Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference- P17: This pocket guide features quick-reference information to help you use Oracle's PL/SQL language. It includes coverage of PL/SQL features in the newest version of Oracle, Oracle8i. It is a companion to Steven Feuerstein and Bill Pribyl's bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming. Updated for Oracle8, that large volume (nearly 1,000 pages) fills a huge gap in the Oracle market, providing developers with a single, comprehensive guide to building applications with PL/SQL and building them the right way. . | Database trigger Record or column of table The body of the trigger is coded in PL SQL. While the trigger has a name the PL SQL code itself is unnamed hence anonymous. Script SQL Plus and SQL DBA Ad hoc programs and batch processing scripts written in SQL Plus are always anonymous blocks which may then call procedures or functions . Embedded PL SQL programs Pro embedded languages Embed PL SQL blocks to execute statements inside the database server. Whenever you attach PL SQL code to a trigger or field in a tool that code forms an anonymous PL SQL block. When you write this code you can enter a fully specified PL SQL block declaration execution and exception sections or you can enter only the executable section. Nested Blocks PL SQL allows you to nest or embed anonymous blocks within another PL SQL block. You can also nest anonymous blocks within anonymous blocks for more than one level as shown in Figure . Figure Anonymous blocks nested three levels deep DECLARE CURSOR ernp_cur is . . . BEGIN DECLARE total_sale3 NUMBER BEGIN DECLARE hiredate DATE BEGIN END END END Nested block terminology A PL SQL block nested within another PL SQL block may be called by any of the following nested Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on to remove this watermark. block enclosed block child block or sub-block. A PL SQL block that calls another PL SQL block anonymous or named may be referred to as either the enclosing block or the parent block. Nested blocks provide scope The general advantage of a nested block is that you create a scope for all the declared objects and executable statements in that block. You can use this scope to improve your control over activity in your program. For a discussion see Section Scope and Visibility later in this chapter. Consider the following procedure in which the president and vice-president of the specified company request their salaries be cut in half if their current salaries are more than ten
