Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference, 4th Edition

Introduction

The Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference is a quick reference guide to the PL/SQL programming language, which provides procedural extensions to the SQL relational database language and a range of Oracle development tools. Where a package, program, or function is supported only for a particular version of the Oracle database (e.g., Oracle Database 11g), we indicate this in the text.

The purpose of this pocket reference is to help PL/SQL users find the syntax of specific language elements. It is not a self- contained user guide; basic knowledge of the PL/SQL programming language is assumed. For more information, see the following O’Reilly books:

Oracle PL/SQL Programming, Fourth Edition, by Steven Feuerstein with Bill Pribyl

Learning Oracle PL/SQL, by Bill Pribyl with Steven Feuerstein

Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices, Second Edition, by Steven Feuerstein

Oracle in a Nutshell, by Rick Greenwald and David C. Kreines

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all those who helped in the preparation of this book. In particular, thanks to Bryn Llewellyn for his input on this latest revision as well as the third edition. Thanks as well to first-edition reviewers Eric J. Givler and Stephen Nelson and to second- and third-edition reviewer Jonathan Gennick. In addition, we appreciate all the good work by the O’Reilly crew in editing and producing this book.

Conventions

UPPERCASE indicates PL/SQL keywords, as well as certain identifiers used by Oracle Corporation as built-in function and package ...