Re: PL/SQL tables

From: Thomas Kyte <tkyte_at_us.oracle.com>
Date: 1997/11/08
Message-ID: <3465de41.117452217@newshost>#1/1

In short, it'll look like this:

create or replace function sp_ListEmp return types.cursortype as

    l_cursor types.cursorType;
begin

    open l_cursor for select ename, empno from emp order by ename;     return l_cursor;
end;
/

With 7.2 on up of the database you have cursor variables. Cursor variables are cursors opened by a pl/sql routine and fetched from by another application or pl/sql routine (in 7.3 pl/sql routines can fetch from cursor variables as well as open them). The cursor variables are opened with the privelegs of the owner of the procedure and behave just like they were completely contained within the pl/sql routine. It uses the inputs to decide what database it will run a query on.

Here is an example:

create or replace package types
as

    type cursorType is ref cursor;
end;
/  

create or replace function sp_ListEmp return types.cursortype as

    l_cursor types.cursorType;
begin

    open l_cursor for select ename, empno from emp order by ename;  

    return l_cursor;
end;
/    

REM SQL*Plus commands to use a cursor variable  

variable c refcursor
exec :c := sp_ListEmp
print c

---

and the Pro*c to use this would look like:

static void process()
{
EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;
    SQL_CURSOR my_cursor;

    VARCHAR     ename[40];
    int         empno;

EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;       EXEC SQL WHENEVER SQLERROR DO sqlerror_hard();  

    EXEC SQL ALLOCATE :my_cursor;  

    EXEC SQL EXECUTE BEGIN
        :my_cursor := sp_listEmp;
    END; END-EXEC;       for( ;; )
    {

        EXEC SQL WHENEVER NOTFOUND DO break;
        EXEC SQL FETCH :my_cursor INTO :ename, empno;
 
        printf( "'%.*s', %d\n", ename.len, ename.arr, empno );

    }
 EXEC SQL CLOSE :my_cursor;
}

On 7 Nov 1997 12:28:35 GMT, GreMa_at_t-online.de (Matthias Gresz) wrote:

>Haresh Assumal wrote:
>>
>> Hello,
>> I would like to find a way to write a function that is able to define
>> (create) 'n' number of PL/SQL tables at runtime, populate them then return
>> 'n' number of pl/sql tables (columns) to a calling application. I would
>> imagin that I would need to return a cursor but I'm not sure how to do
>> this.
>>
>> Is this possible?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Haresh
>> E-mail: assumal_at_sprynet.com
>
>Hi,
>
>instead of returning a cursor (which I think is not possible) try it
>using ORACLES aquivalent of arrays.
 

Thomas Kyte
tkyte_at_us.oracle.com
Oracle Government
Bethesda MD  

http://govt.us.oracle.com/ -- downloadable utilities  

---

Opinions are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of Oracle Corporation  

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