Populate a column on update (create too?), and why "FOR EACH ROW"? - oracle

I have a table of people who belong to various sites. These sites can change, but don't very often. So when we create an attendance record (a learner_session object) we don't store the site. But this has cause a problem in reporting how many training hours a site has, because some people have changed sites over the years. Not by much, but we'd like to get this right.
So I've added a site_at_the_time column to the learner_session table. I want to auto-populate this with the site the person was at when they attended the session. But I'm not sure how to reference this. For some reason (I'm guessing to speed development or something) the learner_id is allowed to be null. So I'm currently planning to do an update trigger. The learner_id shouldn't ever get updated, and if it ever did somehow, the entire record would be junk so I'm not worried about it overwriting it.
The trigger I have now is
create trigger set_site_at_the_time
after update of learner_id on lrn_session
begin
:new.site_at_the_time:= (select site_id from learner who where :new.learner_id = who.learner_id);
end;
which leads me to the following error:
ORA-04082: NEW or OLD references not allowed in table level triggers
Now, I've done some research and found I need to use a FOR EACH ROW - and I'm wondering what exactly this FOR EACH ROW does - is it every row captured by the trigger? Or is it every row in the table?
Also, will this trigger when I create a record too? So if I do insert into learner_session(id,learner_id,...) values(learner_session_id_seq.nextval,1234,...) will this capture that appropriately?
And while I'm here, I might as well see if there's something else I'm doing wrong with this trigger. But I'm mainly asking to figure out what the FOR EACH ROW is supposed to do and if it triggers properly. =)

FOR EACH ROW means that the trigger will fire once for each row that is updated by your SQL statement. Without this clause, the trigger will only fire once, no matter how many rows are affected. If you want to change values as they're being inserted, you have to use FOR EACH ROW, because otherwise the trigger can't know which :new and :old values to use.
As written, the trigger only fires on update. To make it also fire upon insert, you'd need to change the definition:
CREATE TRIGGER set_site_at_the_time
BEFORE INSERT OR UPDATE OF learner_id
ON lrn_session
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
SELECT site_id into :new.site_at_the_time
FROM learner who
WHERE :new.learner_id = who.learner_id);
END set_site_at_the_time;

Related

PL/SQL Trigger on INSTERT OR UPDATE : ":NEW" IS NULL => ambiguous?

I'm quite a newbie in PL/SQL and I'm trying to do quite complex data integrity checks via triggers.
I've already understood how to avoid problems when calling a table inside a trigger that is used on the same table (via a temporary external table) but now I'm facing a really mind-blowing problem : I thought that ":NEW" was referencing the value in my table AFTER an update but things don't look that simple... It is the new value SET by the update or insert... which looks to be NULL if nothing has been specified, even if the corresponding field value is NOT NULL after the update... wich is driving me crazy.
My trigger is set when inserting or updating several variables :
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER TRG_INS_UP_INSTRUMENT_EVENT
AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE OF EVENT_ID, DATE_BEGIN,DATE_END,INSTR_ID,TYPE_EVENT_ID ON AIS_INSTRUMENT_EVENT
But now... If there already is a line with non-null fields and I do an
UPDATE AIS_INSTRUMENT_EVENT SET INSTR_ID='642' WHERE EVENT_ID='6479'
I actually get a ":NEW.DATE_BEGIN" which is NULL... event thought nor the older or newer values are NULL (because I just didn't update it).
How can I distinguish - in my trigger - the case when the DATE_BEGIN is updated and SET voluntary to NULL from the case in which nothing has been specified (and this field must thus remain the same but not necessarily NULL...). I have to many possible combination to check one by one...
Thanks in advance for your help!
What you are saying is not true. :new contains the full row regardless whether the column is referenced in the UPDATE statement:
CREATE TABLE test (test INTEGER, last_changed DATE);
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER TRG_INS_UP_TEST
AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE OF test, last_changed ON test
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('LAST CHANGED IS ' || :new.last_changed);
END;
INSERT INTO test (test, last_changed) VALUES (1, SYSDATE);
COMMIT;
UPDATE test SET test = test + 1;
DBMS Output:
LAST CHANGED IS 01.09.17
To achieve what you want the mechanism works slightly different. You have to look at two different use cases:
1.) You want the trigger not to fire unless a certain column is mentioned. This use cases is by the reference in the trigger declaration (INSERT OR UDATE OF "column_name"). If the INSERT/UPDATE statement only affects columns that are not mentioned the trigger will not fire.
2.) You want the trigger not to fire unless a certain row is modified. So you want the trigger to only if fire is a value has actually changed. This is done by the WHEN restriction of the trigger. It is usually used in conjunction with DECODE, like so:
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER TRG_INS_UP_TEST
AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE OF test, last_changed ON test
FOR EACH ROW
WHEN (DECODE(new.test,old.test,0,1)=1 OR DECODE(new. last_changed,old. last_changed,0,1)=1)
BEGIN
...
END;
So to answer your original question: If you want to the trigger too only fire in cases where the column DATE_BEGIN is set to NULL you will have to declare your trigger using both approaches
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER TRG_INS_UP_INSTRUMENT_EVENT
AFTER INSERT OR UPDATE OF DATE_BEGIN ON AIS_INSTRUMENT_EVENT
FOR EACH ROW
WHEN (DECODE(new.DATE_BEGIN,old. DATE_BEGIN,0,1)=1 AND new.DATE_BEGIN IS NULL)
The limitation to certain columns ("INSERT OR UPDATE OF DATE_BEGIN") is not strictly necessary but it is good practice since it improves performance since it excludes the trigger from firing at all.
Sorry I think I made a to quick conclusion... The bug was mine. I've tested on a "Toy" table and, indeed, the :NEW was not null, even when not set by the UPDATE. I found the bug in the meantime. All this is too new to me ;-).
Sorry for disturbing.

Oracle error: ORA-04079: invalid trigger specification

I am new to Oracle and would like to know how to make this trigger work please. I can do each trigger separately but I need them all in the same one if that makes sense.
create trigger ID_trigger
before insert on crime, evidence, offence, officer
for each row
begin
select crime_seq.nextval into :new.crime_id from dual
and officer_seq.nextval into :new.officer_id from dual
and evidence_seq.nextval into :new.evidence_id from dual
and offence_seq.nextval into :new.offence_id from dual;
end;
I initially had a single trigger for each table. However when submitting data into my form the triggers seemed to have overwritten the previous one
" I initially had a singler trigger for each table, however when
sumbitting data into my form the triggers seemed to have overwritten
the previous one"
Let's guess: you called all four triggers id_trigger. Each subsequent CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER call would overwrite the first one. Unless you used CREATE TRIGGER as you do here, in which case each subsequent call would fail, Either way, only one table would have a trigger.
You see, even though they belong to a table, triggers are separate database objects. So, like indexes or constraints, their names must be unique within the schema.
The solution is simple: give each trigger a different name, say by including the table name.

trigger insert and update oracle error

Friend, I have question about cascade trigger.
I have 2 tables, table data that has 3 attributes (id_data, sum, and id_tool), and table tool that has 3 attributes (id_tool, name, sum_total). table data and tool are joined using id_tool.
I want create trigger for update info sum_total. So , if I inserting on table data, sum_total on table tool where tool.id_tool = data.id_tool will updating too.
I create this trigger, but error ora-04090.
create or replace trigger aft_ins_tool
after insert on data
for each row
declare
v_stok number;
v_jum number;
begin
select sum into v_jum
from data
where id_data= :new.id_data;
select sum_total into v_stok
from tool
where id_tool=
(select id_tool
from data
where id_data= :new.id_data);
if inserting then
v_stok := v_stok + v_jum;
update tool
set sum_total=v_stok
where id_tool=
(select id_tool
from data
where id_data= :new.id_data);
end if;
end;
/
please give me opinion.
Thanks.
The ora-04090 indicates that you already have an AFTER INSERT ... FOR EACH ROW trigger on that table. Oracle doesn't like that, because the order in which the triggers fire is unpredictable, which may lead to unpredictable results, and Oracle really doesn't like those.
So, your first step is to merge the two sets of code into a single trigger. Then the real fun begins.
Presumably there is only one row in data matching the current value of id_data (if not your data model is rally messed up and there's no hope for your situation). Anyway, that means the current row already gives you access to the values of :new.sum and :new.id_tool. So you don't need those queries on the data table: removing those selects will remove the possibility of "mutating table" errors.
As a general observation, maintaining aggregate or summary tables like this is generally a bad idea. Usually it is better just to query the information when it is needed. If you really have huge volumes of data then you should use a materialized view to maintain the summary, rather than hand-rolling something.

ORACLE Mutating Table error in one trigger, but not another; Why?

Okay, I have two tables - ORDERS and ORDERLINES - which have essentially the same problem, with triggers on each to address the issue. The issue is that in addition to the PK with table-level uniqueness, on a field called RECID, there is another field, RECNO, which needs to be unique with relation to another field.
The tables are FK related as follows:
ORDERS.WAREHOUSEID > WAREHOUSES.CUSTOMERID > CUSTOMERS
and
ORDERSLINES.ORDERID > ORDERS
On ORDERS and ORDERSLINES I have BEFORE INSERT triggers to assign the realm-specific unique RECNO.
In ORDERS, RECNO needs to be unique within the realm of a CUSTOMERS record.
In ORDERLINES, RECNO needs to be unique within the realm of an ORDERS record.
The trigger on ORDERS works perfectly fine. When a new order is inserted, it is assigned the next unique RECNO within the customer it belongs to.
The trigger on ORDERLINES on the other hand, which should assign the next unique RECNO within the order it belongs to, throws the dreaded {ORA-04091: table ORDERLINES is mutating, trigger/function may not see it} exception.
Here is the trigger that works:
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER ORDERS_BI
BEFORE INSERT ON ORDERS
FOR EACH ROW
DECLARE
CUSTID WAREHOUSES.CUSTOMERID%TYPE;
BEGIN
SELECT MIN(CUSTOMERID) INTO CUSTID FROM WAREHOUSES
WHERE NVL(WARE_ID, '-') = NVL(:NEW.WAREHOUSEID, '-');
SELECT NVL(MAX(RECNO), 0) + 1
INTO :NEW.RECNO
FROM deploy.ORDERS O
LEFT JOIN deploy.WAREHOUSES W
ON NVL(W.REC, '-') = NVL(O.WAREHOUSEID, '-')
WHERE NVL(W.CUSTOMERID, '-') = NVL(CUSTID, '-');
END;
And here is the trigger that does NOT work:
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER ORDERLINES_BI
BEFORE INSERT ON ORDERLINES
FOR EACH ROW
DECLARE
nORDERID ORDERLINES.ORDERID%TYPE;
BEGIN
SELECT MIN(ORDERID) INTO nORDERID FROM REVORDERS
WHERE ORDERID = :NEW.ORDERID;
SELECT NVL(MAX(RECNO), 0) + 1
INTO :NEW.RECNO
FROM deploy.ORDERLINES L
LEFT JOIN deploy.ORDERS O
ON O.ORDERID = L.ORDERID
WHERE O.ORDERID = nORDERID;
END;
Can SOMEONE please explain WHY the first one works, and the second one doesn't?
And is there some way I can re-write the second to make it work?
I looked at your code first, rather than your explanation. My first thought was "this person is trying to fake a sequence." This obviously isn't the answer to your question but it's the reason you're getting into trouble in the first place.
The obvious solution when you're having problems faking sequences is to use a real one.
As Nicholas has already noted ORA-04091 occurs when you try to read from the table from which a trigger is fired. There are various ways to avoid this, most of which avoid trying to do something slightly funky. However, they don't influence the root cause of the error; that is you're doing something wrong. This error is normally indicative of one or both of two things:
You're putting far too much logic into a trigger
Your data-model is flawed.
The solution to the first is to move the logic to a package, which has the added benefit of removing a layer of obfuscation. The solution to the second is to normalise your database properly.
In your case, from what information you've provided, your data-model seems to be okay, though as I've said I disagree with the implementation.
This leaves you with four options to solve your problem, which I detail in order I would do them
Remove your triggers.
Replace your current logic with a sequence.
Remove all your trigger logic into a procedure.
Hack around your error.
I'm not going to discuss point 3 as you can do that yourself. Nicholas has partially covered point 4 and I'm not going to advocate something I disagree with. This leaves points 1 and 2. You say
In ORDERS, RECNO needs to be unique within the realm of a CUSTOMERS
record.
This is not how you've implemented it. Your code makes RECNO consecutive within the realm of a CUSTOMERS record. The primary key of both ORDERS and ORDERLINES are by definition unique within the realm of a CUSTOMERS record.
In itself, this implies that option 1 is best for you. Remove the triggers entirely; the primary keys of the table are already doing everything you need. This also invalidates option 2; if you add a sequence then it will basically be a separate primary key.
There is no reason I can think of that you would need an order to be consecutively unique within each customer; why bother doing so?
You are getting that error because the second trigger is trying to read table while it is being modified. This can also happen when a trigger on a parent table causes an insert on a child table referencing a foreign key.
As a quick work around create view and try to use instead of trigger.
Also take a look at Tom's example of how to deal with mutating issues.
Besides, if leave the second trigger as it is, any inserts into your_table select .. from table will raise mutating error. For example:
This insert will work
insert into ORDERLINES(column1, column2... columnN)
values(val1, val2,..., valN)
But this one wont.
insert into ORDERLINES(column1, column2... columnN)
select val, val..val from table

Oracle Apex - Updating a view with instead-of trigger

Apex beginner here. I have a view in my Oracle database of the form:
create or replace view vw_awkward_view as
select unique tab1.some_column1,
tab2.some_column1,
tab2.some_column2,
tab2.some_column3
from table_1 tab1,
table_2 tab2
WHERE ....
I need the 'unique' clause on 'tab1.some_column1' because it has many entries in its underlying table. I also need to include 'tab1.some_column1' in my view because the rest of the data doesn't make much sense without it.
In Apex, I want to create a report on this view with a form for editing it (update only). I do NOT need to edit tab1.some_column1. Only the other columns in the view need to be editable. I can normally achieve this using an 'instead-of' trigger, but this doesn't look possible when the view contains a 'distinct', 'unique' or 'group by' clause.
If I try to update a row on this view I get the following error:
ORA-02014: cannot select FOR UPDATE from view with DISTINCT, GROUP BY, etc.
How can I avoid this error? I want my 'instead-of' trigger to kick in and perform the update and I don't need to edit the column which has the 'unique' clause, so I think it should be possible to do this.
I think that you should be able to remove the "unique".
if tab2.some_column1, tab2.some_column2, tab2.some_column3 are not unique, then how do you want to update them ?
if they are unique then the whole result: tab1.some_column1, tab2.some_column1, tab2.some_column2, tab2.some_column3 is unique.
When you state in a sql query "unique" or "distinct" it's for all columns not only 'tab1.some_column1'
Hope i'm in the correct direction of your question here ;)
Your query could be achieved by doing something like:
select a.some_column1, tab2.some_column1, tab2.some_column2, tab2.some_column3
from table_2 tab2
join (select distinct some_column1 from table_1) a
on tab2.column_in_tab1 = a.some_column1
The reason you get the ORA-02014 error is because of the automatically generated ApplyMRU process. This process will attempt to lock a (the) changed row(s):
begin
for r in (select ...
from vw_awkward_view
where <your first defined PK column>= 'value for PK1'
for update nowait)
loop
null;
end loop;
end;
That's a bummer, and means you won't be able to use the generated process. You'll have to write your own process which does the updating.
For this, you'll have to use the F## arrays in apex_application.
If this sounds totally unfamiliar, take a look at:
Custom submit process, and on using the apex_application arrays.
Also, here is a how-to for apex from 2004 from Oracle itself. It still uses lots of htmldb references, but the gist of it is there.
(it might be a good idea to use the apex_item interface to build up your form, and have control over what is generated and what array it takes.)
What it comes down to is: loop over the array containing your items and do an UPDATE on your view with the submitted values.
Of course, you don't have locking this way, nor a way to prevent unnecessary updates.
Locking you can do yourself, with for example using the select for update method. You'd have to lock the correct rows in the table(s) you want to alter, before you update them. If the locking fails, then your process should fail.
As for the 'lost update' story: here you'd need to check the MD5-checksums. A checksum is generated from the editable columns in your form and put in the html-code. On submit, this checksum is then compared to a newly generated checksum from those same columns, but with values from the database at that time of submit. If the checksums differ, it means the record has changed between the page load and the page submit. Your process should fail because the record has been altered, and you don't want to have those overwritten. (if you go the apex_item way, then don't forget to include an MD5_CHECKSUM call (or MD5_HIDDEN).
Important note though: checksums generated by either using apex_item or simply the standard form functionality build up a string to be hashed. As you can see in apex_item.md5_hidden, checksums are generated using DBMS_OBFUSCATION_TOOLKIT.MD5.
You can get the checksum of the values in the DB in 2 ways: wwv_flow_item.md5 or using dbms_obfuscation.
However, what the documentation fails to mention is this: OTN Apex discussion on MD5 checksums. Pipes are added in the generated checksums! Don't forget this, or it'll blow up in your face and you'll be left wondering for days what the hell is wrong with it.
Example:
select utl_raw.cast_to_raw(dbms_obfuscation_toolkit.md5(input_string=>
"COLUMN1" ||'|'||
"COLUMN2" ||'|'||
"COLUMN5" ||'|'||
"COLUMN7" ||'|'||
"COLUMN10" ||'|'||
"COLUMN12" ||'|'||
"COLUMN14" ||
'|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||'
)) md5
from some_table
To get the checksum of a row of the some_table table, where columns 1,2,5,7,10,12,14 are editable!
In the end, this is how it should be structured:
loop over array
generate a checksum for the current value of the editable columns
from the database
compare this checksum with the submitted checksum
(apex_application.g_fcs if generated) if the checksums match,
proceed with update. If not, fail process here.
lock the correct records for updating. Specify nowait, and it
locking fails, fail the process
update your view with the submitted values. Your instead-of trigger
will fire. Be sure you use correct values for your update statement so that only this one record will be updated
Don't commit inbetween. It's either all or nothing.
I almost feel like i went overboard, and it might feel like it is all a bit much, but when you know the pitfalls it's actually not so hard to pull this custom process off! It was very knowledgable for me to play with it :p
The answer by Tom is a correct way of dealing with ths issue but I think overkill for your requirements if I understand correctly.
The easiest way may be to create a form on the table you want to edit. Then have the report edit link take the user to this form which will only update the needed columns from the one table. If you need the value of the column from the other table displayed it is simple when you create the link to pass this value to the form which can contain a display only item to show this.

Resources