Re: help on "the" operator

The "the()" operator, which changed to the "table()" operator in 8.1 takes a single value that has to be a nested table or varray as its operand.

What you are casting is the single row and single column that you select from dual, but that single item is the result of casting a result set into a nested table or varray.

In fact in Oracle 9, you can get rid of the select from dual, and for a function returning the varray/nested table write:

select * from table(function_name);

or, if TABX is a table with a column COLX

select colx, function_name(colx)
from TABX;

You can play similar games with 8.1, but the SQL looks messier. You may then
need to wrap one level of SQL inside an
inline view to convert the whole thing into a flattened table.

Jonathan Lewis
http://www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk

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Author of:
Practical Oracle 8i: Building Efficient Databases

-----Original Message-----
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com> Date: 07 March 2002 12:23

Hi Gurus!
if any function which returns the collection type , to show that collection object in tabular format we use "the" operator with dual table which has one row and one column like followings: select * from the
(select cast( <<function name l(parameters )>> as <<return obeject
type>> ) from dual )

my question is can i use any real table in my existing database other than "Dual" in above SQL .
Does "the" operator looks for single records in inner SQL ( as returning records from dual does mean that single record and single column )
i means to say when i use real table then it gives the error   "ORA-01427 : single row subquery returns more than one row " i hope the operator looks for only one record . If it is that then can access the result wot i want by using real table because the parameters which r being passed in function are columns from the table wot i want to use ?
looking for help.........
thanx in advance

Shishir Kumar Mishra
Agni Software (P) Ltd.,
Bangalore-560055, India
www.agnisoft.com

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