Unit V

1 Yuvakshetra Institute Of Management Studies (YIMS) DBMS NOTES Bsc.
CS (2017-Onwards)
UNIT-V
DBMS – TRANSACTION
A transaction can be defined as a group of tasks. A single task is the minimum processing unit
which cannot be divided further.
TRANSACTION MANAGEMENT
A sequence of many actions which are considered to be one atomic unit of work. A transaction is a
collection of operations involving data items in a database. There are four important properties of
transactions that a DBMS must ensure to maintain data in the face concurrent access and system
failures.
Let’s take an example of a simple transaction. Suppose a bank employee transfers Rs 500 from A's
account to B's account. This very simple and small transaction involves several low-level tasks.
A’s Account
Open_Account(A)
Old_Balance = A.balance
New_Balance = Old_Balance - 500
A.balance = New_Balance
Close_Account(A)
B’s Account
Open_Account(B)
Old_Balance = B.balance
New_Balance = Old_Balance + 500
B.balance = New_Balance
Close_Account(B)
ACID PROPERTIES
A transaction is a very small unit of a program and it may contain several lowlevel tasks. A
transaction in a database system must maintain Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability
− commonly known as ACID properties − in order to ensure accuracy, completeness, and data
integrity.
 Atomicity − this property states that a transaction must be treated as an atomic unit, that is,
either all of its operations are executed or none. There must be no state in a database where
a transaction is left partially completed. States should be defined either before the execution
of the transaction or after the execution/abortion/failure of the transaction.
 Consistency − the database must remain in a consistent state after any transaction. No
transaction should have any adverse effect on the data residing in the database. If the
database was in a consistent state before the execution of a transaction, it must remain
consistent after the execution of the transaction as well.
2 Yuvakshetra Institute Of Management Studies (YIMS) DBMS NOTES Bsc.CS (2017-Onwards)
 Durability − the database should be durable enough to hold all its latest updates even if the
system fails or restarts. If a transaction updates a chunk of data in a database and commits,
then the database will hold the modified data. If a transaction commits but the system fails
before the data could be written on to the disk, then that data will be updated once the system
springs back into action.
 Isolation − In a database system where more than one transaction are being executed
simultaneously and in parallel, the property of isolation states that all the transactions will
be carried out and executed as if it is the only transaction in the system. No transaction will
affect the existence of any other transaction.
SERIALIZABILITY
When multiple transactions are being executed by the operating system in a multiprogramming
environment, there are possibilities that instructions of one transactions are interleaved with some
other transaction.
 Schedule − A chronological execution sequence of a transaction is called a schedule. A

schedule can have many transactions in it, each comprising of a number of
instructions/tasks.
 Serial Schedule − It is a schedule in which transactions are aligned in such a way that one
transaction is executed first. When the first transaction completes its cycle, then the next
transaction is executed. Transactions are ordered one after the other. This type of schedule
is called a serial schedule, as transactions are executed in a serial manner.
STATES OF TRANSACTIONS
A transaction in a database can be in one of the following states −
 Active − in this state, the transaction is being executed. This is the initial state of every
transaction.
 Partially Committed − When a transaction executes its final operation, it is said to be in a

partially committed state.
 Failed − A transaction is said to be in a failed state if any of the checks made by the database
recovery system fails. A failed transaction can no longer proceed further.
 Aborted − If any of the checks fails and the transaction has reached a failed state, then the
recovery manager rolls back all its write operations on the database to bring the database
back to its original state where it was prior to the execution of the transaction. Transactions
in this state are called aborted. The database recovery module can select one of the two
operations after a transaction aborts −
o Re-start the transaction

o Kill the transaction
 Committed − If a transaction executes all its operations successfully, it is said to be
committed. All its effects are now permanently established on the database system.
DBMS - CONCURRENCY CONTROL
Concurrency Control: Process of managing simultaneous execution of transactions in a shared

database, is known as concurrency control. Basically, concurrency control ensures that correct
results for concurrent operations are generated, while getting those results as quickly as possible.
Concurrency control is the procedure in DBMS for managing simultaneous operations without
conflicting with each another. Concurrent access is quite easy if all users are just reading data.
There is no way they can interfere with one another. Though for any practical database, would
have a mix of reading and WRITE operations and hence the concurrency is a challenge.
Concurrency control is used to address such conflicts which mostly occur with a multi-user
system. It helps you to make sure that database transactions are performed concurrently without
violating the data integrity of respective databases.Therefore, concurrency control is a most
important element for the proper functioning of a system where two or multiple database
transactions that require access to the same data, are executed simultaneously.
Potential problems of Concurrency
Here, are some issues which you will likely to face while using the Concurrency Control method:
 Lost Updates occur when multiple transactions select the same row and update the row
based on the value selected
 Uncommitted dependency issues occur when the second transaction selects a row which is
updated by another transaction (dirty read)
 Non-Repeatable Read occurs when a second transaction is trying to access the same row
several times and reads different data each time.
 Incorrect Summary issue occurs when one transaction takes summary over the value of
all the instances of a repeated data-item, and second transaction update few instances of
that specific data-item. In that situation, the resulting summary does not reflect a correct
result.
Why use Concurrency method?
Reasons for using Concurrency control method is DBMS:
 To apply Isolation through mutual exclusion between conflicting transactions

 To resolve read-write and write-write conflict issues
 To preserve database consistency through constantly preserving execution obstructions
 The system needs to control the interaction among the concurrent transactions. This control
is achieved using concurrent-control schemes.
 Concurrency control helps to ensure serializability
Example
Assume that two people who go to electronic kiosks at the same time to buy a movie ticket for the
same movie and the same show time.
However, there is only one seat left in for the movie show in that particular theatre. Without
concurrency control, it is possible that both moviegoers will end up purchasing a ticket. However,
concurrency control method does not allow this to happen. Both moviegoers can still access
information written in the movie seating database. But concurrency control only provides a ticket
to the buyer who has completed the transaction process first.
CONCURRENCY CONTROL PROTOCOLS
Different concurrency control protocols offer different benefits between the amount of
concurrency they allow and the amount of overhead that they impose.
 Lock-Based Protocols
 Two Phase
 Timestamp-Based Protocols
 Validation-Based Protocols
Lock-based Protocols
A lock is a data variable which is associated with a data item. This lock signifies that operations
that can be performed on the data item. Locks help synchronize access to the database items by
concurrent transactions.
All lock requests are made to the concurrency-control manager. Transactions proceed only once
the lock request is granted.
Binary Locks: A Binary lock on a data item can either locked or unlocked states.
Shared/exclusive: This type of locking mechanism separates the locks based on their uses. If a
lock is acquired on a data item to perform a write operation, it is called an exclusive lock.
1. Shared Lock (S):
A shared lock is also called a Read-only lock. With the shared lock, the data item can be shared
between transactions. This is because you will never have permission to update data on the data
item.
For example, consider a case where two transactions are reading the account balance of a person.
The database will let them read by placing a shared lock. However, if another transaction wants to
update that account's balance, shared lock prevent it until the reading process is over.
2. Exclusive Lock (X):
With the Exclusive Lock, a data item can be read as well as written. This is exclusive and can't be
held concurrently on the same data item. X-lock is requested using lock-x instruction. Transactions
may unlock the data item after finishing the 'write' operation.
For example, when a transaction needs to update the account balance of a person. You can allows
this transaction by placing X lock on it. Therefore, when the second transaction wants to read or
write, exclusive lock prevent this operation.
STARVATION
Starvation is the situation when a transaction needs to wait for an indefinite period to acquire a
lock.
Following are the reasons for Starvation:
 When waiting scheme for locked items is not properly managed

 In the case of resource leak
 The same transaction is selected as a victim repeatedly
DEADLOCK
Deadlock refers to a specific situation where two or more processes are waiting for each other to
release a resource or more than two processes are waiting for the resource in a circular chain.
Two Phase Locking (2PL) Protocol
Two-Phase locking protocol which is also known as a 2PL protocol. It is also called P2L. In this
type of locking protocol, the transaction should acquire a lock after it releases one of its locks.
This locking protocol divides the execution phase of a transaction into three different parts.
 In the first phase, when the transaction begins to execute, it requires permission for the
locks it needs.
 The second part is where the transaction obtains all the locks. When a transaction releases
its first lock, the third phase starts.
 In this third phase, the transaction cannot demand any new locks. Instead, it only releases
the acquired locks.
The Two-Phase Locking protocol allows each transaction to make a lock or unlock request in two
steps:
 Growing Phase: In this phase transaction may obtain locks but may not release any locks.
 Shrinking Phase: In this phase, a transaction may release locks but not obtain any new
lock
It is true that the 2PL protocol offers serializability. However, it does not ensure that deadlocks do
not happen.
In the above-given diagram, you can see that local and global deadlock detectors are searching for
deadlocks and solve them with resuming transactions to their initial states.
Strict Two-Phase Locking Method
Strict-Two phase locking system is almost similar to 2PL. The only difference is that Strict-2PL
never releases a lock after using it. It holds all the locks until the commit point and releases all the
locks at one go when the process is over.
Centralized 2PL
In Centralized 2 PL, a single site is responsible for lock management process. It has only one lock
manager for the entire DBMS.
Primary copy 2PL
Primary copy 2PL mechanism, many lock managers are distributed to different sites. After that, a
particular lock manager is responsible for managing the lock for a set of data items. When the
primary copy has been updated, the change is propagated to the slaves.
Distributed 2PL
In this kind of two-phase locking mechanism, Lock managers are distributed to all sites. They are
responsible for managing locks for data at that site. If no data is replicated, it is equivalent to
primary copy 2PL. Communication costs of Distributed 2PL are quite higher than primary copy
2PL
Timestamp-based Protocols
The timestamp-based algorithm uses a timestamp to serialize the execution of concurrent

transactions. This protocol ensures that every conflicting read and write operations are executed in
timestamp order. The protocol uses the System Time or Logical Count as a Timestamp.
The older transaction is always given priority in this method. It uses system time to determine the
time stamp of the transaction. This is the most commonly used concurrency protocol.
Lock-based protocols help you to manage the order between the conflicting transactions when they
will execute. Timestamp-based protocols manage conflicts as soon as an operation is created.
Example:
Suppose there are there transactions T1, T2, and T3.

T1 has entered the system at time 0010
T2 has entered the system at 0020
T3 has entered the system at 0030
Priority will be given to transaction T1, then transaction T2 and lastly Transaction T3.
Advantages:
 Schedules are serializable just like 2PL protocols

 No waiting for the transaction, which eliminates the possibility of deadlocks!
Disadvantages:
Starvation is possible if the same transaction is restarted and continually aborted
Characteristics of Good Concurrency Protocol
An ideal concurrency control DBMS mechanism has the following objectives:
 Must be resilient to site and communication failures.

 It allows the parallel execution of transactions to achieve maximum concurrency.
 Its storage mechanisms and computational methods should be modest to minimize
overhead.
 It must enforce some constraints on the structure of atomic actions of transactions.
PL/SQL SECURITY
Locks
 Locks are mechanisms used to ensure data integrity while allowing maximum concurrent
access of data.
 Oracle locking is fully automatic & requires no user intervention.
 The oracle engine (server machine) locks table data while executing SQL stmt. This type
of locking is called “implicit locking”.
 Oracle default locking strategy is implicit locking.
 Since the oracle engine has a fully automatic strategy ,it has to decide on two issues:-
1) Types of lock to be applied.
2) Level of lock to be applied.
Types of Lock
 Shared Locks
 Exclusive Locks
1) Shared Locks:-
a) Shared locks are placed on resource whenever a READ operation (select)is performed.
b) Multiple shared locks can be simultaneously set on a resource.
2) Exclusive Locks:-
a) Exclusive locks are placed on resource whenever WRITE operations (Insert, Update &
Delete) are performed.
b) Only 1 exclusive lock can be placed on a resource at a time.
Level of Locks:-
A table can be decomposed into rows & a row can be further decomposed into fields.
1) Row Level
2) Page Level
3) Table Level
1) Row Level: If the Where clause evaluates to only one row in the table.
2) Page Level: If the Where clause evaluates to a set of data.
3) Table Level: If there is no Where clause (i.e. the query accesses the entire table).
Ex:-Two client machines client A & client B are recording the transaction performed in a bank for
a particular account no. simultaneously.
• Client A fires the following select statement:
• Client A>select * from acct_mstr where acct_no=‘Sb9’ for update;
• When the above select statement is fired the oracle engine locks the record ‘sb9’.
This lock is released when a commit or rollback is fired by client A
• Now client B fires a select stmt.,which points to record sb9
• Using Lock table stmt:-
Purpose:-
Use the LOCK TABLE statement to lock one or more tables, table partitions, or table sub
partitions in a specified mode. This lock manually overrides automatic locking and permits or
denies access to a table or view by other users for the duration of your operation .A LOCK is a
mechanism that prevents destructive interaction between two simultaneous transactions or sessions
trying to access the same database object.
Syntax:-
LOCK TABLE<TableName> IN lockmode
Example:
LOCK TABLE employees IN EXCLUSIVE MODE;
Output:-
Table Locked.
Releasing locks:-
All locks are released under the following circumstances:
1) The transaction is committed successfully.
2) A rollback is performed
3) A rollback to a save point will release locks set after the specified savepoint.
Note:-
COMMIT:-Save Work done.
SAVEPOINT: Identify a point in a transaction to which you can later rollback.
ROLLBACK: Restore database to original since the last COMMIT
GRANT/REVOKE: Grant or back permission to or from the oracle users.

Deadlock:-
A deadlock is a condition where two or more users are waiting for data locked by each other.
Oracle automatically detects a deadlock and resolves them by rolling back one of the statements
involved in the deadlock, thus releasing one set of data locked by that statement. Statement rolled
back is usually the one which detects the deadlock.
A deadlock may occur if all the following conditions holds true.
Mutual exclusion condition: There must be at least one resource that cannot be used by more than
one process at a time.
Hold and wait condition: A process that is holding a resource can request for additional resources
that are being held by other processes in the system.
No pre-emption condition: A resource cannot be forcibly taken from a process. Only the process
can release a resource that is being held by it.
Circular wait condition: A condition where one process is waiting for a resource that is being
held by second process and second process is waiting for third process ….so on and the last
process is waiting for the first process. Thus making a circular chain of waiting.
PL/SQL – OVERVIEW
SQL is the standard language to query a database.
PL SQL basically stands for "Procedural Language extensions to SQL." This is the extension of
Structured Query Language (SQL) that is used in Oracle.
Difference between SQL and PL/SQL
SQL PL/SQL
 SQL is a single query that is used to  PL/SQL is a block of codes that used
perform DML and DDL operations. to write the entire program blocks/
procedure/ function, etc.
 It is declarative, that defines what  PL/SQL is procedural that defines

need to be done, rather than how how the things needs to be done.
things need to be done.
 Execute as a single statement.  Execute as a whole block.
 Mainly used to manipulate data.  Mainly used to create an application.
 Interaction with a Database server.  No interaction with the database

server.
 Cannot contain PL/SQL code in it.  It is an extension of SQL, so that it

can contain SQL inside it.
FEATURES OF PL/SQL
PL/SQL has the following features −
 PL/SQL is tightly integrated with SQL.

 It offers extensive error checking.
 It offers numerous data types.
 It offers a variety of programming structures.
 It supports structured programming through functions and procedures.
 It supports object-oriented programming.
 It supports the development of web applications and server pages.
ADVANTAGES OF PL/SQL
PL/SQL has the following advantages −
 SQL is the standard database language and PL/SQL is strongly integrated with SQL.
PL/SQL supports both static and dynamic SQL. Static SQL supports DML operations and
transaction control from PL/SQL block. In Dynamic SQL, SQL allows embedding DDL
statements in PL/SQL blocks.
 PL/SQL allows sending an entire block of statements to the database at one time. This
reduces network traffic and provides high performance for the applications.
 PL/SQL gives high productivity to programmers as it can query, transform, and update data
in a database.
 PL/SQL saves time on design and debugging by strong features, such as exception handling,
encapsulation, data hiding, and object-oriented data types.
 Applications written in PL/SQL are fully portable.
 PL/SQL provides high security level.
 PL/SQL provides access to predefined SQL packages.
 PL/SQL provides support for Object-Oriented Programming.
 PL/SQL provides support for developing Web Applications and Server Pages.
PL/SQL - BASIC SYNTAX
The Basic Syntax of PL/SQL which is a block-structured language; this means that the PL/SQL
programs are divided and written in logical blocks of code. Each block consists of three sub-parts
S.No Sections & Description
Declarations
This section starts with the keyword DECLARE. It is an optional section and
1
defines all variables, cursors, subprograms, and other elements to be used in the
program.
Executable Commands
This section is enclosed between the keywords BEGIN and END and it is a
2 mandatory section. It consists of the executable PL/SQL statements of the program.
It should have at least one executable line of code, which may be just a NULL
command to indicate that nothing should be executed.
3 Exception Handling
This section starts with the keyword EXCEPTION. This optional section
contains exception(s) that handle errors in the program.
Every PL/SQL statement ends with a semicolon (;). PL/SQL blocks can be nested within other
PL/SQL blocks using BEGIN and END.
Following is the basic structure of a PL/SQL block –
DECLARE
<declarations section>
BEGIN
<executable command(s)>
EXCEPTION
<exception handling>
END;
The 'Hello World' Example
DECLARE
message varchar2(20):= 'Hello, World!';
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line(message);
END;
The end; line signals the end of the PL/SQL block. To run the code from the SQL command line,
you may need to type / at the beginning of the first blank line after the last line of the code. When
the above code is executed at the SQL prompt, it produces the following result −
Hello World
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

THE PL/SQL IDENTIFIERS

The identifiers consist of a letter optionally followed by more letters, numerals, dollar signs,
underscores, and number signs and should not exceed 30 characters. By default, identifiers are not
case-sensitive. So you can use integer or INTEGER to represent a numeric value. You cannot use
a reserved keyword as an identifier.
THE PL/SQL DELIMITERS

A delimiter is a symbol with a special meaning. Following is the list of delimiters in PL/SQL −
Delimiter Description
+, -, *, / Addition, subtraction/negation, multiplication, division
% Attribute indicator
' Character string delimiter
. Component selector
(,) Expression or list delimiter
: Host variable indicator
, Item separator
" Quoted identifier delimiter
= Relational operator
@ Remote access indicator
; Statement terminator
:= Assignment operator
=> Association operator
|| Concatenation operator
** Exponentiation operator
<<, >> Label delimiter (begin and end)
/*, */ Multi-line comment delimiter (begin and end)
-- Single-line comment indicator
.. Range operator
<, >, <=, >= Relational operators
<>, '=, ~=, ^= Different versions of NOT EQUAL

THE PL/SQL COMMENTS
Program comments are explanatory statements that can be included in the PL/SQL code that you
write and helps anyone reading its source code. All programming languages allow some form of
comments.
The PL/SQL supports single-line and multi-line comments. All characters available inside any
comment are ignored by the PL/SQL compiler. The PL/SQL single-line comments start with the
delimiter -- (double hyphen) and multi-line comments are enclosed by /* and */.
DECLARE
-- variable declaration
message varchar2(20):= 'Hello, World!';
BEGIN
/*
* PL/SQL executable statement(s)
*/
END;
/
When the above code is executed at the SQL prompt, it produces the following result −
Hello World

PL/SQL - DATA TYPES
In this chapter, we will discuss the Data Types in PL/SQL. The PL/SQL variables, constants and
parameters must have a valid data type, which specifies a storage format, constraints, and a valid
range of values. We will focus on the SCALAR and the LOB data types in this chapter. The other
two data types will be covered in other chapters.
S.No Category & Description
Scalar
1 Single values with no internal components, such as a NUMBER,
DATE, or BOOLEAN.
Large Object (LOB)

2 Pointers to large objects that are stored separately from other data items, such as
text, graphic images, video clips, and sound waveforms.
Composite
3 Data items that have internal components that can be accessed individually. For
example, collections and records.
Reference
4
Pointers to other data items.
PL/SQL Scalar Data Types and Subtypes
PL/SQL Scalar Data Types and Subtypes come under the following categories –
S.No Date Type & Description
Numeric
1
Numeric values on which arithmetic operations are performed.
Character
2
Alphanumeric values that represent single characters or strings of characters.
Boolean
3
Logical values on which logical operations are performed.
Datetime
4
Dates and times.
PL/SQL provides subtypes of data types. For example, the data type NUMBER has a subtype called
INTEGER. You can use the subtypes in your PL/SQL program to make the data types compatible
with data types in other programs while embedding the PL/SQL code in another program, such as
a Java program.
PL/SQL Numeric Data Types and Subtypes
Following table lists out the PL/SQL pre-defined numeric data types and their sub-types −
S.No Data Type & Description
PLS_INTEGER
1 Signed integer in range -2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647, represented in 32
bits
BINARY_INTEGER
2 Signed integer in range -2,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647, represented in 32
bits
BINARY_FLOAT
3
Single-precision IEEE 754-format floating-point number
BINARY_DOUBLE
4
Double-precision IEEE 754-format floating-point number
NUMBER(prec, scale)
5 Fixed-point or floating-point number with absolute value in range 1E-130 to (but
not including) 1.0E126. A NUMBER variable can also represent 0
DEC(prec, scale)
6
ANSI specific fixed-point type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
DECIMAL(prec, scale)
7
IBM specific fixed-point type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
NUMERIC(pre, secale)
8
Floating type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
DOUBLE PRECISION
9 ANSI specific floating-point type with maximum precision of 126 binary digits
(approximately 38 decimal digits)
10 FLOAT
ANSI and IBM specific floating-point type with maximum precision of 126 binary
digits (approximately 38 decimal digits)
INT
11
ANSI specific integer type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
INTEGER
12
ANSI and IBM specific integer type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
SMALLINT
13
ANSI and IBM specific integer type with maximum precision of 38 decimal digits
REAL
14 Floating-point type with maximum precision of 63 binary digits (approximately 18
decimal digits)
Following is a valid declaration −
DECLARE
num1 INTEGER;
num2 REAL;
num3 DOUBLE PRECISION;
BEGIN
null;
END;
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed
PL/SQL Character Data Types and Subtypes
Following is the detail of PL/SQL pre-defined character data types and their sub-types −
S.No Data Type & Description
CHAR
1
Fixed-length character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes
VARCHAR2
2
Variable-length character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes
RAW
3 Variable-length binary or byte string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes, not
interpreted by PL/SQL
NCHAR
4
Fixed-length national character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes
NVARCHAR2
5
Variable-length national character string with maximum size of 32,767 bytes
LONG
6
Variable-length character string with maximum size of 32,760 bytes
LONG RAW
7 Variable-length binary or byte string with maximum size of 32,760 bytes, not
interpreted by PL/SQL
ROWID
8
Physical row identifier, the address of a row in an ordinary table
UROWID
9
Universal row identifier (physical, logical, or foreign row identifier)
PL/SQL Boolean Data Types
The BOOLEAN data type stores logical values that are used in logical operations. The logical
values are the Boolean values TRUE and FALSE and the value NULL.
However, SQL has no data type equivalent to BOOLEAN. Therefore, Boolean values cannot be
used in −
 SQL statements
 Built-in SQL functions (such as TO_CHAR)
 PL/SQL functions invoked from SQL statements
PL/SQL Date time and Interval Types

The DATE datatype is used to store fixed-length datetimes, which include the time of day in
seconds since midnight. Valid dates range from January 1, 4712 BC to December 31, 9999 AD.
The default date format is set by the Oracle initialization parameter NLS_DATE_FORMAT. For
example, the default might be 'DD-MON-YY', which includes a two-digit number for the day of
the month, an abbreviation of the month name, and the last two digits of the year. For example, 01-
OCT-12.
Each DATE includes the century, year, month, day, hour, minute, and second. The following table
shows the valid values for each field −
Field Name Valid Datetime Values Valid Interval Values
YEAR -4712 to 9999 (excluding year 0) Any nonzero integer
MONTH 01 to 12 0 to 11
01 to 31 (limited by the values of

DAY MONTH and YEAR, according to the Any nonzero integer
rules of the calendar for the locale)
HOUR 00 to 23 0 to 23
MINUTE 00 to 59 0 to 59
00 to 59.9(n), where 9(n) is the precision 0 to 59.9(n), where

of time fractional seconds 9(n) is the precision
SECOND
of interval fractional
seconds
-12 to 14 (range accommodates daylight

TIMEZONE_HOUR Not applicable
savings time changes)
TIMEZONE_MINUTE 00 to 59 Not applicable
Found in the dynamic performance view

TIMEZONE_REGION Not applicable
V$TIMEZONE_NAMES
Found in the dynamic performance view

TIMEZONE_ABBR Not applicable
V$TIMEZONE_NAMES
PL/SQL Large Object (LOB) Data Types
Large Object (LOB) data types refer to large data items such as text, graphic images, video clips,
and sound waveforms. LOB data types allow efficient, random, piecewise access to this data.
Following are the predefined PL/SQL LOB data types –
Data Type Description Size
Used to store large binary objects in System-dependent. Cannot

BFILE operating system files outside the exceed 4 gigabytes (GB).
database.
Used to store large binary objects in the 8 to 128 terabytes (TB)

BLOB
database.
Used to store large blocks of character 8 to 128 TB

CLOB
data in the database.
Used to store large blocks of NCHAR 8 to 128 TB

NCLOB
data in the database.
PL/SQL User-Defined Subtypes
A subtype is a subset of another data type, which is called its base type. A subtype has the same
valid operations as its base type, but only a subset of its valid values.
PL/SQL predefines several subtypes in package STANDARD. For example, PL/SQL predefines
the subtypes CHARACTER and INTEGER as follows −
SUBTYPE CHARACTER IS CHAR;

SUBTYPE INTEGER IS NUMBER(38,0);
You can define and use your own subtypes. The following program illustrates defining and using a
user-defined subtype −
DECLARE
SUBTYPE name IS char(20);
SUBTYPE message IS varchar2(100);
salutation name;
greetings message;
BEGIN
salutation := 'Reader ';
greetings := 'Welcome to the World of PL/SQL';
dbms_output.put_line('Hello ' || salutation || greetings);
END;
/
Hello Reader Welcome to the World of PL/SQL
NULLs in PL/SQL
PL/SQL NULL values represent missing or unknown data and they are not an integer, a character,
or any other specific data type. Note that NULL is not the same as an empty data string or the null
character value '\0'. A null can be assigned but it cannot be equated with anything, including itself.
PL/SQL - VARIABLES
A variable is nothing but a name given to a storage area that our programs can manipulate. Each
variable in PL/SQL has a specific data type, which determines the size and the layout of the
variable's memory; the range of values that can be stored within that memory and the set of
operations that can be applied to the variable.
The name of a PL/SQL variable consists of a letter optionally followed by more letters, numerals,
dollar signs, underscores, and number signs and should not exceed 30 characters. By default,
variable names are not case-sensitive. You cannot use a reserved PL/SQL keyword as a variable
name.
PL/SQL programming language allows to define various types of variables, such as date time data
types, records, collections, etc. which we will cover in subsequent chapters. For this chapter, let us
study only basic variable types.
Variable Declaration in PL/SQL

PL/SQL variables must be declared in the declaration section or in a package as a global variable.
When you declare a variable, PL/SQL allocates memory for the variable's value and the storage
location is identified by the variable name.
The syntax for declaring a variable is −
variable_name [CONSTANT] datatype [NOT NULL] [:= | DEFAULT initial_value]

Where, variable_name is a valid identifier in PL/SQL, datatype must be a valid PL/SQL data type
or any user defined data type which we already have discussed in the last chapter. Some valid
variable declarations along with their definition are shown below −
sales number(10, 2);

pi CONSTANT double precision := 3.1415;
name varchar2(25);
address varchar2(100);
When you provide a size, scale or precision limit with the data type, it is called a constrained
declaration. Constrained declarations require less memory than unconstrained declarations.
For example −
sales number(10, 2);

name varchar2(25);
address varchar2(100);
Initializing Variables in PL/SQL
Whenever you declare a variable, PL/SQL assigns it a default value of NULL. If you want to
initialize a variable with a value other than the NULL value, you can do so during the declaration,
using either of the following −
 The DEFAULT keyword
 The assignment operator
For example −
counter binary_integer := 0;
greetings varchar2(20) DEFAULT 'Have a Good Day';
You can also specify that a variable should not have a NULL value using the NOT
NULL constraint. If you use the NOT NULL constraint, you must explicitly assign an initial value
for that variable.It is a good programming practice to initialize variables properly otherwise,
sometimes programs would produce unexpected results. Try the following example which makes
use of various types of variables −
DECLARE
a integer := 10;
b integer := 20;
c integer;
f real;
BEGIN
c := a + b;
dbms_output.put_line('Value of c: ' || c);

f := 70.0/3.0;
dbms_output.put_line('Value of f: ' || f);
END;
When the above code is executed, it produces the following result −
Value of c: 30
Value of f: 23.333333333333333333
Variable Scope in PL/SQL
PL/SQL allows the nesting of blocks, i.e., each program block may contain another inner block. If
a variable is declared within an inner block, it is not accessible to the outer block. However, if a
variable is declared and accessible to an outer block, it is also accessible to all nested inner blocks.
There are two types of variable scope −
 Local variables − Variables declared in an inner block and not accessible to outer blocks.
 Global variables − Variables declared in the outermost block or a package.
Following example shows the usage of Local and Global variables in its simple form −
DECLARE
-- Global variables
num1 number := 95;
num2 number := 85;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('Outer Variable num1: ' || num1);
dbms_output.put_line('Outer Variable num2: ' || num2);
DECLARE
-- Local variables
num1 number := 195;
num2 number := 185;
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('Inner Variable num1: ' || num1);

dbms_output.put_line('Inner Variable num2: ' || num2);
END;
END;
Outer Variable num1: 95

Outer Variable num2: 85
Inner Variable num1: 195
Inner Variable num2: 185
Assigning SQL Query Results to PL/SQL Variables
You can use the SELECT INTO statement of SQL to assign values to PL/SQL variables. For each
item in the SELECT list, there must be a corresponding, type-compatible variable in the INTO
list. The following example illustrates the concept. Let us create a table named CUSTOMERS −
(For SQL statements, please refer to the SQL tutorial)
CREATE TABLE CUSTOMERS(
ID INT NOT NULL,
NAME VARCHAR (20) NOT NULL,
AGE INT NOT NULL,
ADDRESS CHAR (25),
SALARY DECIMAL (18, 2),
PRIMARY KEY (ID)
);
Table Created
Let us now insert some values in the table −
INSERT INTO CUSTOMERS (ID,NAME,AGE,ADDRESS,SALARY)

VALUES (1, 'Ramesh', 32, 'Ahmedabad', 2000.00 );

VALUES (2, 'Khilan', 25, 'Delhi', 1500.00 );

VALUES (3, 'kaushik', 23, 'Kota', 2000.00 );

VALUES (4, 'Chaitali', 25, 'Mumbai', 6500.00 );

VALUES (5, 'Hardik', 27, 'Bhopal', 8500.00 );

VALUES (6, 'Komal', 22, 'MP', 4500.00 );
The following program assigns values from the above table to PL/SQL variables using
the SELECT INTO clause of SQL −
DECLARE
c_id customers.id%type := 1;
c_name customers.name%type;
c_addr customers.address%type;
c_sal customers.salary%type;
BEGIN
SELECT name, address, salary INTO c_name, c_addr, c_sal
FROM customers
WHERE id = c_id;
dbms_output.put_line
('Customer ' ||c_name || ' from ' || c_addr || ' earns ' || c_sal);
END;
Customer Ramesh from Ahmedabad earns 2000
PL/SQL procedure completed successfully
PL/SQL - CONSTANTS AND LITERALS
A constant holds a value that once declared, does not change in the program. A constant declaration
specifies its name, data type, and value, and allocates storage for it. The declaration can also impose
the NOT NULL constraint.
Declaring a Constant
A constant is declared using the CONSTANT keyword. It requires an initial value and does not
allow that value to be changed. For example −
PI CONSTANT NUMBER := 3.141592654;

DECLARE
-- constant declaration
pi constant number := 3.141592654;
-- other declarations
radius number(5,2);
dia number(5,2);
circumference number(7, 2);
area number (10, 2);
BEGIN
-- processing
radius := 9.5;
dia := radius * 2;
circumference := 2.0 * pi * radius;
area := pi * radius * radius;
-- output
dbms_output.put_line('Radius: ' || radius);
dbms_output.put_line('Diameter: ' || dia);
dbms_output.put_line('Circumference: ' || circumference);
dbms_output.put_line('Area: ' || area);
END;
/
Radius: 9.5
Diameter: 19
Circumference: 59.69
Area: 283.53
Pl/SQL procedure successfully completed.

THE PL/SQL LITERALS

A literal is an explicit numeric, character, string, or Boolean value not represented by an identifier.
For example, TRUE, 786, NULL, 'tutorialspoint' are all literals of type Boolean, number, or string.
PL/SQL, literals are case-sensitive. PL/SQL supports the following kinds of literals −
 Numeric Literals
 Character Literals
 String Literals
 BOOLEAN Literals
 Date and Time Literals
The following table provides examples from all these categories of literal values.
S.No Literal Type & Example
Numeric Literals
050 78 -14 0 +32767
1
6.6667 0.0 -12.0 3.14159 +7800.00
6E5 1.0E-8 3.14159e0 -1E38 -9.5e-3
Character Literals
2
'A' '%' '9' ' ' 'z' '('
String Literals
'Hello, world!'
3
'Tutorials Point'
'19-NOV-12'
BOOLEAN Literals
4
TRUE, FALSE, and NULL.
Date and Time Literals

5 DATE '1978-12-25';
TIMESTAMP '2012-10-29 12:01:01';
To embed single quotes within a string literal, place two single quotes next to each other as shown
in the following program −
DECLARE
message varchar2(30):= 'That''s tutorialspoint.com!';
BEGIN
END;
/
That's tutorialspoint.com!
PL/SQL - OPERATORS
In this chapter, we will discuss operators in PL/SQL. An operator is a symbol that tells the compiler
to perform specific mathematical or logical manipulation. PL/SQL language is rich in built-in
operators and provides the following types of operators −
 Arithmetic operators
 Relational operators
 Comparison operators
 Logical operators
 String operators
Here, we will understand the arithmetic, relational, comparison and logical operators one by one.
The String operators will be discussed in a later chapter − PL/SQL - Strings.
Arithmetic Operators
Following table shows all the arithmetic operators supported by PL/SQL. Let us assume variable
A holds 10 and variable B holds 5, then −
Show Examples
Operator Description Example
+ Adds two operands A + B will give 15
- Subtracts second operand from the first A - B will give 5
* Multiplies both operands A * B will give 50
/ Divides numerator by de-numerator A / B will give 2
** Exponentiation operator, raises one operand to the A ** B will give

power of other 100000
RELATIONAL OPERATORS
Relational operators compare two expressions or values and return a Boolean result. Following
table shows all the relational operators supported by PL/SQL. Let us assume variable A holds 10
and variable B holds 20, then −
Show Examples
Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if yes (A = B) is not
=
then condition becomes true. true.
!=
Checks if the values of two operands are equal or not, if (A != B) is
<> values are not equal then condition becomes true. true.
~=
Checks if the value of left operand is greater than the value of (A > B) is not
>
right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. true.
Checks if the value of left operand is less than the value of (A < B) is
<
right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. true.
Checks if the value of left operand is greater than or equal to (A >= B) is

>=
the value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. not true.
Checks if the value of left operand is less than or equal to the (A <= B) is
<=
value of right operand, if yes then condition becomes true. true
COMPARISON OPERATORS
Comparison operators are used for comparing one expression to another. The result is always
either TRUE, FALSE or NULL.
Show Examples
The LIKE operator compares a character, If 'Zara Ali' like 'Z% A_i'
string, or CLOB value to a pattern and returns a Boolean true,
LIKE
returns TRUE if the value matches the whereas, 'Nuha Ali' like 'Z%
pattern and FALSE if it does not. A_i' returns a Boolean false.
If x = 10 then, x between 5
The BETWEEN operator tests whether a
and 20 returns true, x between
value lies in a specified range. x
BETWEEN 5 and 10 returns true, but x
BETWEEN a AND b means that x >= a
between 11 and 20 returns
and x <= b.
false.
If x = 'm' then, x in ('a', 'b', 'c')

The IN operator tests set membership. x IN
returns Boolean false but x in
IN (set) means that x is equal to any member
('m', 'n', 'o') returns Boolean
of set.
true.
The IS NULL operator returns the

BOOLEAN value TRUE if its operand is
If x = 'm', then 'x is null'
IS NULL NULL or FALSE if it is not NULL.
returns Boolean false.
Comparisons involving NULL values
always yield NULL.
LOGICAL OPERATORS
Following table shows the Logical operators supported by PL/SQL. All these operators work on
Boolean operands and produce Boolean results. Let us assume variable A holds true and variable
B holds false, then −
Show Examples
Operator Description Examples
Called the logical AND operator. If both the operands are true (A and B) is
and
then condition becomes true. false.
Called the logical OR Operator. If any of the two operands is (A or B) is

or
true then condition becomes true. true.
Called the logical NOT Operator. Used to reverse the logical not (A and B)
not state of its operand. If a condition is true then Logical NOT is true.
operator will make it false.
PL/ SQL - String Functions

String functions are used to perform an operation on input string and return an output string.
Following are the string functions defined in SQL:
ASCII(): This function is used to find the ASCII value of a character.
Syntax: SELECT ascii('t');
Output: 116
CHAR_LENGTH(): This function is used to find the length of a word.
Syntax: SELECT char_length('Hello!');
Output: 6
CHARACTER_LENGTH(): This function is used to find the length of a line.
Syntax: SELECT CHARACTER_LENGTH('geeks for geeks');
Output: 15
CONCAT(): This function is used to add two words or strings.
Syntax: SELECT 'Geeks' || ' ' || 'forGeeks' FROM dual;
Output: ‘GeeksforGeeks’
LCASE(): This function is used to convert the given string into lower case.
Syntax: LCASE ("GeeksFor Geeks To Learn");
Output: geeksforgeeks to learn
LEFT(): This function is used to SELECT a sub string from the left of given size or
characters.
Syntax: SELECT LEFT('geeksforgeeks.org', 5);
Output: geeks
LENGTH(): This function is used to find the length of a word.
Syntax: LENGTH('GeeksForGeeks');
Output: 13
LOWER(): This function is used to convert the upper case string into lower case.
Syntax: SELECT LOWER('GEEKSFORGEEKS.ORG');
Output: geeksforgeeks.org
LTRIM(): This function is used to cut the given sub string from the original string.
Syntax: LTRIM('123123geeks', '123');
Output: geeks
REPEAT(): This function is used to write the given string again and again till the number of
times mentioned.
Syntax: SELECT REPEAT('geeks', 2);
Output: geeksgeeks
REPLACE(): This function is used to cut the given string by removing the given sub string.
Syntax: REPLACE('123geeks123', '123');
Output: geeks
REVERSE(): This function is used to reverse a string.
Syntax: SELECT REVERSE('geeksforgeeks.org');
Output: ‘gro.skeegrofskeeg’
RTRIM(): This function is used to cut the given sub string from the original string.
Syntax: RTRIM('geeksxyxzyyy', 'xyz');
Output: ‘geeks’
STRCMP(): This function is used to compare 2 strings.
If string1 and string2 are the same, the STRCMP function will return 0.
If string1 is smaller than string2, the STRCMP function will return -1.
If string1 is larger than string2, the STRCMP function will return 1.
Syntax: SELECT STRCMP('google.com', 'geeksforgeeks.com');
Output: -1
SUBSTRING(): This function is used to find an alphabet from the mentioned size and the
given string.
Syntax: SELECT SUBSTRING('GeeksForGeeks.org', 9, 1);
Output: ‘G’
TRIM(): This function is used to cut the given symbol from the string.
Syntax: TRIM(LEADING '0' FROM '000123');
Output: 123
UCASE(): This function is used to make the string in upper case.

Syntax: UCASE ("GeeksForGeeks");
Output:
GEEKSFORGEEKS
PL/SQL OPERATOR PRECEDENCE

Operator precedence determines the grouping of terms in an expression. This affects how an
expression is evaluated. Certain operators have higher precedence than others; for example, the
multiplication operator has higher precedence than the addition operator.
For example, x = 7 + 3 * 2; here, x is assigned 13, not 20 because operator * has higher precedence
than +, so it first gets multiplied with 3*2 and then adds into 7.
Here, operators with the highest precedence appear at the top of the table, those with the lowest
appear at the bottom. Within an expression, higher precedence operators will be evaluated first.
The precedence of operators goes as follows: =, <, >, <=, >=, <>, !=, ~=, ^=, IS NULL, LIKE,
BETWEEN, IN.
Show Examples
Operator Operation
** exponentiation
+, - identity, negation
*, / multiplication, division
+, -, || addition, subtraction, concatenation
comparison
NOT logical negation
AND conjunction
OR inclusion
PL/SQL – CONDITIONS- (Decision-Making Structures)
Decision-making structures require that the programmer specify one or more conditions to be
evaluated or tested by the program, along with a statement or statements to be executed if the
condition is determined to be true, and optionally, other statements to be executed if the condition
is determined to be false.
Following is the general form of a typical conditional (i.e., decision making) structure found in
most of the programming languages −
PL/SQL programming language provides following types of decision-making statements.
S.No Statement & Description
IF - THEN statement
The IF statement associates a condition with a sequence of statements enclosed by
1
the keywords THEN and END IF. If the condition is true, the statements get
executed and if the condition is false or NULL then the IF statement does nothing.
IF-THEN-ELSE statement
IF statement adds the keyword ELSE followed by an alternative sequence of
2 statement. If the condition is false or NULL, then only the alternative sequence of
statements get executed. It ensures that either of the sequence of statements is
executed.
IF-THEN-ELSIF statement
3
It allows you to choose between several alternatives.
Case statement
4 Like the IF statement, the CASE statement selects one sequence of statements to
execute.
However, to select the sequence, the CASE statement uses a selector rather than
multiple Boolean expressions. A selector is an expression whose value is used to
select one of several alternatives.
Searched CASE statement

5 The searched CASE statement has no selector, and it's WHEN clauses contain
search conditions that yield Boolean values.
nested IF-THEN-ELSE
6 You can use one IF-THEN or IF-THEN-ELSIF statement inside another IF-
THEN or IF-THEN-ELSIF statement(s).
PL/SQL - IF-THEN STATEMENT
It is the simplest form of the IF control statement, frequently used in decision-making and changing
the control flow of the program execution.
The IF statement associates a condition with a sequence of statements enclosed by the

keywords THEN and END IF.
If the condition is TRUE, the statements get executed, and if the condition is FALSE or NULL,
then the IFstatement does nothing.
Syntax
Syntax for IF-THEN statement is −
IF condition THEN
S;
END IF;
Where condition is a Boolean or relational condition and S is a simple or compound statement.
Following is an example of the IF-THEN statement −
IF (a <= 20) THEN
c:= c+1;
END IF;
If the Boolean expression condition evaluates to true, then the block of code inside the if
statement will be executed. If the Boolean expression evaluates to false, then the first set of code
after the end of the if statement (after the closing end if) will be executed.
Flow Diagram
Example 1
Let us try an example that will help you understand the concept −
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
a:= 10;
-- check the boolean condition using if statement
IF( a < 20 ) THEN
-- if condition is true then print the following
dbms_output.put_line('a is less than 20 ' );
END IF;
dbms_output.put_line('value of a is : ' || a);
END;
a is less than 20
value of a is : 10

PL/SQL - IF-THEN-ELSE Statement
A sequence of IF-THEN statements can be followed by an optional sequence of ELSE statements,

which execute when the condition is FALSE.
Syntax
Syntax for the IF-THEN-ELSE statement is −
IF condition THEN
S1;
ELSE
S2;
END IF;
Where, S1 and S2 are different sequence of statements. In the IF-THEN-ELSE statements, when
the test condition is TRUE, the statement S1 is executed and S2 is skipped; when the test condition
is FALSE, then S1 is bypassed and statement S2 is executed. For example −
IF color = red THEN
dbms_output.put_line('You have chosen a red car')
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line('Please choose a color for your car');
END IF;
If the Boolean expression condition evaluates to true, then the if-then block of code will be
executed otherwise the else block of code will be executed.
Flow Diagram
Example
Let us try an example that will help you understand the concept −
DECLARE
a number(3) := 100;
BEGIN
-- check the boolean condition using if statement
IF( a < 20 ) THEN
-- if condition is true then print the following
dbms_output.put_line('a is less than 20 ' );
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line('a is not less than 20 ' );
END IF;
dbms_output.put_line('value of a is : ' || a);
END;
a is not less than 20

value of a is : 100
PL/SQL - IF-THEN-ELSIF Statement
The IF-THEN-ELSIF statement allows you to choose between several alternatives. An IF-
THEN statement can be followed by an optional ELSIF...ELSE statement. The ELSIF clause lets
you add additional conditions.
When using IF-THEN-ELSIF statements there are a few points to keep in mind.
 It's ELSIF, not ELSEIF.
 An IF-THEN statement can have zero or one ELSE's and it must come after any ELSIF's.
 An IF-THEN statement can have zero to many ELSIF's and they must come before the
ELSE.
 Once an ELSIF succeeds, none of the remaining ELSIF's or ELSE's will be tested.
Syntax
The syntax of an IF-THEN-ELSIF Statement in PL/SQL programming language is −
IF(boolean_expression 1)THEN
S1; -- Executes when the boolean expression 1 is true
ELSIF( boolean_expression 2) THEN
ELSIF( boolean_expression 3) THEN
ELSE
S4; -- executes when the none of the above condition is true
END IF;
Example
DECLARE
a number(3) := 100;
BEGIN
IF ( a = 10 ) THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Value of a is 10' );
ELSIF ( a = 20 ) THEN
ELSIF ( a = 30 ) THEN
ELSE
dbms_output.put_line('None of the values is matching');
END IF;
dbms_output.put_line('Exact value of a is: '|| a );
END;
None of the values is matching

Exact value of a is: 100
PL/SQL - CASE Statement
Like the IF statement, the CASE statement selects one sequence of statements to execute.
However, to select the sequence, the CASE statement uses a selector rather than multiple Boolean
expressions. A selector is an expression, the value of which is used to select one of several
alternatives.
Syntax
The syntax for the case statement in PL/SQL is −
CASE selector
WHEN 'value1' THEN S1;
...
ELSE Sn; -- default case
END CASE;
Flow Diagram
Example
DECLARE
grade char(1) := 'A';
BEGIN
CASE grade
when 'A' then dbms_output.put_line('Excellent');
when 'B' then dbms_output.put_line('Very good');
when 'C' then dbms_output.put_line('Well done');
when 'D' then dbms_output.put_line('You passed');
when 'F' then dbms_output.put_line('Better try again');
else dbms_output.put_line('No such grade');
END CASE;
END;
Excellent
L/SQL - Loops
There may be a situation when you need to execute a block of code several number of times. In
general, statements are executed sequentially: The first statement in a function is executed first,
followed by the second, and so on.
Programming languages provide various control structures that allow for more complicated
execution paths.
A loop statement allows us to execute a statement or group of statements multiple times and
following is the general form of a loop statement in most of the programming languages −
PL/SQL provides the following types of loop to handle the looping requirements.
S.No Loop Type & Description
1 PL/SQL Basic LOOP

In this loop structure, sequence of statements is enclosed between the LOOP and the
END LOOP statements. At each iteration, the sequence of statements is executed
and then control resumes at the top of the loop.
PL/SQL WHILE LOOP

2 Repeats a statement or group of statements while a given condition is true. It tests
the condition before executing the loop body.
PL/SQL FOR LOOP

3 Execute a sequence of statements multiple times and abbreviates the code that
manages the loop variable.
Nested loops in PL/SQL

4
You can use one or more loop inside any another basic loop, while, or for loop.
Labeling a PL/SQL Loop

PL/SQL loops can be labeled. The label should be enclosed by double angle brackets (<< and >>)
and appear at the beginning of the LOOP statement. The label name can also appear at the end of
the LOOP statement. You may use the label in the EXIT statement to exit from the loop.
The following program illustrates the concept −
DECLARE
i number(1);
j number(1);
BEGIN
<< outer_loop >>
FOR i IN 1..3 LOOP
<< inner_loop >>
FOR j IN 1..3 LOOP
dbms_output.put_line('i is: '|| i || ' and j is: ' || j);
END loop inner_loop;
END loop outer_loop;
END;
/
i is: 1 and j is: 1
i is: 1 and j is: 2
i is: 1 and j is: 3
i is: 2 and j is: 1
i is: 2 and j is: 2
i is: 2 and j is: 3

i is: 3 and j is: 1
i is: 3 and j is: 2
i is: 3 and j is: 3
The Loop Control Statements

Loop control statements change execution from its normal sequence. When execution leaves a
scope, all automatic objects that were created in that scope are destroyed.
PL/SQL supports the following control statements. Labeling loops also help in taking the control
outside a loop. Click the following links to check their details.
S.No Control Statement & Description
EXIT statement
1 The Exit statement completes the loop and control passes to the statement
immediately after the END LOOP.
CONTINUE statement
2 Causes the loop to skip the remainder of its body and immediately retest its condition
prior to reiterating.
GOTO statement
3 Transfers control to the labeled statement. Though it is not advised to use the GOTO
statement in your program.
PL/SQL - Basic Loop Statement
Basic loop structure encloses sequence of statements in between the LOOPand END
LOOP statements. With each iteration, the sequence of statements is executed and then control
resumes at the top of the loop.
Syntax
The syntax of a basic loop in PL/SQL programming language is −
LOOP
Sequence of statements;
END LOOP;
Here, the sequence of statement(s) may be a single statement or a block of statements. An EXIT
statement or an EXIT WHEN statement is required to break the loop.
Example
DECLARE
x number := 10;
BEGIN
LOOP
dbms_output.put_line(x);
x := x + 10;
IF x > 50 THEN
exit;
END IF;
END LOOP;
-- after exit, control resumes here
dbms_output.put_line('After Exit x is: ' || x);
END;
10
20
30
40
50
After Exit x is: 60

You can use the EXIT WHEN statement instead of the EXIT statement −
DECLARE
x number := 10;
BEGIN
LOOP
dbms_output.put_line(x);
x := x + 10;
exit WHEN x > 50;
END LOOP;
-- after exit, control resumes here

dbms_output.put_line('After Exit x is: ' || x);
END;
10
20
30
40
50
After Exit x is: 60
PL/SQL - WHILE LOOP Statement
A WHILE LOOP statement in PL/SQL programming language repeatedly executes a target

statement as long as a given condition is true.
Syntax
WHILE condition LOOP
sequence_of_statements
END LOOP;
Example
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
WHILE a < 20 LOOP
dbms_output.put_line('value of a: ' || a);
a := a + 1;
END LOOP;
END;
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19
PL/SQL - FOR LOOP Statement
A FOR LOOP is a repetition control structure that allows you to efficiently write a loop that needs
to execute a specific number of times.
Syntax
FOR counter IN initial_value .. final_value LOOP
sequence_of_statements;
END LOOP;
Following is the flow of control in a For Loop −
 The initial step is executed first, and only once. This step allows you to declare and initialize
any loop control variables.
 Next, the condition, i.e., initial_value .. final_value is evaluated. If it is TRUE, the body of
the loop is executed. If it is FALSE, the body of the loop does not execute and the flow of
control jumps to the next statement just after the for loop.
 After the body of the for loop executes, the value of the counter variable is increased or
decreased.
 The condition is now evaluated again. If it is TRUE, the loop executes and the process
repeats itself (body of loop, then increment step, and then again condition). After the
condition becomes FALSE, the FOR-LOOP terminates.
Following are some special characteristics of PL/SQL for loop −
 The initial_value and final_value of the loop variable or counter can be literals, variables, or
expressions but must evaluate to numbers. Otherwise, PL/SQL raises the predefined
exception VALUE_ERROR.
 The initial_value need not be 1; however, the loop counter increment (or decrement)
must be 1.
 PL/SQL allows the determination of the loop range dynamically at run time.
Example
DECLARE
a number(2);
BEGIN
FOR a in 10 .. 20 LOOP
END LOOP;
END;
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19
value of a: 20
Reverse FOR LOOP Statement

By default, iteration proceeds from the initial value to the final value, generally upward from the
lower bound to the higher bound. You can reverse this order by using the REVERSE keyword. In
such case, iteration proceeds the other way. After each iteration, the loop counter is decremented.
However, you must write the range bounds in ascending (not descending) order. The following
program illustrates this −
DECLARE
a number(2) ;
BEGIN
FOR a IN REVERSE 10 .. 20 LOOP
END LOOP;
END;
value of a: 20
value of a: 19
value of a: 18
value of a: 17
value of a: 16
value of a: 15
value of a: 14
value of a: 13
value of a: 12
value of a: 11
value of a: 10
PL/SQL - Nested Loops
PL/SQL allows using one loop inside another loop. Following section shows a few examples to
illustrate the concept.
The syntax for a nested basic LOOP statement in PL/SQL is as follows −
LOOP
Sequence of statements1
LOOP
Sequence of statements2
END LOOP;
END LOOP;
The syntax for a nested FOR LOOP statement in PL/SQL is as follows −
FOR counter1 IN initial_value1 .. final_value1 LOOP

sequence_of_statements1
FOR counter2 IN initial_value2 .. final_value2 LOOP
END LOOP;
END LOOP;
The syntax for a nested WHILE LOOP statement in Pascal is as follows −
WHILE condition1 LOOP

WHILE condition2 LOOP

END LOOP;
END LOOP;
Example
The following program uses a nested basic loop to find the prime numbers from 2 to 100 −
DECLARE
i number(3);
j number(3);
BEGIN
i := 2;
LOOP
j:= 2;
LOOP
exit WHEN ((mod(i, j) = 0) or (j = i));
j := j +1;
END LOOP;
IF (j = i ) THEN
dbms_output.put_line(i || ' is prime');
END IF;
i := i + 1;
exit WHEN i = 50;
END LOOP;
END;
2 is prime
3 is prime
5 is prime
7 is prime
11 is prime
13 is prime
17 is prime
19 is prime
23 is prime
29 is prime
31 is prime
37 is prime
41 is prime
43 is prime
47 is prime
PL/SQL - EXIT Statement
The EXIT statement in PL/SQL programming language has the following two usages −
 When the EXIT statement is encountered inside a loop, the loop is immediately terminated
and the program control resumes at the next statement following the loop.
 If you are using nested loops (i.e., one loop inside another loop), the EXIT statement will
stop the execution of the innermost loop and start executing the next line of code after the
block.
Syntax
The syntax for an EXIT statement in PL/SQL is as follows −
EXIT;
Flow Diagram
Example
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
-- while loop execution
WHILE a < 20 LOOP
dbms_output.put_line ('value of a: ' || a);
a := a + 1;
IF a > 15 THEN
-- terminate the loop using the exit statement
EXIT;
END IF;
END LOOP;
END;
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15
The EXIT WHEN Statement

The EXIT-WHEN statement allows the condition in the WHEN clause to be evaluated. If the
condition is true, the loop completes and control passes to the statement immediately after the END
LOOP.
Following are the two important aspects for the EXIT WHEN statement −
 Until the condition is true, the EXIT-WHEN statement acts like a NULL statement, except
for evaluating the condition, and does not terminate the loop.
 A statement inside the loop must change the value of the condition.
Syntax
The syntax for an EXIT WHEN statement in PL/SQL is as follows −
EXIT WHEN condition;

The EXIT WHEN statement replaces a conditional statement like if-thenused with the EXIT
statement.
Example
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
WHILE a < 20 LOOP
a := a + 1;
-- terminate the loop using the exit when statement
EXIT WHEN a > 15;
END LOOP;
END;
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 15

PL/SQL - CONTINUE Statement
The CONTINUE statement causes the loop to skip the remainder of its body and immediately
retest its condition prior to reiterating. In other words, it forces the next iteration of the loop to take
place, skipping any code in between.
Syntax
The syntax for a CONTINUE statement is as follows −
CONTINUE;
Flow Diagram
Example
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
WHILE a < 20 LOOP
a := a + 1;
IF a = 15 THEN
-- skip the loop using the CONTINUE statement
a := a + 1;
CONTINUE;
END IF;
END LOOP;
END;
/
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19
PL/SQL - GOTO Statement
A GOTO statement in PL/SQL programming language provides an unconditional jump from the
GOTO to a labeled statement in the same subprogram.
NOTE − The use of GOTO statement is not recommended in any programming language because
it makes it difficult to trace the control flow of a program, making the program hard to understand
and hard to modify. Any program that uses a GOTO can be rewritten so that it doesn't need the
GOTO.
Syntax
The syntax for a GOTO statement in PL/SQL is as follows −
GOTO label;
..
..
<< label >>
statement;
Flow Diagram
Example
DECLARE
a number(2) := 10;
BEGIN
<<loopstart>>
WHILE a < 20 LOOP
a := a + 1;
IF a = 15 THEN
a := a + 1;
GOTO loopstart;
END IF;
END LOOP;
END;
value of a: 10
value of a: 11
value of a: 12
value of a: 13
value of a: 14
value of a: 16
value of a: 17
value of a: 18
value of a: 19
Restrictions with GOTO Statement

GOTO Statement in PL/SQL imposes the following restrictions −
 A GOTO statement cannot branch into an IF statement, CASE statement, LOOP statement
or sub-block.
 A GOTO statement cannot branch from one IF statement clause to another or from one
CASE statement WHEN clause to another.
 A GOTO statement cannot branch from an outer block into a sub-block (i.e., an inner
BEGIN-END block).
 A GOTO statement cannot branch out of a subprogram. To end a subprogram early, either
use the RETURN statement or have GOTO branch to a place right before the end of the
subprogram.
 A GOTO statement cannot branch from an exception handler back into the current BEGIN-
END block. However, a GOTO statement can branch from an exception handler into an
enclosing block.
PL/SQL - ARRAYS
The PL/SQL programming language provides a data structure called the VARRAY, which can
store a fixed-size sequential collection of elements of the same type. A varray is used to store an
ordered collection of data, however it is often better to think of an array as a collection of variables
of the same type.
All varrays consist of contiguous memory locations. The lowest address corresponds to the first
element and the highest address to the last element.
An array is a part of collection type data and it stands for variable-size arrays. We will study other
collection types in a later chapter 'PL/SQL Collections'.
Each element in a varray has an index associated with it. It also has a maximum size that can be
changed dynamically.
Creating a Varray Type

A varray type is created with the CREATE TYPE statement. You must specify the maximum size
and the type of elements stored in the varray.
The basic syntax for creating a VARRAY type at the schema level is −
CREATE OR REPLACE TYPE varray_type_name IS VARRAY(n) of <element_type>

Where,
 varray_type_name is a valid attribute name,

 n is the number of elements (maximum) in the varray,
 element_type is the data type of the elements of the array.
Maximum size of a varray can be changed using the ALTER TYPE statement.
For example,
CREATE Or REPLACE TYPE namearray AS VARRAY(3) OF VARCHAR2(10);
Type created.
The basic syntax for creating a VARRAY type within a PL/SQL block is −
TYPE varray_type_name IS VARRAY(n) of <element_type>

For example −
TYPE namearray IS VARRAY(5) OF VARCHAR2(10);
Type grades IS VARRAY(5) OF INTEGER;
Let us now work out on a few examples to understand the concept −
Example 1
The following program illustrates the use of varrays −
DECLARE
type namesarray IS VARRAY(5) OF VARCHAR2(10);
type grades IS VARRAY(5) OF INTEGER;
names namesarray;
marks grades;
total integer;
BEGIN
names := namesarray('Kavita', 'Pritam', 'Ayan', 'Rishav', 'Aziz');
marks:= grades(98, 97, 78, 87, 92);
total := names.count;
dbms_output.put_line('Total '|| total || ' Students');
FOR i in 1 .. total LOOP
dbms_output.put_line('Student: ' || names(i) || '
Marks: ' || marks(i));
END LOOP;
END;
Total 5 Students
Student: Kavita Marks: 98
Student: Pritam Marks: 97
Student: Ayan Marks: 78
Student: Rishav Marks: 87
Student: Aziz Marks: 92

Please note −
 In Oracle environment, the starting index for varrays is always 1.
 You can initialize the varray elements using the constructor method of the varray type, which
has the same name as the varray.
 Varrays are one-dimensional arrays.
 A varray is automatically NULL when it is declared and must be initialized before its
elements can be referenced.
Example 2
Elements of a varray could also be a %ROWTYPE of any database table or %TYPE of any database
table field. The following example illustrates the concept.
We will use the CUSTOMERS table stored in our database as −
Select * from customers;
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
| ID | NAME | AGE | ADDRESS | SALARY |
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
| 1 | Ramesh | 32 | Ahmedabad | 2000.00 |
| 2 | Khilan | 25 | Delhi | 1500.00 |
| 3 | kaushik | 23 | Kota | 2000.00 |
| 4 | Chaitali | 25 | Mumbai | 6500.00 |
| 5 | Hardik | 27 | Bhopal | 8500.00 |
| 6 | Komal | 22 | MP | 4500.00 |
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
Following example makes the use of cursor, which you will study in detail in a separate chapter.
DECLARE
CURSOR c_customers is
SELECT name FROM customers;
type c_list is varray (6) of customers.name%type;

name_list c_list := c_list();
counter integer :=0;
BEGIN
FOR n IN c_customers LOOP
counter := counter + 1;
name_list.extend;
name_list(counter) := n.name;
dbms_output.put_line('Customer('||counter ||'):'||name_list(counter));
END LOOP;
END;
Customer(1): Ramesh
Customer(2): Khilan
Customer(3): kaushik
Customer(4): Chaitali
Customer(5): Hardik
Customer(6): Komal
PL/SQL - PROCEDURES
A subprogram is a program unit/module that performs a particular task. These subprograms are
combined to form larger programs. This is basically called the 'Modular design'. A subprogram can
be invoked by another subprogram or program which is called the calling program.
A subprogram can be created −
 At the schema level

 Inside a package
 Inside a PL/SQL block
At the schema level, subprogram is a standalone subprogram. It is created with the CREATE
PROCEDURE or the CREATE FUNCTION statement. It is stored in the database and can be
deleted with the DROP PROCEDURE or DROP FUNCTION statement.
A subprogram created inside a package is a packaged subprogram. It is stored in the database and
can be deleted only when the package is deleted with the DROP PACKAGE statement. We will
discuss packages in the chapter 'PL/SQL - Packages'.
PL/SQL subprograms are named PL/SQL blocks that can be invoked with a set of parameters.
PL/SQL provides two kinds of subprograms −
 Functions − these subprograms return a single value; mainly used to compute and return a
value.
 Procedures − these subprograms do not return a value directly; mainly used to perform an
action.
This chapter is going to cover important aspects of a PL/SQL procedure. We will discuss PL/SQL
function in the next chapter.
Parts of a PL/SQL Subprogram
Each PL/SQL subprogram has a name, and may also have a parameter list. Like anonymous
PL/SQL blocks, the named blocks will also have the following three parts −
S.No Parts & Description
Declarative Part
It is an optional part. However, the declarative part for a subprogram does not start
1
with the DECLARE keyword. It contains declarations of types, cursors, constants,
variables, exceptions, and nested subprograms. These items are local to the
subprogram and cease to exist when the subprogram completes execution.
Executable Part
2
This is a mandatory part and contains statements that perform the designated action.
Exception-handling
3
This is again an optional part. It contains the code that handles run-time errors.
Creating a Procedure
A procedure is created with the CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDUREstatement. The
simplified syntax for the CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE statement is as follows −
CREATE [OR REPLACE] PROCEDURE procedure_name
[(parameter_name [IN | OUT | IN OUT] type [, ...])]
{IS | AS}
BEGIN
< procedure_body >
END procedure_name;
Where,
 procedure-name specifies the name of the procedure.
 [OR REPLACE] option allows the modification of an existing procedure.
 The optional parameter list contains name, mode and types of the parameters. IN represents
the value that will be passed from outside and OUT represents the parameter that will be
used to return a value outside of the procedure.
 procedure-body contains the executable part.
 The AS keyword is used instead of the IS keyword for creating a standalone procedure.
Example
The following example creates a simple procedure that displays the string 'Hello World!' on the
screen when executed.
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE greetings
AS
BEGIN
dbms_output.put_line('Hello World!');
END;
When the above code is executed using the SQL prompt, it will produce the following result −
Procedure created.
Executing a Standalone Procedure

A standalone procedure can be called in two ways −
 Using the EXECUTE keyword
 Calling the name of the procedure from a PL/SQL block
The above procedure named 'greetings' can be called with the EXECUTE keyword as −
EXECUTE greetings;
The above call will display −
Hello World

The procedure can also be called from another PL/SQL block −
BEGIN
greetings;
END;
The above call will display −
Hello World
Deleting a Standalone Procedure

A standalone procedure is deleted with the DROP PROCEDURE statement. Syntax for deleting
a procedure is −
DROP PROCEDURE procedure-name;

You can drop the greetings procedure by using the following statement −
DROP PROCEDURE greetings;
Parameter Modes in PL/SQL Subprograms

The following table lists out the parameter modes in PL/SQL subprograms −
S.No Parameter Mode & Description
1 IN
An IN parameter lets you pass a value to the subprogram. It is a read-only

parameter. Inside the subprogram, an IN parameter acts like a constant. It cannot
be assigned a value. You can pass a constant, literal, initialized variable, or
expression as an IN parameter. You can also initialize it to a default value; however,
in that case, it is omitted from the subprogram call. It is the default mode of
parameter passing. Parameters are passed by reference.
OUT
An OUT parameter returns a value to the calling program. Inside the subprogram,
2
an OUT parameter acts like a variable. You can change its value and reference the
value after assigning it. The actual parameter must be variable and it is passed
by value.
IN OUT
An IN OUT parameter passes an initial value to a subprogram and returns an

3 updated value to the caller. It can be assigned a value and the value can be read.
The actual parameter corresponding to an IN OUT formal parameter must be a

variable, not a constant or an expression. Formal parameter must be assigned a
value. Actual parameter is passed by value.
IN & OUT Mode Example 1

This program finds the minimum of two values. Here, the procedure takes two numbers using the
IN mode and returns their minimum using the OUT parameters.
DECLARE
a number;
b number;
c number;
PROCEDURE findMin(x IN number, y IN number, z OUT number) IS
BEGIN
IF x < y THEN
z:= x;
ELSE
z:= y;
END IF;
END;
BEGIN
a:= 23;
b:= 45;
findMin(a, b, c);
dbms_output.put_line(' Minimum of (23, 45) : ' || c);
END;
Minimum of (23, 45) : 23
IN & OUT Mode Example 2

This procedure computes the square of value of a passed value. This example shows how we can
use the same parameter to accept a value and then return another result.
DECLARE
a number;
PROCEDURE squareNum(x IN OUT number) IS
BEGIN
x := x * x;
END;
BEGIN
a:= 23;
squareNum(a);
dbms_output.put_line(' Square of (23): ' || a);
END;
Square of (23): 529

Methods for Passing Parameters

Actual parameters can be passed in three ways −
 Positional notation
 Named notation
 Mixed notation
Positional Notation
In positional notation, you can call the procedure as −
findMin(a, b, c, d);
In positional notation, the first actual parameter is substituted for the first formal parameter; the
second actual parameter is substituted for the second formal parameter, and so on. So, a is
substituted for x, b is substituted for y, c is substituted for z and d is substituted for m.
Named Notation
In named notation, the actual parameter is associated with the formal parameter using the arrow
symbol ( => ). The procedure call will be like the following −
findMin(x => a, y => b, z => c, m => d);
Mixed Notation
In mixed notation, you can mix both notations in procedure call; however, the positional notation
should precede the named notation.
The following call is legal −
findMin(a, b, c, m => d);

However, this is not legal:
findMin(x => a, b, c, d);

PL/SQL - FUNCTIONS
A function is same as a procedure except that it returns a value. Therefore, all the discussions of
the previous chapter are true for functions too.
Creating a Function
A standalone function is created using the CREATE FUNCTION statement. The simplified
syntax for the CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE statement is as follows −
CREATE [OR REPLACE] FUNCTION function_name

[(parameter_name [IN | OUT | IN OUT] type [, ...])]
RETURN return_datatype
{IS | AS}
BEGIN
< function_body >
END [function_name];
Where,
 function-name specifies the name of the function.
 [OR REPLACE] option allows the modification of an existing function.
 The optional parameter list contains name, mode and types of the parameters. IN represents
the value that will be passed from outside and OUT represents the parameter that will be
used to return a value outside of the procedure.
 The function must contain a return statement.
 The RETURN clause specifies the data type you are going to return from the function.
 function-body contains the executable part.
 The AS keyword is used instead of the IS keyword for creating a standalone function.
Example
The following example illustrates how to create and call a standalone function. This function returns
the total number of CUSTOMERS in the customers table.
We will use the CUSTOMERS table, which we had created in the PL/SQL Variables chapter −
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
| 2 | Khilan | 25 | Delhi | 1500.00 |
| 3 | kaushik | 23 | Kota | 2000.00 |
| 4 | Chaitali | 25 | Mumbai | 6500.00 |

| 5 | Hardik | 27 | Bhopal | 8500.00 |
| 6 | Komal | 22 | MP | 4500.00 |
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION totalCustomers
RETURN number IS
total number(2) := 0;
BEGIN
SELECT count(*) into total
FROM customers;
RETURN total;
END;
When the above code is executed using the SQL prompt, it will produce the following result −
Function created.
Calling a Function
While creating a function, you give a definition of what the function has to do. To use a function,
you will have to call that function to perform the defined task. When a program calls a function,
the program control is transferred to the called function.
A called function performs the defined task and when its return statement is executed or when
the last end statement is reached, it returns the program control back to the main program.
To call a function, you simply need to pass the required parameters along with the function name
and if the function returns a value, then you can store the returned value. Following program calls
the function totalCustomers from an anonymous block −
DECLARE
c number(2);
BEGIN
c := totalCustomers();
dbms_output.put_line('Total no. of Customers: ' || c);
END;
/
Total no. of Customers: 6
Example
The following example demonstrates Declaring, Defining, and Invoking a Simple PL/SQL
Function that computes and returns the maximum of two values.
DECLARE
a number;
b number;
c number;
FUNCTION findMax(x IN number, y IN number) RETURN number
IS z number;
BEGIN
IF x > y THEN
z:= x;
ELSE
Z:= y;
END IF;
RETURN z;
END;
BEGIN
a:= 23;
b:= 45;
c := findMax(a, b);
dbms_output.put_line(' Maximum of (23,45): ' || c);
END;
Maximum of (23,45): 45
PL/SQL Recursive Functions

We have seen that a program or subprogram may call another subprogram. When a subprogram
calls itself, it is referred to as a recursive call and the process is known as recursion.
To illustrate the concept, let us calculate the factorial of a number. Factorial of a number n is defined
as −
n! = n*(n-1)!
= n*(n-1)*(n-2)!
...
= n*(n-1)*(n-2)*(n-3)... 1
The following program calculates the factorial of a given number by calling itself recursively −
DECLARE
num number;
factorial number;
FUNCTION fact(x number) RETURN number IS f number;
BEGIN
IF x=0 THEN
f := 1;
ELSE
f := x * fact(x-1);
END IF;
RETURN f;
END;
BEGIN
num:= 6;
factorial := fact(num);
dbms_output.put_line(' Factorial '|| num || ' is ' || factorial);
END;
Factorial 6 is 720
PL/SQL - CURSORS
In this chapter, we will discuss the cursors in PL/SQL. Oracle creates a memory area, known as the
context area, for processing an SQL statement, which contains all the information needed for
processing the statement; for example, the number of rows processed, etc.
A cursor is a pointer to this context area. PL/SQL controls the context area through a cursor. A
cursor holds the rows (one or more) returned by a SQL statement. The set of rows the cursor holds
is referred to as the active set.
You can name a cursor so that it could be referred to in a program to fetch and process the rows
returned by the SQL statement, one at a time. There are two types of cursors −
 Implicit cursors
 Explicit cursors
Implicit Cursors
Implicit cursors are automatically created by Oracle whenever an SQL statement is executed, when
there is no explicit cursor for the statement. Programmers cannot control the implicit cursors and
the information in it.
Whenever a DML statement (INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE) is issued, an implicit cursor is
associated with this statement. For INSERT operations, the cursor holds the data that needs to be
inserted. For UPDATE and DELETE operations, the cursor identifies the rows that would be
affected.
In PL/SQL, you can refer to the most recent implicit cursor as the SQL cursor, which always has
attributes such as %FOUND, %ISOPEN, %NOTFOUND, and %ROWCOUNT. The SQL
cursor has additional attributes, %BULK_ROWCOUNT and %BULK_EXCEPTIONS,
designed for use with the FORALL statement. The following table provides the description of the
most used attributes –
S.No Attribute & Description
%FOUND
1 Returns TRUE if an INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement affected one or
more rows or a SELECT INTO statement returned one or more rows. Otherwise, it
returns FALSE.
%NOTFOUND
2 The logical opposite of %FOUND. It returns TRUE if an INSERT, UPDATE, or

DELETE statement affected no rows, or a SELECT INTO statement returned no
rows. Otherwise, it returns FALSE.
%ISOPEN
3
Always returns FALSE for implicit cursors, because Oracle closes the SQL cursor
automatically after executing its associated SQL statement.
%ROWCOUNT
4
Returns the number of rows affected by an INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE
statement, or returned by a SELECT INTO statement.
Any SQL cursor attribute will be accessed as sql%attribute_name as shown below in the
example.
Example
We will be using the CUSTOMERS table we had created and used in the previous chapters.
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
| 2 | Khilan | 25 | Delhi | 1500.00 |
| 3 | kaushik | 23 | Kota | 2000.00 |
| 4 | Chaitali | 25 | Mumbai | 6500.00 |
| 5 | Hardik | 27 | Bhopal | 8500.00 |
| 6 | Komal | 22 | MP | 4500.00 |
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
The following program will update the table and increase the salary of each customer by 500 and
use the SQL%ROWCOUNT attribute to determine the number of rows affected −
DECLARE
total_rows number(2);
BEGIN
UPDATE customers
SET salary = salary + 500;
IF sql%notfound THEN
dbms_output.put_line('no customers selected');
ELSIF sql%found THEN
total_rows := sql%rowcount;
dbms_output.put_line( total_rows || ' customers selected ');
END IF;
END;
6 customers selected

If you check the records in customers table, you will find that the rows have been updated −
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
| 2 | Khilan | 25 | Delhi | 2000.00 |
| 3 | kaushik | 23 | Kota | 2500.00 |
| 4 | Chaitali | 25 | Mumbai | 7000.00 |
| 5 | Hardik | 27 | Bhopal | 9000.00 |
| 6 | Komal | 22 | MP | 5000.00 |
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
Explicit Cursors
Explicit cursors are programmer-defined cursors for gaining more control over the context area.
An explicit cursor should be defined in the declaration section of the PL/SQL Block. It is created
on a SELECT Statement which returns more than one row.
The syntax for creating an explicit cursor is −
CURSOR cursor_name IS select_statement;

Working with an explicit cursor includes the following steps −
 Declaring the cursor for initializing the memory

 Opening the cursor for allocating the memory
 Fetching the cursor for retrieving the data
 Closing the cursor to release the allocated memory
Declaring the Cursor

Declaring the cursor defines the cursor with a name and the associated SELECT statement. For
example −
CURSOR c_customers IS
SELECT id, name, address FROM customers;
Opening the Cursor

Opening the cursor allocates the memory for the cursor and makes it ready for fetching the rows
returned by the SQL statement into it. For example, we will open the above defined cursor as
follows −
OPEN c_customers;
Fetching the Cursor

Fetching the cursor involves accessing one row at a time. For example, we will fetch rows from the
above-opened cursor as follows −
FETCH c_customers INTO c_id, c_name, c_addr;
Closing the Cursor

Closing the cursor means releasing the allocated memory. For example, we will close the above-
opened cursor as follows −
CLOSE c_customers;
Example
Following is a complete example to illustrate the concepts of explicit cursors &minua;
DECLARE
c_id customers.id%type;
c_name customerS.No.ame%type;
CURSOR c_customers is
SELECT id, name, address FROM customers;
BEGIN
OPEN c_customers;
LOOP
FETCH c_customers into c_id, c_name, c_addr;

EXIT WHEN c_customers%notfound;
dbms_output.put_line(c_id || ' ' || c_name || ' ' || c_addr);
END LOOP;
CLOSE c_customers;
END;
1 Ramesh Ahmedabad
2 Khilan Delhi
3 kaushik Kota
4 Chaitali Mumbai
5 Hardik Bhopal
6 Komal MP
PL/SQL - TRIGGERS
Triggers are stored programs, which are automatically executed or fired when some events occur.
Triggers are, in fact, written to be executed in response to any of the following events −
 A database manipulation (DML) statement (DELETE, INSERT, or UPDATE)
 A database definition (DDL) statement (CREATE, ALTER, or DROP).
 A database operation (SERVERERROR, LOGON, LOGOFF, STARTUP, or

SHUTDOWN).
Triggers can be defined on the table, view, schema, or database with which the event is associated.
Benefits of Triggers
Triggers can be written for the following purposes −
 Generating some derived column values automatically

 Enforcing referential integrity
 Event logging and storing information on table access
 Auditing
 Synchronous replication of tables
 Imposing security authorizations
 Preventing invalid transactions
Creating Triggers
The syntax for creating a trigger is −
CREATE [OR REPLACE ] TRIGGER trigger_name
{BEFORE | AFTER | INSTEAD OF }
{INSERT [OR] | UPDATE [OR] | DELETE}
[OF col_name]
ON table_name
[REFERENCING OLD AS o NEW AS n]
[FOR EACH ROW]
WHEN (condition)
DECLARE
Declaration-statements
BEGIN
Executable-statements
EXCEPTION
Exception-handling-statements
END;
Where,
 CREATE [OR REPLACE] TRIGGER trigger_name − Creates or replaces an existing
trigger with the trigger_name.
 {BEFORE | AFTER | INSTEAD OF} − This specifies when the trigger will be executed.
The INSTEAD OF clause is used for creating trigger on a view.
 {INSERT [OR] | UPDATE [OR] | DELETE} − This specifies the DML operation.
 [OF col_name] − This specifies the column name that will be updated.
 [ON table_name] − This specifies the name of the table associated with the trigger.
 [REFERENCING OLD AS o NEW AS n] − This allows you to refer new and old values for
various DML statements, such as INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.
 [FOR EACH ROW] − This specifies a row-level trigger, i.e., the trigger will be executed for
each row being affected. Otherwise the trigger will execute just once when the SQL
statement is executed, which is called a table level trigger.
 WHEN (condition) − This provides a condition for rows for which the trigger would fire.
This clause is valid only for row-level triggers.
Example
To start with, we will be using the CUSTOMERS table we had created and used in the previous
chapters −
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
| 2 | Khilan | 25 | Delhi | 1500.00 |
| 3 | kaushik | 23 | Kota | 2000.00 |
| 4 | Chaitali | 25 | Mumbai | 6500.00 |
| 5 | Hardik | 27 | Bhopal | 8500.00 |
| 6 | Komal | 22 | MP | 4500.00 |
+----+----------+-----+-----------+----------+
The following program creates a row-level trigger for the customers table that would fire for
INSERT or UPDATE or DELETE operations performed on the CUSTOMERS table. This trigger
will display the salary difference between the old values and new values −
CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER display_salary_changes
BEFORE DELETE OR INSERT OR UPDATE ON customers
FOR EACH ROW
WHEN (NEW.ID > 0)
DECLARE
sal_diff number;
BEGIN
sal_diff := :NEW.salary - :OLD.salary;
dbms_output.put_line('Old salary: ' || :OLD.salary);
dbms_output.put_line('New salary: ' || :NEW.salary);
dbms_output.put_line('Salary difference: ' || sal_diff);
END;
Trigger created.
The following points need to be considered here −
 OLD and NEW references are not available for table-level triggers, rather you can use them
for record-level triggers.
 If you want to query the table in the same trigger, then you should use the AFTER keyword,
because triggers can query the table or change it again only after the initial changes are
applied and the table is back in a consistent state.
 The above trigger has been written in such a way that it will fire before any DELETE or
INSERT or UPDATE operation on the table, but you can write your trigger on a single or
multiple operations, for example BEFORE DELETE, which will fire whenever a record
will be deleted using the DELETE operation on the table.
Triggering a Trigger
Let us perform some DML operations on the CUSTOMERS table. Here is one INSERT statement,
which will create a new record in the table −
VALUES (7, 'Kriti', 22, 'HP', 7500.00 );
When a record is created in the CUSTOMERS table, the above create

trigger, display_salary_changes will be fired and it will display the following result −
Old salary:
New salary: 7500
Salary difference:
Because this is a new record, old salary is not available and the above result comes as null. Let us
now perform one more DML operation on the CUSTOMERS table. The UPDATE statement will
update an existing record in the table −
UPDATE customers
SET salary = salary + 500
WHERE id = 2;
When a record is updated in the CUSTOMERS table, the above create

trigger, display_salary_changes will be fired and it will display the following result −
Old salary: 1500

New salary: 2000
Salary difference: 500
ERROR HANDLING PL/SQL – EXCEPTIONS
An exception is an error condition during a program execution. PL/SQL supports programmers to

catch such conditions using EXCEPTION block in the program and an appropriate action is taken
against the error condition. There are two types of exceptions −
 System-defined exceptions
 User-defined exceptions
Syntax for Exception Handling

The general syntax for exception handling is as follows. Here you can list down as many exceptions
as you can handle. The default exception will be handled using WHEN others THEN −
DECLARE
<declarations section>
BEGIN
<executable command(s)>
EXCEPTION
<exception handling goes here >
WHEN exception1 THEN
exception1-handling-statements
........
WHEN others THEN
END;
Example
Let us write a code to illustrate the concept. We will be using the CUSTOMERS table we had
created and used in the previous chapters –
DECLARE
c_id customers.id%type := 8;
c_name customerS.Name%type;
BEGIN
SELECT name, address INTO c_name, c_addr
FROM customers
WHERE id = c_id;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Name: '|| c_name);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Address: ' || c_addr);
EXCEPTION
WHEN no_data_found THEN
dbms_output.put_line('No such customer!');
WHEN others THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Error!');
END;
No such customer!
The above program displays the name and address of a customer whose ID is given. Since there is
no customer with ID value 8 in our database, the program raises the run-time
exception NO_DATA_FOUND, which is captured in the EXCEPTION block.
Raising Exceptions
Exceptions are raised by the database server automatically whenever there is any internal database
error, but exceptions can be raised explicitly by the programmer by using the command RAISE.
Following is the simple syntax for raising an exception −
DECLARE
exception_name EXCEPTION;
BEGIN
IF condition THEN
RAISE exception_name;
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN exception_name THEN
statement;
END;
You can use the above syntax in raising the Oracle standard exception or any user-defined
exception. In the next section, we will give you an example on raising a user-defined exception.
You can raise the Oracle standard exceptions in a similar way.
User-defined Exceptions
PL/SQL allows you to define your own exceptions according to the need of your program. A user-
defined exception must be declared and then raised explicitly, using either a RAISE statement or
the procedure DBMS_STANDARD.RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR.
The syntax for declaring an exception is −

DECLARE
my-exception EXCEPTION;
Example
The following example illustrates the concept. This program asks for a customer ID, when the user
enters an invalid ID, the exception invalid_id is raised.
DECLARE
c_id customers.id%type := &cc_id;
c_name customerS.Name%type;
-- user defined exception
ex_invalid_id EXCEPTION;
BEGIN
IF c_id <= 0 THEN
RAISE ex_invalid_id;
ELSE
SELECT name, address INTO c_name, c_addr
FROM customers
WHERE id = c_id;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Name: '|| c_name);
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('Address: ' || c_addr);
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN ex_invalid_id THEN
dbms_output.put_line('ID must be greater than zero!');
WHEN no_data_found THEN
dbms_output.put_line('No such customer!');
WHEN others THEN
dbms_output.put_line('Error!');
END;
Enter value for cc_id: -6 (let's enter a value -6)

old 2: c_id customers.id%type := &cc_id;
new 2: c_id customers.id%type := -6;
ID must be greater than zero!

Pre-defined Exceptions
PL/SQL provides many pre-defined exceptions, which are executed when any database rule is
violated by a program. For example, the predefined exception NO_DATA_FOUND is raised when
a SELECT INTO statement returns no rows. The following table lists few of the important pre-
defined exceptions −
Oracle
Exception SQLCODE Description
Error
It is raised when a null object is automatically

ACCESS_INTO_NULL 06530 -6530
assigned a value.
It is raised when none of the choices in the

CASE_NOT_FOUND 06592 -6592 WHEN clause of a CASE statement is selected,
and there is no ELSE clause.
It is raised when a program attempts to apply

collection methods other than EXISTS to an
uninitialized nested table or varray, or the
COLLECTION_IS_NULL 06531 -6531
program attempts to assign values to the
elements of an uninitialized nested table or
varray.
It is raised when duplicate values are attempted

DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX 00001 -1
to be stored in a column with unique index.
It is raised when attempts are made to make a

INVALID_CURSOR 01001 -1001 cursor operation that is not allowed, such as
closing an unopened cursor.
It is raised when the conversion of a character

INVALID_NUMBER 01722 -1722 string into a number fails because the string
does not represent a valid number.
It is raised when a program attempts to log on to

LOGIN_DENIED 01017 -1017 the database with an invalid username or
password.
It is raised when a SELECT INTO statement

NO_DATA_FOUND 01403 +100
returns no rows.
It is raised when a database call is issued

NOT_LOGGED_ON 01012 -1012
without being connected to the database.
It is raised when PL/SQL has an internal

PROGRAM_ERROR 06501 -6501
problem.
It is raised when a cursor fetches value in a

ROWTYPE_MISMATCH 06504 -6504
variable having incompatible data type.
It is raised when a member method is invoked,

SELF_IS_NULL 30625 -30625 but the instance of the object type was not
initialized.
It is raised when PL/SQL ran out of memory or

STORAGE_ERROR 06500 -6500
memory was corrupted.
It is raised when a SELECT INTO statement

TOO_MANY_ROWS 01422 -1422
returns more than one row.
It is raised when an arithmetic, conversion,

VALUE_ERROR 06502 -6502
truncation, or sizeconstraint error occurs.
It is raised when an attempt is made to divide a

ZERO_DIVIDE 01476 1476
number by zero.
By,
Department of computer science
Yuvakshetra Institute Of Management Studies (YIMS)
SEMESTER IV
BCS4B05 – Database Management System and RDBMS

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1 Yuvakshetra Institute Of Management Studies (YIMS) DBMS NOTES Bsc.

 Schedule − A chronological execution sequence of a transaction is called a schedule. A

 Partially Committed − When a transaction executes its final operation, it is said to be in a

o Re-start the transaction

DBMS - CONCURRENCY CONTROL

Concurrency Control: Process of managing simultaneous execution of transactions in a shared

Potential problems of Concurrency

Why use Concurrency method?

Reasons for using Concurrency control method is DBMS:

 To apply Isolation through mutual exclusion between conflicting transactions

CONCURRENCY CONTROL PROTOCOLS

1. Shared Lock (S):

2. Exclusive Lock (X):

Following are the reasons for Starvation:

 When waiting scheme for locked items is not properly managed

Two Phase Locking (2PL) Protocol

Strict Two-Phase Locking Method

Primary copy 2PL

The timestamp-based algorithm uses a timestamp to serialize the execution of concurrent

Suppose there are there transactions T1, T2, and T3.

 Schedules are serializable just like 2PL protocols

Starvation is possible if the same transaction is restarted and continually aborted

Characteristics of Good Concurrency Protocol

An ideal concurrency control DBMS mechanism has the following objectives:

 Must be resilient to site and communication failures.

b) Multiple shared locks can be simultaneously set on a resource.

b) Only 1 exclusive lock can be placed on a resource at a time.

2) Page Level: If the Where clause evaluates to a set of data.

• Using Lock table stmt:-

LOCK TABLE<TableName> IN lockmode

LOCK TABLE employees IN EXCLUSIVE MODE;

All locks are released under the following circumstances:

1) The transaction is committed successfully.

COMMIT:-Save Work done.

SAVEPOINT: Identify a point in a transaction to which you can later rollback.

ROLLBACK: Restore database to original since the last COMMIT

GRANT/REVOKE: Grant or back permission to or from the oracle users.

A deadlock may occur if all the following conditions holds true.

 It is declarative, that defines what  PL/SQL is procedural that defines

 Execute as a single statement.  Execute as a whole block.

 Mainly used to manipulate data.  Mainly used to create an application.

 Interaction with a Database server.  No interaction with the database

 Cannot contain PL/SQL code in it.  It is an extension of SQL, so that it

 PL/SQL is tightly integrated with SQL.

 Applications written in PL/SQL are fully portable.

 PL/SQL provides high security level.

 PL/SQL provides access to predefined SQL packages.

 PL/SQL provides support for Object-Oriented Programming.

PL/SQL - BASIC SYNTAX

S.No Sections & Description

Following is the basic structure of a PL/SQL block –

The 'Hello World' Example

message varchar2(20):= 'Hello, World!';

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

THE PL/SQL IDENTIFIERS

THE PL/SQL DELIMITERS

+, -, *, / Addition, subtraction/negation, multiplication, division

' Character string delimiter

(,) Expression or list delimiter

/, / Multi-line comment delimiter (begin and end)