Oracle Tutorials

OPEN cursor variable FOR SELECT...Statement
CLOSE cursor variable In order to associate a cursor variable with a particular
SELECT statement OPEN syntax is used.In order to free the resources used
for the query CLOSE
statement is used.
How you were passing cursor variables in PL/SQL 2.2 ? In PL/SQL 2.2 cursor variables cannot be declared in a package.This is because the storage for a cursor variable has to be allocated using Pro*C or OCI with version 2.2,the only means of
passing a cursor variable to a PL/SQL block is via bind variable or a procedure parameter.

Can cursor variables be stored in PL/SQL tables.If yes how.If not why?
No, a cursor variable points a row which cannot be stored in a two-dimensional PL/SQL table.

Difference between procedure and function ? Functions are named PL/SQL blocks that return a value and can be called with arguments procedure a named block that can be called with parameter. A procedure all is a PL/SQL statement
by itself, while a Function call is called as part of an expression.

What are different modes of parameters used in functions and procedures ?
IN, OUT, INOUT.

What is difference between a formal and an actual parameter ? The variables declared in the procedure and which are passed, as arguments are called actual, the parameters in the procedure declaration. Actual parameters contain the values that are passed
to a procedure and receive results. Formal parameters are the placeholders for the values of actual
parameters.

Can the default values be assigned to actual parameters ?
Yes

Can a function take OUT parameters. If not why ?
No. A function has to return a value, an OUT parameter cannot return a value.

What is syntax for dropping a procedure and a function ?
Drop Procedure procedure_name
Drop Function function_name

What are ORACLE PRECOMPILERS ?
Using ORACLE PRECOMPILERS ,SQL statements and PL/SQL blocks can be contained inside
3GL programs written in C,C++,COBOL,PASCAL, FORTRAN,PL/1 AND ADA.
The Precompilers are known as Pro*C,Pro*Cobol,...
This form of PL/SQL is known as embedded pl/sql,the language in which pl/sql is embedded is
known as the host language. The prcompiler translates the embedded SQL and pl/sql ststements into calls to the precompiler
runtime library.The output must be compiled and linked with this library to creater an executable.

What is OCI. What are its uses ?