How to use "START SCRIPT" in pl/sql block ?
I want to use something like this
declare
begin
proc(para1,para2);
execute immediate 'start prompt1' ;
end;
/
Also I want to know , can i get a value from prompt1 into my PL/SQL block where am calling the script ? Because I need to use the value to perform some operations in the PL/SQL block.
It is 2012 2017. Scripts are a clunky and brittle hangover from the last millennium. Oracle has a fantastic range of functionality we can execute in PL/SQL, plus there's Java Stored Procedures, and there's scheduling for starting jobs. Other than running DDL to create or amend schemas there is hardly any need for scripts in an Oracle database environment; even DDL scripts should be triggered from an external client, probably a build tool such as TeamCity.
In particular I would regard attempting to run a SQL script from a PL/SQL program as an architectural failure. What are you doing with the script which you cannot do with a stored procedure?
As for passing input to a stored procedure, that's what parameters are for. PL/SQL isn't interactive, we need a client to enter the values. Depending on the scenario this can be done asynchronously (values in a file or a table) or synchronously (calling the stored procedure from SQL*Plus, SQL Developer or a bespoke front end).
Having said all that, in the real world we work with messy architectures with inter-dependencies between the database and the external OS. So what can we do?
We can write a Java Stored Procedure to execute shell commands. This is the venerable solution, having been around since Oracle 8i. Find out more.
In 10g Oracle replace DBMS_JOB with DBMS_SCHEDULER. Once of the enhancements of this tool is its ability to run external jobs i.e. shell scripts. Find out more.
Since Oracle 11g R1 external tables support pre-processor scripts, which run shell commands before querying the table. Find out more.
Note that all these options demand elevated access (grants on DIRECTORY objects, security credentials, etc). These can only be granted by privileged users (i.e. DBAs). Unless our database has an astonishingly lax security configuration there is no way for us to run an arbitrary shell script from PL/SQL.
Finally, it is not clear what benefit you expect from running a SQL script in PL/SQL. Remember that PL/SQL runs on the database server, so it can't see scripts on the client machine. This seems relevant in the light of the requirement to accept user input.
Perhaps the simplest solution is reconfiguration of the original script. Split out the necessary PL/SQL call into a block and then just call the named script:
begin
proc(para1,para2);
end;
/
#prompt1.sql
You can write a pl/sql block in SqlPlus to check for a parameter from a table then execute a script. In the script to be executed (MyScript.sql below), the statement terminators must be ";" instead of "/"
declare
vMyParameter number := 0;
begin
select count(*) into vMyParameter
from MyTable
where MyCheckValue = 'Y';
if vMyParameter = 1 then
#MyFolder/MyScript.sql;
end if;
end;
/
If you're using sql*plus (or a tool that is using it) then you can do something like this:
set serveroutput on
variable a number;
begin
:a := &promt;
dbms_output.put_line(:a);
end;
/
If it runs in batch then you can do:
variable a number;
begin
:a := &1;
dbms_output.put_line(:a);
end;
and get the value for :a as a parameter-
sqlplus sdad/fdsfd#fdggd #<your_script.sql> <val_for_a>
Another practice is to execute on one *.bat with parameters, like:
Example c:/oracle/bin/sqlplus.exe -w #c:/name
sql %1 %2 #c:/output.sql
execute immediate 'start prompt1' ;
Execute immediate is to execute SQL statements , not arbitrary commands.
can i get a value from prompt1 into my PL/SQL block where am calling the script
You can run a run script - but I doubt you can capture input from an SQL script, esp within a PL/SQL block
Related
I want to create schema dynamically i.e. it should prompt for the input. Or how to use collections, nested table to create users from PL/SQL code blocks i.e. procedures, functions etc?
I give you a small example for that:
create or replace procedure p(p_user varchar2) is
begin
execute immediate 'create user '||p_user||' identified by x';
end;
/
begin
p('&user');
end;
/
Here the procedure gets a parameter which can be used to put together your DDL commands. The procedure must be called somehow. You can call it from sqlplus, or execute it via web server, or from a desktop app, etc. I wrote the last 4 lines as example how to call it from sqlplus. Sqlplus can prompt and read input from user.
With TSQL I'm used to putting some repeatable tests in for my stored procs. Typically this may include putting the db in a particular state, runnings the sproc, validating the state and rolling back. And contrived example might something like this"
BEGIN TRAN
--input for test case
DECLARE #TestName VARCHAR(10) = 'bob'
--insert test row
INSERT INTO tbl (data) values (#TestName)
--display initial state of target row
SELECT * FROM tbl WHERE data = #TestName
--do some useful test
EXEC MyProc
--display the final state of the target row
SELECT * FROM tbl WHERE data = #TestName
--put the db back where it started
ROLLBACK TRAN
Now I'm working with Oracle and PL/SQL and I'm trying to use a some similar pattern to test my work and not finding it obvious to me quite how to do that. I believe there are a few different ways I might accomplish it but haven't gotten anything to actually work. Ideally I would have a single script in which I could run multiple test cases and inspect the result.
I am trying to work in PL/SQL Developer at this point and understand that might have some differences from how it might work in Oracle SQL Developer or elsewhere.
In Oracle, using tools like SQL*Plus and GUI tools like SQL Developer, you have many options :
To execute the statements and procedures in a single session in an order, i.e. using procedural method of PL/SQL, write an anonymous plsql block and execute it as a script.
Most of the GUI based tools have an option like Execute as script or Test Window to execute your scripts individually or embedded in an anonymous block.
Using DBMS_SCHEDULER also you could achieve the same task.
As you are interested in PL/SQL Developer tool product of Allround Automations, you could simply use the test window to test individual objects.
I have documented few useful features of the PL/SQL Developer tool in my blog, please read http://lalitkumarb.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/plsql-developer-settings/
I am having a problem using host() command in oracle procedure.
I have written very simple oracle code.
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE
run_command(command_i IN VARCHAR2)
IS
l_message VARCHAR2 (100);
BEGIN
l_message := 'cmd ' || command_i;
host(l_message);
END run_command;
when host(l_message); is eliminated works fine.
Whats the problem and is there anyway to create a routine which uses host()?
The HOST command is only available in SQL*Plus and not from PL/SQL.
You can use Java stored procedure to call call OS commands. Oracle released a white paper on calling OS commands from within PL/SQL back in 2008 but there's plenty of other stuff out there (including Oracle Base, which is quite good)
Another clunky, but non-Java way would be to create DBMS_SCHEDULER ad-hoc EXECUTABLE job which is your HOST command (e.g. ls ), and then execute the job.
Note these run on the database server, not on your remote/local client.
I have SQL file with few commands.
What it the correct way to end lines in the script?
Is it slash [/] semicolon [;] both?
Is there any diffarent between regular sqls and Stored procedure code?
Thank you
For normal SQL statements, either a / on a line by itself, or a ; at the end of the command, will work fine.
For statements that include PL/SQL code, such as CREATE FUNCTION, CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE PACKAGE, CREATE TYPE, or anonymous blocks (DECLARE/BEGIN/END), a ; will not execute the command. Since PL/SQL uses semicolons as line terminators, its use as a command terminator must be suppressed in these statements. So in these cases, you must use / to execute the command.
In my experience, people prefer to use the semicolon when possible and use the slash only when required.
Note that for SQLPlus client commands -- such as SET or EXECUTE -- no command terminator is necessary at all, although people often end them with a semicolon out of habit.
; is the way you should end your sql commands, same goes for PLSQL procedures:
select * from dual;
select sysdate from dual;
select table_name from user tables;
exec dbms_output.putline('Hello');
Usually we can use ";" to end sql statement,
but for create functions, triggers, procedures you have to use "/" after ";" to end SQL statement.
"/" might not be required when you use some developers tool like, oracle SQL developer, toad etc, but it should be mandate when you execute your query directly in the linux machine.
I'm using dbms_scheduler to execute a PL/SQL stored procedure. I would like to be able to have that code create some text logging output and associate it with the run to verify it's working, but I can't find anything to do that in the docs. Is there a facility to do this that I'm missing? This is an 11g database running under Unix. It would be real nice if I could use dbms_output so I could also run it from sqlplus and get output.
There are a bunch of Oracle Scheduler data dictionary views that will help you monitor jobs. Here are two documentation pages related to that:
Monitoring Jobs
Monitoring and Managing the Scheduler
Moreover, Oracle Scheduler declares some internal Scheduler variables that you can use like any other PL/SQL identifier in your PL/SQL stored procedure. Here is the list of these variables.
If you want to log application specific information, I suggest you create your own log table. You can then insert into this table from within your stored procedure. You can even insert any of the Scheduler's internal variables there, like job_name and job_scheduled_start.
i make a table JOB_LOG
insert into that table from inside your procedure...
I agree with what the others have said. Here's the actual nuts and bolts, but with a nice interface, too. The way I typically do this:
Make a logging table:
CREATE TABLE job_log (
ts TIMESTAMP DEFAULT SYSTIMESTAMP PRIMARY KEY
, message VARCHAR2(255)
);
Make a stored proc that easily writes into your log table:
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE job_logger (v_message VARCHAR2)
IS
BEGIN
INSERT INTO job_log(message) VALUES (v_message);
COMMIT;
END;
/
Then within your job, you are probably running a stored procedure. Within your own stored procedure, simply add lines that call the job_logger() procedure to write to your log. This keeps the ugly INSERT ... COMMIT clutter out of your interesting stored proc code.
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE foo
IS
BEGIN
job_logger('Starting job foo.');
...
{your code here}
...
job_logger('Another message that will be logged.');
...
job_logger('Completed running job foo.');
EXCEPTION
...
job_logger('Oops, something bad happened!');
...
END;
/
Your log table is automatically timestamped and indexed by the primary key. To view the log, you might run this
SELECT * FROM job_log ORDER BY ts DESC;
Now if would rather not use the Oracle scheduler, and want instead to use the DBMS_OUTPUT way of writing output, and want to run this under a Unix shell, that is possible also.
You would make a script that calls sqlplus, somewhat like this. If your user is SCOTT and the stored proc is called FOO,
#!/bin/sh
. /whatever/script/that/sets/your/oracle/environment
echo "
set serveroutput on feedback off
exec foo
" | sqlplus -s -l scott/tiger#orcl
Note, the -s flag suppresses the Oracle SQL Plus banner for cleaner output. The -l flag makes it so that sqlplus will abort if the password is bad or something else wrong, rather than try to prompt for username. Feedback off suppresses the PL/SQL "Anonymous block completed" message.
If you want to schedule this, you can call it from cron like this:
00 00 * * * /path/to/the/above/script.sh > /where/you/want/your/output/saved.log 2>&1