Help! What is PL/SQL?
Ebeth Jones
About a week ago my supervisor came in and told me that we needed
to have a database ready to use on an upcoming project. Our
old database, Oracle Ver 5.1, is really not up to speed, so we
decided to try to get a copy of version 6 (to run on a 486 PC, with
an upgrade to ver 7 when available) with all the necessary extras
that we can afford.
Now - here's the question - In looking thru the literature that Oracle
sent, they keep referring to something called PL/SQL, which I don't
think I've ever seen or used before. I am planning on ordering
Oracle DBMS, SQL*Plus, Oracle Call Interface, and Oracle Graphics.
In the past, I have written all our database input/output/graphics
myself, using OCI and C to load and query the database, and then
sent the results to a generic graphics package. I would like to do
basically the same thing for this program since its what I'm familiar
with, only using Oracle graphics, which I hope will make life a bit
easier. Do I need the PL/SQL for any reason to be able to do this?
What does PL/SQL do that SQL*Plus doesn't do?
Any advice/comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I
need to get this purchase request in pronto and all the Oracle reps
that I have tried to call are out at some convention!
Thanks -
Ebeth
--
Elizabeth Jones E-MAIL: baj...@nvl.army.mil
"A home without a cat, and a well-fed, well-petted, and properly revered cat,
may be a perfect home, *perhaps*, but how can it prove its title?" Mark Twain
Greg Handrick
: [Material (Materiel?) deleted]
: Do I need the PL/SQL for any reason to be able to do this?
: What does PL/SQL do that SQL*Plus doesn't do?
PL/SQL is a programming language that comes packaged with Oracle V6 (V7 too,
I think) which augments SQL by adding procedural capabilities like looping
and branching. (Procedural Language SQL is the long name) This will let
you add *some* procedural logic to your scripts (GOTO, IF-THEN, Boolean logic,
etc) - adding more control to your programming. It's not the world's
greatest programming language, but can be implemented in forms & menus. I
know some people who still prefer user exits, but PL/SQL code can be stuck
in an application pretty quickly. Since it comes with the RDBMS package,
you won't even have to pay for it to try it out.....
: Any advice/comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated - I
: need to get this purchase request in pronto and all the Oracle reps
: that I have tried to call are out at some convention!
Gee- that's something different- can't reach anybody at Oracle? ;-)
Good Luck- hope this sheds a *little* light on it!
Greg Handrick
Programmer & User of Army Night Vision Equipment
bw...@tdsc1.actd.saic.com
In article <2ts9na$p...@nic.dot.state.mn.us>, <hand...@nic.dot.state.mn.us>
writes:
> Path:
ast.saic.com!mvb.saic.com!MathWorks.Com!yeshua.marcam.com!zip.eecs.umich.edu!um
n.edu!mr.net!nic.dot.state.mn.us!nic.dot.state.mn.us!handrick
> From: hand...@nic.dot.state.mn.us (Greg Handrick)
> Newsgroups: comp.databases.oracle
> Subject: Re: Help! What is PL/SQL?
> Date: 17 Jun 1994 13:50:34 GMT
> Organization: Minnesota Department of Transportation
> Lines: 34
> Message-ID: <2ts9na$p...@nic.dot.state.mn.us>
> References: <CrGF6...@nvl.army.mil>
> NNTP-Posting-Host: nic.dot.state.mn.us
> X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1]
Option (PL/SQL) must be purchased in addition to the database engine. The same
holds true for the Distributed Database product.
>
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Greg Handrick
: > PL/SQL is not included in the Oracle RDBMS base product. Oracle's
Procedural Option (PL/SQL) must be purchased in addition to the database
engine. The same holds true for the Distributed Database product.
: >
Hey- you're right. I checked w/my VAR- and PL/SQL is seperate as well as
kind of expensive. $2200 for 12 concurrent Unix users. It's been so long
since I bought the package that I'd forgotten. Thanks for the correction.
Damn! That's my one mistake for the week.... ;-)
Greg "Keep your brother away from my query optimizer!" Handrick
Michael Sallwasser
<< some stuff deleted>>
>Now - here's the question - In looking thru the literature that Oracle
>sent, they keep referring to something called PL/SQL, which I don't
<< more stuff deleted>>
>easier. Do I need the PL/SQL for any reason to be able to do this?
>What does PL/SQL do that SQL*Plus doesn't do?
SQL*Plus allow one to submit and manage the output of SQL statements.
In version 6 and above, SQL*Plus allows one to submit and manage the
output of SQL statements and to submit PL/SQL blocks. A PL/SQL block
contains multiple statements in the PL/SQL lanaguage that allows one
to manipulate in a procedural fashion, the data in Oracle tables. Quite
useful and automatically included with SQL*Plus. Check out the manuals
once how get them to see how it might benefit you.
--
============================================================================
Michael Sallwasser | Down one path is utter dispair and hopelessness. Down
Northrop Grumman | the other is total destruction. Let us choose wisely.
============================================================================
Glenn Strohm
>bw...@tdsc1.actd.saic.com wrote:
>
>: > PL/SQL is not included in the Oracle RDBMS base product. Oracle's
>Procedural Option (PL/SQL) must be purchased in addition to the database
> engine. The same holds true for the Distributed Database product.
>: >
>
>
> Hey- you're right. I checked w/my VAR- and PL/SQL is seperate as well as
>kind of expensive. $2200 for 12 concurrent Unix users. It's been so long
>since I bought the package that I'd forgotten. Thanks for the correction.
For the benefit of would-be users of Oracle for Netware, I'd like to note
that that version comes with the Procedural Option and PL/SQL included in
the basic package. (This is as of version 7.0.15.5.1.)
Glenn
***************************************************************************
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The opinions expressed and information conveyed are not those of either
Roadnet Technologies, Inc., or United Parcel Service.
Joel Garry
>Ebeth Jones (bajones@astro) wrote:
>: [Material (Materiel?) deleted]
>: Do I need the PL/SQL for any reason to be able to do this?
>: What does PL/SQL do that SQL*Plus doesn't do?
>
>PL/SQL is a programming language that comes packaged with Oracle V6 (V7 too,
>I think) which augments SQL by adding procedural capabilities like looping
>and branching. (Procedural Language SQL is the long name) This will let
I'll bet you have to buy the "Procedural Option."
--
Joel Garry joe...@amber.rossinc.com Compuserve 70661,1534
These are my opinions, not necessarily those of Ross Systems, Inc.
%DCL-W-SOFTONEDGEDONTPUSH, Software On Edge - Don't Push.