at the beginning of the
bop statement as follows
<<label_name>>
LOOP
Sequence_of_statements
END LOOP.
Optionally the label name can also appear at the end of the loop statement,
as the following example shows;
<<my_ loop>>
LOOP
END LOOP my _ loop
When labeled loops are nested ending label names can be used to improve
readability With either form of EXIT statements, not only the current loop but
also any enclosing loops a, be completed. This can be done by labeling the
enclosing loop that is to be completed. Th. label can then be used in an EXIT
statement as follows,
< outer>>

111
 LOOP
……..
LOOP
………
Exit outer WHEN ……Exit both loops
End loop;
………
End loop outer;
Every enclosing loon up to and including the labeled loop is exited:

EXCEPTION MANAGEMENT:
Exception
An exception is an identifier in PL/SQL raised during the execution of a
block that terminates its main body of actions. A block always terminates when
PL/SQL raises an exception, but you specify an exception handler to perform
final actions.
Two methods for raising an exceptions
1. An oracle error occurs and the associated exception is raised
automatically. For example, if the error ORA -04103 occurs with no rows are
retrieved from the database in a select statement, then PL/SQLraises the
exception NO_ DATA_ FOUND.
2. You raise an exception explicitly by issuing the RAISE statement
within the block. The exception being raised may be either user defined or
predefined.
Handling exceptions

112
ERRORS
Runtime errors arise from design faults, mistakes, hardware
failures, and many other sources. Although these errors are not anticipated ,these
errors can be handled meaningfully. To capture the errors raised,exceptions are
used. In PL/SQL warnings or error condition is called Exceptions.When an error
occurs, an exception is raised. That is normal execution is stopped and control
transferred to the exception – handling part of the PL/SQL block. They are
designed for runtime rather than compile time errors. They are handled in the
Exception section of the PL/SQL block. Errors can be classified as
 Runtime Errors
 Compile-time Errors
Exceptions can be broadly classified into
 Pre- defined Exceptions
 User defined Exceptions
 Un defined Exceptions

Pre defined exceptions

Pre-defined exceptions are exceptions that are already defined by
Oracle. The following list gives the set of predefined exception.
Advantages of exceptions

113
 Using exceptions for error handling has several advantages.
Without exceptions handling, everytime a command is issued, execution errors
must be checked , as follows,
BEGIN
SELECT....
____check for "no data found " error
SELECT......
____check for "no data found" error
SELECT.....
_____check for "no data found" error
Error processing is not clearly separated from normal processing; nor is it
robust. If you neglect to code a check, the error goes undetected and is likely
to cause other, seemingly unrelated errors.
With exceptions, errors can be conveniently handled with out the need to code
multiple checks as follows;
BEGIN
SELECT....
SELECT....
SELECT…
….
Exception
WHEN NO_DATA _FOUND THEN- catches all "no data found" errors.
Exception improve, readability by letting error handling routines to be isolated
Error recovery algorithms do not obscure the primary algorithm. Exceptions also
improve reliability. You need not worry about checking for an error at every
point it might occur. Just add an exception handler to your PL/SQL block. If the
exception is ever raised in that block (or any sub block) , you can be sure it will
be handled.
The following examples illustrates the usage of pre denned exceptions.

114
Zero - Divide
When a number is dividedby zero, this exception is raised. The following
example briefs this exceptions.
Example
DECLARE
X NUMBER :=& X;
V NUMBER := 8iY;
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT LINE ( ' RESULT IS‘ || XY):
END:
In this example, two values are accepted for x and y respectively. If I both
contains non zero values the result is printed. If 'y' contains zero , it leads to the
exception which is displayed as:
ORA — 01476: divisor is equal to zero
In order to handle the exception, exception clause must contain the Exception
Zen Divide Refining the above example,
DECLARE
X NUMBER :=& X
Y NUMBER :=& Y
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ("RESULT IS " || XY);
EXCEPTION
WHEN ZERO DIVIDE THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ("VALUE IS DIVIDED BY ZERO");
END;
The second example illustrates the usage of NO_DATA_FOUND
Example
DECLARE
MYENAME VARCHAR2 (20);

115
 BEGIN
SELECT ENAME INTO MYENAME FROM EMP WHERE EMPNO=&X;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('THE NAME OF THE EMPLOYEE IS‘
|| MYENAME)
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO _DATA _FOUND THEN('NO RECORD FOUND')
END;
/

A SELECT statement returns not more than one row. It a SELECT statement
is made to return more than one record, a cursor is required. The following
example shows this:

Example
DECLARE

MYSAL NUMBER;

SELECT SAL INTO MYSAL FROM BM? WHERE DEPTN0=10-;

DBMS _ OUTPUT. PUT LINE (MYSAL);
END;
This would display.
ORA - 01422 exact fetch returns more than requested number of rows.
Raises the pre-defined exception too many rows. To avoid this handle the
exception in the Exception clause.
.

DECLARE
MYSAL NUMBER;

116
 BEGIN
SELECT SAL INTO MYSAL FROMEMP WHERE
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(MYSAL);
EXCEPTION
WHEN TOO_MANY_ROWS THEN
DEMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Use cursors')
END;
The given above exampleillustratedthe usage of handling pre-defined
exceptions m the exception section of any PL/SQL block. Likewise, all the other
vie-defined exceptions can be handled in the following fashion.
Using Others
To handle any kind of an exception use OTHERS. This is a handler that
handles any exception. The example follows
Unhandled Exceptions
Remember, if it cannot find a handler for a raised exception, PUSQL
returns an unhandled exception error to the host environment which determines the
outcome. For example,
in the Oracle Precompiles environment ,any database changes made by
a failed SQL statement Statement orPI/SQL blocks are rolled back.
Unhandled exceptions can also affect subprograms. If you exit a
subprogram successfully, PI/SQL assigns values to OUT parameters.
However, if you exit with an un handled exception, PL/SQL does not assign
values to OUT parameters. Also, if a stored sub program falls with an
unhandled exception, PL/SQL does not roll back database work done by the
sub program
Unhandled exceptions cab be avoided by coding an OTHERS handler at
the top most level of every PUSQL block and sub program
How exceptions propagate

117
 When an exception is raised, if PL/SQL cannot find a handler for it in
the current block or subprogram, the exception propagates. That is, the
exception reproduces itselfin successive enclosing blocks until a handler is
found or there are no more blocks to search. In the later Cast, PUSQL returns
an unhandled exceptions error to the host environment.
Cursor management
Why cursors?
When a query inside a PL/SQL block returns more than one record or
one set ofdata. Oracle requires a place holder to place the values.
Thevariables provided in the INTO clause can contain only one value at a
time. In order to process Multiple records, CURSORS are used.

Types of Cursors
PL/SQL implicitly declares a cursor for all SQL data manipulation.
Statements , including queries that return only one row. Cursorscal be if 2
types:
 Implicit cursors
 Explicit cursors
Implicit cursors
Whenever a SQL statement is issued theDatabase server opens an area
of memory in which the command is parsed and executed. This area is called
a cursor. When the executable par of PL/SQL block issues a SQL command.
PL/SQL creates an implicit cursor, which has the identifier SQL, PL/SQL
manages this cursor.

Explicit cursor:
SELECT statements that occurs within PLISQL blocks are known as
embedded. They must return one row and may only return one row. To get

118
around this a SELECT Statement is defined as a cursor (an area or memory),
me query Is executed did the returned rows are manipulated with in the
cursors. Explicit cursors can be of two types
 Static cursors
 Dynamic cursors
Static cursors
Static cursors are a type of cursors where the SELECT .statement is
given at compile bra itself Thai is, the table from which the data are coming
and the records that are going to be selected are predetermined at compile
time itself. The definition of the cursor is done in the declarative part.
Dynamic cursors
Dynamic cursors as the; name suggests, are a set of cursors where the
records tram the tables are selected at runtime rather than at compile time.
Dynamic cursors are dealt in the latter part of this chapter.
Each cursor has four attribute;
% ROW COUNT Returns the number of rows processed by a SQL
Statements.
%FOUND Holds TRUE if al least one row is processed.
% NOT FOUND Holds TRUE if no rows are processed.
% ISOPEN Holds TRUE if a cursor is open or FALSE if cursor
has not been opened or has been closed. They are
used only in connection with,explicit cursor.
%ROW COUNT:
The% ROW COUNT Attribute as used to return the number of
recordsfetched. This is in accordance with the number of FETCHES done.

% FOUND
This attribute contains TRUE if the FETCH statement fetches any
records .The attribute will hold FALSE if there are no records to be fetched

119
% NOT FOUND
it is the logical opposite of % FOUND . If records are fetched, the
% NOT FOUND is FALSE and TRUE,if there are no more records to be
processed. Using this we can terminate from the loop.
%ISOPEN
This attribute checks for the status of if the status of the cursor is open
or not. If the cursor is opened , it holds TRUE and FALSE, if the cursor is not
opened.
The tabular structure illustrates this better.
Attribute Is TRUE Is FALSE
% ISOPEN If the cursor is opened if the cursor is not
opened
% FOUND When records are fetched If there are no more
using FETCH statement records to be fetched
and processed
%NOT FOUND When there are no records When records are
available to be fetched fetched by the FETCH
statement
%ROW COUNT Hold the number of records -----

Explicit Cursors
Explicit cursor manipulation is performed usingFour commands
 DECLARE
 OETCH PEN
 FETCH
 CLOSE

Declaring a cursor

120
 Cursor declaration defines the name and structure of the cursor together
with the SELECT statement that will populate the cursor with data. The query is
validated but notexecuted. The keyword CURSOR is used to declare a cursor.
The syntax to declare a cursor is:
Syntax
CURSOR <cursor name > IS <query
Example
CURSOR CI is SELECT ename, job FROM emp

Opening a cursor
After declaring the cursor, it needs to be opened for manipulation in the
executable section. Opening a cursor means that the query is executed and the
rows are populated in the cursor.
Note that the declaration of the cursor does not mean that the query is
executed and records are selected. Only opening a cursor performs this operation.
Syntax
OPEN <cursor name>
Example
OPEN c1;

FETCHING RECORDS FROM THE CURSOR

FETCH statement loads the row addressed by me cursor pointer into
variables moves the cursor pointer on to me next row ready for the next fetch.
After each fetch, the curse pointer moves to the next row m the result set.
Syntax
FETCH < cursorname>INT0<variable list>

Example
FETCH C1 INTO x,

121
 Here assume the variables, x and y are already declared. For each column
that is used in the SELECT list a corresponding variable in the INTO list Must
appear. Other wise it leads to an error.
Closing a cursor

CLOSE statement releases the data within the cursor and closes it. The

cursor can be reopened to refresh its data.

Using Table type

Tabletype is a collection datatype that stores the table values and it can be accessed. It
consists of various collection methods.
Syntax
Type < typename> is table of<datatype> index by binary integer.
Here type name indicates the name of the type and the datatypeis the type a can hold
and values by binary_integer specifies that it can hold a dynamic range of values

CURSOR FOR UPDATE

Very often, the processing done in a fetch loop modifies the rows that have been
retrieved by the cursor. PL/SQL provides a convenient syntax for doing this. This
method consists of two parts.
The FOR UPDATE clause in the cursor declaration
The WHERE CURRENT OF clausein an UPDATE or DELETE statement

FOR UPDATE
The FOR UPDATE clause identifies the rows that will be updated or deleted and
then locks the rows in the result set.
The syntaxis
SELECT…FROM…FOR UPDATE[OF column_reference]
[NOW AIT]

122
 Where column_reference is a column in the table against which the query is
performed. A list of columns can also be used.

Cursor Variables
All of the explicitcursor examples we have seen so far are examples of static
cursors. The cursor is associated with one SQL statement and this statement is
determined when the compilation of PL/SQL takes place.
A cursor variable, on the other hand, can be associated with different statements
atrun time. Cursor variables are analogous to PL/SQL variables, which can hold
different Values at run time. Static cursors are analogous to PLJSQL constants, since
they can only be associated with one run-timequery.

In order to usea cursor variable, it must first be declared. Storage for it must then
be allocated at run time, since a cursor variable is a REF type. This means that, it is a
reference type to a cursor. From this point opening; fetching of records and closing are
similar to those of Static Cursors

Declaring a cursor variable

SUBPROGRAMS
Subprograms are named PL/SQL blocks that can: take parameters and be
invoked.PL/SQL has two types of sub programs called procedures and functions.
Generally, a procedure is used to perform an action and a function to compute a value
Like unnamed or anonymous PL/SQL blocks, subprograms have a declarative
part , a executable part, and an optional exception —handling part. The declarative
part containsdeclarations of types, cursors, constants, variables exceptions and
nested soup-rowans' flip items are local and cease to exist when you exit the
.subprogram The executable part coda statements, that:: assign values, control
execution and manipulate Oracle data. The exceptionhandling, part contains exception
handlers, which deal with exceptions raised during , execution.

123
Advantages of subprograms
Subprograms provide extensibility, that is, they let you tailor the PL/SQL
language to suityour needs. Subprograms also provide nodularity that is, they let you
break a program downto manageable, well-defined logic modules. This supports
top-down design and the stepwiserefinement approach to problem solving
Also subprograms promote reusability and maintainability. Once validated,
a subprogram can be used with confidence in any number or applications. Further more,
only thesubprogram is affected if us definition changes. This simplifies maintenance
and enhancement
Finally, subprograms and abstractionthe mental separation from particulars.To use
subprograms you must know what they do, not how they work. Therefore, you can
design applications from the top down without worrying about implementation details
Dummysubprograms - (stubs) allow you, to deter the definitions of procedures and functions
until you testand debug the main program.

Procedures to Parameters
A procedure is a subprogram that performs a specific action. The syntax for
creating procedure :
.CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE
<Procedure name>[parameter list] As
PL/SQL statements
AProcedure contains two parts
 Specifications
 Body
The specification contains the procedure name, the parameter and the body contains the
executable statements.
Parameters

124
 Parameters are the values that are passed to the subprogram for computing values
or performing specific actions. In-turn the subprograms can return some values which can be
the output of the subprogram. Based on this, the parameters are classified as
 ACTUAL

 FORMAL

ACTUAL PARAMETERS
They are the variables defined in the parameter listor a subprogram call.
FORMAL PARAIVIETERS
Theythe variables given while declaring subprograms,
Parameter modes
Parameter modes define the behavior of the formal parameters. There
are three parameter modes
 IN
 OUT
 INOUT

IN MODE
IN mode is used to read values from the subprogram. It is a read only
variable where reading alone is done and no assignment is performed. Consider
the following example that illustrates the usage of the IN mode.
Example
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE DISP_ENAME
(ENO IN NUMBER)IS MNAME VARCHAR2 (20);
BEGIN
SELECT ENAME INTO MNAME FROM EMP WHERE EMPNO
= ENO;

125
 DBMS_OUTPUT.PUTLINE (`THE NAME IS‘|| MNAME);
END;
The procedures gets created. In order to execute the procedure, the
statement EXEC is used as shown below:
EXEC disp_ename(7902)
Displays ,
EXEC DISP _ ENAME (7902);
The name is FORD
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
This procedures uses the IN mode and displays the name of the employee.

OUT MODE
The OUT parameter is used to return values to the program. Rather it is a
write - Only variable. The value can be assigned to this variable. Consider a
situation where the employee name and the salary are to be displayed. The
following example shows the usage of the OUT parameter.
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE DISP_SAL (ENO IN NUMBER,
SALARY OUT NUMBER) AS
MNAME VARCHAR2(20);
BEGIN
SELECT SAL, ENAME INTO SALARY, MNAME FROM EMP
WHERE EMPNO=ENO;
DBMS OUTPUT.PUT LINE (`THE EMPLOYEE NAME IS‘||
MNAME);
Execution can not be done like the execution of the previous example. Since
there isa OUT parameter, a place holder, must be provided for the out variable
value to be assigned. The two steps in execution of this program at SQL prompt
are:

126
First declare a session variable or local variable using the keyword VAR as shown
below:

VAR <variable name><data type>

Next, executethe procedure with the arguments specified and replace the out
parameter with the variable defined
EXEC <procedurename> (value ,;<variable name>);
Since, thevariable is a session variable, session variables can be called using
colon delimeter(Refer PL / SQL delimeters)
Finally, print the value placed on the variable using PRINT statement
PRINT <variable name>

The example and the output isshown below:

VAR n NUMBER

EXEC disp_sal(7902,:n);
The employee name is FORD
PL /SQL procedure successfully completed.

PRINT n
N
--------------
3000
Alternatively this procedure can be executed inside a PL/SQL block as shown
below:
DECLARE
MSAL NUMBER;
MENONUMBER:=&N;
BEGIN

127
 DISP SAL(MENO, MSAL);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (‗THE SALARY IS ' || MSAL);
END;
When this block gets executed, it displays
Entervalue for n:7902
old 3 Meno number := &n
new 3Meno number :=7902;
the employee name is FORD
the salary is 3000
PI/SQL procedure successfully completed.

IN OUT Mode

The INOUT parameter is used to pass initial values to the subprogram. It is a

read- write variable and can be used for both reading and writing values. Inside the
sub program the IN out parameter acts like an un-initialized variable. An example
for displaying the product name and the price is shown below.

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE disp_prod

(no IN OUT NUMBER, name OUT VARCHAR2) AS
BEGIN
SELECT pname, ucSt INTO name, no FROM product WHERE pcode=no;
END;
The output of the above program is,
Procedure created.
The procedure, which contains an IN OUT parameter, cannot be executed
as SQL prompt. A subprogram that contains an IN OUT parameter must be

128
executed only inside a PL/ SQL block. The below program shows how to execute
an IN OUT parameter.
Example :
DECLARE.

Name VARCHAR 2(20)

Var_x NUMBER; = & X;
BEGIN
DISP_PROD (VAR_X, NAME);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT LINE (`name is‘||name||‘rate is‘||var_x);
END;
The Program accepts the number and the rate is assigned to the same variable
andthe name of the product is assigned to the variable name.
The output would look like ;
Enter value for x : 102
old 3 : Var x NUMBER:=&X;
new 3: Var x NUMBER:=102;
name is storewell rate is 10000

Passing Default Values

As the example below shows, you can initiailize IN parameters to default
values. That way, different numbers of actual parameters can be passed to a
subprogram, accepting or overriding the default values.
PROCEDURE create_dcpt
new_dname CHAR DEFAULT 'TEMP',
new_loc CHAR DEFAULT 'TEMP') IS
BEGIN
INSERT INTO dept
VALUES (deptno_seq.NEXTVAL, new-dname, new_loc);
129
 If an actual parameter is not passed, the default value at its
corresponding formal parameter is used. Consider the following calls to. Create -
dept:
Exec create_dept;
Exec create_dept (‗MARKETING'),
Exec create_dept ('MARKETING‘,‘NEW YORK‘)
The first call passes no actual parameters, so both default values are used..
The Second call passes one actual parameter, so the default value for new_loc is
used. The third call passestwo actual parameters, so neither default value is used.

Forward Declarations
PL /SQL requires a declaration an identifier before using it. For example, the
following declaration of procedure award bonus is illegal because
award_bonuscalls procedure calc_rating, which is not yet declared when the call
is made.

DECLARE

PROCEDURE award bonus (....) IS

BEGIN
calc_rating(…); - - undeclared identifier
…
END:
PROCEDURE calc_rating (...) IS
BEGIN
….
END;

130
 In this case, this problem can be solved easily by placing procedure
calc_rating beforeprocedure award_bonus. However, the easy solution does not
always work. For example, suppose the procedures are mutually recursive (call
each other) or they are defined in alphabetical order.
PL/SQL solves this problem by providing a special subprogram declaration
called a forward declaration. You can use forward declarations to
define subprograms in logical or alphabetical order .
define mutually recursive sub programs
group sub programs in a package
A forward declaration consists of a subprogram specification .terminated by a
semicolon. the following example, the forward declaration advises PL/SQL that
the body of procedure calc_rating can be found later in the block:
DECLARE
PROCEDURE calc_rating (...); -- forward declaration
….
/* Define subprograms in alphabetical order*/
PROCEDURE award bonus (...) IS
BEGIN
calc _rating(....);
….
END;
PROCEDURE calc_rating (....) IS
BEGIN
….
END;
Although the formal parameter list appears in the forward declaration. it must
also appear the subprogram body. The sub program body can be placed anywhere
after the forward declaration, butthey must appear in the sameprogram unit.
Functions of Notations
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A function is a program that computes a value. Functions and procedures are
structured e, except that functions have a RETURN clause. Functions are created
by using the following syntax:
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTIONS
<FUNCTIONNAME>[parameter list] RETURN datatype IS
PL/SQL Statements
Return <value/variable>;
END;
Procedures Vs Functions
The following table listsout the differences between procedures and:
functions.
PROCEDURES FUNCTIONS
Used to perform a specific task Used to Calculate Values
Does not return values Must return 1 value using Return
(can be explicitly returned using OUT Statement (can be made to return more
mode) than 1 value using OUT mode)

Viewing Procedures and Functions :

Procedures and Functions are viewed using the Data dictionary Views:
SELECT * FROM USER SOURCE;
Dropping Subprograms
Subprograms when not required can be dropped using Drop command. Syntax :
DROP FUNCTION <function name>;
DROP PROCEDURE <procedure name>;

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