PL/SQL Inherits Database Robustness, Security, and Portability
PL/SQL is a procedural language designed specifically to embrace SQL statements within its syntax. PL/SQL program units are compiled by the Oracle Database server and stored inside the database. And at run-time, both PL/SQL and SQL run within the same server process, bringing optimal efficiency. PL/SQL automatically inherits the robustness, security, and portability of the Oracle Database.
Build Your PL/SQL Knowledge
Getting Started With PL/SQL
PL/SQL is a powerful, yet straightforward database programming language. It is easy to both write and read, and comes packed with lots of out-of-the-box optimizations and security features.
Building and Managing PL/SQL Program Units
- Building with Blocks: PL/SQL is a block-structured language; familiarity with blocks is critical to writing good code.
- Controlling the Flow of Execution: Conditional branching and iterative processing in PL/SQL
- Wrap Your Code in a Neat Package: Packages are the fundamental building blocks of any high quality PL/SQL-based application
- Picking Your Packages: Concepts and benefits of PL/SQL packages
- Error Management: An exploration of error management features in PL/SQL
- The Data Dictionary: Make Views Work for You: Use several key data dictionary views to analyze and manage your code
PL/SQL Datatypes
- Working with Strings in PL/SQL: PL/SQL offers several different string datatypes for use in your applications
- Working with Numbers in PL/SQL: Learn about and how to use the different numeric types in PL/SQL.
- Working with Dates in PL/SQL Dates are a relatively complex scalar datatype, in both SQL and PL/SQL
- Working with Records: A very common and useful composite type, PL/SQL’s analogue to a table’s row
- Error Management: PL/SQL’s implementation of arrays plays a role in almost every key performance feature of PL/SQL
- Working with Collections: Use several key data dictionary views to analyze and manage your code
SQL in PL/SQL
- Working with Cursors: PL/SQL cursors make it easy for you to manipulate the contents of database tables
- Bulk Processing with BULK COLLECT and FORALL: The most important performance feature in PL/SQL related to executing SQL
Practically Perfect PL/SQL with Steven Feuerstein
Practically Perfect PL/SQL (P3) offers videos on PL/SQL by Steven Feuerstein, Oracle Developer Advocate for PL/SQL and author of Oracle PL/SQL Programming.
Getting Rid of Hard-Coding in PL/SQL
This first playlist of P3 explores the various forms of hard-coding that can appear in PL/SQL, and how best to get rid of them.
Documentation
- Oracle Database 18c:
Database PL/SQL Language Reference,
PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference - Oracle Database 12c Release 2:
PL/SQL Language Reference,
PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference - Oracle Database 12c Release 1:
PL/SQL Language Reference,
PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference - Oracle Database 11g Release 2:
PL/SQL Language Reference,
PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference
Resources
- Presentation: Doing PL/SQL from SQL: Correctness and Performance (PDF)
- Presentation: New PL/SQL Capabilities in Oracle Database 12c (PDF)
- SmartDB Resource Center
- White paper: Doing SQL from PL/SQL: Best and Worst Practices (PDF)
- White paper: Freedom, Order, and PL/SQL Optimization
- White paper: How to write SQL injection-proof PL/SQL (PDF)
- White paper: With Oracle Database 12c, There is All the More Reason to Use Database PL/SQL (PDF)
- Why Use PL/SQL?