1. What is PL/SQL ?

PL/SQL is Oracle's Procedural Language extension to SQL. PL/SQL's language syntax, structure and

datatypes are similar to that of ADA. The language includes object oriented programming techniques

such as encapsulation, function overloading, information hiding (all but inheritance), and so, brings

state-of-the-art programming to the Oracle database server and a variety of Oracle tools.

PL SQL is a block structured programming language. It combines data manipulation & data processing

power. It supports all SQL data types. Also has its own data types i,e BOOLEAN,BINARY INTEGER

2. What is the basic structure of PL/SQL ?

A PL/SQL block has three parts:

a declarative part,

an executable part,

and an exception-handling part.

First comes the declarative part, in which items can

be declared. Once declared, items can be manipulated in the executable part.

Exceptions raised during execution can be dealt with in the exception-handling

part.

3. What are the components of a PL/SQL block ?

PL/SQL Block contains :

Declare : optional

Variable declaration

Begin : Manadatory

Procedural statements.

Exception : Optional
any errors to be trapped

End : Mandatory

5. What are the datatypes a available in PL/SQL ?

Following are the datatype supported in oracle PLSQL

Scalar Types

BINARY_INTEGER

DEC

DECIMAL

DOUBLE PRECISION

FLOAT

INT

INTEGER

Reference Types

REF CURSOR

REF object_type

6. Wha t are % TYPE and % ROWTYPE ? What are the advantages of using these over datatypes?% TYPE

provides the data type of a variable or a database column to that variable.

% ROWTYPE provides the record type that represents a entire row of a table or view or columns

selected in the cursor.

The advantages are :

Advantage is, if one change the type or size of the column in the table, it will be reflected in our
program unit without making any change.

%type is used to refer the column's datatype where as %rowtype is used to refer the whole

record in a table.

7. What is difference between % ROWTYPE and TYPE RECORD ?

% ROWTYPE is to be used whenever query returns a entire row of a table or view.

TYPE rec RECORD is to be used whenever query returns columns of different table or views and

variables. E.g. TYPE r_emp is RECORD (eno emp.empno% type,ename emp ename %type);

e_rec emp% ROWTYPE cursor c1 is select empno,deptno from emp; e_rec c1 %ROWTYPE.

8. What is PL/SQL table ?

A PL/SQL table is a one-dimensional, unbounded, sparse collection of homogenous elements, indexed

by integers

One-dimensional

A PL/SQL table can have only one column. It is, in this way, similar to a one-dimensional array.

Unbounded or Unconstrained

There is no predefined limit to the number of rows in a PL/SQL table. The PL/SQL table grows

dynamically as you add more rows to the table. The PL/SQL table is, in this way, very different from

an array.

Related to this definition, no rows for PL/SQL tables are allocated for this structure when it is defined.

Sparse

In a PL/SQL table, a row exists in the table only when a value is assigned to that row. Rows do not

have to be defined sequentially. Instead you can assign a value to any row in the table. So row 15

could have a value of `Fox' and row 15446 a value of `Red', with no other rows defined in between.

Homogeneous elements
Because a PL/SQL table can have only a single column, all rows in a PL/SQL table contain values of the

same datatype. It is, therefore, homogeneous.

With PL/SQL Release 2.3, you can have PL/SQL tables of records. The resulting table is still, however,

homogeneous. Each row simply contains the same set of columns.

Indexed by integers

9. What is a cursor ? Why Cursor is required ?

Cursor is a named private SQL area from where information can be accessed. Cursors are required

to process rows individually for queries returning multiple rows.

10. Explain the two type of Cursors ?

implicit cursor: implicit cursor is a type of cursor which is automatically maintained by the

Oracle server itself.implicit cursor returns only one row.

Explicit Cursor: Explicit Cursor is defined by the Proframmer,and it has for

phases:declare,open,fetch and close.explicit Cursor returns more than one row.

11. What are the PL/SQL Statements used in cursor processing ?

DECLARE CURSOR cursor name, OPEN cursor name, FETCH cursor name INTO or Record types,

CLOSE cursor name.

12. What are the cursor attributes used in PL/SQL ?

%ISOPEN - to check whether cursor is open or not

% ROWCOUNT - number of rows fetched/updated/deleted.

% FOUND - to check whether cursor has fetched any row. True if rows are fetched.

% NOT FOUND - to check whether cursor has fetched any row. True if no rows are featched.
These attributes are proceeded with SQL for Implicit Cursors and with Cursor name for Explicit

Cursors

13. What is a cursor for loop ?

Cursor for loop implicitly declares %ROWTYPE as loop index,opens a cursor, fetches rows of values

from active set into fields in the record and closes

when all the records have been processed.

eg. FOR emp_rec IN C1 LOOP

salary_total := salary_total +emp_rec sal;

END LOOP;

cursor for loop is use for automatically open ,fetch,close

15. Explain the usage of WHERE CURRENT OF clause in cursors ?

PL/SQL provides the WHERE CURRENT OF clause for both UPDATE and DELETE statements inside a

cursor in order to allow you to easily make changes to the most recently fetched row of data.

The general format for the WHERE CURRENT OF clause is as follows:

UPDATE table_name SET set_clause WHERE CURRENT OF cursor_name;DELETE FROM

table_name WHERE CURRENT OF cursor_name;

Notice that the WHERE CURRENT OF clause references the cursor and not the record into which the

next fetched row is deposited.

The most important advantage to using WHERE CURRENT OF where you need to change the row

fetched last is that you do not have to code in two (or more) places the criteria used to uniquely

identify a row in a table. Without WHERE CURRENT OF, you would need to repeat the WHERE clause of

your cursor in the WHERE clause of the associated UPDATEs and DELETEs. As a result, if the table

structure changes in a way that affects the construction of the primary key, you have to make sure
that each SQL statement is upgraded to support this change. If you use WHERE CURRENT OF, on the

other hand, you only have to modify the WHERE clause of the SELECT statement.

This might seem like a relatively minor issue, but it is one of many areas in your code where you can

leverage subtle features in PL/SQL to minimize code redundancies. Utilization of WHERE CURRENT OF,

%TYPE, and %ROWTYPE declaration attributes, cursor FOR loops, local modularization, and other

PL/SQL language constructs can have a big impact on reducing the pain you may experience when you

maintain your Oracle-based applications.

Let's see how this clause would improve the previous example. In the jobs cursor FOR loop above, I

want to UPDATE the record that was currently FETCHed by the cursor. I do this in the UPDATE

statement by repeating the same WHERE used in the cursor because (task, year) makes up the

primary key of this table:

WHERE task = job_rec.task AND year = TO_CHAR (SYSDATE, 'YYYY');

This is a less than ideal situation, as explained above: I have coded the same logic in two places, and

this code must be kept synchronized. It would be so much more convenient and natural to be able to

code the equivalent of the following statements:

Delete the record I just fetched.

or:

Update these columns in that row I just fetched.

A perfect fit for WHERE CURRENT OF! The next version of my winterization program below uses this

clause. I have also switched to a simple loop from FOR loop because I want to exit conditionally from

the loop:

DECLARE CURSOR fall_jobs_cur IS SELECT ... same as before ... ; job_rec

fall_jobs_cur%ROWTYPE;BEGIN OPEN fall_jobs_cur; LOOP FETCH

fall_jobs_cur INTO job_rec; IF fall_jobs_cur%NOTFOUND THEN

EXIT; ELSIF job_rec.do_it_yourself_flag = 'YOUCANDOIT' THEN

UPDATE winterize SET responsible = 'STEVEN' WHERE CURRENT OF

fall_jobs_cur; COMMIT; EXIT; END IF; END LOOP; CLOSE

fall_jobs_cur;END;

16. What is a database trigger ? Name some usages of database trigger ?

A database trigger is a stored procedure that is invoked automatically when a predefined event

occurs.

Database triggers enable DBA's (Data Base Administrators) to create additional relationships

between separate databases.

For example, the modification of a record in one database could trigger the modification of a

record in a second database.

17. How many types of database triggers can be specified on a table ? What are they ?

If FOR EACH ROW clause is specified, then the trigger for each Row affected by the statement.

If WHEN clause is specified, the trigger fires according to the returned Boolean value.

the different types of triggers: * Row Triggers and Statement Triggers * BEFORE and AFTER Triggers *

INSTEAD OF Triggers * Triggers on System Events and User Events

18. What are two virtual tables available during database trigger execution ?

The table columns are referred as OLD.column_name and NEW.column_name.

For triggers related to INSERT only NEW.column_name values only available.

For triggers related to UPDATE only OLD.column_name NEW.column_name values only available.

For triggers related to DELETE only OLD.column_name values only available.

The two virtual table available are old and new.

19.What happens if a procedure that updates a column of table X is called in a database trigger of the
same table ?

To avoid the mutation table error ,the procedure should be declared as an AUTONOMOUS

TRANSACTION.

By this the procedure will be treated as an separate identity.

21. What is an Exception ? What are types of Exception ?

Predefined

Do not declare and allow the Oracle server to raise implicitly

NO_DATA_FOUND

TOO_MANY_ROWS

INVALID_CURSOR

ZERO_DIVIDE

INVALID_CURSOR

WHEN EXCEPTION THEN …

Non predefined

Declare within the declarative section and allow allow Oracle server to

raise implicitly

o SQLCODE – Returns the numeric value for the seeor code

o SQLERRM – Returns the message associated with error number

DECLARE -- PRAGMA EXCEPTION_INIT (exception, error_number)

RAISE – WHEN EXCEPTION_NAME THEN …

User defined

Declare within the declarative section and raise explicitly.

IF confidition the

RAISE EXCEPTION or RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR

22. What is Pragma EXECPTION_INIT ? Explain the usage ?

Pragma exception_init Allow you to handle the Oracle predefined message by you'r own

message. means you can instruct compiler toassociatethe specific message to oracle predefined

message at compile time.This way you Improve the Readbility of your program,and handle it

accoding to your own way.

It should be declare at the DECLARE section.

example

declare

salary number;

FOUND_NOTHING exception;

Pragma exception_init(FOUND_NOTHING ,100);

begin

select sal in to salaryfrom emp where ename ='ANURAG';

dbms_output.put_line(salary);

exception

WHEN FOUND_NOTHING THEN

dbms_output.put_line(SQLERRM);

end;

23. What is Raise_application_error ?

Raise_application_error is used to create your own error messages which can be more

descriptive than named exceptions.

Syntax is:-

Raise_application_error (error_number,error_messages);

where error_number is between -20000 to -20999..

24. What are the return values of functions SQLCODE and SQLERRM ?

Pl / Sql Provides Error Information via two Built-in functions, SQLCODE & SQLERRM.

SQLCODE Returns the Current Error Code.

Returns 1.

SQLERRM Returns the Current Error Message Text.

Returns " User Defined Exception "

25. Where the Pre_defined_exceptions are stored ?

PL/SQL declares predefined exceptions in the STANDARD package.

26. What is a stored procedure ?

Stored Procedure is the PlSQL subprgram stored in the databasse .

Stored Procedure

A program running in the database that can take complex actions based on the inputs you send it.

advantages fo Stored Procedure

Extensibility,Modularity, Reusability, Maintainability and one time compilation.

28. What are the modes of parameters that can be passed to a procedure ?

1.in:
in parameter mode is used to pass values to subprogram when invoked.

2.out:

out is used to return values to callers of subprograms

3.in out:

it is used to define in and out

29. What are the two parts of a procedure ?

PROCEDURE name (parameter list.....)

is

local variable declarations

BEGIN

Executable statements.

Exception.

exception handlers

end;

31. Give the structure of the function ?

FUNCTION name (argument list .....) Return datatype is

local variable declarations

Begin

executable statements

Exception

execution handlers

End;

32. Explain how procedures and functions are called in a PL/SQL block ?
Procedure can be called in the following ways

a) CALL <procedure name> direc

b) EXCECUTE <procedure name> from calling environment

c) <Procedure name> from other procedures or functions or packages

Functions can be called in the following ways

a) EXCECUTE <Function name> from calling environment. Always use a variable to get the

return value.

b) As part of an SQL/PL SQL Expression

33. What are two parts of package ?

The two parts of package are PACKAGE SPECIFICATION & PACKAGE BODY.

Package Specification contains declarations that are global to the packages and local to the schema.

Package Body contains actual procedures and local declaration of the procedures and cursor

declarations.

33.What is difference between a Cursor declared in a procedure and Cursor declared in a package
specification ?

A cursor declared in a package specification is global and can be accessed by other procedures or

procedures in a package.

A cursor declared in a procedure is local to the procedure that can not be accessed by other

procedures.

The scope of A cursor declared in a procedure is limited to that procedure only.

The Scope of cursor declared in a package specification is global .

Example:

create or replace package curpack is

cursor c1 is select * from emp;

end curpack;

This will create a package Now You can use this cursor any where.

Like:

set serveroutput on

begin

for r1 in curpack.c1 loop

dbms_output.put_line(r1.empno||' '||r1.ename);

end loop;

end;

this will dispaly all empno and enames.

It will be better to use ref cursor in packages

35. How packaged procedures and functions are called from the following?

a. Stored procedure or anonymous block

b. an application program such a PRC *C, PRO* COBOL

c. SQL *PLUS

a. PACKAGE NAME.PROCEDURE NAME (parameters);

variable := PACKAGE NAME.FUNCTION NAME (arguments);

EXEC SQL EXECUTE

b.

BEGIN

PACKAGE NAME.PROCEDURE NAME (parameters)

variable := PACKAGE NAME.FUNCTION NAME (arguments);

END;

END EXEC;
c. EXECUTE PACKAGE NAME.PROCEDURE if the procedures does not have any

out/in-out parameters. A function can not be called.

37. What is Overloading of procedures ?

Overloading procs are 2 or more procs with the same name but different arguments.

Arguments needs to be different by class it self. ie char and Varchar2 are from same class.

Packages -

The main advantages of packages are -

1- Since packages has specification and body separate so, whenever any ddl is run and if any

proc/func(inside pack) is dependent on that, only body gets invalidated and not the spec. So any

other proc/func dependent on package does not gets invalidated.

2- Whenever any func/proc from package is called, whole package is loaded into memory and

hence all objects of pack is availaible in memory which means faster execution if any is called.

And since we put all related proc/func in one package this feature is useful as we may need to

run most of the objects.

3- we can declare global variables in the package

38.Is it possible to use Transaction control Statements such a ROLLBACK or COMMIT in Database Trigger
? Why ?

Autonomous Transaction is a feature of oracle 8i which maintains the state of

its transactions and save it , to affect with the commit or rollback of the

surrounding transactions.

Here is the simple example to understand this :-

ora816 SamSQL :> declare

2 Procedure InsertInTest_Table_B
3 is

4 BEGIN

5 INSERT into Test_Table_B(x) values (1);

6 Commit;

7 END ;

8 BEGIN

9 INSERT INTO Test_Table_A(x) values (123);

10 InsertInTest_Table_B;

11 Rollback;

12 END;

13 / PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

ora816 SamSQL :> Select * from Test_Table_A; X---------- 123

ora816 SamSQL :> Select * from Test_Table_B; X---------- 1

Notice in above pl/sql COMMIT at line no 6 , commits the transaction at

line-no 5 and line-no 9. The Rollback at line-no 11 actually did nothing.

Commit/ROLLBACK at nested transactions will commit/rollback all other DML

transaction before that. PRAGMA AUTONOMOUS_TRANSACTION override this behavior.

Let us the see the following example with PRAGMA AUTONOMOUS_TRANSACTION.

41. Talk about "Exception Handling" in PL/SQL?

the exception are written to handle the exceptions thrown by programs.

we have user defined and system exception.

user defined exception are the exception name given by user (explicitly decalred and used) and
they are raised to handle the specific behaviour of program.

system exceptions are raised due to invalid data(you dont have to deaclre these). few examples

are when no_data_found, when others etc.

44. Can we use commit or rollback command in the exception part of PL/SQL block?

Yes, we can use the TCL commands(commit/rollback) in the exception block of a stored

procedure/function. The code in this part of the program gets executed like those in the body without

any restriction. You can include any business functionality whenever a condition in main block(body of

a proc/func) fails and requires a follow-thru process to terminate the execution gracefully!

DECALRE

…..

BEGIN

…….

EXCEPTION

WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN

INSERT INTO err_log(

err_code, code_desc)

VALUES(‘1403’, ‘No data found’)

COMMIT;

RAISE;

END

46. What is bulk binding please explain me in brief ?

Bulk Binds (BULK COLLECT , FORALL ) are a PL/SQL technique where, instead of multiple

individual SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE statements are executed to retrieve from, or
store data in, at table, all of the operations are carried out at once, in bulk.

This avoids the context-switching you get when the PL/SQL engine has to pass over to the SQL

engine, then back to the PL/SQL engine, and so on, when you individually access rows one at a

time. To do bulk binds with Insert, Update and Delete statements, you enclose the SQL statement

within a PL/SQL FORALL statement.

To do bulk binds with Select statements, you include the Bulk Collect INTO a collection clause

in the SELECT Statement instead of using Simply into .

Collections, BULK COLLECT and FORALL are the new features in Oracle 8i, 9i and 10g

PL/SQL that can really make a different to you PL/SQL performance

Bulk Binding is used for avoiding the context switching between the sql engine and pl/sql

engine. If we use simple For loop in pl/sql block it will do context switching between

sql and pl/sql engine for each row processing that degrades the performance of pl/sql

bloack.

So that for avoiding the context switching betn two engine we user FORALL keyword by using

the collection pl/sql tables for DML. forall is pl/sql keyword.

It will provides good result and performance increase.

47.Why Functions are used in oracle ?Can Functions Return more than 1 values?Why Procedures are
used in oracle ?

What are the Disadvantages of packages?What are the Global Variables in Packages?

The functions are used where we can't used the procedure.i.e we can use a function the in select

statments,in the where clause of delete/update statments.But the procedure can't used like that.

It is true that function can return only one value, but a function can be used to return more than

one value,by using out parameters and also by using ref cursors.

There is no harm in using the out parameter,when functins are used in the DML statements we

can't used the out parameter(as per rules).

49. What are the restrictions on Functions ?

Function cannot have DML statemets and we can use select statement in function

If you create function with DML statements we get message function will be created

But if we use in select statement we get error

50. What happens when a package is initialized ?

when a package is initialised that is called for the first time the entire package is loaded into SGA and

any variable declared in the package is initialises.

52. What is PL/SQL table?

Pl/Sql table is a type of datatype in procedural language Extension.It has two columns.One for the

index,say Binary index And another column for the datas,which might further extend to any number of

rows (not columns)in future.

PL/SQL table is nothing but one dimensional array. It is used to hold similar type of data for temporary

storage. Its is indexed by binary integer.

53. can i write plsql block inside expection

Yes you can write PL/SQL block inside exception section. Suppose you want to insert the exception

detail into your error log table, that time you can write insert into statement in exception part. To

handle the exception which may be raised in your exception part, you can write the PL/SQL code in

exception part.

54. Can we truncate some of the rows from the table instead of truncating the full table.

You can truncate few rows from a table if the table is partitioned. You can truncate a single partition
and keep remaining.

CREATE TABLE parttab (

state VARCHAR2(2),

sales NUMBER(10,2))

PARTITION BY LIST (state) (

PARTITION northwest VALUES ('OR', 'WA')

TABLESPACE uwdata,

PARTITION southwest VALUES ('AZ', 'CA')

TABLESPACE uwdata);

INSERT INTO parttab VALUES ('OR', 100000);

INSERT INTO parttab VALUES ('WA', 200000);

INSERT INTO parttab VALUES ('AZ', 300000);

INSERT INTO parttab VALUES ('CA', 400000);

COMMIT;

SELECT * FROM parttab;

ALTER TABLE parttab

TRUNCATE PARTITION southwest;

SELECT * FROM parttab;

56. What is the difference between a reference cursor and normal cursor ?

REF cursors are different than your typical, standard cursors. With standard cursors, you know

the cursor's query ahead of time. With REF cursors, you do not have to know the query ahead of

time. With REF Cursors, you can build the cursor on the fly

Normal Cursor is a Static Cursor.

Refernce Cursor is used to create dynamic cursor.

There are two types of Ref Cursors:

1. Weak cursor and 2.Strong cursor

Type ref_name is Ref cursor [return type]

[return type] means %Rowtype

if Return type is mentioned then it is Strong cursor else weak cursor

The Reference cursor does not support For update clause.

Normal cursor is used to process more than one record in plsql.

Refcusor is a type which is going to hold set of records which can be sent out through the

procedure or function out variables.

we can use Ref cursor as an IN OUT parameter .

58. Based on what conditions can we decide whether to use a table or a view or a materialized view ?

Table is the basic entity in any RDBMS , so for storing data you need table .

for view - if you have complex query from which you want to extract data again and again ,

moreover it is a standard data which is required by many other user also for REPORTS

generation then create view . Avoid to insert / update / delete through view unless it is essential.

keep view as read only (FOR SHOWING REPORTS)

for materialized view - this view ia mainly used in datawarehousing . if you have two databases

and you want a view in both databases , remember in datawarehousing we deal in GB or TB

datasize . So create a summary table in a database and make the replica(materialized view) in

other database.

when to create materialized view-

[1] if data is in bulk and you need same data in more than one database then create summary

table at one database and replica in other databases

[2] if you have summary columns in projection list of query.

main advatages of materialized view over simple view are -

[1] it save data in database whether simple view's definition is saved in database

[2] can create parition or index on materialize view to enhance the performance of view , but

cannot on simple view.

59. What is the difference between all_ and user_ tables ?

An ALL_ view displays all the information accessible to the current user, including information from

the current user's schema as well as information from objects in other schemas, if the current user

has access to those objects by way of grants of privileges or roles.

While

A USER_ view displays all the information from the schema of the current user. No special

privileges are required to query these views.

User_tables data dictionary contains all the tables created by the users under that schema.

whereas All_tables stores all the tables created in different schema. If any user id have the Grants

for access table of diff. schema then he can see that table through this dictionary.

61. what is p-code and sourcecode ?

P-code is Pre-complied code stored in Public cache memory of System Global Area after the

Oracle instance is started, whereas sourcecode is a simple code of sp, package, trigger, functions

etc which are stored in Oracle system defined data dictionary. Every session of oracle access the

63. Is there any limitation on no. of triggers that can be created on a table?

There is no limit on number of triggers on one table.

you can write as many u want for insert,update or delte by diff names.

if table has got n columns. we can create n triggers based on each column.
64.What happens when DML Statement fails?A.User level rollbackB.Statement Level RollbackC.Sustem
evel Rollback

When a DML statement executes (fails/sucess) an automatic Commit is executed. Eg : Create a

table t1. Insert a record in t1. Then again to create the same object t1.

69. What is PL/Sql tables?Is cursor variable store in PL/SQL table?

pl/sql table is temparary table which is used to store records temrparaily in PL/SQL Block,

whenever block completes execution, table is also finished.

71. What is the DATATYPE of PRIMARY KEY

Binary Integer

72.What is the difference between User-level, Statement-level and System-level Rollback? Can you
please give me example of

each?

1. System - level or transaction level

Rollback the current transaction entirely on errors. This was the unique

behavior of old drivers becauase PG has no savepoint functionality until

8.0.

2. Statement

Rollback the current (ODBC) statement on errors (in case of 8.0 or later

version servers). The driver calls a SAVEPOINT command just before starting

each (ODBC) statement and automatically ROLLBACK to the savepoint on errors

or RELEASE it on success. If you expect Oracle-like automatic per statement

rollback, please use this level.

3. User Level

You can(have to) call some SAVEPOINT commands and rollback to a savepoint

on errors by yourself. Please note you have to rollback the current

transcation or ROLLBACK to a savepoint on errors (by yourself) to continue

the application

74. Details about FORCE VIEW why and we can use

Generally we are not supposed to create a view without base table. If you want to create any

view without base table that is called as Force View or invalid view.

Syntax: CREATE FORCE VIEW AS < SELECT STATMENT >;

That View will be created with the message

View created with compilation errors

Once you create the table that invalid view will become as valid one.

79. How can I speed up the execution of query when number of rows in the tables increased

Standard practice is -

1. Indexed the columns (Primary key)

2. Use the indexed / Primary key columns in the where clause

3. check the explain paln for the query and avoid for the nested loops / full table scan (depending

on the size of data retrieved and / or master table with few rows)

83. What is Mutation of a trigger? why and when does it oocur?

A table is said to be a Mutating table under the following three circumstances

1) When u try to do delete, update, insert into a table through a trigger and at the same time u r

trying to select the same table.

2) The same applies for a view

3) Apart from that, if u r deleting (delete cascade),update,insert on the parent table and doing a

select in the child tableAll these happen only in a row level trigger

90. How to handle exception in Bulk collector?

During bulk collect you can save the exception and then you can process the exception.

Look at the below given example:

DECLARE TYPE NumList IS TABLE OF NUMBER;

num_tab NumList := NumList(10,0,11,12,30,0,20,199,2,0,9,1);

errors NUMBER;

BEGIN FORALL i IN num_tab.FIRST..num_tab.LAST

SAVE EXCEPTIONS

DELETE * FROM emp WHERE sal > 500000/num_tab(i);

EXCEPTION WHEN OTHERS THEN -- this is not in the doco, thanks to JL for

pointing this out

errors := SQL%BULK_EXCEPTIONS.COUNT;

dbms_output.put_line('Number of errors is ' || errors);

FOR i IN 1..errors LOOP -- Iteration is SQL

%BULK_EXCEPTIONS(i).ERROR_INDEX; -- Error code is SQL

%BULK_EXCEPTIONS(i).ERROR_CODE;

END LOOP;END;

1.What is bulk collect?

Bulk collect is part of PLSQL collection where data is stored/ poped up into a variable.

example:
declare

type sal_rec is table of number;

v_sal sal_rec;

begin

select sal bulk collect into v_sal from emp;

for r in 1.. v_sal.count loop

dbms_output.put_line(v_sal(r));

end loop;

end;

2.What is instead trigger

instead triggers are used for views.

insted of triggers: They provide a transparent way of modifying view that can't be modified

directly through SQL,DML statement.

3.What is the difference between Oracle table & PL/SQL table?

Table is logical entity which holds the data in dat file permanently . where as scope of plsql table

is limited to the particular block / procedure . refer above example sal_rec table will hold data

only till programme is reaching to end;

111.Can anyone tell me the difference between instead of trigger, database trigger, and schema trigger?

INSTEAD OF Trigger control operation on view , not table. They can be used to make nonupdateable
views updateable and to override the behvior of view that are updateable.

Database triggers fire whenever the database startup or is shutdown, whenever a user logs on or

log off, and whenever an oracle error occurs. these tigger provide a means of tracking activity in

the database

if we have created a view that is based on join codition then its not possibe to apply dml

operations like insert, update and delete on that view. So what we can do is we can create instead

off trigger and perform dml operations on the view.

131. HI,What is Flashback query in Oracle9i...?

Flahsback is used to take your database at old state like a system restore in windows. No DDL

and DML is allowed when database is in flashback condition.

user should have execute permission on dbms_flashback package

132. what is the difference between database server and data dictionary

Database server is collection of all objects of oracle

Data Dictionary contains the information of for all the objects like when created, who created

etc.

Database server is a server on which the instance of oracle as server runs..whereas datadictionary

is the collection of information about all those objects like tables indexes views triggers etc in a

database..

134. Mention the differences between aggregate functions and analytical functions clearly with
examples?

136. what are the advantages & disadvantages of packages ?

Modularity,Easier Application Design,Information Hiding,Added Functionality,Better

Performance,

Disadvantages of Package - More memory may be required on the Oracle database server when

using Oracle PL/SQL packages as the whole package is loaded into memory as soon as any

object in the package is accessed.

Disadvantages: Updating one of the functions/procedures will invalid other objects which use

different functions/procedures since whole package is needed to be compiled.

we cant pass parameters to packages

137. What is a NOCOPY parameter? Where it is used?

NOCOPY Parameter Option

Prior to Oracle 8i there were three types of parameter-passing options to procedures and functions:

IN: parameters are passed by reference

OUT: parameters are implemented as copy-out

IN OUT: parameters are implemented as copy-in/copy-out

The technique of OUT and IN OUT parameters was designed to protect original values of them in case

exceptions were raised, so that changes could be rolled back. Because a copy of the parameter set

was made, rollback could be done. However, this method imposed significant CPU and memory

overhead when the parameters were large data collections—for example, PL/SQL Table or VARRAY

types.

With the new NOCOPY option, OUT and IN OUT parameters are passed by reference, which avoids

copy overhead. However, parameter set copy is not created and, in case of an exception rollback,

cannot be performed and the original values of parameters cannot be restored.

Here is an example of using the NOCOPY parameter option:

TYPE Note IS RECORD( Title VARCHAR2(15), Created_By VARCHAR2(20),

Created_When DATE, Memo VARCHAR2(2000));TYPE Notebook IS VARRAY(2000) OF

Note;CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE Update_Notes(Customer_Notes IN OUT NOCOPY

Notebook) ISBEGIN ...END;

NOCOPY is a hint given to the compiler, indicating that the parameter is passed as a reference

and hence actual value should not be copied in to the block and vice versa. The processing will

be done accessing data from the original variable. (Which other wise, oracle copies the data from

the parameter variable into the block and then copies it back to the variable after processing. This

would put extra burdon on the server if the parameters are of large collections/sizes)

For better understanding of NOCOPY parameter, I will suggest u to run the following code and

see the result.

DECLARE

n NUMBER := 10;

PROCEDURE do_something (

n1 IN NUMBER,

n2 IN OUT NUMBER,

n3 IN OUT NOCOPY NUMBER) IS

BEGIN

n2 := 20;

DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(n1); -- prints 10

n3 := 30;

DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(n1); -- prints 30

END;

BEGIN

do_something(n, n, n);

DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(n); -- prints 20

END;
140. What is materialized view?

A materialized view is a database object that contains the results of a query. They are local copies

of data located remotely, or are used to create summary tables based on aggregations of a table's

data. Materialized views, which store data based on remote tables are also, know as snapshots.A

materialized view can query tables, views, and other materialized views. Collectively these are

called master tables (a replication term) or detail tables (a data warehouse term).

144. what happens when commit is given in executable section and an error occurs ?please tell me what
ha

Whenever the exception is raised ..all the transaction made before will be commited. If the

exception is not raised then all the transaction will be rolled back.

145. Wheather a Cursor is a Pointer or Reference?

cursor is basically a pointer as it's like a address of virtual memory which is being used storage

related to sql query & is made free after the values from this memory is being used

146. What will happen to an anonymus block,if there is no statement inside the block?eg:-
declarebeginend

We cant have

declare

begin

end

we must have something between the begin and the end keywords

otherwise a compilation error will be raised.

147.Can we have same trigger with different names for a table?

If yes,which trigger executes first.

The triggers will be fired on the basis of TimeStamp of their creation in Data Dictionary. The

trigger with latest timestamp will be fired at last.

151. how to insert a music file into the database

LOB datatypes can be used to store blocks of unstructured data like graphic images, video,

audio, etc

152. what is diff between strong and weak ref cursors

A strong REF CURSOR type definition specifies a return type, but a weak definition does not.

DECLARE

TYPE EmpCurTyp IS REF CURSOR RETURN emp%ROWTYPE; -- strong

TYPE GenericCurTyp IS REF CURSOR; -- weak

in a strong cursor structure is predetermined --so we cannot query having different structure

other than emp%rowtype

in weak cursor structure is not predetermined -- so we can query with any structure

Strong Ref cursor type is less Error prone, because oracle already knows what type you are going

to return as compare to weak ref type.

154. Explain, Is it possible to have same name for package and the procedure in that package.

Yes, its possible to have same name for package and the procedure in that package.
159. Without closing the cursor, If you want to open it what will happen. If error, get what is the error

If you reopen a cursor without closing it first,PL/SQL raises the predefined exception

CURSOR_ALREADY_OPEN.

161. What is PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCES:

By using pragma_restrict_references we can give the different status to functions,Like

WNDB(WRITE NO DATA BASE),RNDB(read no data base),Write no package state,read no

packge state.W

164. What is difference between PL/SQL tables and arrays?

array is set of values of same datatype.. where as tables can store values of diff datatypes.. also

tables has no upper limit where as arrays has.

169. What are the disadvantages of Packages and triggers??

Disadvantages of Packages:

1. You cannot reference remote packaged variables directly or indirectly..

2. Inside package you cannot reference host variable..

3. We are not able to grant a procedure in package..

Disadvantages of Trigger:

1. Writing more number of codes..

170. How to disable a trigger for a particular table ?

alter trigger <trigger_name> disable

172. how can we avoid duplicate rows. without using distinct command
Using Self join like :

select dup.column from tab a,tab b where a.dup.column=b.dup.column and a.rowid<>b.rowid

This query will return the first row for each unique id in the table.

173. Why we use instead of trigger. what is the basic structure of the instead of trigger. Explain speci

Conceptually, INSTEAD OF triggers are very simple. You write code that the Oracle server will execute

when a program performs a DML operation on the view. Unlike a conventional BEFORE or AFTER

trigger, an INSTEAD OF trigger takes the place of, rather than supplements, Oracle's usual DML

behavior. (And in case you're wondering, you cannot use BEFORE/AFTER triggers on any type of view,

even if you have defined an INSTEAD OF trigger on the view.)

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER images_v_insert

INSTEAD OF INSERT ON images_v

FOR EACH ROW

BEGIN

/* This will fail with DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX if the images table

|| already contains a record with the new image_id.

*/

INSERT INTO images

VALUES (:NEW.image_id, :NEW.file_name, :NEW.file_type,

:NEW.bytes);

IF :NEW.keywords IS NOT NULL THEN

DECLARE

/* Note: apparent bug prevents use of :NEW.keywords.LAST.

|| The workaround is to store :NEW.keywords as a local

|| variable (in this case keywords_holder.)

*/

keywords_holder Keyword_tab_t := :NEW.keywords;

BEGIN

FOR the_keyword IN 1..keywords_holder.LAST

LOOP

INSERT INTO keywords

VALUES (:NEW.image_id, keywords_holder(the_keyword));

END LOOP;

END;

END IF;

END;

Once we've created this INSTEAD OF trigger, we can insert a record into this object view (and hence

into both underlying tables) quite easily using:

INSERT INTO images_v VALUES (Image_t(41265, 'pigpic.jpg', 'JPG', 824,

Keyword_tab_t('PIG', 'BOVINE', 'FARM ANIMAL')));

This statement causes the INSTEAD OF trigger to fire, and as long as the primary key value (image_id

= 41265) does not already exist, the trigger will insert the data into the appropriate tables.

Similarly, we can write additional triggers that handle updates and deletes. These triggers use the

predictable clauses INSTEAD OF UPDATE and INSTEAD OF DELETE.

180. what is the difference between database trigger and application trigger?

Database triggers are backend triggeres and perform as any event occurs on databse level (ex.

Inset,update,Delete e.t.c) wheras application triggers are froentend triggers and perform as

any event taken on application level (Ex. Button Pressed, New Form Instance e.t.c)
185. Compare EXISTS and IN Usage with advantages and disadvantages.

exist is faster than IN Command

exist do full table scan...so it is faster than IN

Use Exists whenever possible. EXISTS only checks the existence of records

(True/False), and in the case of IN each and every records will be

checked.  performace wise EXISTS is better.

191. Why DUAL table is not visible?

Because its a dummy table.

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