CHAPTER: 4

PL/SQL PROGRAMMING (16 Marks)

4.1 What is PL/SQL?

 PL/SQL is the procedural extension to SQL with design features of programming languages.
 Data manipulation and query statements of SQL are included within procedural units of code.
 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).

4.1.2 PL/SQL Execution Environment or Architecture

The PL/SQL architecture mainly consists of following three components:

1. PL/SQL Block
2. PL/SQL Engine
3. Database Server

PL/SQL block:

 This is the component which has the actual PL/SQL code.

 This consists of different sections to divide the code logically (declarative section for declaring purpose,
execution section for processing statements, exception handling section for handling errors)
 It also contains the SQL instruction that used to interact with the database server.
 All the PL/SQL units are treated as PL/SQL blocks, and this is the starting stage of the architecture which
serves as the primary input.

PL/SQL Engine

 PL/SQL engine is the component where the actual processing of the codes takes place.
 PL/SQL engine separates PL/SQL units and SQL part in the input (as shown in the image below).
 The separated PL/SQL units will be handled by the PL/SQL engine itself.
 The SQL part will be sent to database server where the actual interaction with database takes place.
 It can be installed in both database server and in the application server.
Database Server:

 This is the most important component of Pl/SQL unit which stores the data.
 The PL/SQL engine uses the SQL from PL/SQL units to interact with the database server.
 It consists of SQL executor which parses the input SQL statements and execute the same.

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.

Difference between SQL and PL/SQL

SQL PL/SQL
 PL/SQL is a block of codes that used to
 SQL is a single query that is used to
write the entire program blocks/
perform DML and DDL operations.
procedure/ function, etc.

 It is declarative, that defines what

 PL/SQL is procedural that defines how
need to be done, rather than how
the things needs to be done.
things need to be done.

 Execute as a single statement.  Execute as a whole block.

 Mainly used to manipulate data.  Mainly used to create an application.

 Interaction with a Database server.  No interaction with the database server.

 It is an extension of SQL, so that it can

 Cannot contain PL/SQL code in it.
contain SQL inside it.

PL/SQL Block Structure

What is PL/SQL block?

In PL/SQL, the code is not executed in single line format, but it is always executed by grouping the code into a
single element called Blocks. Blocks contain both PL/SQL as well as SQL instruction. All these instruction will
be executed as a whole rather than executing a single instruction at a time.

4.1.2 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 Block Syntax

Below is the syntax of the PL/SQL block structure.
Types of PL/SQL block
PL/SQL blocks are of mainly two types.

1. Anonymous blocks
2. Named Blocks

Anonymous blocks:
Anonymous blocks are PL/SQL blocks which do not have any names assigned to them. They need to be created
and used in the same session because they will not be stored in the server as database objects.

 These blocks start with the keyword ‘DECLARE’ or ‘BEGIN’.

Named blocks:
Named blocks have a specific and unique name for them. They are stored as the database objects in the server.

 The block structure is same as an anonymous block, except it will never start with the keyword
‘DECLARE’. Instead, it will start with the keyword ‘CREATE’ which instruct the compiler to create it as
a database object.
 Named blocks are basically of two types:

1. Procedure
2. Function

4.1.4 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 /*____*/.

4.1.5 PL/SQL Data types

Data Types in PL/SQL are used to define how the data will be stored, handled, and treated by Oracle during the
data storage and processing. Data types are associated with the specific storage format and range constraints. In
Oracle, each value or constant is assigned with a data type.

Category Description
Scalar Single values with no internal components, such as a NUMBER, DATE, or
BOOLEAN.
Large Object Pointers to large objects that are stored separately from other data items, such as text,
(LOB) graphic images, video clips, and sound waveforms.
Composite Data items that have internal components that can be accessed individually. For
example, collections and records.
Reference Pointers to other data items.

 CHARACTER Data Type

 NUMBER Data Type
 BOOLEAN Data Type
  DATE Data Type
 LOB Data Type

This data type basically stores alphanumeric characters in string format.

Data Type Description Syntax

CHAR grade CHAR;
This data type stores the string value, and the
manager CHAR (10):= 'guru99';
size of the string is fixed at the time of
declaring the variable.
VARCHAR/ This data type stores the string, but the length manager VARCHAR2(10) := ‘guru99';
VARCHAR2 of the string is not fixed.
NUMBER This data type stores fixed or floating point
A NUMBER(8,2);
numbers up to 38 digits of precision. The
B NUMBER(8);
variable can be declared either with precision
C NUMBER;
and decimal digit details or without this
information.
BOOLEAN This data type stores the logical values.
Oracle Boolean Data Type represents either Var1 BOOLEAN;
TRUE or FALSE and mainly used in
conditional statements.
DATE This data type stores the values in date
format, as date, month, and year. Whenever a
newyear DATE:='01-JAN-2015';
variable is defined with DATE data type
current_date DATE:=SYSDATE;
along with the date it can hold time
information and by default time information
is set to 12:00:00 if not specified.
BLOB This data type stores the LOB data in the
binary file format up to the maximum size of
128 TB. This doesn’t store data based on the Binary_data BLOB;
character set details, so that it can store the
unstructured data such as multimedia objects,
images, etc.

4.1.6 PL/SQL Variables

Variables are nothing but placeholders where the user can store values. These variables need to be associated with
some valid PL/SQL datatypes before using them.

PL/SQL Variable Declaration

Variables are mainly used to store data during the data manipulation or data processing. They need to be declared
before using them inside the program. This declaration needs to be done in the declarative section of the PL/SQL
Blocks.

Syntax:
<variable name> <datatvpe>;

• For example:
1. dept varchar2(10) NOT NULL := “HR Dept”;
 2. Sal number:=10000;

Example:

DECLARE
a integer := 10;
b integer := 20;
c integer;
f real;
BEGIN
c := a + b;
dbms_output.put_line('Value of c: ' || c);
f := 70.0/3.0;
dbms_output.put_line('Value of f: ' || f);
END;
/
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Value of c: 30
Value of f: 23.333333333333333333

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

Variable Scope in PL/SQL:

PL/SQL allows nesting of blocks. A program block can contain another inner block. If you declare a variable
within an inner block, it is not accessible to an outer block. There are two types of variable scope:

o Local Variable: Local variables are the inner block variables which are not accessible to outer blocks.
o Global Variable: Global variables are declared in outermost block.

Example of Local and Global variables:

DECLARE
--Global variables
num1 number := 95;
num2 number := 85;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('Outer Variable num1: ' || num1);
dbms_output.put_line('Outer Variable num2: ' || num2);
DECLARE
-- Local variables
num1 number := 195;
num2 number := 185;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('Inner Variable num1: ' || num1);
dbms_output.put_line('Inner Variable num2: ' || num2);
END;
END;
After the execution, this will produce the following result:

Outer Variable num1: 95

Outer Variable num2: 85
Inner Variable num1: 195
Inner Variable num2: 185

Variable Attributes:

PL/SQL provides the facility to declare a variable without having to specify a particular data type using %TYPE
attributes.

%TYPE:

The %TYPE attribute is used to declare variables according to the already declared variable or database column.
It is used when you are declaring an individual variable, not a record. The data type and precision of the variable
declared using %TYPE attribute is the same as that of the column that is referred from a given table.

Syntax :

<var_name> <tab_name>.<column_name>%TYPE;

Where <column_name> is the column defined in the <tab_name>.

Consider a declaration.

SALARY EMP.SAL % TYPE;

This declaration will declare a variable SALARY that has the same data type as column SAL of the EMP table.

Example:

DECLARE
SALARY EMP.SAL % TYPE;
ECODE EMP.empno % TYPE;
BEGIN
Ecode :=:Ecode;
Select SAL into SALARY from EMP where EMPNO = ECODE;
dbms_output.put_line('Salary of ' || ECODE || 'is = || salary');
END;
Result:

Enter value for ecode: 7499

Salary of 7499 is = 1600
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
4.1.7 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;
o Constant_name:it is the name of constant just like variable name. The constant word is a reserved word
and its value does not change.
o VALUE: it is a value which is assigned to a constant when it is declared. It can not be assigned later.

For example:- pi CONSTANT number:=3.14;

How to display messages on screen?

• DBMS_OUTPUT. PUT_LINE: 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. it is 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.

4.2 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++.

• 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 : Example:-
IF <condition> THEN IF (a<=20) THEN
Statement1; c:=c+1;
END IF; END IF;
• Flow Diagram
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:
IF <condition> THEN
Statement1;
ELSE
Statement2;
END IF;

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

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

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

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE
a number(3);
b number(3);
BEGIN
a:=:a;
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
a:=:a;
b:=:b;
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;
 Flow Diagram

CASE statement Example :-

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;

4.3 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;
/

PL/SQL Exit Loop (Basic Loop)

PL/SQL exit loop is used when a set of statements is to be executed at least once before the termination of the
loop. There must be an EXIT condition specified in the loop, otherwise the loop will get into an infinite number
of iterations. After the occurrence of EXIT condition, the process exits the loop.
Syntax of basic loop:
Example of PL/SQL EXIT Loop
LOOP
DECLARE
Sequence of statements; i NUMBER := 1;
BEGIN
END LOOP;
LOOP
EXIT WHEN i>10;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(i);
Syntax of exit loop:
i := i+1;
END LOOP;
LOOP
END;
statements;
After the execution , you will get the following result:
EXIT;
{or EXIT WHEN condition;}
1
END LOOP;
2
3
o Initialize a variable before the loop body 4
o Increment the variable in the loop. 5
o You should use EXIT WHEN statement to exit 6
from the Loop. Otherwise the EXIT statement 7
without WHEN condition, the statements in the 8
Loop is executed only once. 9
10

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
WHILE a < 20 LOOP value of a: 14
dbms_output.put_line('value of a: ' || a); value of a: 15
a := a + 1; value of a: 16
END LOOP; value of a: 17
END; value of a: 18
/ value of a: 19
 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 For Loop REVERSE

By default, iteration proceeds from the initial value to the final value, generally upward from the lower bound to
the higher bound.
•You can reverse this order by using the REVERSEkeyword.
•In such case, iteration proceeds the other way. After each iteration, the loop counter is decremented.
•However, you must write the range bounds in ascending (not descending) order.
Output:
DECLARE
VAR1 NUMBER; 100
BEGIN 90
VAR1:=10; 80
FOR VAR2 IN REVERSE 1..10 LOOP 70
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (VAR 60
1*VAR2); 50
END LOOP; 40
END; 30
20
10
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 PL/SQL code to display ODD numbers

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON; SET SERVEROUTPUT ON;

DECLARE DECLARE
A Number; A Number;
B Number; B Number;
BEGIN BEGIN
a:=:A; a:=:A;
b:=:B; b:=:B;
FOR i IN a . . b LOOP FOR i IN a . . b LOOP
IF (mod (i, 2):=0) THEN IF (mod (i, 2):=1) THEN
Dbms_output.Put_line (i); Dbms_output.Put_line (i);
END IF; END IF;
END Loop; END Loop;
END; 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;

PL/SQL Continue Statement

The continue statement is used to exit the loop from the reminder if its body either conditionally or
unconditionally and forces the next iteration of the loop to take place, skipping any codes in between.

The continue statement is not a keyword in Oracle 10g. It is a new feature encorporated in oracle 11g.

For example: If a continue statement exits a cursor FOR LOOP prematurely then it exits an inner loop and
transfer control to the next iteration of an outer loop, the cursor closes (in this context, CONTINUE works like
GOTO).

Syntax:

continue;

Example :

BEGIN
FOR i IN 1 .. 5 LOOP
IF i = 3 THEN
CONTINUE;
END IF;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Iteration # ' || i);
END LOOP;
END;

Output:

Iteration # 1
Iteration # 2
Iteration # 4
Iteration # 5

PL/SQL GOTO Statement

In PL/SQL, GOTO statement makes you able to get an unconditional jump from the GOTO to a specific
executable statement label in the same subprogram of the PL/SQL block.

Here the label declaration which contains the label_name encapsulated within the << >> symbol and must be
followed by at least one statement to execute.
Syntax:

GOTO label_name;

Here the label declaration which contains the label_name encapsulated within the << >> symbol and must be
followed by at least one statement to execute.

GOTO label_name;
..
..
<<label_name>>
Statement;

Example of PL/SQL GOTO statement

DECLARE
a number(2) := 30;
BEGIN
<<loopstart>>
-- while loop execution
WHILE a < 50 LOOP
dbms_output.put_line ('value of a: ' || a);
a := a + 1;
IF a = 35 THEN
a := a + 1;
GOTO loopstart;
END IF;
END LOOP;
END;
/
value of a: 30
value of a: 31
value of a: 32
value of a: 33
value of a: 34
value of a: 36
value of a: 37
value of a: 38
value of a: 39
value of a: 40
value of a: 41
value of a: 42
value of a: 43
value of a: 44
value of a: 45
value of a: 46
value of a: 47
value of a: 48
value of a: 49
Statement processed.
Restriction on GOTO statement

Following is a list of some restrictions imposed on GOTO statement.

o Cannot transfer control into an IF statement, CASE statement, LOOP statement or sub-block.
o Cannot transfer control from one IF statement clause to another or from one CASE statement WHEN
clause to another.
o Cannot transfer control from an outer block into a sub-block.
o Cannot transfer control out of a subprogram.
o Cannot transfer control into an exception handler.

4.4 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; old 2: v_num1 integer := &sv_num1;
BEGIN new 2: v_num1 integer := 4;
result := num1 / num2;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ( ‘the is result: ’|| result); Enter value for sv_num2: 0
EXCEPTION old 3: v_num2 integer := &sv_num2;
WHEN ZERO_DIVIDE new 3: v_num2 integer := 0;
THEN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (‘A number cannot be divided A number cannot be divided by zero.
by zero.’);
END; PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
/

4.4.1 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.

Oracle
Exception Description
Error

It is raised when duplicate values are

DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX 00001 attempted to be stored in a column with
unique index.

It is raised when attempts are made to

INVALID_CURSOR 01001 make a cursor operation that is not allowed,
such as closing an unopened cursor.

INVALID_NUMBER 01722 It is raised when the conversion of a

 character string into a number fails because
the string does not represent a valid
number.

It is raised when a program attempts to log

LOGIN_DENIED 01017 on to the database with an invalid username
or password.

It is raised when a SELECT INTO statement

NO_DATA_FOUND 01403
returns no rows.

It is raised when a database call is issued

NOT_LOGGED_ON 01012
without being connected to the database.

It is raised when PL/SQL has an internal

PROGRAM_ERROR 06501
problem.

It is raised when PL/SQL ran out of memory

STORAGE_ERROR 06500
or memory was corrupted.

It is raised when a SELECT INTO statement

TOO_MANY_ROWS 01422
returns more than one row.

It is raised when an arithmetic, conversion,

VALUE_ERROR 06502
truncation, or size constraint error occurs.

It is raised when an attempt is made to

ZERO_DIVIDE 01476
divide a number by zero.

TRANSACTION_BACKED_OUT 00061 Portion of Transaction rolled back

TRANSACTION_ON_RESOURCE 00051 Waiting for a resource which is timed out

CURSOR_ALREADY_OPEN 06511 Opening a cursor that is already open

Exception Name Reason

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

User defined Exception

DECLARE
emp_noemp.empno%type:= -1;
e_nameemp.ename%type;
--user defined exception
ex_invalid_noEXCEPTION;
BEGIN
IF emp_no<= 0 THEN
RAISE ex_invalid_no;
ELSE
SELECT ename INTO e_name FROM emp WHERE empno= emp_no;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Name: '|| e_name);
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN ex_invalid_noTHEN
dbms_output.put_line('Employee number must be greater than zero!');
WHEN no_data_foundTHEN
dbms_output.put_line('No such employee!');
WHEN others THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Error!');
END;
/

4.5 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.

4.5.1 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
CURSOR c_customers IS SELECT id, name, address FROM
example:- 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
emp_rec emp_table %rowtype;
CURSOR emp_cur IS SELECT *FROM WHERE salary > 10K;
BEGIN
OPEN emp_cur;
FETCH emp_cur INTO emp_rec;
dbms_output.put_line (emp_rec.first_name || ' ' || emp_rec.last_name);
CLOSE emp_cur;
END;

4.6 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 or 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

• 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;
/

4.7 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

4.8 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.
Trigger Example

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER CheckAge

BEFORE
INSERT OR UPDATE ON student
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
IF :new.Age>30 THEN
raise_application_error(-20001,'Age should not be greater than 30');
END IF;
END;
Trigger created

After creating trigger execute this statement

insert into student values(4,'Mangesh',65,40);

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.

SUMMER-16 (34 Marks)

1. Give any four advantages of using PL/SQL. (Any four advantages - 1 mark each)
 2. What are Predefined exceptions and User defined exceptions? (Predefined exception - 2 marks; User
Defined exception - 2 marks)
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) (Correct Program - 4 marks)
4. Write a PL/SQL program using while loop to display n even numbers. (Correct logic - 2 marks; correct
syntax - 2 marks)
5. List out any four statements of PL/SQL. (Any four statement list/syntax - 1 mark each)
6. What is database trigger? Compare database triggers and procedures and explain the use of database
trigger. (Definition - 1 mark; Comparison - 2 marks; Uses - 1 mark)
7. Explain PL/SQL block structure. (Correct Explanation - 4 marks)
8. List types of cursor and explain each with example. (Description - 1 mark; example - 1 mark for each
type; 1 mark shall be awarded if only list is given)

WINTER– 16
1. Define cursor? List the two types of cursor.
2. Explain the exception handling with its two types.
3. Explain PL/SQL Block structure.
4. What is database Trigger? How to create Trigger?
5. Write a PL/SQL program to print even or odd number from given range (Accept number range from user).
6. Explain function in PL/SQL with suitable example
7. Explain loop control structure used in PL/SQL.

WINTER – 15
1. What statement is used in PL/SQL to display the output? (Correct statement – 2
Marks) Ans:
dbms_output.put_line (var/msg);
OR
set serveroutput on;
dbms_output.put_line (var/msg);
2. What is Cursor? (2M)
3. Describe exception handling in brief.( Description of exception – 2 Marks; syntax – 2 Marks)
4. Write PL/SQL program to print even or odd numbers from given range. (Accept number from
user.) (Correct logic - 2 Marks, correct syntax – 2 Marks)
5. Explain conditional control structure in PL/SQL. (Explanation of each structure - 1 Mark, syntax of each -
1 Mark)
6. What are the advantage of PL/SQL? (Any four advantages – 1 Mark each)
7. Write PL/SQL program to display factorial of any number. (Correct logic – 2 Marks, correct syntax –
2 Marks)
8. Explain implicit and explicit cursors. (Implicit cursor – 2 Marks, Explicit cursor – 2 Marks)
9. Explain parameterized cursor with example. (Explanation - 2 Marks, Any relevant Example - 2 Marks)
10. Give block structure of PL/SQL and explain main components. (Block structure - 2 Marks, Explanation -
2 Marks)