About PL/SQL

• PL/SQL is an extension to SQL with

design features of programming
languages.
• Data manipulation and query
statements of SQL are included within
procedural units of code.

1
 Benefits of PL/SQL

Integration

Application

Shared Oracle Server

library

2
 Benefits of PL/SQL
Improved Performance

SQL
SQL
Application Other DBMSs
SQL
SQL

SQL
IF...THEN
SQL Oracle with
Application ELSE PL/SQL
SQL
END IF;
SQL

3
 Benefits of PL/SQL
Modularize program development
DECLARE

BEGIN

EXCEPTION

END;

4
 Benefits of PL/SQL

• You can program with procedural

language control structures.
• It can handle errors.
• It is portable.
• You can declare identifiers.

5
 PL/SQL Block Structure

• DECLARE – Optional
– Variables, cursors, user-defined
exceptions
• BEGIN – Mandatory
– SQL statements
– PL/SQL statements
• EXCEPTION – Optional
DECLARE
– Actions to perform when
errors occur BEGIN
• END; – Mandatory
EXCEPTION

END;

6
 Block Types
Anonymous Procedure Function
[DECLARE] PROCEDURE name FUNCTION name
IS RETURN datatype
IS
BEGIN BEGIN BEGIN
--statements --statements --statements
RETURN value;
[EXCEPTION] [EXCEPTION] [EXCEPTION]

END; END; END;

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 Program Constructs
Stored
Anonymous
procedure/
block
DECLARE function

BEGIN Application
Application
procedure/
trigger
function
EXCEPTION

Database
END; Packaged
procedure/
trigger
function

8
 Use of Variables

Use variables for:

• Temporary storage of data
• Manipulation of stored values
• Reusability
• Ease of maintenance

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 Handling Variables in PL/SQL

• Declare and initialize variables in the

declaration section.
• Assign new values to variables in the
executable section.
• Pass values into PL/SQL blocks through
parameters.
• View results through output variables.

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 Types of Variables

• PL/SQL variables:
– Scalar
– Composite
– Reference
– LOB (large objects)
• Non-PL/SQL variables: Bind and host
variables

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 Declaring PL/SQL Variables

Syntax
identifier [CONSTANT] datatype [NOT NULL]
[:= | DEFAULT expr];

Examples
Declare
v_hiredate DATE;
v_deptno NUMBER(2) NOT NULL := 10;
v_location VARCHAR2(13) := 'Atlanta';
c_comm CONSTANT NUMBER := 1400;

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 Declaring PL/SQL Variables

Guidelines
• Follow naming conventions.
• Initialize variables designated as NOT
NULL.
• Initialize identifiers by using the
assignment operator (:=) or the
DEFAULT reserved word.

13
 Naming Rules
• Two variables can have the same name,
provided they are in different blocks.
• The variable name (identifier) should
not be the same as the name of table
columns used in the block.
DECLARE
empno NUMBER(4);
BEGIN
SELECT empno
INTO empno
FROM emp
WHERE ename = 'SMITH';
END;

14
 Assigning Values to Variables
Syntax
identifier := expr;

Examples
Set a predefined hiredate for new
employees.
v_hiredate := '31-DEC-98';

Set the employee name to “Maduro.”

v_ename := 'Maduro';

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 Variable Initialization and
Keywords
Using:
• Assignment operator (:=)
• DEFAULT keyword
• NOT NULL constraint

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 Base Scalar Datatypes
• VARCHAR2 (maximum_length)
• NUMBER [(precision, scale)]
• DATE
• CHAR [(maximum_length)]
• LONG
• LONG RAW
• BOOLEAN
• BINARY_INTEGER
• PLS_INTEGER
17
 Scalar Variable Declarations

Examples
v_job VARCHAR2(9);
v_count BINARY_INTEGER := 0;
v_total_sal NUMBER(9,2) := 0;
v_orderdate DATE := SYSDATE + 7;
c_tax_rate CONSTANT NUMBER(3,2) := 8.25;
v_valid BOOLEAN NOT NULL := TRUE;

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 The %TYPE Attribute

• Declare a variable according to:

– A database column definition
– Another previously declared variable
• Prefix %TYPE with:
– The database table and column
– The previously declared variable
name

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 Declaring Variables
with the %TYPE Attribute

Examples
...
v_ename emp.ename%TYPE;
v_balance NUMBER(7,2);
v_min_balance v_balance%TYPE := 10;
...

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 Declaring Boolean Variables
• Only the values TRUE, FALSE, and
NULL can be assigned to a Boolean
variable.
• The variables are connected by the
logical operators AND, OR, and NOT.
• The variables always yield TRUE,
FALSE, or NULL.
• Arithmetic, character, and date
expressions can be used to return a
Boolean value.

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 Composite Datatypes

• PL/SQL TABLES
• PL/SQL RECORDS

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 LOB Datatype Variables
Recipe
(CLOB)

Photo
(BLOB)

Movie
(BFILE)

NCLOB

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 Bind Variables

O/S
Bind Variable
Server

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 Referencing Non-PL/SQL
Variables
Store the annual salary into a SQL*Plus
host variable.
Reference non-PL/SQL variables as host
variables.
• Prefix the references with a colon (:).
Variable v number;
BEGIN
:v := v_sal / 12;
END;
/
Print v;

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 DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE

• An Oracle-supplied packaged procedure

• An alternative for displaying data from a
PL/SQL block
• Must be enabled in SQL*Plus with
SET SERVEROUTPUT ON

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