Index Oracle SQL

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Chapter13.Indexes,Sequences,andViewsOracleSQLbyExample,FourthEdition
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Chapter 13. Indexes, Sequences, and Views
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Chapter 13. Indexes, Sequences, and Views
CHA P TE ROB J E CTIV E S

Inthischapter,youwilllearnabout:
Indexes
Sequences
Views
Thischaptercoversthreedifferentyetveryimportantdatabaseobjects:
indexes,sequences,andviews.Indexesarerequiredforgood
performanceofanydatabase.Awellthoughtoutindexingstrategy
entailsthecarefulplacementofindexesonrelevantcolumns.Inthis
chapter,youwillgainanunderstandingabouttheadvantagesandtrade
offswhenusingindexesontables.
Sequencesgenerateuniquevaluesandareusedmainlyforcreating
primarykeyvalues.Inthischapter,youwilllearnhowtocreateanduse
sequences.
Viewsaresignificantinadatabasebecausetheycanproviderowlevel
andcolumnlevelsecuritytothedatatheyallowyoutolookatthedata
differentlyand/ordisplayonlyspecificinformationtotheuser.Views
arealsousefulforsimplifyingthewritingofqueriesforendusers
becausetheycanhidethecomplexitiesofjoinsandconditional
statements.
LAB 13.1 INDEXES
LA B OB J E CTIV E S
Afterthislab,youwillbeableto:
CreateIndexes
UnderstandtheImpactofIndexes
Toachievegoodperformancefordataretrievalanddatamanipulation
statements,youneedtounderstandOraclesuseofindexes.Justasyou
usetheindexinthebackofabooktoquicklyfindinformation,Oracle
usesindexestospeedupdataretrieval.Iftheappropriateindexdoesnot
existonatable,Oracleneedstoexamineeveryrow.Thisiscalledafull
tablescan.
Ifanindexdecreasesquerytime,whynotjustindexeverycolumnina
table?Whenyouretrievealargenumberofrowsinatable,itmightbe
moreefficienttoreadtheentiretableratherthanlookupthevaluesfrom
theindex.Italsotakesasignificantamountoftimeandstoragespaceto
buildandmaintainanindex.ForeachDMLstatementthatchangesa
valueinanindexedcolumn,theindexneedstobemaintained.
The B-Tree Index
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Inthisbook,youwillperformexercisesrelatedtoOraclesmostpopular
indexstoragestructuretheBtreeindex.Themeritsandusesofanother
typeofindex,thebitmapindex,arediscussedbrieflyattheendofthelab
thistypeofindexcanbecreatedonlyinOraclesEnterpriseServer
Edition.
TheBtree(balancedtree)indexisbyfarthemostcommontypeofindex.
Itprovidesexcellentperformanceincircumstancesinwhichthereare
manydistinctvaluesonacolumnorcolumns.Ifyouhaveseverallow
selectivitycolumns,youcanalsoconsidercombiningthemintoone
compositeindex,alsocalledaconcatenatedindex.Btreeindexesarebest
forexactmatchandrangesearchesagainstbothsmallandverylarge
tables.
Figure13.1showsthestructureofaBtreeindex.Itlookslikeaninverted
treeandconsistsoftwotypesofblocks:root/branchblocksandleaf
blocks.Rootorbranchblocksareusedforstoringthekeytogetherwitha
pointertothechildblockcontainingthekeyleafblocksstorethekey
valuesalongwiththeROWID,whichisthephysicalstoragelocationfor
thedatainthetable.
Figure13.1Btreeindex
Searching for Values in a B-Tree Index
ThefirststepinsearchingforvaluesinaBtreeindexistostartwiththe
rootblockoftheindex.Thesearchedvalueiscomparedwiththeroot
blockkeys.Forexample,ifyouarelookingforastudentwiththelast
nameEssner,youmustgodowntherootblock<L.Thisblockpointsto
thenextleafblocks,whicharegreaterthanDaandlessthanJigoing
downonthisleafblock,youfindthevalueEssnerandtheassociated
ROWID,thephysicaladdressoftherow.Aleafblockalsocontainslinks
tothenextandpreviousleafblocks,whichallowscanningtheindexfor
ranges.
The ROWID Pseudocolumn
Apseudocolumnisnotanactualcolumn,butitactslikeone.Oneofthe
pseudocolumnsyouhavealreadyusedisROWNUM,whichrestrictsthe
numberofrowsaqueryreturns.TheROWIDpseudocolumnisaunique
addresstoaparticularrow,andeveryrowhasaROWID.
IndexesstoretheROWIDtoretrieverowsquicklybecausetheROWID
consistsofseveralcomponents:thedataobjectnumber,thenumberof
thedatablock,thenumberofrowswithinthedatablock,andthedatafile
number.Thedatablockandthedatafiledefinethephysicalstorage
characteristicsofdatawithintheindividualOracledatabase.Thisallows
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youtoquicklyaccessthephysicalrow.Followingisanexampleofa
ROWIDvalue.
AROWIDisalwaysunique.Itisthefastestwaytoaccessa
row.
RatherthanmakeOraclesearchthroughtheindex,youcanusethe
ROWIDinUPDATEstatementstodirectlyaccesstherow.Forexample,
becausetheROWIDofthestudentnamedRadicolaisalreadyselectedas
partofthequery,asubsequentupdatetothenameofthestudentcanfind
therowinthetableimmediately,withouthavingtoscantheentiretable
oruseanindex.
YoucannotupdatetheROWID,buttheROWIDmaychangeifyoufirst
deletetherowandthenreinserttherowbecauseitcannowbeplacedin
anotherphysicallocation.Ifyourtablemovestoanotherdatabase
instanceoranotherschema,theROWIDwillbedifferent.
AsyoulearnedinChapter11,Insert,Update,andDelete,itisalways
goodpracticetoincludetheoldvaluesintheWHEREclauseofUPDATE
toensurethatanothersessionoruserhasnotchangedthenameinthe
meantime.
Creating an Index
Youcreateanindexbyusingthefollowinggeneralsyntax.
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ThefollowingstatementcreatesanindexnamedSECT_LOCATION_I
ontheLOCATIONcolumnoftheSECTIONtable.
AsubsequentquerytofindalltheclassesheldinLOCATIONL206can
takeadvantageofthisindex.Oraclelooksupthevalueintheindex.This
retrievestherowfasterthanreadingeveryrow,particularlyifthetable
hasmanyrecords.
Composite Indexes
Sometimes,itisusefultobuildindexesbasedonmultiplecolumnsthis
typeofindexiscalledacompositeindex,orconcatenatedindex.For
example,youcancreateacompositeindexontwocolumnswithalow
selectivity(thatis,notmanydistinctvalues).Thecombinationofthese
lowselectivityvaluesmakesthecompositeindexmoreselective.When
youcomparethequeryaccesstimeofacompositeindextothatoftwo
individualsinglecolumnindexes,youfindthatthecompositeindex
offersbetterperformance.
Thefollowingstatementcreatesacompositeindexonthecolumns
DESCRIPTIONandCOST.Thefirstcolumnoftheindex,alsocalledthe
leadingedgeoftheindex,istheDESCRIPTIONcolumnthesecond
columnoftheindexistheCOSTcolumn.
CREATEINDEXcourse_description_cost_i
ONcourse(description,cost)
ColumnsthatareusedtogetherfrequentlyinaWHEREclauseand
combinedwiththeANDlogicaloperatorareoftengoodcandidatesfora
compositeindex,particularlyiftheircombinedselectivityishigh.The
orderoftheindividualcolumnsintheindexcanaffectquery
performance.ChoosethecolumnyouusemostfrequentlyintheWHERE
clausefirst.Ifbothcolumnsareaccessedwithequalfrequency,then
choosethecolumnwiththehighestselectivity.Inthisexample,theCOST
columnhasveryfewdistinctvaluesandisthereforeconsideredalow
selectivitycolumnaccessagainstanindexwithalowselectivitycolumn
astheleadingedgerequiresmoreindexblockreadsandisthereforeless
desirable.
Therearesomecaveatsaboutcompositeindexesyoumustknowabout
whenwritingqueries.WhenexecutedinOracleversionspriorto9i,a
querysuchasthefollowing,usingtheCOSTcolumnintheWHERE
clause,cannotusetheCOURSE_DESCRIPTION_COST_Iindexbecause
itisnottheleadingedgeoftheindex.
However,Oraclecanuseatechniquecalledskipscan,whichmayusethe
indexnonetheless.Asyouworkyourwaythroughthislab,youwilllearn
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moreaboutthisfeature.
Tofindoutwhatcolumnsofatableareindexedandtheorderofthe
columnsinanindex,youcanquerythedatadictionaryviews
USER_INDEXESandUSER_IND_COLUMNSorreviewtheIndexestab
inSQLDeveloperfortherespectivetable.
NULLs and Indexes

NULLvaluesarenotstoredinaBtreeindex,unlessitisacomposite
indexwhereatleastthefirstcolumnoftheindexcontainsavalue.The
followingquerydoesnotmakeuseofthesinglecolumnindexonthe
FIRST_NAMEcolumn.
Functions and Indexes

Evenwhenyoucreateanindexononeormultiplecolumnsofatable,
Oraclemaynotbeabletouseit.Inthenextscenario,assumethatthe
LAST_NAMEcolumnoftheSTUDENTtableisindexed.Thefollowing
SQLqueryappliestheUPPERfunctionontheLAST_NAMEcolumn.You
canusethisWHEREclauseexpressionifyoudontknowhowthelast
nameisstoredinthecolumnitmaybestoredwiththefirstinitialin
uppercase,inalluppercase,orperhapsinmixedcase.Thisquerydoes
nottakeadvantageoftheindexbecausethecolumnismodifiedbya
function.
Youcanavoidthisbehaviorbycreatingafunctionbasedindexinstead,
asinthefollowingexample.Thisallowsforcaseinsensitivesearcheson
theLAST_NAMEcolumn.
CREATEINDEXstud_last_name_i
ONstudent(UPPER(last_name))
Indexes and Tablespaces

Tooptimizeperformance,itisimportantthatyouseparateindexesfrom
databyplacingtheminseparatetablespaces,residingondifferent
physicaldevices.Thissignificantlyimprovestheperformanceofyour
queries.Usethefollowingstatementtocreateanindexnamed
SECT_LOCATION_IonatablespacecalledINDEX_TX,withaninitial
sizeof500Kand100Kinsizeforeachsubsequentextent.
Thestorageclauseofindexesissimilartothestorageclausediscussedin
Chapter12,Create,Alter,andDropTableshowever,thePCTUSED
parameterisnotapplicableforindexes.Ifyouwanttoseealistof
tablespacesaccessibletoyou,querythedatadictionaryview
USER_TABLESPACES.
Unique Index Versus Unique Constraint
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Attimesyoumightwanttoenforceauniquecombinationofthevaluesin
atable(forexample,theCOURSE_NOandSECTION_NOcolumnsofthe
SECTIONtable).Youcancreateauniqueconstraintonthetablethat
automaticallycreatesauniqueindex.
OryoucanusetheCREATEUNIQUEINDEXcommand.
Oracleprefersthatyouusetheuniqueconstraintsyntaxforfuture
compatibility.
Indexes and Constraints

Whenyoucreateaprimarykeyconstraintorauniqueconstraint,Oracle
createstheindexautomaticallyunlessasuitableindexalreadyexists.In
Chapter12,youlearnedaboutvarioussyntaxoptionsyoucanuse.
TheindexNEW_TERM_PKiscreatedaspartoftheCREATETABLE
statementandisassociatedwiththeprimarykeyconstraint.
Theadvantageofusingthissyntaxisthatyoucancreateanindexinthe
samestatementoftheCREATETABLEcommand,wherebyyouhave
controloverthestoragecharacteristicsoftheindex.Itdoesntrequire
twoseparatestatements:aCREATETABLEstatementandanALTER
TABLEstatementthataddstheconstraintandtheindexplusstorage
clause.
Ifyoualreadyhaveanexistingindexandyouwanttoassociatea
constraintwithit,youcanuseastatementsimilartothefollowing.It
assumesanexistingindexcalledSEMESTER_SEMESTER_ID_I,based
ontheSEMESTER_IDcolumn.
Thenextstatementshowsanexampleofauniqueconstraintthatis
associatedwithauniqueindex.
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Whendisablingauniqueorprimarykey,youcankeepthe
indexifyouspecifytheKEEPINDEXclauseinanALTER
TABLEstatement(seeChapter12).
Indexes and Foreign Keys

Youshouldalmostalwaysindexforeignkeysbecausetheyarefrequently
usedinjoins.Inaddition,ifyouintendtodeleteorupdateuniqueor
primarykeysontheparenttable,youshouldindextheforeignkeysto
improvethelockingofchildrecords.Foreignkeysthatarenotindexed
requirelockstobeplacedontheentirechildtablewhenaparentrowis
deletedortheprimaryoruniquekeysoftheparenttableareupdated.
Thispreventsanyinsertions,updates,anddeletionsontheentirechild
tableuntiltherowiscommittedorrolledback.Theadvantageofan
indexontheforeignkeycolumnisthatthelocksareplacedonthe
affectedindexedchildrows,thusnotlockinguptheentirechildtable.
Thisismoreefficientandallowsdatamanipulationofchildrowsnot
affectedbytheupdatesanddeletionsoftheparenttable.
Thiskeyissuehascausedheadachesformanyunwittingprogrammers
whospentdaysreviewingtheircodeforperformanceimprovements.The
lackofaforeignindexkeyfrequentlyturnsouttobetheculpritforthe
slowperformanceofupdatesanddeletions.
Dropping an Index
Todropanindex,usetheDROPINDEXcommand.Youmightdropan
indexifqueriesinyourapplicationsdonotutilizetheindex.Youfindout
whichindexesareusedbyqueryingtheV$OBJECT_USAGEdata
dictionaryview.
DROPINDEXsect_location_i
Indexdropped.
Whenyoudropatable,allassociatedindexesaredropped
automatically.
Bitmap Indexes
Oraclesupportsbitmapindexes,whicharetypicallyusedinadata
warehousewheretheprimarygoalisqueryingandanalyzingdata,with
bulkdataloadsoccurringatcertainintervals.Bitmapindexesarenot
suitablefortableswithheavydatamanipulationactivitybymanyusers
becauseanysuchchangesonthistypeofindexmaysignificantlyslow
downthetransactions.Abitmapindexistypicallyusedoncolumnswitha
verylowselectivitythatis,columnswithveryfewdistinctvalues.For
example,acolumnsuchasGENDERwiththefourdistinctvalues
female,male,unknown,andnotapplicable(incaseofalegalentitysuch
asacorporation)hasaverylowselectivity.
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Alowselectivityisexpressedasthenumberofdistinctvaluesasatotal
againstalltherowsinthedatabase.Forexample,ifyouhad9,000
distinctvaluesinatablewithonemillionrows,itwouldbeconsidereda
lowselectivitycolumn.Inthisscenario,thenumberofdistinctvalues
representslessthan1percentoftheentirerowsinthetable,andthis
columnmaybeaviablecolumnchoiceforabitmapindex.
Figure13.2illustratestheconceptofabitmapindex.Theexampleshows
ahypotheticalCUSTOMERtablewithabitmapindexontheGENDER
column.ThebitmapindextranslatesthedistinctvaluesfortheGENDER
columnofindividualcustomers.Inthissimplifiedexample,the
customerswiththeIDs1and2haveGENDER=F,whichmakesthebit
turnedonto1.Theothervalues,suchasGENDER=M,GENDER=N/A,
andGENDER=UNKNOWN,havea0,indicatingthatthesevaluesare
nottruefortherow.Thenextcustomer,withtheIDof3,hasthe1bit
turnedonGENDER=M,theothervaluesarezero.
Figure13.2Abitmapindex
ThefollowingstatementcreatesabitmapindexontheGENDERcolumn
ofaCUSTOMERtable.
CREATEBITMAPINDEXcustomer_bm_gender_i
ONcustomer(gender)
Ifyouhavemultiplebitmapindexes,suchasoneforGENDER,
MARITALSTATUS,andZIP,andyouneedtoretrieverowsbasedon
certainANDandORconditions,thenbitmapindexesperformveryfast.
Theyquicklycompareandmergethebitsettingsoftheseconditionsand
arethereforehighlyeffectiveforlargetables.Bitmapindexesrequire
lessstoragespacethantraditionalBtreeindexes,buttheydonot
performaswellforlessthanorgreaterthancomparisons.Bitmap
indexesareavailableonlywithOraclesEnterpriseEdition.
Bitmap Join Indexes

Thebitmapjoinindexisanothertypeofindexthatreducestheamountof
datatobejoinedduringaquery.Essentially,itprecomputesthejoinand
storestheresultinabitmapthistypeofindexisusefulindata
warehousingenvironments.Thefollowingstatementshowsthecreation
ofsuchanindex.
Guidelines for When to Index
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YouwanttoconsiderindexingcolumnsfrequentlyusedintheWHERE
clauseofSQLstatementsandforeignkeycolumns.Oracleautomatically
createsauniqueindextoenforcetheprimarykeyconstraintandthe
uniqueconstraint.Thefollowingaresomegeneralguidelineswhenan
indexistypicallyuseful.
FrequentlyaccessedcolumnscontaininghighlyselectivedataforBtree
indexes.
Columnsfrequentlyaccessedwithasmallrangeofvaluesforbitmap
indexes.
Columnsthatarefrequentlyaccessedandthatcontainmanynull
values,butthequeryislookingfortheNOTNULLvalues.
Frequentqueriesagainstlargetablesretrievinglessthan5to15
percentoftherows.Thepercentagemayvary,dependingonanumberof
factors,includingthesizeofthetable.
Buildinganindexisoftenuselessif:
Thetableissmall,butyoushouldneverthelesscreateuniqueand
primaryconstraintstoenforcebusinessrules.
Thequeryretrievesmorethan5to15percentoftherows.
Theindexedcolumnispartofanexpression.Inthiscase,consider
creatingafunctionbasedindexinstead.
InChapter18,SQLOptimization,youlllearntoverifythatSQL
statementsissuedactuallyuseanindex.
Althoughaddingindexesmayimproveperformanceofcertainqueries,
youmustrealizethatOraclemayusethisnewindexforotherqueriesthat
previouslyusedadifferentindex.Thisrarelyhasanadverseeffect,but
youmustneverthelessmakecertainthatyouroverallapplication
performancedoesnotsufferbecauseofthischange.
Keepinmindthataddingindexesmayincreasethetimerequiredfor
datamanipulationoperations,suchasINSERT,UPDATE,andDELETE.
Ifyouprimarilyquerythetable,thencreatingtheindexmayoffsetthe
disadvantageofadditionaltimerequiredforDMLstatements.
Altering an Index
Anumberofsyntaxoptionsletyouchangevariouscharacteristicsofan
index,suchasrenamingorrebuildingtheindexoralteringthestorage
clause.Thefollowingaresomeofthegeneralsyntaxoptions.
ThefollowingSQLstatementshowstherebuildofanindex.Periodically,
youneedtorebuildanindextocompactthedataandbalancetheindex
tree.Thisisparticularlyimportantafterdataissubjecttoalargenumber
ofDMLchangestherebuildoperationwillimprovetheperformanceof
thequeries.UsingtheindexREBUILDoptionisfasterthandroppingand
recreatingtheindexfurthermore,theindexcontinuestobeavailable
forquerieswhiletheREBUILDoperationisinprogress.
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ALTERINDEXstu_zip_fk_iREBUILD
Indexaltered.
BecauseaDDLcommandrequiresexclusiveaccesstothetableorindex,
othersessionsissuinganyDMLcommandspreventsuchchanges.
Therefore,datastructurechangesareusuallyperformedduringtimes
whenusersarenotaccessingthesystem.However,youcancreateor
rebuildindexeswiththeONLINEoptionwhileusersareperforming
DMLcommands.
ALTERINDEXstu_zip_fk_iREBUILDONLINE
Invisible Indexes
Oracle11gaddedtheabilitytomakeanindexinvisible.TheOracle
optimizer,whichevaluatesthebestandmostefficientaccesspathfora
SQLstatement,ignorestheindex.Thisfeaturemaycomeinhandyifyou
considerremovingapossiblyunusedindexwithoutdroppingittoensure
thatthereisnotanadverseimpactonyourapplication.Ifitturnsoutthat
theindexisrequiredafterall,itiseasytomaketheindexvisibleagain
withouthavingtospendtimeandcomputingresourcestorecreateit.
Anotherpossibleuseofthisfeatureiswhenyouwanttousetheindex
onlyforcertainapplicationsthatfindthisindexuseful.These
applicationscanexecuteanALTERSESSIONcommandandmakethe
indexvisible.
ALTERSESSION
SETOPTIMIZER_USE_INVISIBLE_INDEXES=TRUE
Althoughtheindexmaybeinvisibletousers,DMLoperationsstillhave
tomaintaintheinvisibleindex.Theindexstillremainshowever,the
indexisnolongerusedbyOraclesoptimizer.
Tochangethevisibilityonanindex,usethefollowingsyntax.
ALTERINDEXindexnameINVISIBLE
ALTERINDEXindexnameVISIBLE
Youcanalsocreateanindexasinvisible.
CREATEINDEXindexname
ONtablename(columnname)INVISIBLE
Loading Large Amounts of Data

Whenyouinsertorupdatelargeamountsofdata,youmightwantto
considerdroppingcertainindexesnotusedfortheDMLoperations
WHEREclausetoimproveperformance.Aftertheoperationiscomplete,
youcanrecreatetheappropriateindexes.
OnefastwaytorecreateindexesisbyusingtheNOLOGGINGoption.It
avoidswritingtotheredolog,whichkeepstrackofallthedatabase
changes.Ifyouincurafataldatabaseerrorandyouneedtorecoverfrom
theredolog,theindexwillnotberecovered.Thismaybefinebecausean
indexcanalwaysberecreated.
YoucanalsocreateanindexbyusingthePARALLELoption.Thisallows
parallelscansofthetabletocreatetheindexandcanmakeindex
creationmuchfaster,providedthatyouhavetheappropriatehardware
configuration,suchasmultipleCPUs.
Indexes and SQL Developer
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SQLDeveloperallowsyoutoeasilydeterminetheexistingindexesand
theirindexedcolumnsonagiventable.Whenyoudoubleclickoneofthe
tablesandreviewtheIndexestab,youseealistsimilartotheoneshown
inFigure13.3.Thisexampleshowsalistofindexesforthe
ENROLLMENTtable.Thetabledisplaystheprimarykeyindex
consistingofthetwocolumns.ThesecondindexisontheSECTION_ID
column,whichisaforeignkeycolumn.
Figure13.3ListofindexesfortheENROLLMENTtable
AnotherwaytoaccessindexinformationinSQLDeveloperistousethe
IndexesnodeintheConnectionspane.Tocreateanewindexyouright
clickontheIndexesnodeandselecttheNewIndexmenuchoice.This
willbringupascreensimilartoFigure13.4.Youchoosetheindexed
columnsatthebottomofthescreen.TheOrderdropdownboxonthe
rightofthecolumnnameorexpressionallowsforASCorDESCordering
ofthecolumnswithintheindex.Thiscanbeusefulwhenyouexpectto
retrievetheresultcolumnsinthisorder.
Figure13.4CreateIndexscreeninSQLDeveloper
YoucanfindanumberofdifferentindexoptionsbyusingSQL
Developersmenuscreenswhenyourightclickonaspecificindex(see
Figure13.5).
Figure13.5Menuoptionsforanindex
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Table13.1highlightsthefunctionalityandpurposeofeachmenuoption.
Table13.1OverviewofSQLDeveloperIndexRelatedMenu
Choices
Indexes and Statistics

TheOracleoptimizermakesadeterminationonhowtoexecuteyourSQL
statement.Ifanindexexists,theoptimizerevaluateswhethertheindex
isusefulinachievinggoodperformance.Becausetherearesomany
variableswhendetermininghowtobestprocessaSQLstatement,the
Oracleoptimizerreliesonstatisticsaboutthetablesandindexes,suchas
thenumberofrowsandthenumberofdistinctcolumnvalues,among
othervariables.
Thesestatisticsneedtobeupdatedperiodicallytoensuregoodjudgment
bytheoptimizer.WithOracleversion10gandabove,whenyoucreatean
index,Oracleautomaticallycollectsthestatistics.Youcanseethe
informationintheStatisticstabofthegivenindexwithinSQLDeveloper
(seeFigure13.6).
Figure13.6TheStatisticstabfortheSECT_LOCATION_Iindex
inSQLDeveloper
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TheIndexDetailstabismuchliketheDetailstabforatable.Onit,you
findinformationsuchasthestorageparameters,thedatecreated,and
thedatetheindexwaslastanalyzedthistabprimarilyreflectsdatafrom
thedatadictionaryviewALL_INDEXES.
ThePartitionstabshowswhethertheindexissplitintomultiple
partitionsthatcanbemanagedindependently.Indexandtable
partitioningareusefulforlargescaledatabases.
Lab 13.1 Exercises

a )CreateanindexonthePHONEcolumnoftheSTUDENTtable.
DroptheindexafteryousuccessfullycreateittoreturntheSTUDENT
schematoitsoriginalstate.
b )CreateacompositeindexontheFIRST_NAMEandLAST_NAME
columnsoftheSTUDENTtable.Droptheindexwhenyouhavefinished.
c )CreateanindexontheDESCRIPTIONcolumnoftheCOURSE
table.NotethatqueriesagainstthetableoftenusetheUPPERfunction.
Droptheindexafteryousuccessfullycreateit.
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d )ExecutethefollowingSQLstatements.Explainthereasonforthe
error.
e )WouldaBtreeindexworkonafrequentlyaccessedcolumnwith
fewdistinctvalues?Explain.
f )Listtheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofindexesonperformance.
g )AssumethatanindexexistsonthecolumnENROLL_DATEinthe
ENROLLMENTtable.Changethefollowingquerysoitusesthatindex.
Lab 13.1 Exercise Answers

a )CreateanindexonthePHONEcolumnoftheSTUDENTtable.
DroptheindexafteryousuccessfullycreateittoreturntheSTUDENT
schematoitsoriginalstate.
ANSWER:Tocreatetheindexonthetable,issueaCREATEINDEX
statement.
Includethenameofthetableandtheindexedcolumn(s)intheindex
namethisconventionallowseasieridentificationofindexesandtheir
respectivecolumnsinaparticulartable.Asalways,youcanuseSQL
Developertoreviewtheindexlistingsorquerythedatadictionaryviews
USER_INDEXESandUSER_IND_COLUMNS.Rememberthatno
databaseobjectsname,suchasanindex,cannotbelongerthan30
characters.
Todroptheindex,simplyissuetheDROPINDEXcommand.
DROPINDEXstu_phone_i
Indexdropped.
b )CreateacompositeindexontheFIRST_NAMEandLAST_NAME
columnsoftheSTUDENTtable.Droptheindexwhenyouhavefinished.
ANSWER:Therearetwopossiblesolutionsforcreatingacomposite
indexusingtheFIRST_NAMEandLAST_NAMEcolumns.
Acomposite,orconcatenated,indexisanindexthatconsistsofmore
thanonecolumn.Dependingonhowyouaccessthetable,youneedto
orderthecolumnsintheindexaccordingly.
Todeterminethebestcolumnorderintheindex,determinethe
selectivityofeachcolumn.Thismeansdetermininghowmanydistinct
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valueseachcolumnhas.Youalsoneedtodeterminewhattypesofqueries
towriteagainstthetable.Allthisinformationhelpsyouchoosethebest
columnorderfortheindex.
Solution 1
TheindexiscreatedintheorderFIRST_NAME,LAST_NAME.
CREATEINDEXstu_first_last_name_i
ONstudent(first_name,last_name)
ThisindexisusedinaSQLstatementifyoureferintheWHEREclause
toeitherbothcolumnsortheFIRST_NAMEcolumn.Oraclecanaccess
theindexiftheWHEREclauseliststheleadingcolumnoftheindex.The
leadingcolumn,alsocalledtheleadingedge,oftheaforementioned
indexistheFIRST_NAMEcolumn.IftheWHEREclauseofaSQL
statementlistsonlytheLAST_NAMEcolumn,theSQLstatementcannot
accesstheindex.Forexample,thenexttwoWHEREclausesdonotuse
theindex.
WHERElast_name='Smith'
WHERElast_nameLIKE'Sm%'
Solution 2
TheindexiscreatedintheorderLAST_NAME,FIRST_NAME.The
LAST_NAMEcolumnistheleadingcolumnoftheindex.
CREATEINDEXstu_last_first_name_i
ONstudent(last_name,first_name)
ThisindexisusedinaSQLstatementifyouquerybothcolumnsorthe
LAST_NAMEcolumn.IfaWHEREclauseinaSQLstatementlistsonly
theFIRST_NAMEcolumn,Oracledoesnotusetheindexbecauseitisnot
theleadingcolumnoftheindex.
Composite Indexes versus Individual Indexes
Analternativetousingacompositeindexistocreatetwoseparate
indexes:onefortheFIRST_NAMEcolumnandonefortheLAST_NAME
column.
ASQLstatementwithoneofthecolumnsintheWHEREclauseusesthe
appropriateindex.InacasewherebothcolumnsareusedintheWHERE
clause,Oracletypicallymergesthetwoindexestogethertoretrievethe
rows.Why,then,haveconcatenatedindexesatall?Acompositeindex
outperformsindividualcolumnindexes,providedthatallthecolumnsare
referencedintheWHEREclause.
Skip Scan
Afeaturecalledskipscanallowstheskippingoftheleadingedgeofan
index.Duringaskipscan,theBtreeindexisprobedforthedistinct
valuesoftheleadingedgecolumn.Ideallyinsuchascenario,thecolumn
hasonlyveryfewdistinctvalues.InthecaseoftheFIRST_NAMEand
LAST_NAMEcolumns,therearemanydifferentvalues,whichmeansthe
Oracleoptimizerwillprobablynotusetheskipscanfeature.
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Askipscanisnotasfastasanindexlookupbecauseforeachdistinct
leadingedgevalue,theindexneedstobeprobed.Butifnoleadingedge
indexexists,theskipscanfeaturecanallowqueriestousethecomposite
indexinsteadofreadingtheentiretable.
Asecondbenefitoftheskipscanfeatureisthereducedneedforindexes
fewerindexesrequirelessstoragespaceandthereforeresultinbetter
performanceofDMLstatements.
Skipscanisnotsupportedforbitmapandfunctionbased
indexes.
Thedatabasedesigner,togetherwiththeapplicationdeveloper,decides
howtostructuretheindexestomakethemmostuseful,basedontheSQL
statementsissued.MakesuretoverifythatOracleactuallyusestheindex
inyourstatementyoucandothiswiththehelpofanexplainplan,as
discussedinChapter18.
Assumethatonagiventable,youcreateacompositeindexoncolumnsA,
B,andC,inthisorder.Tomakeuseoftheindex,specifyintheWHERE
clauseeithercolumnAcolumnsAandBcolumnsA,B,andCor
columnsAandC.QuerieslistingcolumnConly,orBonly,orBandC
onlydonotusetheindexbecausetheyarenotleadingedgecolumns.
Todeterminethebestorder,againthinkaboutthetypesofqueriesissued
andtheselectivityofeachcolumn.Thefollowingthreeindexescoverall
thequerypossibilities.Thissolutionrequirestheleastamountofstorage
andoffersthebestoverallperformance.
Yourqueriesmaytakebeabletotakeadvantageoftheskipscanfeature,
andyoumaynotneedtobuildasmanyindexes.Youmusttestyour
statementscarefullytoensureadequateperformance.
c )CreateanindexontheDESCRIPTIONcolumnoftheCOURSE
table.NotethatqueriesagainstthetableoftenusetheUPPERfunction.
Droptheindexafteryousuccessfullycreateit.
ANSWER:AfunctionbasedindexiscreatedontheDESCRIPTION
column.
CREATEINDEXcrse_description_i
ONcourse(UPPER(description))
Afunctionbasedindexstorestheindexedvaluesandusestheindexon
thefollowingSELECTstatement,whichretrievesthecoursenumberfor
thecoursecalledHandsOnWindows.Ifyoudontknowinwhatcasethe
descriptionwasenteredintotheCOURSEtable,youmightwanttoapply
theUPPERfunctiontothecolumn.
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AnyquerythatmodifiesacolumnwithafunctionintheWHEREclause
doesnotmakeuseofanindexunlessyoucreateafunctionbasedindex.
AnindexlikethefollowingcannotbeusedforthepreviouslyissuedSQL
statement.
CREATEINDEXcrse_description_i
ONcourse(description)
Torestoretheschematoitspreviousstate,droptheindex.
DROPINDEXcrse_description_i
Indexdropped.
d )ExecutethefollowingSQLstatements.Explainthereasonforthe
error.
ANSWER:Droppingatableautomaticallydropsanyassociatedindex.
Thereisnoneedtodroptheindexseparately.
e )WouldaBtreeindexworkonafrequentlyaccessedcolumnwith
fewdistinctvalues?Explain.
ANSWER:ItmaybeadvantageoustocreateaBtreeindexevenona
lowselectivitycolumn.
AssumethatyouhaveanEMPLOYEEtablewithacolumnnamed
GENDERthatyouconsiderindexing.Alsoassumethat90percentofyour
employeesaremaleand10percentarefemale.Youfrequentlyqueryfor
femaleemployees.Inthiscase,theindexishelpfulandimprovesthe
performanceofyourquery.Aqueryformaleemployeeswillprobably
performafulltablescanbecausethisismoreefficientthanlookingupall
thevaluesintheindextheOracleoptimizer(discussedinChapter18)
makesthedecisionregardingthebestaccesspath.
f )Listtheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofindexesonperformance.
ANSWER:Advantages:Addinganindexonatableincreasesthe
performanceofSQLstatementsusingtheindexedcolumn(s)inthe
WHEREclause.Thisassumesthatonlyasmallpercentageoftherows
areaccessed.Ifyouaccessmanyrowsinthetable,accessingtheentire
tableviaafulltablescanprobablyyieldsbetterperformance.Indexeson
theforeignkeycolumnsalsoimprovelocking.
Disadvantages:Addingindexesmayincreasethetimerequiredfor
insert,update,anddeleteoperationsbecausetheindexneedstobe
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updated.Indexesalsorequireadditionaldiskspace.
g )AssumethatanindexexistsonthecolumnENROLL_DATEinthe
ENROLLMENTtable.Changethefollowingquerysoitusesthatindex.
ANSWER:Whenyoumodifyanindexedcolumnwithafunction,suchas
thefunctionTO_CHARintheWHEREclause,theSQLstatementisnot
abletoaccesstheindex.Theexceptioniswhenyoucreateafunction
basedindexonthecolumn.Inthiscase,youdonotneedafunctionbased
index.TheSQLstatementischangedsoitdoesnotmodifytheindexed
columnwithafunction.Chapter5,DateandConversionFunctions,
discussesthedangersofusingTO_CHARwithaDATEcolumninthe
WHEREclause.
Lab 13.1 Quiz

Inordertotestyourprogress,youshouldbeabletoanswerthefollowing
questions.
1 )Forthefollowingquery,choosewhichindexorindexes,ifany,
probablyyieldthebestperformance.
______a)Indexonemployer
______b)Indexonphone
______c)Indexintheorderemployer,phone
______d)Indexintheorderphone,employer
______e)Noindex
2 )Youshouldalwaysindexasmanycolumnsaspossible.
_______a)True
_______b)False
3 )Frequentlyqueriedcolumnsandforeignkeysshouldalmostalways
beindexed.
_______a)True
_______b)False
4 )TheROWIDisthefastestwaytoaccessarow.
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_______a)True
_______b)False
5 )ThefollowingqueryusesthesinglecolumnBtreeindexontheZIP
columnoftheINSTRUCTORtable.
_______a)True
_______b)False
6 )ThefollowingSQLstatementbenefitsfromanindexonthecolumn
INSTRUCTOR_ID.
_______a)True
_______b)False
ANSWERSAPPEARINAPPENDIXA.
LAB 13.2 SEQUENCES
CreateSequences
UseSequences
SequencesareOracledatabaseobjectsthatallowyoutogenerateunique
integers.RecalltheSTUDENTtablewiththeprimarykeycolumn
STUDENT_ID.ThevalueofSTUDENT_IDisasurrogatekeyoran
artificialkeygeneratedfromasequence.Thiskeyisusefultothesystem
butusuallyhasnomeaningfortheuser,isnotsubjecttochanges,andis
neverNULL.
Assumethatastudentisuniquelyidentifiedbyfirstname,lastname,and
address.Thesecolumnsarecalledthealternatekey.Ifyouchoosethese
columnsastheprimarykey,imagineascenarioinwhichastudents
nameoraddresschanges.Alargenumberofupdatesarerequiredin
manytablesbecausealltheforeignkeycolumnsneedtobechanged
thesechangesinvolvealotofcustomizedprogramming.Instead,youcan
createasurrogatekeycolumnandpopulateditwithasequence.This
surrogatekeyisnotsubjecttochange,andtheusersrarelyseethis
column.
Sequencesensurethatnousergetsthesamevaluefromthesequence,
thusguaranteeinguniquevaluesforprimarykeys.Sequencesare
typicallyincrementedby1,butotherincrementscanbespecified.You
canalsostartsequencesataspecificnumber.
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Becauseyoustillneedtoenforceyourusersbusinessrulesandprevent
duplicatestudententries,considercreatingauniqueconstraintonthe
alternatekey.
Creating a Sequence
Thesyntaxforcreatingsequencesisasfollows.
TocreateasequencenamedSTUDENT_ID_SEQ_NEW,issuethe
CREATESEQUENCEcommand.
CREATESEQUENCEstudent_id_seq_newSTARTWITH1NOCACHE
Sequencecreated.
Basingthenameofthesequenceonthenameofthecolumnforwhichyou
wanttouseitishelpfulforidentification,butitdoesnotassociatethe
sequencewithaparticularcolumnortable.TheSTARTWITHclause
startsthesequencewiththenumber1.
TheNOCACHEkeywordindicatesthatsequencenumbersshouldnotbe
keptinmemory,sothatwhenthesystemshutsdown,youdonotloseany
cachednumbers.However,losingnumbersisnotareasonforconcern
becausetherearemanymoreavailablefromthesequence.Itisusefulto
leavethesequencenumbersinthecacheonlyifyouaccessthesequence
frequently.IfyoudontspecifyaCACHEchoice,bydefaultthefirst20
numbersarecached.
TheMAXVALUEandMINVALUEparametersdeterminetheminimum
andmaximumrangevaluesofthesequencethedefaultsare
NOMAXVALUEandNOMINVALUE.TheORDERoption,whichisthe
default,ensuresthatthesequencenumbersaregeneratedinorderof
request.TheCYCLEparameterrecyclesthenumbersafteritreachesthe
maximumorminimumvalue,dependingonwhetheritsanascendingor
descendingsequenceitrestartsattheminimumandmaximumvalues,
respectively.ThedefaultvalueisNOCYCLE.
Using Sequence Numbers

Toincrementthesequenceanddisplaytheuniquenumber,usethe
NEXTVALpseudocolumn.ThefollowingSQLstatementtakesthenext
valuefromthesequence.Becausethesequencewasjustcreatedand
startswiththenumber1,ittakesthenumber1asthefirstavailablevalue.
Typically,youuseNEXTVALinINSERTandUPDATEstatements.To
displaythecurrentvalueofthesequenceafteritisincremented,usethe
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CURRVALpseudocolumn.
Altering a Sequence
TheALTERSEQUENCEcommandallowsyoutochangethepropertiesof
asequence,suchastheincrementvalue,minandmaxvalues,andcache
option.ThesyntaxoftheALTERSEQUENCEcommandisasfollows.
Torestartasequenceatalowernumber,youcandropandrecreatethe
sequence.AnyGRANTstootherusersofthesequencemustbereissued.
FormoreontheGRANTcommand,seeChapter15,Security.
Alternatively,youcanissueanALTERSEQUENCEcommandtoreduce
MAXVALUEtoanumberclosetothecurrentsequencevalue.Alsomake
surethesequenceissettorestartfromthebeginningbysettingthe
CYCLEvalueand,ifdesired,theappropriateMINVALUE.GetNEXTVAL
fromthesequencetorestartthesequence.Remembertoresetthe
MAXVALUEvaluetoalargernumberwhenyouaredone.
Renaming a Sequence
AswithotherOracleobjects,youcanrenameasequencewiththe
RENAMEcommand.Whenyourenameanobject,dependentobjects
becomeinvalid.Therefore,reviewtheDependenciestabinSQL
DeveloperorquerythedatadictionaryviewUSER_DEPENDENCIESto
determinetheimpactofyourchange.
RENAMEstudent_id_seq_newTOstudent_id_seq_newname
Using Sequence Values

TheNEXTVALandCURRVALpseudocolumnscanbeusedinthe
followingSQLconstructs.
VALUESclauseofanINSERTstatement
SETclauseofanUPDATEstatement
SELECTlist(unlessitispartofasubquery,view,ormaterializedview)
SELECTlistofasubqueryinanINSERTstatement
Sequencevaluesarenotallowedinthefollowingstatements.
SubqueryofaSELECT,UPDATE,orDELETEstatement
SELECTstatementcontainingDISTINCT,GROUPBY,ORDERBY,
UNION,UNIONALL,INTERSECT,orMINUS
WHEREclauseofaSELECTstatement
DEFAULTclauseofacolumninaCREATEorALTERTABLEstatement
CHECKconstraintcondition
SQL Developer and Sequences
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SQLDeveloperallowsyoutocreate,alter,anddropsequencesusingthe
graphicaluserinterface.Whenyoudoubleclickoneofthesequences,
youseeascreensimilartoFigure13.7.
Figure13.7DetailstabfortheSTUDENT_ID_SEQindexinSQL
Developer
TheDetailstabshowsthecreationdateofthesequence,alongwiththe
lastnumberusedonthesequencemostofthisinformationisfromthe
ALL_SEQUENCESdatadictionaryview.
TheDependenciestabshowswhetheranyobjectreferstothesequence.
Anexampleofareferencetoasequenceisatriggerthatselectsfromthis
sequence.
Lab 13.2 Exercises

a )DescribetheeffectsofthefollowingSQLstatementonthesequence
SECTION_ID_SEQ.
b )WriteaSQLstatementthatincrementsthesequence
STUDENT_ID_SEQ_NEWwithNEXTVALandthenissueaROLLBACK
command.Determinetheeffectonthesequencenumber.
c )DropthesequenceSTUDENT_ID_SEQ_NEW.

a )DescribetheeffectsofthefollowingSQLstatementonthesequence
SECTION_ID_SEQ.
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ANSWER:ThesequenceisaccessiblefromwithinanINSERT
statement.Thenextvalueisincremented,andthisvalueisinsertedinto
thetable.
Automating Primary Key Creation with Triggers
Youcanautomaticallyincrementasequenceandinserttheprimarykey
valuewheneveryouinsertanewrowinatable.Thiscanbe
accomplishedwhenyouwriteatrigger.Followingisthecodeforatrigger
associatedwiththeSECTIONtable.ThetriggerfiresuponINSERTtothe
SECTIONtable.ItcheckswhetheravaluefortheSECTION_IDcolumnis
suppliedaspartoftheINSERTstatement.Ifnot,itretrievesthevalue
fromtheSECTION_ID_SEQsequenceandholdsthevalueinthe
correlationvariable:new.SECTION_ID.Thisvalueistheninsertedinto
theSECTION_IDcolumn.
ThenextcommandshowstheprimarykeycolumnSECTION_IDnot
listedaspartoftheINSERTstatement.Thecommandissuccessfulit
doesnotreturnanerrormessageindicatingthattheprimarykeycolumn
SECTION_IDismissing.
AsubsequentSELECTstatementqueriesthenewlyinsertedrowand
displaystheautomaticallycreatedSECTION_IDvalue.
SQLDevelopercancreatetriggerstogenerateprimarykeyvaluesfrom
sequences.Whenyourightclickonatablesnodeandthenselect
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Trigger,youwillseetheCreate(PKfromSequence)menuoption(see
Figure13.8).Oracleletsyouchoosethesequencetogeneratetheprimary
keyvalue.TheDDLtabshowsthedynamicallycreatedtriggerPL/SQL
sourcecode.
Figure13.8SQLDevelopermenuoptionforcreatingaprimary
keysequencetrigger
FormoreinformationontriggersandPL/SQL,refertoOraclePL/SQL
byExample,4thEdition,byBenjaminRosenzweigandElenaSilvestrova
Rakhimov(PrenticeHall,2008)ortheOracleApplicationDevelopers
GuideFundamentalsManual.
b )WriteaSQLstatementthatincrementsthesequence
STUDENT_ID_SEQ_NEWwithNEXTVALandthenissueaROLLBACK
command.Determinetheeffectonthesequencenumber.
ANSWER:Afterasequenceisincremented,theROLLBACKcommand
doesnotrestorethenumber.
Ifyouhaventalreadydoneso,createthesequencewiththeCREATE
SEQUENCEstudent_id_seq_newcommand.Thenretrievethenext
numberfromthesequence.
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Ifthereareanygapsintheprimarykeysequencenumbers,itreally
doesntmatterbecausethenumbershavenomeaningtotheuser,and
therearemanymorenumbersavailablefromthesequence.Oneofthe
uniquepropertiesofsequencesisthatnotwousersreceivethesame
number.
YoucanseeinformationaboutthesequenceintheUSER_SEQUENCES
datadictionaryview.HeretheLAST_NUMBERcolumnindicatesthelast
usednumberofthesequence.Alternatively,youcanseethisinformation
inSQLDevelopersDetailstabforthesequence.
YoucanobtainthecurrentnumberofthesequencebyusingCURRVAL,
providedthatthesequencewasincrementedbytheuserssession.
c )DropthesequenceSTUDENT_ID_SEQ_NEW.
ANSWER:Aswithotherdatabaseobjects,youusetheDROPcommand
todropasequence.
DROPSEQUENCEstudent_id_seq_new
Sequencedropped.
Lab 13.2 Quiz
questions.
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1 )Sequencesareusefulforgeneratinguniquevalues.
_______a)True
_______b)False
2 )AstudentsSocialSecuritynumberisagoodchoiceforaprimary
keyvalueinsteadofasequence.
_______a)True
_______b)False
3 )Thedefaultincrementofasequenceis1.
_______a)True
_______b)False
4 )Whenyoudropatable,theassociatedsequenceisalsodropped.
_______a)True
_______b)False
5 )Thefollowingstatementcreatesasequencenamed
EMPLOYEE_ID_SEQ,whichstartsatthenumber1000.
CREATESEQUENCEemployee_id_seqSTARTWITH1000
_______a)True
_______b)False
LAB 13.3 VIEWS
Create,Alter,andDropViews
UnderstandtheDataManipulationRulesforViews
Aviewisavirtualtablethatconsistsofcolumnsandrows,butitisonly
theSELECTstatementthatisstored,notaphysicaltablewithdata.A
viewsSELECTquerymayreferenceoneormultipletables,calledbase
tables.Thebasetablesaretypicallyactualtablesorotherviews.
Advantages of Views
Viewssimplifythewritingofqueries.Youcanqueryasingleview
insteadofwritingacomplicatedSQLstatementthatjoinsmanytables.
ThecomplexityoftheunderlyingSQLstatementishiddenfromtheuser
andcontainedonlyintheview.
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Viewsareusefulforsecurityreasonsbecausetheycanhidedata.Thedata
retrievedfromaviewcanshowonlycertaincolumnsifyoulistthose
columnsintheSELECTlistofthequery.Youcanalsorestricttheviewto
displayspecificrowswiththeWHEREclauseofthequery.
Inaview,youcangiveacolumnadifferentnamefromtheoneinthe
basetable.Viewsmaybeusedtoisolateanapplicationfromachangein
thedefinitionofthebasetables.Ratherthanchangetheprogram,you
canmakechangestotheview.
Aviewlooksjustlikeanyothertable.Youcandescribeandquerythe
viewandalsoissueINSERT,UPDATE,andDELETEstatementstoa
certainextent,asyouwillseewhenperformingtheexercisesinthislab.
Creating a View
Thesimplifiedsyntaxforcreatingaviewisasfollows.
ThefollowingstatementscreateaviewcalledCOURSE_NO_COSTand
describethenewview.
TheCOURSE_NO_COSTviewhidesanumberofcolumnsthatexistin
theCOURSEtable.YoudonotseetheCOSTcolumnorthe
CREATED_DATE,CREATED_BY,MODIFIED_DATE,and
MODIFIED_BYcolumns.Themainpurposeofthisviewissecurity.You
cangrantaccessjusttotheviewCOURSE_NO_COSTinsteadoftothe
COURSEtableitself.Formoreinformationongrantingaccessprivileges
todatabaseobjects,seeChapter15.
Using Column Aliases

Thefollowingstatementdemonstratesaviewwithcolumnnames
differentfromthecolumnnamesinthebasetables.Heretheview
namedSTUD_ENROLLshowsalistoftheSTUDENT_ID,thelastname
ofthestudentincapitalletters,andthenumberofclassesthestudentis
enrolledin.ThecolumnSTUDENT_IDfromtheSTUDENTtableis
renamedintheviewtoSTUD_ID,usingacolumnalias.Whenacolumn
containsanexpressionsuchasafunction,acolumnaliasisrequired.The
twoexpressionsintheSTUD_ENROLLview,namelythestudentlast
nameincapsandthecountofclassesenrolled,arethereforealiased.
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TheORREPLACEkeywordisusefuliftheviewalreadyexists.Itallows
youtoreplacetheviewwithadifferentSELECTstatementwithout
havingtodroptheviewfirst.Thisalsomeansyoudonothavetoregrant
privilegestotheviewtherightstotheviewareretainedbythosewho
havealreadybeengrantedaccessprivileges.
ThefollowingexampleshowsanalternateSQLstatementfornaming
columnsinaview,wherebytheviewscolumnsarelistedinparentheses
aftertheviewname.
Altering a View
YouusetheALTERVIEWcommandtorecompileaviewifitbecomes
invalid.Thiscanoccurafteryoualteroneofthebasetables.Thesyntax
oftheALTERVIEWstatementisasfollows.
ALTERVIEWviewnameCOMPILE
TheALTERVIEWcommandallowsforadditionalsyntaxoptionsnot
mentioned.Theseoptionsletyoucreateprimaryoruniqueconstraints
onviews.However,theseconstraintsarenotenforcedanddonot
maintaindataintegrity,andanindexisneverbuiltbecausetheycan
onlybecreatedinDISABLENOVALIDATEmode.Theseconstrainttypes
areprimarilyusefulwithmaterializedviews,apopulardatawarehousing
featurethatallowsyoutophysicallystorepreaggregatedresultsand/or
joinsforspeedyaccess.Unliketheviewsdiscussedinthischapter,
materializedviewsresultinphysicaldatastoredintables.
Renaming a View
TheRENAMEcommandallowsyoutochangethenameofaview.
RENAMEstud_enrollTOstud_enroll2
Allunderlyingconstraintsandgrantedprivilegesremainintact.
However,anyobjectsthatusethisview(perhapsanotherviewora
PL/SQLprocedure,package,orfunction)becomeinvalidandneedtobe
compiled.
Dropping a View
Todropaview,youusetheDROPVIEWcommand.Thefollowing
statementdropstheSTUD_ENROLL2view.
DROPVIEWstud_enroll2
Viewdropped.
Lab 13.3 Exercises

a )CreateaviewcalledLONG_DISTANCE_STUDENTwithallthe
columnsintheSTUDENTtableplustheCITYandSTATEcolumnsfrom
theZIPCODEtable.ExcludestudentsfromNewYork,NewJersey,and
Connecticut.
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b )CreateaviewnamedCHEAP_COURSEthatshowsallcolumnsof
theCOURSEtablewherethecoursecostis1095orless.
c )IssuethefollowingINSERTstatement.Whatdoyouobservewhen
youquerytheCHEAP_COURSEview?
d )DroptheviewsnamedLONG_DISTANCE_STUDENTand
CHEAP_COURSE.
e )Usingthefollowingstatement,createatablecalledTEST_TABand
buildaviewoverit.Then,addacolumntothetableanddescribethe
view.Whatdoyouobserve?Dropthetableandviewafteryoucomplete
theexercise.
CREATETABLEtest_tab
(col1NUMBER)
f )CreateaviewcalledBUSY_STUDENT,basedonthefollowing
query.UpdatethenumberofenrollmentsforSTUDENT_ID124tofive
throughtheBUSY_STUDENTview.Recordyourobservation.
g )Createaviewthatliststheaddressesofstudents.Includethe
columnsSTUDENT_ID,FIRST_NAME,LAST_NAME,
STREET_ADDRESS,CITY,STATE,andZIP.Usingtheview,updatethe
lastnameofSTUDENT_ID237fromFrosttoOBrien.Thenupdatethe
stateforthestudentfromNJtoCT.Whatdoyounoticeforthestatements
youissue?

a )CreateaviewcalledLONG_DISTANCE_STUDENTwithallthe
columnsintheSTUDENTtableplustheCITYandSTATEcolumnsfrom
theZIPCODEtable.ExcludestudentsfromNewYork,NewJersey,and
Connecticut.
ANSWER:ToselectallcolumnsfromtheSTUDENTtable,usethe
wildcardsymbol.ForthecolumnsCITYandSTATEintheview,jointo
theZIPCODEtable.Withthisviewdefinition,youseeonlyrecords
wherethestateisnotequaltoNewYork,Connecticut,orNewJersey.
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Youcanissueaqueryagainsttheviewordescribetheview.Youcan
restrictthecolumnsand/ortherowsoftheview.
Youmightwanttovalidatetheviewbyqueryingforstudentslivingin
NewJersey.
ThequeryfindsnostudentslivinginNewJerseybecausetheviews
definingqueryexcludesthoserecords.
b )CreateaviewnamedCHEAP_COURSEthatshowsallcolumnsof
theCOURSEtablewherethecoursecostis1095orless.
ANSWER:Creatingaviewasfollowsrestrictstherowstocourseswitha
costof1095orless.
c )IssuethefollowingINSERTstatement.Whatdoyouobservewhen
youquerytheCHEAP_COURSEview?
ANSWER:Youcaninsertrecordsthroughtheview,violatingtheviews
definingquerycondition.
Acostof2000issuccessfullyinsertedintotheCOURSEtablethroughthe
view,eventhoughthisishigherthan1095,whichisthedefining
conditionoftheview.
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YoucanqueryCHEAP_VIEWtoseeiftherecordisthere.Thecoursewas
successfullyinsertedintheunderlyingCOURSEbasetable,butitdoes
notsatisfytheviewsdefinitionandisnotdisplayed.
AviewsWHEREclauseworksforanyquery,butnotforDML
statements.Thecoursenumber900isnotvisiblethroughthe
CHEAP_COURSEview,butinsert,update,ordeleteoperationsare
permitteddespitetheconflictingWHEREcondition.Tochangethis
securitydefyingbehavior,createtheviewwiththeWITHCHECK
OPTIONconstraint.ButfirstundotheINSERTstatementwiththe
ROLLBACKcommandbecauseanysubsequentDDLcommand,suchas
thecreationofaview,automaticallycommitstherecord.
Itisagoodhabittonameconstraints.Youunderstandthebenefitofwell
namedconstraintswhenyouquerytheOracledatadictionaryorwhen
youviolateconstraintswithdatamanipulationstatements.
Thefollowingerrormessageappearswheninsertions,updates,and
deletionsissuedagainstaviewviolatetheviewsdefiningquery.The
previousINSERTstatementwouldnowberejected,withtheerrorORA
01402viewWITHCHECKOPTIONwhereclauseviolation.
WhathappensifyouattempttoinsertarecordwithavalueofNULLfor
thecoursecost?Again,Oraclerejectstherowbecausetheconditionisnot
satisfied.TheNULLvalueisnotlessthanorequalto1095.
View Constraints
Youcanenforceconstraintsinavarietyofways:Theunderlyingbase
tablesautomaticallyensuredataintegrity,oryoucanusetheWITH
CHECKOPTION.Youcanalsoavoidanydatamanipulationontheview
byusingtheREADONLYsyntaxoption.Thefollowingstatementcreates
areadonlyviewnamedCOURSE_V.
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d )DroptheviewsnamedLONG_DISTANCE_STUDENTand
CHEAP_COURSE.
ANSWER:Justlikeotheroperationsondataobjects,theDROP
keywordremovesadatabaseobjectfromthedatabase.
image
RememberthatanyDDLoperation,suchasthecreationof
aview,cannotberolledback,andanypriorDML
operations,suchasinserts,updates,anddeletes,are
automaticallycommitted.
e )Usingthefollowingstatement,createatablecalledTEST_TABand
buildaviewoverit.Thenaddacolumntothetableanddescribethe
view.Whatdoyouobserve?Dropthetableandviewafteryoucomplete
theexercise.
CREATETABLEtest_tab
(col1NUMBER)
ANSWER:Theviewdoesnotshowthenewlyaddedcolumn.
Afterthetablecreation,theviewiscreated.Here,thename
TEST_TAB_VIEWisused.Thenyouaddanadditionalcolumntothe
TEST_TABtablehereitisnamedCOL2.
AsubsequentlyissuedDESCRIBEoftheviewrevealsaninterestingfact.
Whereisthenewcolumnthatwasadded?Wheneveraviewiscreated
withthewildcard(*)character,Oraclestorestheindividualcolumn
namesinthedefinitionoftheview.WhenyoureviewtheDetailstabof
theview(seeFigure13.9)inSQLDeveloper,youseethattheview
consistsonlyofonecolumn.Thisistheviewsdefinitionatthetimeof
viewcreation.Notethecolumnisalsolistedwithenclosedquotation
marks,justincaseofmixedcasecolumnnames.
Figure13.9TheTEXTboxshowstheviewsquerydefinition
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Alternatively,youcanqueryOraclesdatadictionaryview
USER_VIEWS.
Youneedtoreissuethecreationoftheviewstatementfortheviewto
includethenewcolumn.
Now,whenaDESCRIBEisissuedontheview,thenewcolumnis
included.
Compiling a View
YoucanusetheALTERVIEWcommandtodefine,modify,ordropview
constraints.Also,thecommandALTERVIEWviewnameCOMPILE
commandexplicitlycompilestheviewtomakesureitisvalid.Aview
maybecomeinvalidiftheunderlyingtableisalteredordropped.Ifyou
useOracle11g,theviewremainsvalidifyoumodifyacolumninthebase
tablethatsnotbeingusedbythisview.
Dependencies Tab
YoucanseeintheDependenciestabforagiventablewhetherany
objectsaccessthetablethishelpsyouassesstheimpactofchanges.
Figure13.10showsthedependenciesoftheTEST_TABtable.Asyousee,
TEST_TAB_VIEWdependsonthistable,andfyouclickthe
DependenciestabfortheTEST_TAB_VIEW,youfindthattheTEST_TAB
tableisreferencedintheview.
Figure13.10Dependenciestab
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Accessing an Invalid View
Whenyouaccessaninvalidview,Oracleattemptstorecompileit
automatically.Itisusefultoexplicitlycompiletotheview,asshownin
thenextcommand,toensurethattherearenoproblemswiththeview
afteryoumakedatabasechanges.
ALTERVIEWtest_tab_viewCOMPILE
Viewaltered.
Dropthenolongerneededtableandnoticetheeffectontheview.
FollowingisanattempttoretrievedatafromtheinvalidviewOracle
returnsanerrormessagetotheuser,indicatingthattheviewexists.
However,itiscurrentlyinvalidbecausetheunderlyingobjectswere
alteredordropped.Anysubsequentattempttoaccessthevieworto
compileitreturnsanerror.
DroptheviewtorestoretheSTUDENTschematoitspreviousstate.
DROPVIEWtest_tab_view
Viewdropped.
Forcing the Creation of a View
Ifaviewsbasetablesdonotexistorifthecreatoroftheviewdoesnt
haveprivilegestoaccesstheview,thecreationoftheviewfails.The
followingexampleshowsthecreationoftheviewnamedTEST,basedon
anonexistentSALEStable.
Ifyouwanttocreatetheview,despiteitsbeinginvalid,youcancreateit
withtheFORCEoptionthedefaultintheCREATEVIEWsyntaxis
NOFORCE.ThisFORCEoptionisusefulifyouneedtocreatetheview
andyouaddthereferencedtablelaterorifyouexpecttoobtainthe
necessaryprivilegestothereferencedobjectshortly.
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Theview,thoughinvalid,nowexistsinthedatabase.
f )CreateaviewcalledBUSY_STUDENT,basedonthefollowing
query.UpdatethenumberofenrollmentsforSTUDENT_ID124tofive
throughtheBUSY_STUDENTview.Recordyourobservation.
ANSWER:TheUPDATEoperationfails.Datamanipulationoperations
onaviewimposeanumberofrestrictions.
Tocreatetheview,youneedtogivetheCOUNT(*)expressionacolumn
aliasotherwise,thefollowingerroroccurs.
YoucannowattempttoupdatetheENROLLMENTtableusingtheview
withthefollowingUPDATEstatement.
Data Manipulation Rules on Views
Foraviewtobeupdatable,itneedstoconformtoanumberofrules.The
viewcannotcontainanyofthefollowing.
Anexpression(forexample,TO_DATE(enroll_date))
Anaggregatefunction
Asetoperator,suchasUNION,UNIONALL,INTERSECT,orMINUS
TheDISTINCTkeyword
TheGROUPBYclause
TheORDERBYclause
Specialrulesapplytoviewsthatcontainjoinconditions,asshownin
exerciseg.
g )Createaviewthatliststheaddressesofstudents.Includethe
columnsSTUDENT_ID,FIRST_NAME,LAST_NAME,
STREET_ADDRESS,CITY,STATE,andZIP.Usingtheview,updatethe
lastnameofSTUDENT_ID237fromFrosttoOBrien.Thenupdatethe
stateforthestudentfromNJtoCT.Whatdoyounoticeforthestatements
youissue?
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ANSWER:Notallupdatestoviewscontainingjoinsareallowed.The
updateofthelastnameissuccessful,buttheupdateoftheSTATEcolumn
isnot.
NowupdatethelastnametoOBrienbyusingthefollowingstatement.
Toindicateasinglequotationmark,prefixitwithanotherquotation
mark.
Becausethetestwassuccessful,rollbacktheupdatetoretainthecurrent
datainthetable.
ROLLBACK
Rollbackcomplete.
YoucanupdatethedataintheunderlyingbasetableSTUDENT.Now
updatethecolumnSTATEinthebasetableZIPCODEthroughthe
STUDENT_ADDRESSview.
Join Views and Data Manipulation
Understandingtheconceptofkeypreservedtablesisessentialto
understandingtherestrictionsonjoinviews.Atableisconsideredkey
preservedifeverykeyofthetablecanalsobeakeyoftheresultofthe
join.Inthiscase,theSTUDENTtableisthekeypreserved,orchild,
table.
Forajoinviewtobeupdatable,theDMLoperationmayaffectonlythe
keypreservedtable(alsoknownasthechildbasetable),andthechilds
primarykeymustbeincludedintheviewsdefinition.Inthiscase,the
childtableistheSTUDENTtable,andtheprimarykeyisthe
STUDENT_IDcolumn.
Ifyouareindoubtregardingwhichtableisthekeypreservedtable,
querytheOracledatadictionarytableUSER_UPDATABLE_COLUMNS.
Theresultshowsyouwhichcolumnsareupdatable.Also,theSTUDENT
tablesZIPcolumnisupdatable,buttheZIPcolumnfromtheZIPCODE
tableisnot.OnlytheSTUDENTtablesZIPcolumn(aliasedasSZIP)is
consideredkeypreserved.
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ThedatadictionaryiscoveredingreaterdetailinChapter14,TheData
Dictionary,Scripting,andReporting.Ifyouneedtomanipulatekey
preserveddatathroughaview,youovercomethislimitationbyusingan
INSTEADOFtrigger.Thistriggerworksonlyagainstviewsandallows
youtomanipulatedatabasedonthecodewithinthetrigger.The
INSTEADOFtriggerfiresinplaceofyourissuedINSERT,UPDATE,or
DELETEcommandagainsttheview.Forexample,ifyouexecutean
INSERTcommandagainsttheview,thestatementmayactuallyperform
anUPDATEinstead.TheviewsassociatedINSTEADOFtriggercodecan
performanytypeofdatamanipulationagainstoneormultipletables.
YoucreatethesepowerfulINSTEADOFtriggersbyusingOracle
PL/SQL,ascoveredingreatdetailinOraclePL/SQLbyExample,4th
Edition,byBenjaminRosenzweigandElenaSilvestrovaRakhimov
(PrenticeHall,2008).
Lab 13.3 Quiz

questions.
1 )Viewsareusefulforsecurity,forsimplifyingthewritingofqueries,
andforhidingdatacomplexity.
_______a)True
_______b)False
2 )Underwhatcircumstancescanviewsbecomeinvalid?Selectallthat
apply.
_______a)Thedatatypeofacolumnreferencedintheviewchanges.
_______b)Oneoftheunderlyingbasetablesisdropped.
_______c)Viewsneverbecomeinvalidtheyautomaticallyrecompile.
3 )Identifytheerrorinthefollowingviewdefinition.
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______a)Line1
______b)Line2
______c)Line4
______d)Lines1,2,and4
______e)Noerror
4 )AnUPDATEtotheSTATEcolumnintheZIPCODEtableis
permittedusingthefollowingview.
_______a)True
_______b)False
5 )Viewsprovidesecuritybyrestrictingaccesstospecificrowsand/or
columnsofatable.
_______a)True
_______b)False
6 )Acolumninaviewmayhaveadifferentnamethaninthebase
table.
_______a)True
_______b)False
Workshop
Theprojectsinthissectionaremeanttopromptyoutoutilizealltheskills
youhaveacquiredthroughoutthischapter.Theanswerstotheseprojects
canbefoundatthecompanionWebsitetothisbook,locatedat
www.oraclesqlbyexample.com(http://www.oraclesqlbyexample.com) .
1)WhocanupdatetheSALARYcolumnthroughtheMY_EMPLOYEE
view?Hint:TheUSERfunctionreturnsthenameoftheuserwhois
currentlyloggedin.
2)Whichcolumnsinatableshouldyouconsiderindexing?
3)ExplainthepurposeofthefollowingOracleSQLcommand.
ALTERINDEXcrse_crse_fk_iREBUILD
4)Arenullvaluesstoredinanindex?Explain.
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Oracle SQL by Example, Fourth Edition

Chapter 12. Create, Alter, and ...

Chapter 14. The Data Dictiona...

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Chapter 13. Indexes, Sequences, and Views

Chapter 13. Indexes, Sequences, and Views

CHA P TE ROB J E CTIV E S

LAB 13.1 INDEXES

The B-Tree Index

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Searching for Values in a B-Tree Index

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NULLs and Indexes

Functions and Indexes

Indexes and Tablespaces

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Unique Index Versus Unique Constraint

Indexes and Constraints

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Indexes and Foreign Keys

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Bitmap Join Indexes

Guidelines for When to Index

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Loading Large Amounts of Data

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Indexes and SQL Developer

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Indexes and Statistics

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Lab 13.1 Exercises

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Lab 13.1 Exercise Answers

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Lab 13.1 Quiz

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LAB 13.2 SEQUENCES

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Using Sequence Numbers

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Using Sequence Values

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SQL Developer and Sequences

Lab 13.2 Exercises

Lab 13.2 Exercise Answers

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Lab 13.2 Quiz

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LAB 13.3 VIEWS

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Using Column Aliases

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Lab 13.3 Exercises

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Lab 13.3 Exercise Answers