Self-referring to table_name in query

Hi, all.

Is there a way to make table_name self-referring in a SQL Plus query? Put simply, here is what I am attempting:

I want to make a tool to quickly find lookup_type, lookup_code, meaning, and description in each of several Oracle Manufacturing lookup tables, all at one go. My query prompts for input of substrings for 'lookup_type', 'lookup_code' and 'meaning' (or defaults to '%' in each), and then does a union query in the general form of:

Select (these columns)
From table_1
Where (meet user query criteria)
UNION
Select (these columns)
From table_2
Where (meet user query criteria)
UNION
Select (these columns)
From table_3
Where (meet user query criteria)
(and so on)

Order by (columns)
/

The problem with this is that I can end up with column names from any one or each of the tables, and I won't know which table the column came from. I realize that I can hard code the table name into the query
(such as: Select 'table_1.' || lookup_type), but this is the 90s. I
don't want to do it that way; I want SQL to do it for me.

Is there a simple solution?

Thanks,

    Chris Received on Thu Apr 01 1999 - 00:00:00 CEST