I have a PL/SQL procedure which creates a temporary table and then extracts the data from this temporary table using cursors, processes the data and then drops the temporary table. However Oracle doesn't allow the usage of cursor if the table doesn't exist in the database.
Please help me handle this.
Your statement is not quite correct. You can use a cursor for pretty much arbitrary queries. See below:
create or replace procedure fooproc
IS
type acursor is ref cursor;
mycur acursor;
mydate date;
BEGIN
execute immediate 'create global temporary table footmp (bar date) on commit delete rows';
execute immediate 'insert into footmp values (SYSDATE)';
open mycur for 'select * from footmp';
loop
fetch mycur into mydate;
exit when mycur%notfound;
dbms_output.put_line(mydate);
end loop;
close mycur;
execute immediate 'drop table footmp';
END fooproc;
/
(More details here - especially this short proc is not safe at all since the table name is fixed and not session-dependent).
It is (quite) a bit ugly, and I'm not suggesting you use that - rather, you should be thinking whether you need that procedure-specific temporary table at all.
See this other article:
DO NOT dynamically create them [temp tables], DO NOT dynamically create them, please -- do NOT dynamically create them.
Couldn't you use a global temporary table? Do you actually need a temporary table at all? (i.e. doesn't using a cursor on the select statement you'd use to fill that table work?)
Or, if you wish to avoid differences between global temporary tables and "regular" permanent tables you may be used to (see Oracle docs on temp table data availability, lifetime etc), simply create the table first (nologging). Assuming nobody else is using this table, your procedure could truncate before/after your processing.
Related
I see the concept of temporary table in oracle is quite different from other databases like SQL Server. In Oracle, we have a concept of global temporary table and we create it only once and in each session we fill it with data which is not the same in other databases.
In 18c, oracle has introduced the concept of private temporary tables which states that upon successful usage, tables can be dropped like in other databases. But how do we use it in a PL/SQL block?
I tried using it using dynamic SQL - EXECUTE IMMEDIATE. But it is giving me table must be declared error. what do I do here?
But how do we use it in a PL/SQL block?
If what you mean is, how can we use private temporary tables in a PL/SQL program (procedure or function) the answer is simple: we can't. PL/SQL programs need to be compiled before we can call them. This means any table referenced in the program must exist at compilation time. Private temporary tables don't change that.
The private temporary table is intended for use in ad hoc SQL work. It allows us to create a data structure we can use in SQL statements for the duration of a session, to make life easier for ourselves.
For instance, suppose I have a massive table of sales data - low level transactions - and my task is to investigate monthly trends. So I only need the total sales by month. Unfortunately, there is no materialized view providing this summary. I don't want to include the aggregating query in my select statements. In previous versions I would have had to create a permanent table (and had to remember to drop it afterwards) but in 18c I can use a private temporary table to stage my summary just for the session.
create private temporary table ora$ptt_sales_summary (
sales_month date
, total_value number )
/
insert into ora$ptt_sales_summary
select trunc(sales_date, 'MM')
, sum (qty*price)
from massive_sales_table
group by trunc(sales_date, 'MM')
/
select *
from ora$ptt_sales_summary
order by sales_month
/
Obviously we can write anonymous PL/SQL blocks in our session but let's continue assuming that's not what you need. So what is the equivalent of a private temporary table in a permanent PL/SQL program? Same as it's been for several versions now: a PL/SQL collection or a SQL nested table type.
Private temporary tables (Available from Oracle 18c ) are dropped at the end of the session/transaction depending on the definition of PTT.
The ON COMMIT DROP DEFINITION option creates a private temporary table that is transaction-specific. At the end of the transaction,
Oracle drops both table definitions and data.
The ON COMMIT PRESERVE DEFINITION option creates a private temporary table that is session-specific. Oracle removes all data and
drops the table at the end of the session.
You do not need to drop it manually. Oracle will do it for you.
CREATE PRIVATE TEMPORARY TABLE ora$ptt_temp_table (
......
)
ON COMMIT DROP DEFINITION;
-- or
-- ON COMMIT PRESERVE DEFINITION;
Example of ON COMMIT DROP DEFINITION (table is dropped after COMMIT is executed)
Example of ON COMMIT PRESERVE DEFINITION (table is retained after COMMIT is executed but it will be dropped at the end of the session)
Note: I don't have access to 18c DB currently and db<>fiddle is facing some issue so I have posted images for you.
Cheers!!
It works with dynamic SQL:
declare
cnt int;
begin
execute immediate 'create private temporary table ora$ptt_tmp (id int)';
execute immediate 'insert into ora$ptt_tmp values (55)';
execute immediate 'insert into ora$ptt_tmp values (66)';
execute immediate 'insert into ora$ptt_tmp values (77)';
execute immediate 'select count(*) from ora$ptt_tmp' into cnt;
dbms_output.put_line(cnt);
execute immediate 'delete from ora$ptt_tmp where id = 66';
cnt := 0;
execute immediate 'select count(*) from ora$ptt_tmp' into cnt;
dbms_output.put_line(cnt);
end;
Example here:
https://livesql.oracle.com/apex/livesql/s/l7lrzxpulhtj3hfea0wml09yg
I've been tasked with improving old PL/SQL and Oracle SQL legacy code. In all there are around 7000 lines of code! One aspect of the existing code that really surprises me is the previous coder needlessly created hundreds of lines of code by not writing any procedures or functions - instead the coder essentially repeats the same code throughout.
For example, in the existing code there are literally 40 or more repetitions of the following SQL:
CREATE TABLE tmp_clients
AS
SELECT * FROM live.clients;
CREATE TABLE tmp_customers
AS
SELECT * FROM live.customers;
CREATE TABLE tmp_suppliers
AS
SELECT * FROM live.suppliers WHERE type_id = 1;
and many, many more.....
I'm very new to writing in PL/SQL, though I have recently purchased the excellent book "Oracle PL/SQL programming" by Steven Feuerstein. However, as far as I can tell, I should be able to write a callable procedure such as:
procedure create_temp_table (new_table_nme in varchar(60)
source_table in varchar(60))
IS
s_query varchar2(100);
BEGIN
s_query := 'CREATE TABLE ' + new_table_nme + 'AS SELECT * FROM ' + source_table;
execute immediate s_query;
EXCEPTION
WHEN OTHERS THEN
IF SQLCODE = -955 THEN
NULL;
ELSE
RAISE;
END IF;
END;
I would then simply call the procedure as follows:
create_temp_table('tmp.clients', 'live.clients');
create_temp_table('tmp.customers', 'live.customers');
Is my proposed approach reasonable given the problem as stated?
Are the datatypes in the procedure call reasonable, ie should varchar2(60) be used, or is it possible to force the 'source_table' parameter to be a table name in the schema? What happens if the table name is more than 60 characters?
I want to be able to pass a third non-required parameter in cases where the data has to be restricted in a trivial way, ie to deal with cases "WHERE type_id = 1". How do I modify the procedure to include a parameter that is only used occasionally and how would I modify the rest of the code. I would probably add some sort of IF/ELSE statement to check whether the third parameter was not NULL and then construct the s_query accordingly.
How would I check that the table has actually been created successfully?
I want to trap for two other exceptions, namely
The new table (eg 'tmp.clients') already exists; and
The source table doesn't exist.
Does the EXCEPTION as written handle these cases?
More generally, from where can I obtain the SQL error codes and their meanings?
Any suggested improvements to the code would be gratefully received.
You could get rid of a lot of code (gradually!) by using GLOBAL temporary tables.
Execute immediate is not a bad practice but if there are other options then they should be used. Global temp tables are common where you want to extract and transform data but once processed you don't need it anymore until the next load. Each user can only see the data they insert and no redo logs are generated. You can index the data for faster querying if required.
Something like this
-- Create table
create global temporary table GT_CLIENTS
(
id NUMBER(10) not null,
Client_id NUMBER(10) not null,
modified_by_id NUMBER(10),
transaction_id NUMBER(10),
local_transaction_id VARCHAR2(30) not null,
last_modified_date_tz TIMESTAMP(6) WITH TIME ZONE not null
)
on commit preserve rows;
I recommend the on commit preserve rows option so that you can debug your procedure and see what went into the table.
Usage would be
INSERT INTO GT_CLIENTS
SELECT * FROM live.clients;
If this is the route you want to take to minimize changes, then the error for source table does not exist is -942 which you will want to stop for rather than continuing as your temp table would not have been created. Similarly, just continuing if you get an object already exists error will be problematic as you will not have reloaded it with the new data - the create failed so the table still has the data from the last run. So I would definitely do some more thinking about your exception handler.
That said, I also concur that this is generally not the best way to do things. Creating and dropping objects in a multi-user environment is a disaster in the making, and seems a silly waste of resources when there are more appropriate options available.
I am trying the code below to create a table in PL/SQL:
DECLARE
V_NAME VARCHAR2(20);
BEGIN
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'CREATE TABLE TEMP(NAME VARCHAR(20))';
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'INSERT INTO TEMP VALUES(''XYZ'')';
SELECT NAME INTO V_NAME FROM TEMP;
END;
/
The SELECT statement fails with this error:
PL/SQL: ORA-00942: table or view does not exist
Is it possible to CREATE, INSERT and SELECT all in a single PL/SQL Block one after other?
I assume you're doing something like the following:
declare
v_temp varchar2(20);
begin
execute immediate 'create table temp(name varchar(20))';
execute immediate 'insert into temp values(''XYZ'')';
select name into v_name from temp;
end;
At compile time the table, TEMP, does not exist. It hasn't been created yet. As it doesn't exist you can't select from it; you therefore also have to do the SELECT dynamically. There isn't actually any need to do a SELECT in this particular situation though you can use the returning into syntax.
declare
v_temp varchar2(20)
begin
execute immediate 'create table temp(name varchar2(20))';
execute immediate 'insert into temp
values(''XYZ'')
returning name into :1'
returning into v_temp;
end;
However, needing to dynamically create tables is normally an indication of a badly designed schema. It shouldn't really be necessary.
I can recommend René Nyffenegger's post "Why is dynamic SQL bad?" for reasons why you should avoid dynamic SQL, if at all possible, from a performance standpoint. Please also be aware that you are much more open to SQL injection and should use bind variables and DBMS_ASSERT to help guard against it.
If you run the program multiple time you will get an error even after modifying the program to run the select statement as dynamic SQL or using a returning into clause.
Because when you run the program first time it will create the table without any issue but when you run it next time as the table already created first time and you don't have a drop statement it will cause an error: "Table already exists in the Database".
So my suggestion is before creating a table in a pl/sql program always check if there is any table with the same name already exists in the database or not. You can do this check using a Data dictionary views /system tables which store the metadata depending on your database type.
For Example in Oracle you can use following views to decide if a tables needs to be created or not:
DBA_TABLES ,
ALL_TABLES,
USER_TABLES
Here's a piece of Oracle code I'm trying to adapt. I've abbreviated all the details:
declare
begin
loop
--do stuff to populate a global temporary table. I'll call it 'TempTable'
end loop;
end;
/
Select * from TempTable
Right now, this query runs fine provided I run it in two steps. First I run the program at the top, then I run the select * to get the results.
Is it possible to combine the two pieces so that I can populate the global temp table and retrieve the results all in one step?
Thanks in advance!
Well, for me it depends on how I would see the steps. You are doing a PL/SQL and SQL command. I would rather type in those into a file, and run them in one command (if that could called as a single step for you)...
Something like
file.sql
begin
loop
--do stuff to populate a global temporary table. I'll call it 'TempTable'
end loop;
end;
/
Select *
from TempTable
/
And run it as:
prompt> sqlplus /#db #file.sql
If you give us more details like how you populate the GTT, perhaps we might find a way to do it in a single step.
Yes, but it's not trivial.
create global temporary table my_gtt
( ... )
on commit preserve rows;
create or replace type my_gtt_rowtype as object
( [columns definition] )
/
create or replace type my_gtt_tabtype as table of my_gtt_rowtype
/
create or replace function pipe_rows_from_gtt
return my_gtt_tabtype
pipelined
is
pragma autonomous_transaction;
type rc_type is refcursor;
my_rc rc_type;
my_output_rec my_gtt_rectype := my_gtt_rectype ([nulls for each attribute]);
begin
delete from my_gtt;
insert into my_gtt ...
commit;
open my_rc for select * from my_gtt;
loop
fetch my_rc into my_output_rec.attribute1, my_output_rec.attribute1, etc;
exit when my_rc%notfound;
pipe_row (my_output_rec);
end loop;
close my_rc;
return;
end;
/
I don't know it the autonomous transaction pragma is required - but I suspect it is, otherwise it'll throw errors about functions performing DML.
We use code like this to have reporting engines which can't perform procedural logic build the global temporary tables they use (and reuse) in various subreports.
In oracle, an extra table to store intermediate results is very seldom needed. It might help to make things easier to understand. When you are able to write SQL to fill the intermediate table, you can certainly query the rows in a single step without having to waste time by filling a GTT. If you are using pl/sql to populate the GTT, see if this can be corrected to be pure SQL. That will almost certainly give you a performance benefit.
In PL/SQL, I would like to pass in a "source" schema as a parameter to a stored procedure. For instance:
BEGIN
CURSOR my_cursor IS
SELECT my_field FROM <schema>.my_table
...
I want the 'schema' value to come from an input parameter into the stored procedure. Does anyone know how I could do that?
P.S. Sorry if this is a stupid simple question, but I'm new to PL/SQL and must get some functions written quickly.
In addition to what Mark Brady said, another dynamic SQL option is to use a REF CURSOR. Since your sample code includes a cursor this would be the most relevant.
PROCEDURE select_from_schema( the_schema VARCHAR2)
IS
TYPE my_cursor_type IS REF CURSOR;
my_cursor my_cursor_type;
BEGIN
OPEN my_cursor FOR 'SELECT my_field FROM '||the_schema||'.my_table';
-- Do your FETCHes just as with a normal cursor
CLOSE my_cursor;
END;
This has to be done with dynamic sql.
Either the DBMS_SQL package or the Execute Immediate statement.
You can't use variables in the FROM clause.
A potential solution may be to
ALTER SESSION SET Current_Schema = '' <-- the schema you want.
That command changes the default schema. SO if you have a bunch of identically named tables you can save yourself dynamic SQL and make a Dynamic Alter Session.