ANYDATA with Collections based on rowtype - oracle

I just discovered Oracle's ANYDATA and ANYTYPE and thought it would be useful to generic-ify some very repetitive code I have. I tried a very simple code sample that looks like this:
declare
--simple test query
cursor myCurs is
select sysdate from dual;
type t_arr is table of myCurs%rowtype;
v_arr t_arr;
v_anydata ANYDATA;
begin
open myCurs;
fetch myCurs bulk collect into v_arr;
close myCurs;
dbms_output.put_line(v_arr.count || ' records');
v_anydata := ANYDATA.convertCollection(v_arr);
dbms_output.put_line(anydata.gettypename(v_anydata));
end;
/
Running this code gives me the error "ORA-22370: incorrect usage of method ORA-22370 incorrect ussage of method ConvertCollection" (Yes, it actually repeats ORA-22370).
My question is: Is it possible to use ANYDATA on collections of rowtypes? I ask this because all examples I've seen of ANYDATA (so far) with collections use object types, none use rowtypes, but I haven't seen anything (yet) that explicitly says that rowtypes can't be used.
My goal was to clean up some very repetitive bulk-collect/insert code that does the same thing over and over, but with different cursors for different tables.
(Oracle 10g)

ANYDATA works with SQL data_types, i.e. anything you could use to define a table column.
%ROWTYPE is a PL/SQL construct, and so is not recognised by the SQL engine. If you think about the dynamic nature of %ROWTYPE you'll be able to figure out why.
Wanting to clean up repetitive code is a noble idea. I have previously implemented an ETL processor in SQL Types which used a supertype Object to own the generic processing, and subtypes to execute table specific code (such as inserts). These subtypes are completely generatable: not as slick as a dynamic %ROWTYPE implementation would have been, but still easy enough.

Related

User defined table types in Oracle

First of all usually I am working with MSSQL. But I have a stored procedure in MSSQL, which I need to use in Oracle now and since I am absolutely new to Oracle I have no idea at all how to do it correct.
I needed to use user defined table types in my MS SQL stored procedure because I am using "logical" tables in my stored procedure, which I also need to pass them to a dynamic sql statement within this procedure (using column names of "physical" tables as variables/parameters).
I've started to add the oracle function in a package I made before for another function. It looks like
TYPE resultRec IS RECORD
(
[result columns]
);
TYPE resultTable IS TABLE OF resultRec;
Function MyFunctionName([A LOT PARAMETERS]) RETURN resultTable PIPELINED;
I also described the layout of the tables (the user defined table types in MSSQL), which I want to use within this function in this package header.
So far so good, but now I don't really know where I have to declare my table variables or user defined table types. I also tried to put them in the package header, but if I am trying to use these tables in the package body, where I am describing my function, Oracle tells met, that the table or view does not exist.
I also tried it to describe the tables within the package body or in the block of my function, which looks like that:
FUNCTION MyFunctionName
(
[MyParameters]
)
RETURN resultTable PIPELINED is rec resultrec;
TYPE tableVariableA IS TABLE OF tableRecA;
TYPE tableVariableB IS TABLE OF tableRecB;
BEGIN
INSERT INTO tableVariableA
SELECT ColumnA, ColumnB FROM physicalTable WHERE[...];
[A LOT MORE TO DO...]
END;
But in this case Oracle also tells me, that it doesn't know the table or view.
I also tried a few more things, but at the end I wasn't able to tell Oracle what table it should use...
I would appreciate every hint, which helps me to understand how oracle works in this case. Thanks a lot!
You can't insert into a collection (e.g. PL/SQL table). You can use the bulk collect syntax to populate the collection:
SELECT ColumnA, ColumnB
BULK COLLECT INTO tableVariableA
FROM physicalTable
WHERE [...];
However, you might want to check this is an appropriate approach, since SQL Server and Oracle differ quite a bit. You can't use PL/SQL tables in plain SQL (at least prior to 12c), even inside your procedure, so you might need a schema-level type rather than a PL/SQL type, but it depends what you will do next. You might not really want a collection at all. Trying to convert T-SQL straight to PL/SQL without understanding the differences could lead you down a wrong path - make sure you understand the actual requirement and then find the best Oracle mechanism for that.

Restricting dbms_sql to SELECT queries

I am writing a function similar to Tom Kyte's print_table, but with more output options and better formatting, etc., etc. It struck me that writing a function where you could enter arbitrary SQL with authid currentuser -- rather than passing a ref cursor -- was pretty dangerous! However, I need to know the column attributes and, AFAIK, there's no other way of getting this.
Is there a way, therefore, of restricting the dbms_sql.execute function so it only operates on select queries? Or, put another way, is there a way to check the type of DML being parsed through the cursor and then, for example, raise an exception if it's anything other than a select?
Textual analysis of the query (e.g., allowing select or with, but nothing else) wouldn't work, because you could just do print_table('select * from dual; drop someTable'); etc...
(P.S., Oracle 10gR2, if it makes a difference.)

construct an MCD (merise) where a table contain columns from the content of another table

i'am facing a problem while trying to make a conception for a school project.and i have two question.
1/
is it possible with oracle to do something like this : https://mariadb.com/kb/en/dynamic-columns/
2/
how can i make a modelisation for that with an MCD (method merise ).
thanks
Quote from your link: "It works by storing a set of columns in a blob and having a small set of functions to manipulate it.". I don't see an obvious reason why you couldn't write something similar for Oracle (or any other relational database).
Alternatively, take a look at EAV, which is a more traditional solution for dynamic columns.
Sorry, I'm not familiar with Merise.
1/ Oracle is not made for creating dynamic columns, but you can do it by using PL/SQL functions (but not while querying with SQL):
create or replace procedure add_table_column(table_name varchar2, column_name varchar2, column_type varchar2)
is
v_script varchar2(4000);
begin
v_script := 'alter table '||table_name||' add '||column_name||' '||column_type;
execute immediate v_script;
end;
/
You can call it this way:
begin
add_table_column('toto','test','number');
end;
/
2/ Merise method is not made for "dynamic objects" as you must begin with a complete data dictionary.
How is your object dynamic, and why do you have to add columns?
You can always get a solution to work by using "regular" tables and relationships.
It sounds like you should start by analyzing the technical implementation in mind. MERISE says to analyze your data model first and start to think about technical solutions after.

How can I easily use a collection in an Oracle where clause in a package?

It is my understanding that you cannot use a collection in a where clause unless it is defined at the DB level. I have a distinct dislike for random type definitions laying about a schema. It's a religious thing so don't try to dissuade me.
Types contained within a package are cool, because they are easily found and are related to the work at hand. So having said that I have a package that defines a structure (currently a table type collection) that looks like;
TYPE WORD_LIST_ROW IS RECORD(
WORD VARCHAR(255));
TYPE WORD_LIST IS TABLE OF WORD_LIST_ROW;
There is a routine in the package that instantiates and populates an instance of this. It would be useful to be able to use the instantiated object, or some analog therof in a where clause.
So being the clever (or so I thought) programmer, I said why don't I just create a pipelined function to make a table from the collection which I did, and it looks like;
FUNCTION WORD_LIST_TABLE(IN_WORD_LIST WORD_LIST) RETURN WORD_LIST PIPELINED
AS
OUT_WORD_LIST WORD_LIST := WORD_LIST();
BEGIN
FOR I IN 1 .. IN_WORD_LIST.COUNT
LOOP
PIPE ROW(IN_WORD_LIST(I));
END LOOP;
RETURN;
END WORD_LIST_TABLE;
Then in another routine I call the function that builds the collection, finally I use a pipelined function that uses the collection as input in a cursor's where clause.
sort of like this;
cursor xyz
is
select * from x-stuff where fieldA in (select word from table(word_list_table(temp_word_list));
In the loop for the cursor I get an oracle error ora-21700 object does not exist or is marked for delete.
Is there any easy way to build an oracle object that can be used in an Oracle where clause? Basically what I would like to do is;
select * from whatever where fielda in myobject;
The solution is simple - declare the type at schema level using CREATE TYPE statement and you will be able to use your collections in your SQL statements in PL/SQL blocks.
If you have declared your TYPE inside a PL/SQL package you cannot use it in your queries inside PL/SQL blocks.
Also, you must keep in mind that only varray and nested table type collections can be used in queries as of Oracle 11.2 and you cannot use associative arrays in queries.. In 12c you don't have these restrictions.
For further reference go to Oracle Docs.

10g Package Construction - Restricting References

I am constructing a rather large Oracle 10g package full of functions etc.
The problem is some of these functions are pulling information from materilized view's or tables that other functions are creating.
Is there a way to successfully compile a package even though some of the functions cannot find the information they are looking for (But these functions will work once the views have been created?).
Attempts:
I have looked into PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCES but have had no success so far. Am I even on the right track or is this not even possible?
You cannot refer using static SQL to objects that do not exist when the code is compiled. There is nothing you can do about that.
You would need to modify your code to use dynamic SQL to refer to any object that is created at runtime. You can probably use EXECUTE IMMEDIATE, i.e.
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE
'SELECT COUNT(*) FROM new_mv_name'
INTO l_cnt;
rather than
SELECT COUNT(*)
INTO l_cnt
FROM new_mv_name;
That being said, however, I would be extremely dubious about a PL/SQL implementation that involved creating any new tables and materialized views at runtime. That is almost always a mistake in Oracle. Why do you need to create new objects at runtime?

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