pl/sql variables

I would like to learn more about variables in pl/sql.

What I am tryng to do is write dynamic sql like this:

'select part_no, part_desc from parts
order by ' || v_orderby || ' ' || v_asc_desc;

I would like to be able to do something like:

IF v_orderby = part_no AND v_asc_desc = asc THEN

   v_asc_desc = desc
END IF Every time I call the procedure the variables get initialized. How can I store their previous values in memory?

thanks

cheers,
tony
902.494.1021 w
902.461.4550 h Received on Thu Jun 06 2002 - 10:25:51 CDT