1. PL/SQL Anonymous Blocks
Advanced Databases
PL/SQL Anonymous Blocks
Teaching Tip: If you are using this slideshow in a computer classroom, students can enter commands to the MY_FACULTY and MY_STUDENTS tables as you introduce them. Before using this slideshow, create the tables using the following commands:
CREATE TABLE my_faculty
(f_id NUMBER(6),
f_name VARCHAR2(30));
CREATE TABLE my_students
(s_name VARCHAR2 (30), s_dob DATE, s_class CHAR(2), s_age NUMBER(2));
Then have students enter commands as they are introduced.

2. What is PL/SQL? Procedural programming language
Uses detailed instructions
Processes statements sequentially
Combines SQL commands with procedural instructions
Used to perform sequential processing using an Oracle database

3. PL/SQL Variables Variable names must follow the Oracle naming standard
Can use reserved words (BEGIN, NUMBER) and table names for variable names, but is not a good practice
Make variable names descriptive
Use lower-case letters, and separate words with underscores
Example: current_s_id

4. Declaring PL/SQL Variables
PL/SQL is a strongly-typed language
All variables must be declared prior to use
Syntax for declaring a variable:
variable_name data_type_declaration;
Example:
current_s_id NUMBER(6);

5. PL/SQL Data Types Scalar Composite Reference (Not Required)
References a single value
Composite
References a data structure
Reference (Not Required)
References a specific database item
LOB (Not Required)
References a large binary object

6. Scalar Data Types Database scalar data types:
VARCHAR2
CHAR
DATE
LONG
NUMBER
Non-database scalar data types:
Integers: BINARY_INTEGER, INTEGER, INT, SMALLINT
Decimal numbers: DEC, DECIMAL, DOUBLE, PRECISION, NUMERIC, REAL
BOOLEAN

7. Composite Data Types
Reference multiple data elements, such as a record
Types:
RECORD
TABLE
VARRAY
Tabular structure that can expand or contract as needed

8. Reference Data Types (Not Required)
Reference a database item
Assume data type of item
%TYPE: assumes data type of field
%ROWTYPE: assumes data type of entire row

9. PL/SQL Program Structure
DECLARE
Variable declarations
BEGIN
Program statements
EXCEPTION
Error-handling statements
END;
Variable Declarations
Body
Exception
Section

10. PL/SQL Program Lines May span multiple text editor lines
Each line ends with a semicolon
Text is not case sensitive

11. Comment Statements Block of comments are delimited with /* */
/* <comment that spans more than one line of code> */
Single comment line starts with 2 hyphens
-- comment on a single line

12. Arithmetic Operators
Example
Result

13. Assignment Statements
Assignment operator: :=
Variable being assigned to a new value is on left side of assignment operator
New value is on right side of operator
student_name := ‘John Miller’;
student_name := current_student;

14. Displaying PL/SQL Output in SQL*Plus
Normally PL/SQL is used with other Oracle utilities such as forms or reports
You will learn to use PL/SQL in SQL*Plus
Command to activate memory buffer in SQL*Plus to enable output from PL/SQL programs:
SQL> SET SERVEROUTPUT ON SIZE buffer_size;
SQL> SET SERVEROUTPUT ON SIZE 4000;

15. Displaying PL/SQL Program Output in SQL*Plus
Command to output data from a PL/SQL program in SQL*Plus:
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(‘output string’);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(‘Current Output:’);

16. Executing a PL/SQL Program in SQL*Plus
Copy program code from Notepad to SQL*Plus
Type / to execute

17. PL/SQL Data Type Conversion Functions
TO_DATE: character string to DATE
TO_DATE(‘07/14/01’, ‘MM/DD/YY’);
TO_NUMBER: character string to NUMBER
TO_NUMBER(‘2’);
TO_CHAR: NUMBER or DATE to character string
TO_CHAR(2);
TO_CHAR(SYSDATE, ‘MM/DD/YYYY HH:MI’);

18. Character String Functions
Concatenating strings: joining 2 or more character strings into a single string
Concatenation operator: ||
s_first_name := ‘Sarah’
s_last_name := ‘Miller’
s_full_name := s_first_name || ‘ ’ || s_last_name

19. PL/SQL Character String Functions
RTRIM: removes blank trailing spaces
cust_address := RTRIM(cust_address);
LENGTH: returns string length (number of characters)
address_length := LENGTH(cust_address);
UPPER, LOWER: changes characters to all upper or lower case
s_name := UPPER(s_name);
s_name := LOWER(s_name);

20. PL/SQL Character String Functions
INSTR: searches a string and looks for a matching substring and returns its starting position
starting_position :=
INSTR(string_being_searched,
search_string>);
blank_position :=
INSTR(‘Sarah Miller’, ‘ ’);

21. PL/SQL Character String Functions
SUBSTR: extracts a specific number of characters from a string, starting at a given point
extracted_string :=
SUBSTR(string_being_searched,
starting_point,
number_of_characters_to_extract);
s_first_name := SUBSTR(‘Sarah Miller’, 1,5);

22. Debugging PL/SQL Programs
Syntax error
Does not follow language guidelines
Causes a PLS- compile error
Examples: misspelling a reserved word, using a function incorrectly
Logic error
Program compiles correctly, but does not give correct output

23. Locating and Correcting Syntax Errors
Isolate the line that is causing the error
This may be before or after the line that is flagged by the compiler
Comment out lines as necessary until program runs
One error may cause several cascading errors, so re-run program after fixing each error

24. Locating and Fixing Logic Errors
Identify the output variable(s) that have the error.
Identify the inputs and calculations that contribute to the error.
Display the values of the inputs using DBMS_OUTPUT commands.
Take a break and look at it again later.
Ask a fellow student for help.
Ask your instructor for help.

25. NULL Values in Assignment Statements
Until a value is assigned to a variable, the variable’s value is NULL
Performing an arithmetic value on a NULL value always results in a NULL value
Advice: Always initialize variable values

26. PL/SQL Selection Structures
IF/THEN
IF/END IF:
IF condition THEN
program statements
END IF;
IF/ELSE/END IF:
ELSE
alternate program statements

27. PL/SQL Selection Structures
IF/ELSIF:
IF condition1 THEN
program statements;
ELSIF condition2 THEN
alternate program statements;
ELSIF condition3 THEN
. . .
ELSE
END IF;

28. PL/SQL Comparison Operators

29. Evaluating NULL Conditions in IF/THEN Structures
If a condition evaluates as NULL, then it is FALSE
How can a condition evaluate as NULL?
It uses a BOOLEAN variable that has not been initialized
It uses any other variable that has not been initialized

30. Using SQL Commands in PL/SQL Programs

31. PL/SQL Loops
Loop: repeats one or more program statements multiple times until an exit condition is reached
Pretest loop: exit condition is tested before program statements are executed
Posttest loop: exit condition is tested after program statements are executed

32. LOOP … EXIT Loop LOOP … EXIT LOOP program statements IF condition THEN
END IF;
more program statements
END LOOP;
Pretest
OR Posttest

33. LOOP … EXIT WHEN Loop LOOP program statements EXIT WHEN condition;
END LOOP;
Posttest

34. WHILE Loop WHILE … LOOP WHILE condition LOOP program statements
END LOOP;
Pretest
WHILE … LOOP

35. Numeric FOR Loop FOR counter_variable IN start_value .. end_value LOOP
program statements
END LOOP;
Preset number of iterations

36. Cursors Pointer to a server memory location
Contains information about a SQL command in a PL/SQL program
Called the command’s context area

37. Number of rows processed
Cursors
Database Server Memory
Cursor
Number of rows processed
Parsed command
statement
context
area
active set

38. Types of Cursors
Implicit
Explicit

39. Implicit Cursors
Created automatically every time you use an INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or SELECT command
Doesn’t need to be declared
Can be used to assign the output of a SELECT command to one or more PL/SQL variables
Can only be used if query returns one and only one record

40. Implicit Cursor Syntax
SELECT field1, field2, …
INTO variable1, variable2, …
FROM tablename
WHERE search_condition_that_will_
return_a_single_record;

41. Explicit Cursors Must be declared in program DECLARE section
Can be used to assign the output of a SELECT command to one or more PL/SQL variables
Can be used if query returns multiple records or no records

42. Using an Explicit Cursor
Declare the cursor
Open the cursor
Fetch the cursor result into PL/SQL program variables
Close the cursor

43. Declaring an Explicit Cursor
DECLARE
CURSOR cursor_name IS SELECT_statement;

44. Opening an Explicit Cursor
OPEN cursor_name;

45. Fetching Explicit Cursor Records
FETCH cursor_name INTO variable_name(s);

46. Closing an Explicit Cursor
CLOSE cursor_name;

47. Processing an Explicit Cursor
LOOP ..EXIT WHEN approach:
OPEN cursor_name;
LOOP
FETCH cursor_name INTO variable_name(s);
EXIT WHEN cursor_name%NOTFOUND:
END LOOP;
CLOSE cursor_name;

48. Processing an Explicit Cursor
Cursor FOR Loop approach:
FOR variable_name(s) in cursor_name LOOP
additional processing statements;
END LOOP;

49. Explicit Cursor Attributes

50. Using Reference Data Types in Explicit Cursor Processing
Declaring a ROWTYPE reference variable:
DECLARE
reference_variable_name cursor_name%ROWTYPE;
Referencing a ROWTYPE reference variable:
reference_variable_name.database_field_name

51. PL/SQL Example1 DECLARE Emp_name VARCHAR2(10);
Cursor c1 IS SELECT Ename FROM Emp_tab
WHERE Deptno = 20;BEGIN
OPEN c1;
LOOP
FETCH c1 INTO Emp_name;
EXIT WHEN c1%NOTFOUND;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(Emp_name);
END LOOP;
END;

52. PL/SQL Example2 DECLARE Emp_number INTEGER := 9999;
Emp_name emp.empname%type;
BEGIN
SELECT Ename INTO Emp_name FROM Emp_tab WHERE Empno = Emp_number; -- no such number DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Employee name is ' || Emp_name);
EXCEPTION WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('No such employee: ' || Emp_number);
END;

53. PL/SQL Tables Composed into two components: Increased dynamically
Primary Key
Column of Scalar or record type
Increased dynamically
Similar to Arrays in programming languages
Known as Objects of type tables
Syntax
TYPE typename is TABLE OF
[column_type | variable%type]
[INDEX BY BINARY_IINTEGER];
Indentifier type_name;

54. PL/SQL Tables Declaration
There are two steps in the declaration of a PL/SQL table.
First, you must define the table structure using the TYPE statement.
Second, once a table type is created, you then declare the actual table.

55. PL/SQL Table Declaration
Example:
DECLARE
-- Table structure definition
TYPE EmpNameType IS TABLE OF
Emp.empname%TYPE
INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
-- Create the actual table
EmpTab EmpNameType;
SupTab EmpNameType;
BEGIN
NULL;
END;

56. Referencing and Modifying PL/SQL table rows
In order to specify a particular row in a PL/SQL table, you must name the table and the index.
Syntax: <table_name>(<index_value>)
The datatype of the index value must be compatible with the BINARY_INTEGER datatype.
You assign values to a row using the standard assignment operator.
Referencing a nonexistent row raises the NO_DATA_FOUND exception.

57. Referencing and Modifying PL/SQL table rows
Example:
DECLARE
CURSOR c_Ename IS
SELECT empname, empno
FROM emp
ORDER BY empname;
TYPE type_Ename_tab IS TABLE OF emp.empname%TYPE
INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;
tab_Ename type_Ename_tab;
v_Ename_counter NUMBER := 0;
BEGIN
FOR r_Ename IN c_Ename
LOOP
v_Ename_counter := v_Ename_counter + 1;
tab_Ename(v_Ename_counter):= r_Ename.empname;
END LOOP;
FOR i_Ename IN 1 .. v_Ename_counter
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Here is a name: '|| Tab_Ename(i_Ename));
END;

58. PL/SQL TABLE ATTRIBUTES
Here are seven PL/SQL table attributes you can use to gain information
about a PL/SQL table or to modify a row in a PL/SQL table:
• DELETE—Deletes rows in a table.
• EXISTS—Return TRUE if the specified entry exists in the table.
• COUNT—Returns the number of rows in the table.
• FIRST—Returns the index of the first row in the table.
• LAST—Returns the index of the last row in the table.
• NEXT—Returns the index of the next row in the table after the
specified row.
• PRIOR—Returns the index of the previous row in the table be-for
the specified row.

59. PL/SQL Table Attributes – How to use them?
PL/SQL table attributes are used with the following syntax:
<table_name>.<attribute>
If you declare a PL/SQL table named t_emp then you get a rowcount
for the table as follows:
v_count := t_emp.count;
The DELETE, EXISTS, NEXT and PRIOR attributes function differently than the other attributes.
These two generally operate on one row at a time, so you must
add the following syntax:
<TableName>.<attribute>(<IndexNumber>[,<IndexNumber>])
Examples:
t.emp.delete deletes all rows from the t_emp table, whereas
t_emp.delete(15) deletes the fifteenth row of the t_emp table.
Likewise, t_emp.exists(10) returns a value of true if there is a tenth row and a value of false if there is not.
The EXISTS attribute can be used to determine if a particular index value
exists in the PL/SQL table or not.
NEXT and PRIOR is used in the same manner

60. PL/SQL Exception Handling
All error handling statements are placed in the EXCEPTION program block
Exception handler: program command that provides information about an error, and suggest correction actions

61. Predefined Exceptions
Common errors that have been given predefined names that appear instead of error numbers

62. Exception Handler Syntax For Predefined Exceptions
WHEN exception1_name THEN
exception handling statements;
WHEN exception2_name THEN …
WHEN OTHERS THEN

63. Undefined Exceptions
Less-common errors that have not been given predefined names
ORA- error code appears
Exception handler tests for ORA- error code and provides alternate error message

64. User-Defined Exceptions
Errors that will not cause a run-time error, but will violate business rules
(i.e. they are created for logical errors)
Programmer creates a custom error message

65. Nested PL/SQL Program Blocks
An inner program block can be nested within an outer program block
DECLARE
variable declarations
BEGIN
program statements
EXCEPTION
error handling statements
END;
Outer
block
DECLARE
variable declarations
BEGIN
program statements
EXCEPTION
error handling statements
END;
Inner
block

66. Exception Handling in Nest Program Blocks
If an exception is raised and handled in an inner block, program execution resumes in the outer block

67. Exception Handling in Nested Program Blocks
DECLARE
variable declarations
BEGIN
program statements
additional program statements
EXCEPTION
error handling statements
END;
DECLARE
exception_A
BEGIN
RAISE exception_A
EXCEPTION
exception_A error handler
END;
Exception is raised and
handled in inner block
Program execution
resumes here

68. Exception Handling in Nested Program Blocks
Exceptions raised in inner blocks can be handled by exception handlers in outer blocks

69. Example of a USER-DEFINED Exception
Declare
huge_quantity exception;
V_qty number(10);
v_msg varchar2(100);
Begin
v_qty := &V_qty;
if v_qty > 1000 then
v_msg := ‘very huge quantity’;
raise huge_quantity;
else
v_msg := ‘Good’;
end if;
dbms_output.put_line (v_msg);
Exception
when huge_quantity then
End;

70. Example of a USER-DEFINED Exception (Giving an error number between -20000 to -20999)
Declare
huge_quantity exception;
V_qty number(10);
v_msg varchar2(100);
Begin
v_qty := &V_qty;
if v_qty > 1000 then
v_msg := ‘very huge quantity’;
raise huge_quantity;
else
v_msg := ‘Good’;
end if;
dbms_output.put_line (v_msg);
Exception
when huge_quantity then
raise_application_error (-20100, v_msg);
End;