CHAPTER: 4 PL/SQL PROGRAMMING

What is PL/SQL?

• PL/SQL stands for Procedural Language extension of SQL.

• PL/SQL is a combination of SQL along with the procedural features of programming languages.

• It was developed by Oracle Corporation in the early 90’s to enhance the capabilities of SQL.

• Oracle uses a PL/SQL engine to processes the PL/SQL statements. A PL/SQL language code can be
stored in the client system (client-side) or in the database (server-side).

Advantages of PL/SQL

• Block Structures: PL SQL consists of blocks of code, which can be nested within each other. Each block
forms a unit of a task or a logical module. PL/SQL Blocks can be stored in the database and reused.

• Procedural Language Capability: PL SQL consists of procedural language constructs such as conditional
statements (if else statements) and loops like (FOR loops).

• Better Performance: PL SQL engine processes multiple SQL statements simultaneously as a single block,
thereby reducing network traffic.

• Error Handling: PL/SQL handles errors or exceptions effectively during the execution of a PL/SQL
program. Once an exception is caught, specific actions can be taken depending upon the type of the
exception or it can be displayed to the user with a message.

PL/SQL Block Structures

• PL/SQL Block consists of three sections:

1. The Declaration section (optional).
2. The Execution section (mandatory).
3. The Exception Handling (or Error) section (optional).
• How a Sample PL/SQL Block Looks DECLARE
Variable declaration
BEGIN
Program Execution
EXCEPTION
Exception handling
END;
 1. Declaration Section:
• The Declaration section of a PL/SQL Block starts with the reserved keyword DECLARE.
• This section is optional and is used to declare any placeholders like variables, constants, records and cursors,
which are used to manipulate data in the execution section.
• Cursors are also declared in this section.
2. Execution Section:
• The Execution section of a PL/SQL Block starts with the reserved keyword BEGIN and ends with END.
• This is a mandatory section and is the section where the program logic is written to perform any task.
• The programmatic constructs like loops, conditional statement and SQL statements form the part of
execution section.
3. Exception Section:
• The Exception section of a PL/SQL Block starts with the reserved keyword EXCEPTION.
• This section is optional.
• Any errors in the program can be handled in this section, so that the PL/SQL Blocks terminates gracefully.
Note:- Every statement in the above three sections must end with a semicolon ;

PL/SQL identifiers
• PL/SQL identifiers are constants, variables, exceptions, procedures, cursers, & reserved words.

PL/SQL Comments
• The PL/SQL supports single line & multi-line comments.
• Single line comments start with delimiter
-- (double hyphen)
• Multi-line comments are enclosed by /* */.

PL/SQL Data types

Category Data Type

Number INT
ANSI specific integer type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
FLOAT
ANSI and IBM specific floating-point type with maximum precision of 126 binary digits
(approximately 38 decimal digits)
 NUMERIC(pre, scale)
Floating type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
NUMBER(prec., scale)
Fixed-point or floating-point number with absolute value in range 1E-130 to (but not
including) 1.0E126. A NUMBER variable can also represent 0
DECIMAL(prec., scale)
IBM specific fixed-point type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
Character CHAR
Fixed-length character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes. 255 character
VARCHAR/VARCHAR2
Variable-length character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes. 4000 char.
RAW
This data type is used to store binary data such as digitized, picture or image.
LONG
Variable-length character string with maximum size of 32,760 bytes
LONG RAW
Variable-length binary or byte string with maximum size of 32,760 bytes, not interpreted by
PL/SQL
Character NCHAR
Fixed-length national character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes
Boolean Boolean
Logical values on which logical operations are performed.
Date-time Date()
Dates and times. Standard format is DD-month-YY.
Large Object BLOB
This data type is used to store binary character like such as text, graphic images, video clips,
(LOB)
and sound waveforms. And hold up to 4GB.
CLOB
This data type is used to store character variable & hold upto 4GB.

PL/SQL Variables

• General Syntax to declare a variable is

Variable_name datatype [NOT NULL: = value];

• For example:
4. dept varchar2(10) NOT NULL := “HR Dept”;
5. Sal number:=10000;
PL/SQL Constants

• A constant is a value used in a PL/SQL Block that remains unchanged throughout the program.
• General Syntax to declare a constant is:
Constant_name CONSTANT datatype: = VALUE;
• For example:- pi CONSTANT number:=3.14;

How to display messages on screen?

• DBMS_OUTPUT: Is package that include a number of procedure & functions that accumulate information
in a buffer so that it can be retrieved later. These functions can also be used to display messages to the user.
• PUT_LINE:- put a piece of information in the package buffer followed by an end-of-line marker. It can
also be used to display messages to the user. If used to display a message, it is the message ‘String’.
• For example: dbms_output.put_line (x);
• To display messages to the user the SERVEROUTPUT should be set to ON.
• For example: SET SERVEROUTPUT ON.

Conditional Statements in PL/SQL

• Decision-making structures require that the programmer specify one or more conditions to be evaluated or
tested by the program, along with a statement or statements to be executed if the condition is determined
to be true, and optionally, other statements to be executed if the condition is determined to be false.

• The programming constructs are similar to how you use in programming languages like Java and C++.

• Following is the general form of a typical conditional (i.e., decision making) structure found in most of the
programming languages −
• Conditional Control: - PL/SQL programming language provides following types of decision-making
statements i.e. IF-THEN, IF-THEN-ELSE, IF-THEN-ELSEIF.

1. IF-THEN Statement:-

• The IF statement associates a condition with a sequence of statements enclosed by the

keywords THEN and END IF.
• If the condition is true, the statements get executed and if the condition is false or NULL then the IF
statement does nothing.
• Syntax for IF-THEN statement
IF <condition> THEN
Statement1;
END IF;
• For Example:-

IF (a <= 20) THEN

c:= c+1;
END IF;
• Flow Diagram Sample Example 1:-
•
SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
a:= 10;
- - check the Boolean condition using if
statement
IF ( a < 20 ) THEN
-- if condition is true then print the following
dbms_output.put_line('a is less than 20 ' );
END IF;
dbms_output.put_line('value of a is : ' || a);
END;
/
2. IF-THEN-ELSE Statement:-

• IF statement adds the keyword ELSE followed by an alternative sequence of statement.

• If the condition is false or NULL, then only the alternative sequence of statements get executed.
• It ensures that either of the sequence of statements is executed.

• Syntax for IF-THEN-ELSE statement

IF <condition> THEN
Statement1;
ELSE
Statement2;
END IF;

• For Example:-
IF color = red THEN
dbms_output.put_line (‘you have chosen a red car');
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line (‘please choose a color for your car');
END IF;

• Flow Diagram
Sample Example 1:-

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
a number(3) := 100;
BEGIN
-- check the boolean condition using if statement
IF( a < 20 ) THEN
-- if condition is true then print the following
dbms_output.put_line('a is less than 20 ' );
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line('a is not less than 20 ' );
END IF;
dbms_output.put_line('value of a is : ' || a);
END;
/
Output:-
a is not less than 20
value of a is : 100
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
3. IF-THEN-ELSEIF Statement:-

• The IF-THEN-ELSIF statement allows you to choose between several alternatives. An IF-
THEN statement can be followed by an optional ELSIF...ELSE statement. The ELSIF clause lets you add
additional conditions.
• Syntax for IF-THEN-ELSIF statement

IF (boolean_expression 1) THEN
S1; - - Executes when the Boolean expression 1 is true
ELSIF (boolean_expression 2) THEN
S2; - - Executes when the Boolean expression 2 is true
ELSIF (boolean_expression 3) THEN
S3; - - Executes when the Boolean expression 3 is true
ELSE
S4; -- executes when the none of the above condition is true
END IF;

• For Example 1

Sample Example 1:-

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
a number(3) := 100;
BEGIN
IF ( a = 10 ) THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Value of a is 10' );
ELSIF ( a = 20 ) THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Value of a is 20' );
ELSIF ( a = 30 ) THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Value of a is 30' );
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line('None of the values is matching');
END IF;
dbms_output.put_line('Exact value of a is: '|| a );
END;
/
-- OUTPUT
None of the values is matching
Exact value of a is: 100
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
Sample Program:-

1. Write PL/SQL program to find largest number of two numbers

Sample Example 1:-

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
a number(3);
b number(3);
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(Enter value of A:-' );
a:=&a;
dbms_output.put_line(Enter value of B:-' );
b:=&b;
IF (a>b) THEN
dbms_output.put_line(‘ A is Largest' );
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line(‘ B is Largest' );
END IF;
END;
/

2. Write PL/SQL program to find maximum number of three numbers

DECLARE
a number(3);
b number(3);
c number(3);
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(Enter value of A:-' );
a:=&a;
dbms_output.put_line(Enter value of B:-' );
b:=&b;
dbms_output.put_line(Enter value of C:-' );
c:=&c;
IF (a>b) and (a>c) THEN
dbms_output.put_line(‘ A is maximum' );
ELSIF ( b>a) and (b>c) THEN
dbms_output.put_line(‘ B is maximum' );
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line(‘ C is maximum' );
END IF;
END;
/
CASE statement: -

• The CASE statement selects one sequence of statements to execute.

• Syntax

CASE [expression]
WHEN condition_1 THEN result_1;

WHEN condition_2 THEN result_2;

WHEN condition_n THEN result_N;

……………

ELSE result - - default case

END CASE;

• CASE statement Example

• Flow Diagram
Sample Example 1:-

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
grade char(1) := 'A';
BEGIN
CASE grade
when 'A' then
dbms_output.put_line('Excellent');
when 'B' then
dbms_output.put_line('Very good');
when 'C' then
dbms_output.put_line('Well done');
when 'D' then
dbms_output.put_line('You passed');
when 'F' then
dbms_output.put_line('Better try again');
else
dbms_output.put_line('No such grade');
END CASE;
END;
/
Iterative Control
• A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times and following is
the general form of a loop statement in most of the programming languages −

1. Basic or simple LOOP: -

• Basic loop structure encloses sequence of statements in between the LOOP and END LOOP statements.
• Syntax:-
LOOP
Sequence of statements;
END LOOP;
• Example

Sample Example Output:-

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON; 10

DECLARE 20
x number := 10; 30
BEGIN 40
LOOP 50
dbms_output.put_line(x); After Exit x is: 60
x := x + 10; PL/SQL procedure successfully completed
IF x > 50 THEN
exit;
END IF;
END LOOP; - - after exit, control resumes here
dbms_output.put_line('After Exit x is: ' || x);
END;
/
2. While Loop: -
• A WHILE LOOP statement in PL/SQL programming language repeatedly executes a target statement as
long as a given condition is true.
• Syntax
WHILE condition LOOP
sequence_of_statements;
END LOOP;
• Example
Sample Example Output:-
SET SERVEROUTPUT ON; value of a: 10
DECLARE value of a: 11
a number(2) := 10; value of a: 12
BEGIN value of a: 13
value of a: 14
WHILE a < 20 LOOP
value of a: 15
dbms_output.put_line('value of a: ' || a); value of a: 16
a := a + 1; value of a: 17
END LOOP; value of a: 18
END; value of a: 19
/ value of a: 20
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
3. For Loop: - A FOR LOOP is a repetition control structure that allows you to efficiently write a loop that
needs to execute a specific number of times.

• Syntax
FOR counter IN initial_value. . final_value LOOP
sequence_of_statements;
END LOOP;

Sample Example Output:-

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON; value of a: 10

DECLARE value of a: 11
a number(2); value of a: 12
value of a: 13
BEGIN
value of a: 14
FOR a IN 10 . . 20 LOOP value of a: 15
dbms_output.put_line('value of a: ' || a); value of a: 16
END LOOP; value of a: 17
END; value of a: 18
/ value of a: 19
value of a: 20
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
Sample Program:-

1. Write a PL/SQL program to print even or odd number from given range (Accept number range from
user).
Ans: - NOTE: - In above program it specified that given range so that we used FOR LOOP

PL/SQL code to display EVEN numbers

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
A Number;
B Number;
BEGIN
a: =&A;
b: =&B;
FOR i IN a . . b LOOP
IF (mod (i, 2):=0) THEN
Dbms_output.Put_line (i);
END If;
END Loop;
END;

PL/SQL code to display ODD numbers

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
A Number;
B Number;
BEGIN
a: =&A;
b: =&B;
FOR i IN a . . b LOOP
IF (mod (i, 2):=1) THEN
Dbms_output.Put_line (i);
END If;
END Loop;
END;
2. Write PL/SQL program to display factorial of any number.

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
f number: =1;
n number := &n;
i number;
BEGIN
FOR i IN 1..n LOOP
f := f * i;
END LOOP;
dbms_output.put_line (f);
END;
/

3. Write a PL/SQL program to find the square of a number given by user using WHILE….LOOP. (accept
the number from user dynamically)

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
n number:= &n;
sqr number: = 0;
n_cntr number: =0;
BEGIN
Dbms_Output.Put_Line (N);
WHILE n_cntr < n LOOP
sqr: = sqr + n;
n_cntr:= n_cntr + 1;
END LOOP;
Dbms_Output.Put_Line (‘square of ' || n || ' is ' || sqr);
END;
/
Exception Handling
Errors:-

• Two types of errors can be found in a program: compilation errors and runtime errors.
• There is a special section in a PL/SQL block that handles the runtime errors.
• This section is called the exception-handling section, and in it, runtime errors are referred to as
exceptions.
• The exception-handling section allows programmers to specify what actions should be taken when a
specific exception occurs.

Exception:-
• In order to handle run time errors in the program, an exception handler must be added.
• Exception handling is nothing but a code block in memory that will attempt to resolve current error
condition.
• The exception-handling section has the following structure:

EXCEPTION
WHEN Exception_name THEN
Error-processing Statements;

• Note: - The exception-handling section is placed after the executable section of the block.

• Exception Handling Structure

DECLARE
--Declaration section
BEGIN
-- Program section
--Exception section
EXCEPTION
WHEN ex_name1 THEN
--Error handling statements
WHEN ex_name2 THEN
--Error handling statements
END;
 • Exception Handling Example:

DECLARE Output:-
num1 number := &sv_num1;
num2 number := &sv_num2; Enter value for sv_num1: 4
result number;
BEGIN Enter value for sv_num2: 0
result := num1 / num2; A number cannot be divided by zero.
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ( ‘the is result: ’|| result);
EXCEPTION PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
WHEN ZERO_DIVIDE
THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (‘A number cannot be divided
by zero.’);
END;
/

5.4.1 Types of Exception

• There are 3 types of Exceptions.

a) Predefined exceptions or Named System Exceptions
b) User-defined Exceptions
c) Raising Exceptions

a) Predefined Exceptions:-

• System exceptions are automatically raised by Oracle, when a program violates a RDBMS rule.
• There are some system exceptions which are raised frequently, so they are pre-defined and given a
name in Oracle which are known as Named System Exceptions.
• For example: NO_DATA_FOUND and ZERO_DIVIDE are called Named System exceptions.
• Named system exceptions are:
1) not declared explicitly,
2) Raised implicitly when a predefined Oracle error occurs.
3) Caught by referencing the standard name within an exception-handling routine.

Exception Name Reason

CURSOR_ALREADY_OPEN When you open a cursor that is already open.
INVALID_CURSOR When you perform an invalid operation on a cursor like closing a
cursor, fetch data from a cursor that is not opened.
NO_DATA_FOUND When a SELECT...INTO clause does not return any row from a
table.
 TOO_MANY_ROWS When you SELECT or fetch more than one row into a record or
variable.
ZERO_DIVIDE When you attempt to divide a number by zero.

• Predefined Exceptions Example

For Example: Suppose a NO_DATA_FOUND exception is raised in a proc. we can

write a code to handle the exception as given below.
DECLARE
--
BEGIN
--
Execution section
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN
dbms_output.put_line ('A SELECT...INTO did not return any row.');
END;
b) User-defined Exceptions

• This type of an exception is called a user-defined exception because it is defined by the programmer.
• Before the exception can be used, it must be declared.
• It must be declare by the user in the declaration part of the block where the exception is used.
• A user-defined exception is declared in the declarative part of a PL/SQL block as shown below:

DECLARE
Exception_name EXCEPTION;

• Once an exception has been declared, the executable statements associated with this exception are
specified in the exception-handling section of the block.
• User-defined Exceptions Example

DECLARE
E_invalid_id EXCEPTION;
BEGIN
………
EXCEPTION
WHEN E_invalid_id THEN
Dbms_output.Put_line (‘An Id Cannot Be Negative‘ );
END;
/
c) Raising Exceptions

• Exceptions are raised by the database server automatically whenever there is any internal database
errors, but exceptions can be raised explicitly by the programmer by using the command RAISE.

• Example

DECLARE
Exception_name EXCEPTION
BEGIN
IF (condition) THEN
RAISE Exception_name;
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN Exception_name THEN
dbms_output.put_line (' Raising Exceptions ');
END;

5.2 Cursor
• A cursor is a temporary work area created in the system memory when a SQL statement is executed.
• A cursor contains information on a select statement and the rows of data accessed by it.
• This temporary work area is used to store the data retrieved from the database, and manipulate this data.
• A cursor can hold more than one row, but can process only one row at a time. The set of rows the cursor
holds is called the active set.
• A cursor is a pointer to this context area.
• PL/SQL controls the context area through a cursor.

5.5.1 Types of Cursor

• There are two types of cursors in PL/SQL:

1. Implicit cursors
2. Explicit cursors

1. Implicit cursors
• If database engine opens a cursor for internal processing, it is called as implicit cursor.
• These are created by default when DML statements like, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements
are executed. They are also created when a SELECT statement that returns just one row is executed.
• When you execute DML statements like INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE & SELECT statements, implicit
statements are created to process these statements.
• Oracle provides few attributes called as implicit cursor attributes to check the status of DML operations.
• The cursor attributes available are:-

Attributes Return Value Example

%FOUND The return value is TRUE at least one row was SQL%FOUND
processed.
%NOTFOUND The return value is TRUE if no rows were processed. SQL%NOTFOUND

%ROWCOUNT Return the number of rows affected by the DML SQL%ROWCOUNT

operations INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, SELECT
%ISOPEN True if cursor is open or false if cursor has not been SQL%ISOPEN
opened or has been closed.

• Example of implicit cursor:

DECLARE
total_rows number (2);
BEGIN
Update EMP set salary= salary +1500 where empno =10;
If SQL%FOUND then
Dbms_out.put_line (‘Emp table modified’);
Else
Dbms_out.put_line (‘Emp table not modified’);
End if;
END;

2. Explicit Cursors

• A user can open a cursor for processing data as required. Such user defined cursors are known as
explicit cursors.
• It should be defined in the declaration section of the PL/SQL block.
• They must be created when you are executing a SELECT statement that returns more than one row.
• Both implicit and explicit cursors have the same functionality, but they differ in the way they are
accessed.
• General Syntax for creating a cursor is as given below:

CURSOR cursor_name IS select_statement;

Where,
• cursor_name – A suitable name for the cursor.
• select_statement – A select query which returns multiple rows.
• How to use Explicit Cursor?

• There are four steps in using an Explicit Cursor.

1. DECLARE the cursor in the declaration section.
2. OPEN the cursor in the Execution Section.
3. FETCH the data from cursor into PL/SQL variables or records in the Execution Section.
4. CLOSE the cursor in the Execution Section before you end the PL/SQL Block.

• Step1: DECLARE the cursor: - Define cursor with a name & the associated SELECT statement.

• For example:-
CURSOR c_customers IS SELECT id, name, address FROM
customers;

• Step2: Opening the cursor in the Execution Section.

• For example:-
OPEN c_customers;

• Step3: FETCH the data from cursor into PL/SQL variables or records in the Execution Section.

• For example:- FETCH c_customers INTO C_id, C_name, C_ address;

• Step4: CLOSE the cursor in the Execution Section before you end the PL/SQL Block.

• For example:-
CLOSE c_customers;

• Example of Explicit cursor:

DECLARE
c_id customers.id%type;
c_name customers.name%type;
c_addr customers.address%type;
CURSOR c_customers is
SELECT id, name, address FROM customers;
BEGIN
OPEN c_customers;
LOOP
FETCH c_customers into c_id, c_name, c_addr;
EXIT WHEN c_customers%notfound;
dbms_output.put_line(c_id || ' ' || c_name || ' ' || c_addr);
END LOOP;
CLOSE c_customers;
END;
Manual questions

Write pl/sql program for displaying details of student studying in computer department using cursor
create table student(student_id number(3),first_name varchar2(10),last_name
varchar2(10),department varchar2(10));
insert into student values(1,'tina','patil','computer');
insert into student values(2,'priya','pandhe','computer');
insert into student values(3,'om','taware','IT');
insert into student values(4,'shalini','patil','mech');
insert into student values(5,'tanmay','patil','mech');
insert into student values(6,'shital','ghanwat','computer');
select *from student;

declare
cursor student_cur IS
select student_id,first_name,last_name,department from student where department='computer';
student_rec student_cur%rowtype;
begin
open student_cur;
loop
fetch student_cur into student_rec;
exit when student_cur%notfound;
dbms_output.put_line ('student_id:'||student_rec.student_id);
dbms_output.put_line ('first_name:'||student_rec.first_name);
dbms_output.put_line ('last_name:'||student_rec.last_name);
dbms_output.put_line ('department:'||student_rec.department);
end loop;
close student_cur;
end;
declare
cursor c1 is select * from student ;
e_rec student %rowtype;
row_count number:=0;
begin
for e_rec in c1
loop
row_count:=row_count+1;

if mod(row_count,2)=1 then
dbms_output.put_line(e_rec.student_id||' '||e_rec.first_name||' '||e_rec.last_name||'
'||e_rec.department||' ');
end if;
exit when c1 %notfound;
end loop;
end;
5.3 Procedures
• A stored procedure or in simple a proc is a named PL/SQL block which performs one or more specific
task. This is similar to a procedure in other programming languages.
• A procedure has a header and a body.
• The header consists of the name of the procedure and the parameters or variables passed to the
procedure.
• The body consists of declaration section, execution section and exception section similar to a general
PL/SQL Block.
• A procedure is a module performing one or more actions; it does not need to return any values.
• The syntax for creating a procedure is as follows:

CREATE [OR REPLACE] PROCEDURE

procedure_name
[(parameter_name [IN | OUT | IN OUT] type [, ...])]
{IS | AS}
BEGIN < procedure_body >
END procedure_name;

• Where,

• Procedure-name specifies the name of the procedure.

• [OR REPLACE] option allows the modification of an existing procedure.
• The optional parameter list contains name, mode and types of the parameters. IN represents the value
that will be passed from outside and OUT represents the parameter that will be used to return a value
outside of the procedure.
• Procedure-body contains the executable part.
• The AS keyword is used instead of the IS keyword for creating a standalone procedure.

• Example

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE greetings AS

BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('Hello World!');
END;
/

Output:-
SQL> Procedure Created.
• Executing a Standalone Procedure

• A standalone procedure can be called in two ways −

• Using the EXECUTE keyword
• Calling the name of the procedure from a PL/SQL block
• The above procedure named 'greetings' can be called with the EXECUTE keyword as –

SQL> EXECUTE greetings;

--The above call will display this output−

Hello World
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

• Types of Parameters
 create or replace procedure proc1
as
begin
dbms_output.put_line('hello world');
end;
—---call to procedure
begin
proc1;
end;

• Example of Procedures (Write PL/SQL Program to finds the minimum number of two values)

DECLARE
a number;
b number;
c number;
PROCEDURE findMin(x IN number, y IN number, z OUT number)
IS
BEGIN
IF x < y THEN
z: = x;
ELSE
z:= y;
END IF;
END;
BEGIN
a:= 23;
b:= 45;
FindMin (a, b, c);
dbms_output.put_line (' minimum of (23, 45): ' || c);
END;
/
5.4 Functions
• Functions are a type of stored code and are very similar to procedures.
• The significant difference is that a function is a PL/SQL block that returns a single value.
• Functions can accept one, many, or no parameters, but a function must have a return clause in the
executable section of the function.
• The datatype of the return value must be declared in the header of the function.
• A function has output that needs to be assigned to a variable, or it can be used in a SELECT statement.
• The syntax for creating a function is as follows:

CREATE [OR REPLACE] FUNCTION function_name (parameter list)

RETURN datatype
IS
BEGIN
<function body>
RETURN (return_value);
END
• Functions Example

• SQL> Select * from customers;

Id Name Age Address Salary

1 John 25 Kota 30000.00
2 Susan 33 Delhi 24000.00
3 David 50 Mumbai 12000.00
4 Ann 45 Pune 12000.00
5 Mary 36 Chennai 9000.00
Table 1.

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION totalCustomers

RETURN number
IS
total number (2):= 0;
BEGIN
SELECT count(*) into total FROM customers;
RETURN total;
END;
/

• When the above code is executed using the SQL prompt, it will produce the following result −

SQL> Function created.

• Functions Example(calling function)

DECLARE
c number(2);
BEGIN
c := totalCustomers(); -- function call
dbms_output.put_line ('Total no. of Customers: ' || c);
END;
/

• When the above code is executed at the SQL prompt, it produces the following result –

Output:-
SQL> Total no. of Customers: 5
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
• Example of Function

DECLARE
a number;
b number;
c number;
FUNCTION findMax(x IN number, y IN number)
RETURN number
IS
z number;
BEGIN
IF x > y THEN
z:= x;
ELSE
z:= y;
END IF;
RETURN z;
END;
BEGIN
a:= 23;
b:= 45;
c := findMax(a, b);
dbms_output.put_line(' Maximum of (23,45): ' || c);
END;
/

Output
SQL> Maximum of (23, 45): 45
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

Deleting a procedures:-

• PL/SQL procedure is remove from the database by using the drop procedure command.
• Syntax:- DROP PROCEDURE procedure_name;
• Example:- DROP PROCEDURE greetings

Deleting a Function:-

• PL/SQL procedure is remove from the database by using the drop function command.

• Syntax:- DROP FUNCTION function_name;

• Example:- DROP FUNCTION findMin;

Q. Difference between procedure & function

Procedure Function
It may return a value or not. It must return a value.

It is used for actions. It is used for computations.

It cannot be used in select statement. It can be used in select statement.

It is executed in the programs It is called in the programs

5.5 Database Trigger

• Triggers are stored programs, which are automatically executed or fired when some events occur.
• A trigger is a PL/SQL block structure which is fired when a DML statements like Insert, Delete, and
Update is executed on a database table.
• Triggers are, in fact, written to be executed in response to any of the following events −
• A database manipulation (DML) statement (DELETE, INSERT, or UPDATE)
• A database definition (DDL) statement (CREATE, ALTER, or DROP).
• A database operation (SERVERERROR, LOGON, LOGOFF, STARTUP, or SHUTDOWN).

Use of database Triggers

• Triggers can be written for the following purposes −

o Generating some derived column values automatically
o Enforcing referential integrity
o Event logging and storing information on table access
o Auditing
o Synchronous replication of tables
o Imposing security authorizations
o Preventing invalid transactions
• SYNTAX:
CREATE [OR REPLACE] TRIGGER trigger_name
{BEFORE|AFTER | INSTEAD OF } triggering_event ON
table_name
[FOR EACH ROW]
[WHEN condition]
DECLARE
Declaration statements
BEGIN
Executable statements
EXCEPTION
Exception-handling statements
END;

Where,

• The trigger_name references the name of the trigger.

• BEFORE or AFTER specify when the trigger is fired (before or after the triggering event).
• The triggering_event references a DML statement issued against the table (e.g., INSERT, DELETE,
and UPDATE).
• The table_name is the name of the table associated with the trigger.
• The clause, FOR EACH ROW, specifies a trigger is a row trigger and fires once for each modified
row.
• A WHEN clause specifies the condition for a trigger to be fired.

Trigger Example

• The following program creates a row-level trigger for the customers table that would fire for INSERT
or UPDATE or DELETE operations performed on the CUSTOMERS table. (referred above table 1)

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER display_salary_changes BEFORE

DELETE OR INSERT OR UPDATE ON customers
FOR EACH ROW
WHEN (NEW.ID > 0)
DECLARE
sal_diff number;
BEGIN
sal_diff:=:NEW.salary - :OLD.salary;
dbms_output.put_line ('Old salary: ' || OLD.salary);
dbms_output.put_line (‘New salary: ' || NEW.salary);
dbms_output.put_line ('Salary difference: ' || sal_diff);
END; Output:-
/ SQL> Trigger created.
Triggering a Trigger

• Let us perform some DML operations on the CUSTOMERS table. Here is one INSERT statement,
which will create a new record in the table −

SQL> INSERT INTO CUSTOMERS VALUES (7, 'Kriti', 22, 'HP', 7500.00);

• When a record is created in the CUSTOMERS table, the above create

trigger, display_salary_changes will be fired and it will display the following result −

Old salary:
New salary: 7500
Salary difference:

Types of Database Trigger

• A trigger may be a ROW or STATEMENT type.

1. Row Level Trigger:-

• An event is triggered for each row updated, inserted or deleted.
• A row trigger is fired each time the table is affected by the triggering statement.
• E.g. if an Update statement updates multiple rows of a table, a row trigger is fired once for each row
affected by update statement.

2. Statement Level trigger:-

• An event is triggered for each SQL statement executed.
• A statement trigger is fired once on behalf of the triggering statement, regardless of the number of rows
affected by the triggering statement.