Nested tables

A nested table is a persistent SQL collection that is used as a list to hold elements of the same data type. It can also be created in the database and defined in a PL/SQL program. It is an unbounded collection and the user doesn't have to maintain the cell index. Oracle automatically assigns the cell index as 1 to the first cell and moves onwards incrementally. A nested table collection type initially starts off as a dense collection but it becomes sparse due to delete operations.

Note

A dense collection refers to a collection that is tightly populated which means no empty cells between the lower and upper indexes of the collection. A dense collection may become sparse by performing delete operations.

When a nested table is created ...

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