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Oracle Constraints

The document provides examples of various Oracle constraints including NOT NULL, UNIQUE, PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, and CHECK constraints, detailing their definitions and how to implement them both inline and out of line. It emphasizes the importance of primary keys and unique indexes while cautioning against excessive constraints that may complicate maintenance. Each constraint type is illustrated with SQL table creation examples and relevant error messages for invalid operations.

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4 views8 pages

Oracle Constraints

The document provides examples of various Oracle constraints including NOT NULL, UNIQUE, PRIMARY KEY, FOREIGN KEY, and CHECK constraints, detailing their definitions and how to implement them both inline and out of line. It emphasizes the importance of primary keys and unique indexes while cautioning against excessive constraints that may complicate maintenance. Each constraint type is illustrated with SQL table creation examples and relevant error messages for invalid operations.

Uploaded by

aminsh0102
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Oracle Constraints Examples

Constraint can be defined at individual column and it is called inline specification


and can be defined at table level and called Out of line specification. NOT NULL
constraints must be declared inline. All other constraints can be declared either
inline or out of line.

1. NOT Null Constraint

NOT NULL column must have a value.

Example :-

Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20) not null
);

pname column has a not null constraint.

SQL> desc person;


Name Null? Type
—————————————– ——– ————
PNO NUMBER(38)
PNAME NOT NULL VARCHAR2(20)

Below insert statement will validate the above not null constraint
SQL> insert into person values(1,null);
insert into person values(1,null)
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-01400: cannot insert NULL into (“PERSON”.”PNAME”)

2. UNIQUE Constraint

UNIQUE Constraint column should have either unique values or null values
across the table.

Examples :-

Method 1 (In line specification)

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Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20) constraint uq_pname unique
);

Method 2 (Out of line Specification)

Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20),
constraint uq_pname unique (pname)
);
SQL> insert into person values(1,’Bill’);

1 row created.

SQL> insert into person values(2,’Bill’);


insert into person values(2,’Bill’)
*
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00001: unique constraint (UQ_PNAME) violated

Next, UNIQUE constraint column can accept null values.

SQL> insert into person values(2,null);

1 row created.

SQL> insert into person values(3,null);

1 row created.

3. Primary Key Constraint

A primary key constraint combines a NOT NULL constraint and a UNIQUE


constraint. A table can have only one PRIMARY KEY and it can be created for
composite(Two or more columns) keys also.

Examples :-

Method 1 – In-line and without name


Create table person
(
pno integer primary key,
pname varchar2(20)
);

Method 2 – In-line with name

Create table person


(
pno integer constraint pk_pno PRIMARY KEY,
pname varchar2(20)
);

Method 3 – Out-line with name

Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20),
constraint pk_pno PRIMARY KEY (pno)
);

Method 4 – Composite, out-line with name

Create table person


(
pno integer,
cno integer,
pname varchar2(20),
constraint pk_pno PRIMARY KEY (pno,cno)
);

Method 5 – Adding a primary key – ALTER CONSTRAINT

Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20)
);

Alter table person add constraint pk_pno PRIMARY KEY (pno);

Method 5 – Dropping a primary key – ALTER CONSTRAINT

Alter table person drop constraint pk_pno;

4. Foreign Key Constraint

Foreign Key Constraint used to relate two or more table and values in one table
to match values in another table.

Examples :-

create table dept


(
deptno integer primary key,
deptname varchar2(20) not null,
location varchar2(20)
);
Method 1 – In line and without name

create table emp


(
empno integer primary key,
empname varchar2(20) not null,
salary number,
deptno integer references dept(deptno)
);

Method 2 – In line with name

create table emp


(
empno integer primary key,
empname varchar2(20) not null,
salary number,
deptno integer constraint fk_deptno references dept(deptno)
);

Method 3 – Out line with name

create table emp


(
empno integer primary key,
empname varchar2(20) not null,
salary number,
deptno integer,
constraint fk_deptno foreign key(deptno) references dept(deptno)
);
Method 5 – Adding a foreign key – ALTER CONSTRAINT

Alter table emp add constraint fk_deptno foreign key(deptno) references


dept(deptno);

Method 5 – Dropping a foreign key – ALTER CONSTRAINT

Alter table emp drop constraint fk_deptno;

5. CHECK Constraint

CHECK Constraints are enforcing certain types of values in a column.

Method 1 – In line and with name

Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20),
status varchar2(20) constraint ch_status check( status in (‘ACTIVE’,’INACTIVE’))
);

Method 2 – Out line with name

Create table person


(
pno integer,
pname varchar2(20),
status varchar2(20),
constraint ch_status check( status in (‘ACTIVE’,’INACTIVE’))
);
Method 3 – Adding a check constraint – ALTER CONSTRAINT

Alter table person add constraint ch_status check( status in


(‘ACTIVE’,’INACTIVE’));

Method 4 – Dropping a check constraint – ALTER CONSTRAINT

Alter table person drop constraint ch_status;

Few facts about Constraints

1. It is nice to have a primary key constraint for all tables.

2. It is better to create unique index rather than creating UNIQUE constraint

3. Too many constraints also difficult to maintain in future.

4. Do not create too many CHECK constraints

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