Re: Email and PL/SQL

Michael,

DBMS_Mail is for use with Oracle mail. I've gained email access on a unix system using Plex from Oracle Government. Plex is a generic framework for using DBMS_PIPE. The process is as follows:

1. Use pro*c to execute unix sendmail or mail (Plex stubs this program out - all you provide is the guts)
2. Use plex to create a stored procedure availabe from PL/SQL

To improve performance I also use the DBMS_JOB package. My main mail procedure just queues a call to the real mail procedure. This procedure will pass data through the pipe to the mail server written in C. The server executes the mail command to send the mail. The is just on example. By getting to C, you can do anything you want on the unix side.

I've used it for about two years without any problems. Sometimes it a little slow, but since I've started using DBMS_JOB it doesn't matter. My call from a trigger completes quickly as it just queues a job.

Plex is available from Oracle Government at:

http://govt.us.oracle.com/

under Downloadable Utilities

Here's their write up:

PLEX, the PL/SQL

                     EXtender
                     We developed PLEX in response to an ever-increasing
                     demand for access to foreign data sources from within
                     PL/SQL stored procedures. Our goal was to outline a means
                     of calling C routines from within PL/SQL without the need
for
                     any special software from Oracle. After we discovered a
                     means of accomplishing this task, we tried to simplify it by

                     automating the process as much as possible. PLEX is the
                     result of this effort.

I hope this helps.

Michael Brung wrote:

> Hello.
>
> I'd like to make my pl/sql program send an email. I've been told that
> dbms_mail package could help me, but I use oracle 8 with ows, and I haven't
> found anything about this package.
> Has anyone an idea ? (knowing that I cannot execute a cgi script on my server
> because of my webmaster)
>
> Thank you,
> mB
Received on Wed Apr 08 1998 - 00:00:00 CEST