URGENT! HELP! Variable Substitution in PL/SQL

Hello!

I would like to write a procedure to check the existence of an element in the table(

     input parameter : table name, field name, field value; 
     output parameter : True - record found
                        False - record not-found);

• how can I define the datatype of the input field? it may be varies, may be VARCHAR2/NUMBER... how can I make use of %type if table_name & field_name are only known at run time?
• how can I substitute the table_name of the SELECT statement in declaring the CURSOR?

  : I can't use NAME_IN function in SELECT statement  

  : I can do the following under <<SQL*PLUS>>     define WORK_TABLE="EMP"
    select &&WORK_TABLE.DEPTNO from &&WORK_TABLE;

    I cannot use && under <<PL/SQL>>

I am new for ORACLE. May anyone of you can share your knowledge with me, advise me how to solve the above problems.

THANKS A LOT for YOUR HELP.  

Best Regards,
KY Lai Received on Fri Oct 04 1996 - 00:00:00 CEST