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Oracle® Database JDBC Developer's Guide and Reference
10g Release 2 (10.2)

Part Number B14355-01
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5 Oracle Extensions

Oracle provides Java classes and interfaces that extend the Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) standard implementation, enabling you to access and manipulate Oracle data types and use Oracle performance extensions. Compared to standard JDBC, the Oracle extensions offer greater flexibility in manipulating the data. This chapter provides an overview of the classes and interfaces provided by Oracle that extend the JDBC standard implementation. It also describes some of the key support features of the extensions.

This chapter contains the following sections:

5.1 Introduction to Oracle Extensions

Beyond standard features, Oracle JDBC drivers provide Oracle-specific type extensions and performance extensions. These extensions are provided through the following Java packages:

5.2 Support Features of the Oracle Extensions

The Oracle extensions to JDBC include a number of features that enhance your ability to work with Oracle databases. Among these are support for:

This section covers the following topics:

5.2.1 Support for Oracle Data Types

A key feature of the Oracle JDBC extensions is the type support in the oracle.sql package. This package includes classes that map to all the Oracle SQL data types, acting as wrappers for raw SQL data. This functionality provides two significant advantages in manipulating SQL data:

  • Accessing data directly in SQL format is sometimes more efficient than first converting it to Java format.

  • Performing mathematical manipulations of the data directly in SQL format avoids the loss of precision that can occur in converting between SQL and Java formats.

Once manipulations are complete and it is time to output the information, each of the oracle.sql.* date type support classes has all the necessary methods to convert data to appropriate Java formats.

5.2.2 Support for Oracle Objects

Oracle JDBC supports the use of structured objects in the database, where an object data type is a user-defined type with nested attributes. For example, a user application could define an Employee object type, where each Employee object has a firstname attribute (character string), a lastname attribute (character string), and an employeenumber attribute (integer).

JDBC implementation of Oracle supports Oracle object data types. When you work with Oracle object data types in a Java application, you must consider the following:

  • How to map between Oracle object data types and Java classes

  • How to store Oracle object attributes in corresponding Java objects

  • How to convert attribute data between SQL and Java formats

  • How to access data

Oracle objects can be mapped either to the weak java.sql.Struct or oracle.sql.STRUCT types or to strongly typed customized classes. These strong types are referred to as custom Java classes, which must implement either the standard java.sql.SQLData interface or the Oracle extension oracle.sql.ORAData interface. Each interface specifies methods to convert data between SQL and Java.


Note:

The ORAData interface has replaced the CustomDatum interface. While the latter interface is deprecated, it is still supported for backward compatibility.

Oracle recommends the use of the Oracle JPublisher utility to create custom Java classes to correspond to your Oracle objects. Oracle JPublisher performs this task seamlessly with command-line options and can generate either SQLData or ORAData implementations.

For SQLData implementations, a type map defines the correspondence between Oracle object data types and Java classes. Type maps are objects that specify which Java class corresponds to each Oracle object data type. Oracle JDBC uses these type maps to determine which Java class to instantiate and populate when it retrieves Oracle object data from a result set.


Note:

Oracle recommends using the ORAData interface, instead of the SQLData interface, in situations where portability is not a concern. ORAData works more easily and flexibly in conjunction with other features of the Oracle Java platform offerings.

JPublisher automatically defines getXXX methods of the custom Java classes, which retrieve data into your Java application. For more information on the JPublisher utility.

5.2.3 Support for Schema Naming

Oracle object data type classes have the ability to accept and return fully qualified schema names. A fully qualified schema name has this syntax:

{[schema_name].}[sql_type_name] 
 

Where schema_name is the name of the schema and sql_type_name is the SQL type name of the object. schema_name and sql_type_name are separated by a period (.).

To specify an object type in JDBC, use its fully qualified name. It is not necessary to enter a schema name if the type name is in current naming space, that is, the current schema. Schema naming follows these rules:

  • Both the schema name and the type name may or may not be quoted. However, if the SQL type name has a period in it, such as CORPORATE.EMPLOYEE, the type name must be quoted.

  • The JDBC driver looks for the first unquoted period in the object name and uses the string before the period as the schema name and the string following the period as the type name. If no period is found, then the JDBC driver takes the current schema as default. That is, you can specify only the type name, without indicating a schema, instead of specifying the fully qualified name if the object type name belongs to the current schema. This also explains why you must quote the type name if the type name has a dot in it.

    For example, assume that user Scott creates a type called person.address and then wants to use it in his session. Scott may want to skip the schema name and pass in person.address to the JDBC driver. In this case, if person.address is not quoted, then the period will be detected and the JDBC driver will mistakenly interpret person as the schema name and address as the type name.

  • JDBC passes the object type name string to the database unchanged. That is, the JDBC driver will not change the character case even if it is quoted.

    For example, if Scott.PersonType is passed to the JDBC driver as an object type name, then the JDBC driver will pass the string to the database unchanged. As another example, if there is white space between characters in the type name string, then the JDBC driver will not remove the white space.

5.2.4 DML Returning

Oracle Database supports the use of the RETURNING clause with data manipulation language (DML) statements. This enables you to combine two SQL statements into one. Both the Oracle JDBC Oracle Call Interface (OCI) driver and the Oracle JDBC Thin driver support DML returning. DML returning provides richer functionality compared to retrieval of auto-generated keys. It can be used to retrieve not only auto-generated keys, but also other columns or values that the application may use.


Note:

The server-side internal driver does not support DML returning and retrieval of auto-generated keys.


See Also:

"DML Returning"

5.2.5 Accessing PL/SQL Index-by Tables

The Oracle JDBC drivers enable JDBC applications to make PL/SQL calls with index-by table parameters. The Oracle JDBC drivers support PL/SQL index-by tables of scalar data types


Note:

Index-by tables of PL/SQL records are not supported.

5.3 Oracle JDBC Packages

This section describes the following Java packages, which support the Oracle JDBC extensions:

5.3.1 Package oracle.sql

The oracle.sql package supports direct access to data in SQL format. This package consists primarily of classes that provide Java mappings to SQL data types and their support classes.

Essentially, the classes act as Java wrappers for SQL data. The characters are converted to Java chars and, then, to bytes in the UCS2 character set.

Each of the oracle.sql.* data type classes extends oracle.sql.Datum, a superclass that encapsulates functionality common to all the data types. Some of the classes are for JDBC 2.0-compliant data types. These classes, as Table 5-1 indicates, implement standard JDBC 2.0 interfaces in the java.sql package, as well as extending the oracle.sql.Datum class.

Classes of the oracle.sql Package

Table 5-1 lists the oracle.sql data type classes and their corresponding Oracle SQL types.

Table 5-1 Oracle Data Type Classes

Java Class Oracle SQL Types and Interfaces Implemented
oracle.sql.STRUCT STRUCT (objects) implements java.sql.Struct
oracle.sql.REF REF (object references) implements java.sql.Ref
oracle.sql.ARRAY VARRAY or nested table (collections) implements java.sql.Array
oracle.sql.BLOB BLOB (binary large objects) implements java.sql.Blob
oracle.sql.CLOB SQL CLOB (character large objects) and globalization support NCLOB data types both implement java.sql.Clob
oracle.sql.BFILE BFILE (external files)
oracle.sql.CHAR CHAR, NCHAR, VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR2
oracle.sql.DATE DATE
oracle.sql.TIMESTAMP TIMESTAMP
oracle.sql.TIMESTAMPTZ TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE
oracle.sql.TIMESTAMPLTZ TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE
oracle.sql.NUMBER NUMBER
oracle.sql.RAW RAW
oracle.sql.ROWID ROWID (row identifiers)
oracle.sql.OPAQUE OPAQUE


Note:

The LONG and LONG RAW SQL types and REF CURSOR type category have no oracle.sql.* classes. Use standard JDBC functionality for these types. For example, retrieve LONG or LONG RAW data as input streams using the standard JDBC result set and callable statement methods getBinaryStream and getCharacterStream. Use the getCursor method for REF CURSOR types.

In addition to the data type classes, the oracle.sql package includes the following support classes and interfaces, primarily for use with objects and collections:

  • oracle.sql.ArrayDescriptor

    This class is used in constructing oracle.sql.ARRAY objects. It describes the SQL type of the array.

  • oracle.sql.StructDescriptor

    This class is used in constructing oracle.sql.STRUCT objects, which you can use as a default mapping to Oracle objects in the database.

  • oracle.sql.ORAData and oracle.sql.ORADataFactory

    These interfaces are used in Java classes implementing the Oracle ORAData scenario of Oracle object support.

  • oracle.sql.OpaqueDescriptor

    This class is used to obtain the meta data for an instance of the oracle.sql.OPAQUE class.

General oracle.sql.* Data Type Support

Each of the Oracle data type classes provides, among other things, the following:

  • One or more constructors, typically with a constructor that uses raw bytes as input and a constructor that takes a Java type as input

  • Data storage as Java byte arrays for SQL data

  • A getBytes() method, which returns the SQL data as a byte array

  • A toJdbc() method that converts the data into an object of a corresponding Java class as defined in the JDBC specification

    The JDBC driver does not convert Oracle-specific data types that are not part of the JDBC specification, such as ROWID. The driver returns the object in the corresponding oracle.sql.* format. For example, it returns an Oracle ROWID as an oracle.sql.ROWID.

  • Appropriate xxxValue methods to convert SQL data to Java type. For example, stringValue, intValue, booleanValue, dateValue, and bigDecimalValue

  • Additional conversion methods, getXXX and setXXX, as appropriate, for the functionality of the data type, such as methods in the large object (LOB) classes that get the data as a stream and methods in the REF class that get and set object data through the object reference

Overview of Class oracle.sql.STRUCT

For any given Oracle object type, it is usually desirable to define a custom mapping between SQL and Java. For example, if you use a SQLData custom Java class, then the mapping must be defined in a type map.

If you choose not to define a mapping, however, then data from the object type will be materialized in Java in an instance of the oracle.sql.STRUCT class.

The STRUCT class implements the standard JDBC 2.0 java.sql.Struct interface and extends the oracle.sql.Datum class.

A STRUCT object is a Java representation of the raw bytes of an Oracle object. It contains the SQL type name of the Oracle object and an array of oracle.sql.Datum objects that hold the attribute values in SQL format.

The signature of the constructors for STRUCT are as follows:

STRUCT(Connection connection, java.sql.StructDescriptor structDescriptor, Object[] attributes)

STRUCT(Connection connection, java.sql.StructDescriptor structDescriptor, java.util.Map map)

You can materialize attributes of a STRUCT object as oracle.sql.Datum[] objects, if you use the getOracleAttributes method, or as java.lang.Object[] objects, if you use the getAttributes method. Materializing the attributes as oracle.sql.* objects gives you the following advantages of the oracle.sql.* format:

  • Materializing oracle.sql.STRUCT data in oracle.sql.* format completely preserves data by maintaining it in SQL format. No translation is performed. This is useful if you want to access data but not necessarily display it.

  • It allows complete flexibility in how your Java application unpacks data.


    Notes:

    • Elements of the array, although of the generic Datum type, actually contain data associated with the relevant oracle.sql.* type appropriate for the given attribute. You can cast the element to the appropriate oracle.sql.* type as desired. For example, a CHAR data attribute within the STRUCT is materialized as oracle.sql.Datum. To use it as CHAR data, you must cast it to oracle.sql.CHAR.

    • Nested objects in the values array of a STRUCT object are materialized by the JDBC driver as instances of STRUCT.


In some cases, you may want to manually create a STRUCT object and pass it to a prepared statement or callable statement. To do this, you must also create a StructDescriptor object.

Overview of Class oracle.sql.REF

The oracle.sql.REF class is the generic class that supports Oracle object references. This class, as with all oracle.sql.* data type classes, is a subclass of the oracle.sql.Datum class. It implements the standard JDBC 2.0 java.sql.Ref interface.

The REF class has methods to retrieve and pass object references. However, selecting an object reference retrieves only a pointer to an object. This does not materialize the object itself. But the REF class also includes methods to retrieve and pass the object data.

You cannot create REF objects in your JDBC application. You can only retrieve existing REF objects from the database.

Overview of Class oracle.sql.ARRAY

The oracle.sql.ARRAY class supports Oracle collections, either VARRAYs or nested tables. If you select either a VARRAY or a nested table from the database, then the JDBC driver materializes it as an object of the ARRAY class. The structure of the data is equivalent in either case. The oracle.sql.ARRAY class extends oracle.sql.Datum and implements the standard JDBC 2.0 java.sql.Array interface.

You can use the setARRAY method of the OraclePreparedStatement or OracleCallableStatement class to pass an ARRAY as an input parameter to a prepared statement. Similarly, you might want to manually create an ARRAY object to pass it to a prepared statement or callable statement, perhaps to insert into the database. This involves the use of ArrayDescriptor objects.

Overview of Classes oracle.sql.BLOB, oracle.sql.CLOB, oracle.sql.BFILE

Binary large objects (BLOBs), character large objects (CLOBs), and binary files (BFILEs) are for data items that are too large to store directly in a database table. Instead, the database table stores a locator that points to the location of the actual data.

The oracle.sql package supports these data types in several ways:

  • BLOBs point to large unstructured binary data items and are supported by the oracle.sql.BLOB class.

  • CLOBs point to large character data items and are supported by the oracle.sql.CLOB class.

  • BFILEs point to the content of external files (operating system files) and are supported by the oracle.sql.BFILE class.

You can select a BLOB, CLOB, or BFILE locator from the database using a standard SELECT statement. However, you receive only the locator, and not the data. Additional steps are necessary to retrieve the data.

Classes oracle.sql.DATE, oracle.sql.NUMBER, and oracle.sql.RAW

These classes map to primitive SQL data types, which are a part of standard JDBC, and supply conversions to and from the corresponding JDBC Java types.

Because Java Double and Float NaN values do not have an equivalent Oracle NUMBER representation, a NullPointerException is thrown whenever a Double.NaN value or a Float.NaN value is converted into an Oracle NUMBER using oracle.sql.NUMBER, For instance, the following code throws a NullPointerException:

oracle.sql.NUMBER n = new oracle.sql.NUMBER(Double.NaN); 
System.out.println(n.doubleValue());  // throws NullPointerException 

Classes oracle.sql.TIMESTAMP, oracle.sql.TIMESTAMPTZ, and oracle.sql.TIMESTAMPLTZ

The JDBC drivers support the following date/time data types:

  • TIMESTAMP (TIMESTAMP)

  • TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE (TIMESTAMPTZ)

  • TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE (TIMESTAMPLTZ)

The JDBC drivers allow conversions between DATE and date/time data types. For example, you can access a TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE column as a DATE value.

The JDBC drivers support the most popular time zone names used in the industry as well as most of the time zone names defined in the JDK from Sun Microsystems. Time zones are specified by using the java.util.Calendar class.


Note:

Do not use TimeZone.getTimeZone to create time zone objects. The Oracle time zone data types support more time zone names than does the JDK.

The following code shows how the TimeZone and Calendar objects are created for US_PACIFIC, which is a time zone name not defined in the JDK:

TimeZone tz = TimeZone.getDefault();
tz.setID("US_PACIFIC");
GregorianCalendar gcal = new GregorianCalendar(tz);

The following Java classes represent the SQL date/time types:

  • oracle.sql.TIMESTAMP

  • oracle.sql.TIMESTAMPTZ

  • oracle.sql.TIMESTAMPLTZ

Before accessing TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE data, call the OracleConnection.setSessionTimeZone(String regionName) method to set the session time zone. When this method is called, the JDBC driver sets the session time zone of the connection and saves the session time zone so that any TIMESTAMP WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE data accessed through JDBC can be adjusted using the session time zone.

Overview of Class oracle.sql.ROWID

This class supports Oracle ROWIDs, which are unique identifiers for rows in database tables. You can select a ROWID as you would select any column of data from the table. Note, however, that you cannot manually update ROWIDs. The Oracle Database updates them automatically as appropriate.

The oracle.sql.ROWID class does not implement any noteworthy functionality beyond what is in the oracle.sql.Datum superclass. However, ROWID does provide a stringValue method that overrides the stringValue method in the oracle.sql.Datum class and returns the hexadecimal representation of the ROWID bytes.

Class oracle.sql.OPAQUE

The oracle.sql.OPAQUE class gives you the name and characteristics of the OPAQUE type and any attributes. OPAQUE type provides access only to the uninterrupted bytes of the instance.


Note:

There is minimal support for OPAQUE type.

The following are the methods of the oracle.sql.OPAQUE class:

  • getBytesValue

    Returns a byte array that represents the value of the OPAQUE object, in the format used in the database.

  • isConvertibleTo(Class jClass)

    Determines if a Datum object can be converted to a particular class, where Class is any class and jClass is the class to convert. true is returned if conversion to jClass is permitted and, false is returned if conversion to jClass is not permitted.

  • getDescriptor

    Returns the OpaqueDescriptor object that contains the type information.

  • getJavaSqlConnection

    Returns the connection associated with the receiver. Because methods that use the oracle.jdbc.driver package are deprecated, the getConnection method has been deprecated in favor of the getJavaSqlConnection method.

  • getSQLTypeName

    Implements the java.sql.Struct interface function and retrieves the SQL type name of the SQL structured type that this Struct object represents. This method returns the fully-qualified type name of the SQL structured type which this STRUCT object represents.

  • getValue

    Returns a Java object that represents the value.

  • toJdbc

    Returns the JDBC representation of the Datum object.

5.3.2 Package oracle.jdbc

The interfaces of the oracle.jdbc package define the Oracle extensions to the interfaces in java.sql. These extensions provide access to Oracle SQL-format data and other Oracle-specific functionality, including Oracle performance enhancements.

5.4 Oracle Character Data Types Support

Oracle character data types include the SQL CHAR and NCHAR data types. The following sections describe how these data types can be accessed using the oracle.sql.* classes:

5.4.1 SQL CHAR Data Types

The SQL CHAR data types include CHAR, VARCHAR2, and CLOB. These data types let you store character data in the database character set encoding scheme. The character set of the database is established when you create the database.

5.4.2 SQL NCHAR Data Types

The SQL NCHAR data types were created for Globalization Support. The SQL NCHAR data types include NCHAR, NVARCHAR2, and NCLOB. These data types allow you to store Unicode data in the database NCHAR character set encoding. The NCHAR character set, which never changes, is established when you create the database.


Note:

Because the UnicodeStream class is deprecated in favor of the CharacterStream class, the setUnicodeStream and getUnicodeStream methods are not supported for NCHAR data type access. Use the setCharacterStream method and the getCharacterStream method if you want to use stream access.

The usage of SQL NCHAR data types is similar to that of the SQL CHAR data types. JDBC uses the same classes and methods to access SQL NCHAR data types that are used for the corresponding SQL CHAR data types. Therefore, there are no separate, corresponding classes defined in the oracle.sql package for SQL NCHAR data types. Similarly, there is no separate, corresponding constant defined in the oracle.jdbc.OracleTypes class for SQL NCHAR data types. The only difference in usage between the two data types occur in a data bind situation: a JDBC program must call the setFormOfUse method to specify if the data is bound for a SQL NCHAR data type.


Note:

The setFormOfUse method must be called before the registerOutParameter method is called in order to avoid unpredictable results.

The following code shows how to access SQL NCHAR data:

// 
// Table TEST has the following columns: 
// - NUMBER 
// - NVARCHAR2 
// - NCHAR 
// 
oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement pstmt = 
  (oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement) 
conn.prepareStatement("insert into TEST values(?, ?, ?)");

// 
// oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement.FORM_NCHAR should be used for all NCHAR, 
// NVARCHAR2 and NCLOB data types.
//
pstmt.setFormOfUse(2, OraclePreparedStatement.FORM_NCHAR);
pstmt.setFormOfUse(3, OraclePreparedStatement.FORM_NCHAR);

pstmt.setInt(1, 1);                    // NUMBER column
pstmt.setString(2, myUnicodeString1);  // NVARCHAR2 column
pstmt.setString(3, myUnicodeString2);  // NCHAR column
pstmt.execute();
OraclePreparedStatement.FORM_NCHAR

5.4.3 Class oracle.sql.CHAR

The oracle.sql.CHAR class is used by Oracle JDBC in handling and converting character data. This class provides the Globalization Support functionality to convert character data. This class has two key attributes: Globalization Support character set and the character data. The Globalization Support character set defines the encoding of the character data. It is a parameter that is always passed when a CHAR object is constructed. Without the Globalization Support character set information, the data bytes in the CHAR object are meaningless. The oracle.sql.CHAR class is used for both SQL CHAR and SQL NCHAR data types.


Note:

In versions of the Oracle JDBC drivers prior to 10g release 1 (10.1), there were performance advantages to using oracle.SQL.CHAR. In Oracle Database 10g, there are no longer any such advantages. In fact, optimum performance is achieved using java.lang.String. All Oracle JDBC drivers handle all character data in the Java UCS2 character set. Using oracle.sql.CHAR does not prevent conversions between the database character set and UCS2.

The only remaining use of oracle.sql.CHAR is to handle character data in the form of raw bytes encoded in an Oracle Globalization Support character set. All character data retrieved from Oracle Database should be accessed using java.lang.String. When processing byte data from another source, you can use an oracle.sql.CHAR to convert the bytes to java.lang.String.

To convert an oracle.sql.CHAR, you must provide the data bytes and an oracle.sql.CharacterSet instance that represents the Globalization Support character set used to encode the data bytes.

The CHAR objects that are Oracle object attributes are returned in the database character set.

JDBC application code rarely needs to construct CHAR objects directly, because the JDBC driver automatically creates CHAR objects as needed.

To construct a CHAR object, you must provide character set information to the CHAR object by way of an instance of the CharacterSet class. Each instance of this class represents one of the Globalization Support character sets that Oracle supports. A CharacterSet instance encapsulates methods and attributes of the character set, mainly involving functionality to convert to or from other character sets.

Constructing an oracle.sql.CHAR Object

Follow these general steps to construct a CHAR object:

  1. Create a CharacterSet object by calling the static CharacterSet.make method.

    This method is a factory for the character set instance. The make method takes an integer as input, which corresponds to a character set ID that Oracle supports. For example:

    int oracleId = CharacterSet.JA16SJIS_CHARSET; // this is character set ID,
                                                  // 832
    ...
    CharacterSet mycharset = CharacterSet.make(oracleId);
    
    

    Each character set that Oracle supports has a unique, predefined Oracle ID.

  2. Construct a CHAR object.

    Pass a string, or the bytes that represent the string, to the constructor along with the CharacterSet object that indicates how to interpret the bytes based on the character set. For example:

    String mystring = "teststring";
    ...
    CHAR mychar = new CHAR(teststring, mycharset);
    
    

    The CHAR class has multiple constructors, which can take a String, a byte array, or an object as input along with the CharacterSet object. In the case of a String, the string is converted to the character set indicated by the CharacterSet object before being placed into the CHAR object.


    Notes:

    • The CharacterSet object cannot be null.

    • The CharacterSet class is an abstract class, therefore it has no constructor. The only way to create instances is to use the make method.

    • The server recognizes the special value CharacterSet.DEFAULT_CHARSET as the database character set. For the client, this value is not meaningful.

    • Oracle does not intend or recommend that users extend the CharacterSet class.


oracle.sql.CHAR Conversion Methods

The CHAR class provides the following methods for translating character data to strings:

  • getString

    Converts the sequence of characters represented by the CHAR object to a string, returning a Java String object. If you enter an invalid OracleID, then the character set will not be recognized and the getString method throws a SQLException.

  • toString

    Identical to the getString method. But if you enter an invalid OracleID, then the character set will not be recognized and the toString method returns a hexadecimal representation of the CHAR data and does not throw a SQLException.

  • getStringWithReplacement

    Identical to getString, except a default replacement character replaces characters that have no unicode representation in the CHAR object character set. This default character varies from character set to character set, but is often a question mark (?).

The database server and the client, or application running on the client, can use different character sets. When you use the methods of the CHAR class to transfer data between the server and the client, the JDBC drivers must convert the data from the server character set to the client character set or vice versa. To convert the data, the drivers use Globalization Support.

5.5 Additional Oracle Type Extensions

This section covers additional Oracle type extensions. Oracle JDBC drivers support the Oracle-specific BFILE and ROWID data types and REF CURSOR types, which are not part of the standard JDBC specification. This section describes the ROWID and REF CURSOR type extensions. ROWID is supported as a Java string, and REF CURSOR types are supported as JDBC result sets.

This section covers the following topics:

5.5.1 Oracle ROWID Type

A ROWID is an identification tag unique for each row of an Oracle Database table. The ROWID can be thought of as a virtual column, containing the ID for each row.

The oracle.sql.ROWID class is supplied as a wrapper for ROWID SQL data type.

ROWIDs provide functionality similar to the getCursorName method specified in the java.sql.ResultSet interface and the setCursorName method specified in the java.sql.Statement interface.

If you include the ROWID pseudo-column in a query, then you can retrieve the ROWIDs with the result set getString method. You can also bind a ROWID to a PreparedStatement parameter with the setString method. This enables in-place updation, as in the example that follows.


Note:

The oracle.sql.ROWID class replaces oracle.jdbc.driver.ROWID, which was used in previous releases of Oracle JDBC.

Example

The following example shows how to access and manipulate ROWID data:

Statement stmt = conn.createStatement(); 

// Query the employee names with "FOR UPDATE" to lock the rows. 
// Select the ROWID to identify the rows to be updated. 

ResultSet rset =  
   stmt.executeQuery ("SELECT ename, rowid FROM emp FOR UPDATE"); 

// Prepare a statement to update the ENAME column at a given ROWID 

PreparedStatement pstmt = 
   conn.prepareStatement ("UPDATE emp SET ename = ? WHERE rowid = ?"); 

// Loop through the results of the query 
while (rset.next ()) 
{ 
    String ename = rset.getString (1); 
    oracle.sql.ROWID rowid = rset.getROWID (2);  // Get the ROWID as a String 
    pstmt.setString (1, ename.toLowerCase ()); 
    pstmt.setROWID (2, rowid); // Pass ROWID to the update statement 
    pstmt.executeUpdate ();     // Do the update 
} 

5.5.2 Oracle REF CURSOR Type Category

A cursor variable holds the memory location of a query work area, rather than the contents of the area. Declaring a cursor variable creates a pointer. In SQL, a pointer has the data type REF x, where REF is short for REFERENCE and x represents the entity being referenced. A REF CURSOR, then, identifies a reference to a cursor variable. Because many cursor variables might exist to point to many work areas, REF CURSOR can be thought of as a category or data type specifier that identifies many different types of cursor variables.


Note:

REF CURSOR instances are not scrollable.

To create a cursor variable, begin by identifying a type that belongs to the REF CURSOR category. For example:

DECLARE TYPE DeptCursorTyp IS REF CURSOR

Then, create the cursor variable by declaring it to be of the type DeptCursorTyp:

dept_cv DeptCursorTyp  - - declare cursor variable
...
 

REF CURSOR, then, is a category of data types, rather than a particular data type.

Stored procedures can return cursor variables of the REF CURSOR category. This output is equivalent to a database cursor or a JDBC result set. A REF CURSOR essentially encapsulates the results of a query.

In JDBC, a REF CURSOR is materialized as a ResultSet object and can be accessed as follows:

  1. Use a JDBC callable statement to call a stored procedure. It must be a callable statement, as opposed to a prepared statement, because there is an output parameter.

  2. The stored procedure returns a REF CURSOR.

  3. The Java application casts the callable statement to an Oracle callable statement and uses the getCursor method of the OracleCallableStatement class to materialize the REF CURSOR as a JDBC ResultSet object.

  4. The result set is processed as requested.


    Important:

    The cursor associated with a REF CURSOR is closed whenever the statement object that produced the REF CURSOR is closed.

    Unlike in past releases, the cursor associated with a REF CURSOR is not closed when the result set object in which the REF CURSOR was materialized is closed.


Example

This example shows how to access REF CURSOR data.

import oracle.jdbc.*;
...
CallableStatement cstmt;
ResultSet cursor;

// Use a PL/SQL block to open the cursor
cstmt = conn.prepareCall
         ("begin open ? for select ename from emp; end;");

cstmt.registerOutParameter(1, OracleTypes.CURSOR);
cstmt.execute();
cursor = ((OracleCallableStatement)cstmt).getCursor(1);

// Use the cursor like a normal ResultSet
while (cursor.next ())
    {System.out.println (cursor.getString(1));} 

In the preceding example:

  • A CallableStatement object is created by using the prepareCall method of the connection class.

  • The callable statement implements a PL/SQL procedure that returns a REF CURSOR.

  • As always, the output parameter of the callable statement must be registered to define its type. Use the type code OracleTypes.CURSOR for a REF CURSOR.

  • The callable statement is run, returning the REF CURSOR.

  • The CallableStatement object is cast to OracleCallableStatement to use the getCursor method, which is an Oracle extension to the standard JDBC API, and returns the REF CURSOR into a ResultSet object.

5.5.3 Oracle BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE Types

The Oracle BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE types are used to store IEEE 574 float and double data. These correspond to the Java float and double scalar types with the exception of negative zero and NaN.

If you include a BINARY_DOUBLE column in a query, then the data is retrieved from the database in the binary format. Also, the getDouble method will return the data in the binary format. In contrast for a NUMBER type column, the number bits are returned and converted to the Java double type.


Note:

The Oracle representation for the SQL FLOAT, DOUBLE PRECISION, and REAL types use the Oracle NUMBER representation. The BINARY_FLOAT and BINARY_DOUBLE types can be regarded as proprietary types.

A call to the JDBC standard setDouble(int, double) method of PreparedStatement converts the Java double argument to Oracle NUMBER style bits and send them to the database. In contrast, the setBinaryDouble(int, double) method of oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement converts the data to the internal binary bits and sends them to the database.

You must ensure that the data format used matches the type of the target parameter of PreparedStatement. This will result in correct data and least use of CPU. If you use setBinaryDouble for a NUMBER parameter, then the binary bits are sent to the server and converted to NUMBER format. The data will be correct, but server CPU load will be increased. If you use setDouble for a BINARY_DOUBLE parameter, then the data will first be converted to NUMBER bits on the client and sent to the server, where it will be converted back to binary format. This will use excess CPU on both client and server and can result in data corruption as well.

The SetFloatAndDoubleUseBinary connection property when set to true causes the JDBC standard APIs, setFloat(int, float), setDouble(int, double), and all the variations, to send internal binary bits instead of NUBMER bits.


Note:

Although this section largely discusses about BINARY_DOUBLE, the same is true for BINARY_FLOAT.

5.5.4 The oracle.jdbc Package

The interfaces of the oracle.jdbc package define the Oracle extensions to the interfaces in java.sql. These extensions provide access to Oracle SQL-format data as described in this chapter. They also provide access to other Oracle-specific functionality, including Oracle performance enhancements.

For the oracle.jdbc package, Table 5-2 lists key interfaces and classes used for connections, statements, and result sets.

Table 5-2 Key Interfaces and Classes of the oracle.jdbc Package

Name Interface or Class Key Functionality
OracleDriver Class Implements java.sql.Driver
OracleConnection Interface Provides methods to return Oracle statement objects and methods to set Oracle performance extensions for any statement run in the current connection

Implements java.sql.Connection

OracleStatement Interface Provides methods to set Oracle performance extensions for individual statement

Is a supertype of OraclePreparedStatement and OracleCallableStatement

Implements java.sql.Statement

OraclePreparedStatement Interface Provide setXXX methods to bind oracle.sql.* types into a prepared statement

Implements java.sql.PreparedStatement

Extends OracleStatement

Is a supertype of OracleCallableStatement

OracleCallableStatement Interface Provides getXXX methods to retrieve data in oracle.sql format and setXXX methods to bind oracle.sql.* types into a callable statement

Implements java.sql.CallableStatement

Extends OraclePreparedStatement

OracleResultSet Interface Provides getXXX methods to retrieve data in oracle.sql format

Implements java.sql.ResultSet

OracleResultSetMetaData Interface Provides methods to get meta information about Oracle result sets, such as column names and data types

Implements java.sql.ResultSetMetaData

OracleDatabaseMetaData Class Provides methods to get meta information about the database, such as database product name/version, table information, and default transaction isolation level

Implements java.sql.DatabaseMetaData)

OracleTypes Class Defines integer constants used to identify SQL types

For standard types, it uses the same values as the standard java.sql.Types class. In addition, it adds constants for Oracle extended types.


This section covers the following topics:

5.5.4.1 Interface oracle.jdbc.OracleConnection

This interface extends standard JDBC connection functionality to create and return Oracle statement objects, set flags and options for Oracle performance extensions, support type maps for Oracle objects, and support client identifiers.

Client Identifiers

In a connection pooling environment, the client identifier can be used to identify which light-weight user is currently using the database session. A client identifier can also be used to share the Globally Accessed Application Context between different database sessions. The client identifier set in a database session is audited when database auditing is turned on.

Key methods include:

  • createStatement

    Allocates a new OracleStatement object

  • prepareStatement

    Allocates a new OraclePreparedStatement object

  • prepareCall

    Allocates a new OracleCallableStatement object

  • getTypeMap

    Retrieves the type map for this connection, for use in mapping Oracle object types to Java classes

  • setTypeMap

    Initializes or updates the type map for this connection, for use in mapping Oracle object types to Java classes

  • getTransactionIsolation

    Gets this connection's current isolation mode

  • setTransactionIsolation

    Changes the transaction isolation level using one of the TRANSACTION_* values

The following oracle.jdbc.OracleConnection methods are Oracle-defined extensions:

  • setClientIdentifier

    Sets the client identifier for this connection

  • clearClientIdentifier

    Clears the client identifier for this connection

  • getDefaultExecuteBatch

    Retrieves the default update-batching value for this connection

  • setDefaultExecuteBatch

    Sets the default update-batching value for this connection

  • getDefaultRowPrefetch

    Retrieves the default row-prefetch value for this connection

  • setDefaultRowPrefetch

    Sets the default row-prefetch value for this connection

5.5.4.2 Interface oracle.jdbc.OracleStatement

This interface extends standard JDBC statement functionality and is the superinterface of the OraclePreparedStatement and OracleCallableStatement classes. Extended functionality includes support for setting flags and options for Oracle performance extensions on a statement-by-statement basis, as opposed to the OracleConnection interface that sets these on a connection-wide basis.

Key methods include:

  • executeQuery

    Runs a database query and returns an OracleResultSet object

  • getResultSet

    Retrieves an OracleResultSet object

  • close

    Closes the current statement

The following oracle.jdbc.OracleStatement methods are Oracle-defined extensions:

  • defineColumnType

    Defines the type you will use to retrieve data from a particular database table column


    Note:

    This method is no longer needed or recommended for use with the JDBC Thin driver.

  • getRowPrefetch

    Retrieves the row-prefetch value for this statement

  • setRowPrefetch

    Sets the row-prefetch value for this statement

5.5.4.3 Interface oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement

This interface extends the OracleStatement interface and extends standard JDBC prepared statement functionality. Also, the oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement interface is extended by the OracleCallableStatement interface. Extended functionality consists of setXXX methods for binding oracle.sql.* types and objects to prepared statements, and methods to support Oracle performance extensions on a statement-by-statement basis.


Note:

Do not use PreparedStatement to create a trigger that refers to a :NEW or :OLD column. Use Statement instead. Using PreparedStatement will cause execution to fail with the message java.sql.SQLException: Missing IN or OUT parameter at index:: 1

Key methods include:

  • getExecuteBatch

    This method retrieves the update-batching value for this statement.

  • setExecuteBatch

    This method sets the update-batching value for this statement.

  • setOracleObject

    This is a generic setXXX method for binding oracle.sql.* data to a prepared statement as an oracle.sql.Datum object.

  • setXXX

    These methods, such as setBLOB, are for binding specific oracle.sql.* types to prepared statements.

  • setXXXAtName

    Unlike the JDBC standard method setXXX(int, XXX), which sets the value of the nth SQL parameter specified by the integer argument, setXXXAtName(String, XXX) sets the SQL parameter with the specified character name in the SQL string. The SQL parameter is a SQL identifier preceded by a colon (:). For example, :id in:

    ps = conn.prepareStatement("select * from tab where id = :id");
      ((OraclePreparedStatement)ps).setIntAtName("id", 42);
    
    
  • setORAData

    This method binds an ORAData object to a prepared statement.

  • setNull

    This method sets the value of the object specified by its SQL type name to NULL. For setNull(param_index, type_code, sql_type_name), if type_code is REF, ARRAY, or STRUCT, then sql_type_name is the fully qualified name of the SQL type.

  • setFormOfUse

    This method sets which form of use this method is going to use. There are two constants that specify the form of use: FORM_CHAR and FORM_NCHAR, where FORM_CHAR is the default, meaning that the regular database character set is used. If the form of use is set to FORM_NCHAR, the JDBC driver will represent the provided data in the national character set of the server. The following code shows how the FORM_NCHAR is used:

    pstmt.setFormOfUse (parameter index, oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement.FORM_NCHAR)
    
    
  • close

    This method closes the current statement.

5.5.4.4 Interface oracle.jdbc.OracleCallableStatement

This interface extends the OraclePreparedStatement interface, which extends the OracleStatement interface and incorporates standard JDBC callable statement functionality.


Note:

Do not use CallableStatement to create a trigger that refers to a :NEW or :OLD column. Use Statement instead; using CallableStatement will cause execution to fail with the message java.sql.SQLException: Missing IN or OUT parameter at index::1

Key methods include:

  • getOracleObject

    This is a generic getXXX method for retrieving data into an oracle.sql.Datum object, which can be cast to the specific oracle.sql.* type as necessary.

  • getXXX

    These methods, such as getCLOB, are for retrieving data into specific oracle.sql.* objects.

  • setOracleObject

    This is a generic setXXX method for binding oracle.sql.* data into a callable statement as an oracle.sql.Datum object.

  • setXXX

    These methods, such as setBLOB, are inherited from OraclePreparedStatement for binding specific oracle.sql.* objects into callable statements.

  • setXXX(String, XXX)

    The definition of a PL/SQL stored procedure may include one or more named parameters. When you create a CallableStatement to call this stored procedure, you must supply values for all IN parameters. You can either do this with the JDBC standard setXXX(int, XXX) methods, or using the Oracle extension setXXX(String, XXX). The first argument to this method specifies the name of the PL/SQL formal parameter and the second argument specifies the value. For example, consider a stored procedure foo, defined as follows:

    CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE foo (myparameter VARCHAR2) IS
      BEGIN
      ...
      END;
    
    

    Create an OracleCallableStatement to call foo, as follows:

    OracleCallableStatement cs = (OracleCallableStatement)
       conn.prepareCall("{call foo(?)}");
    
    

    You can pass the string "bar" to this procedure in one of the following two ways:

    cs.setString(1,"bar"); // JDBC standard
    // or...
    cs.setString("myparameter","bar"); // Oracle extension
    
    

    Note:

    The argument is the name of the formal parameter declared in the PL/SQL stored procedure. This name does not necessarily appear anywhere in the SQL string. This differs from the setXXXAtName method, whose first argument is a substring of the SQL string.

  • setXXXAtName

    Unlike the JDBC standard method setXXX(int, XXX), which sets the value of the nth SQL parameter specified by the integer argument, setXXXAtName(String, XXX) sets the SQL parameter with the specified character name in the SQL string. The SQL parameter is a SQL identifier preceded by a colon (:). For example, :id in:

    OracleCallableStatement cs = (OracleCallableStatement) 
          conn.prepareCall("call foo(:id)");
    cs.setIntAtName("id", 42);
    
    
  • setNull

    This method sets the value of the object specified by its SQL type name to NULL. For setNull(param_index, type_code, sql_type_name), if type_code is REF, ARRAY, or STRUCT, then sql_type_name is the fully qualified name of the SQL type.

  • setFormOfUse

    This method sets which form of use this method is going to use. There are two constants that specify the form of use: FORM_CHAR and FORM_NCHAR, where FORM_CHAR is the default. If the form of use is set to FORM_NCHAR, then the JDBC driver will represent the provided data in the national character set of the server. The following code show how FORM_NCHAR is used:

    pstmt.setFormOfUse (parameter index, oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement.FORM_NCHAR)
    
    
  • registerOutParameter

    This method registers the SQL type code of the output parameter of the statement. JDBC requires this for any callable statement with an OUT parameter. It takes an integer parameter index, the position of the output variable in the statement, relative to the other parameters, and an integer SQL type, the type constant defined in oracle.jdbc.OracleTypes.

    This is an overloaded method. One version of this method is for named types only, when the SQL type code is OracleTypes.REF, STRUCT, or ARRAY. In this case, in addition to a parameter index and SQL type, the method also takes a String SQL type name, the name of the Oracle user-defined type in the database, such as EMPLOYEE.

  • close

    This method closes the current result set, if any, and the current statement.


Notes:

  • The setXXX(String,...) and registerOutParameter(String,...) methods can only be used if all binds are procedure or function parameters only. The statement can contain no other binds and the parameter binds must be indicated with ? and not :XX.

  • If you are using setXXX(int,...), setXXXAtName(String,...) or a combination of both, then any output parameter is bound with registerOutParameter(int,...) and not registerOutParameter(String,...), which is for named parameter notation.


5.5.4.5 Interface oracle.jdbc.OracleResultSet

This interface extends standard JDBC result set functionality, implementing getXXX methods for retrieving data into oracle.sql.* objects.

Key methods include:

  • getOracleObject

    This is a generic getXXX method for retrieving data into an oracle.sql.Datum object. It can be cast to the specific oracle.sql.* type as necessary.

  • getXXX

    These methods, such as getCLOB, are for retrieving data into oracle.sql.* objects.

5.5.4.6 Interface oracle.jdbc.OracleResultSetMetaData

This interface extends standard JDBC result set metadata functionality to retrieve information about Oracle result set objects.

5.5.4.7 Class oracle.jdbc.OracleTypes

The OracleTypes class defines constants that JDBC uses to identify SQL types. Each variable in this class has a constant integer value. The oracle.jdbc.OracleTypes class duplicates the type code definitions of the standard Java java.sql.Types class and contains these additional type codes for Oracle extensions:

  • OracleTypes.BFILE

  • OracleTypes.ROWID

  • OracleTypes.CURSOR (for REF CURSOR types)

As in java.sql.Types, all the variable names are in uppercase.

JDBC uses the SQL types identified by the elements of the OracleTypes class in two main areas: registering output parameters and in the setNull method of the PreparedStatement class.

OracleTypes and Registering Output Parameters

The type codes in java.sql.Types or oracle.jdbc.OracleTypes identify the SQL types of the output parameters in the registerOutParameter method of the java.sql.CallableStatement and oracle.jdbc.OracleCallableStatement interfaces.

These are the forms that registerOutputParameter can take for CallableStatement and OracleCallableStatement:

cs.registerOutParameter(int index, int sqlType);

cs.registerOutParameter(int index, int sqlType, String sql_name);

cs.registerOutParameter(int index, int sqlType, int scale);

In these signatures, index represents the parameter index, sqlType is the type code for the SQL data type, sql_name is the name given to the data type, for user-defined types, when sqlType is a STRUCT, REF, or ARRAY type code, and scale represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal point, when sqlType is a NUMERIC or DECIMAL type code.

The following example uses a CallableStatement to call a procedure named charout, which returns a CHAR data type. Note the use of the OracleTypes.CHAR type code in the registerOutParameter method.

CallableStatement cs = conn.prepareCall ("BEGIN charout (?); END;");
cs.registerOutParameter (1, OracleTypes.CHAR);
cs.execute ();
System.out.println ("Out argument is: " + cs.getString (1));

The next example uses a CallableStatement to call structout, which returns a STRUCT data type. The form of registerOutParameter requires you to specify the type code, Types.STRUCT or OracleTypes.STRUCT, as well as the SQL name, EMPLOYEE.

The example assumes that no type mapping has been declared for the EMPLOYEE type, so it is retrieved into a STRUCT data type. To retrieve the value of EMPLOYEE as an oracle.sql.STRUCT object, the statement object cs is cast to OracleCallableStatement and the Oracle extension getSTRUCT method is invoked.

CallableStatement cs = conn.prepareCall ("BEGIN structout (?); END;");
cs.registerOutParameter (1, OracleTypes.STRUCT, "EMPLOYEE");
cs.execute ();

// get the value into a STRUCT because it 
// is assumed that no type map has been defined
STRUCT emp = ((OracleCallableStatement)cs).getSTRUCT (1);

OracleTypes and the setNull Method

The type codes in Types and OracleTypes identify the SQL type of the data item, which the setNull method sets to NULL. The setNull method can be found in the java.sql.PreparedStatement and oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement interfaces.

These are the forms that setNull can take for PreparedStatement and OraclePreparedStatement objects:

ps.setNull(int index, int sqlType);

ps.setNull(int index, int sqlType, String sql_name);

In these signatures, index represents the parameter index, sqlType is the type code for the SQL data type, and sql_name is the name given to the data type, for user-defined types, when sqlType is a STRUCT, REF, or ARRAY type code. If you enter an invalid sqlType, a ParameterTypeConflict exception is thrown.

The following example uses a PreparedStatement to insert a NULL into the database. Note the use of OracleTypes.NUMERIC to identify the numeric object set to NULL. Alternatively, Types.NUMERIC can be used.

PreparedStatement pstmt =
    conn.prepareStatement ("INSERT INTO num_table VALUES (?)");

pstmt.setNull (1, OracleTypes.NUMERIC);
pstmt.execute ();

In this example, the prepared statement inserts a NULL STRUCT object of type EMPLOYEE into the database.

PreparedStatement pstmt = conn.prepareStatement 
                               ("INSERT INTO employee_table VALUES (?)");

pstmt.setNull (1, OracleTypes.STRUCT, "EMPLOYEE");
pstmt.execute ();

5.5.4.8 Method getJavaSqlConnection

The getJavaSqlConnection method of the oracle.sql.* classes returns java.sql.Connection while the getConnection method returns oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleConnection. Because the methods that use the oracle.jdbc.driver package are deprecated, the getConnection method is also deprecated in favor of the getJavaSqlConnection method.

For the following Oracle data type classes, the getJavaSqlConnection method is available:

  • oracle.sql.ARRAY

  • oracle.sql.BFILE

  • oracle.sql.BLOB

  • oracle.sql.CLOB

  • oracle.sql.OPAQUE

  • oracle.sql.REF

  • oracle.sql.STRUCT

The following shows the getJavaSqlConnection and the getConnection methods in the Array class:

public class ARRAY
{
  // New API
  //
  java.sql.Connection getJavaSqlConnection()
    throws SQLException;

  // Deprecated API. 
  //
  oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleConnection
    getConnection() throws SQLException;

  ...
}

5.6 DML Returning

DML returning provides richer functionality compared to retrieval of auto-generated keys. It can be used to retrieve not only auto-generated keys, but also other columns or values that the application may use.


Note:

The server-side internal driver does not support DML returning and retrieval of auto-generated keys.

The following sections explain the support for DML returning:

5.6.1 Oracle-Specific APIs

The OraclePreparedStatement interface is enhanced with Oracle-specific application programming interfaces (APIs) to support DML returning. The following APIs are added to the oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement interface, to register parameters that are returned and data retrieved by DML returning:

public void registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, int externalType) throws SQLException;
public void registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, int externalType, int maxSize) throws SQLException;
public void registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, intsqlType, String typeName) throws SQLException;
public ResultSet getReturnResultSet() throws SQLException;

The registerReturnParameter method is used to register the return parameter for DML returning. The method throws an SQLException instance if an error occurs. The paramIndex parameter is used to specify the index of the return parameter. Its value should be greater than zero. The externalType parameter specifies the type of the return parameter. The maxSize parameter specifies the maximum bytes or characters of the return parameter. This method can be used only with char or RAW types. The typeName parameter specifies the fully-qualified name of a SQL structured type.


Note:

If you do not know the maximum size of the return parameters, then you should use registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, int externalType), which picks the default maximum size. If you know the maximum size of return parameters, using registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, int externalType, int maxSize) can reduce memory consumption.

The getReturnResultSet method fetches the data returned from DML returning and returns it as a ResultSet object. The method throws a SQLException if an error occurs.


Note:

The Oracle-specific API for DML returning are in classes12.jar for Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.2.x and JDK 1.3.x and in ojdbc14.jar for JDK 1.4.x

5.6.2 Running DML Returning Statements

Before running a DML returning statement, the JDBC application needs to call one or more of the registerReturnParameter methods. The method provides the JDBC drivers with information, such as type and size, of the return parameters. The DML returning statement is then processed using one of the standard JDBC APIs, executeUpdate or execute. You can then fetch the returned parameters as a ResultSet object using the getReturnResultSet method of the oracle.jdbc.OraclePreparedStatement interface.

In order to read the values in the ResultSet object, the underlying Statement object must be open. When the underlying Statement object is closed, the returned ResultSet object is also closed. This is consistent with ResultSet objects that are retrieved by processing SQL query statements.

When a DML returning statement is run, the concurrency of the ResultSet object returned by the getReturnResultSet method must be CONCUR_READ_ONLY and the type of the ResultSet object must be TYPE_FORWARD_ONLY or TYPE_SCROLL_INSENSITIVE.

5.6.3 Example of DML Returning

This section provides two code examples of DML returning.

The following code example illustrates the use of DML returning. In this example, assume that the maximum size of the name column is 100 characters. Because the maximum size of the name column is known, the registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, int externalType, int maxSize) method is used.

...
OraclePreparedStatement pstmt = (OraclePreparedStatement)conn.prepareStatement(
       "delete from tab1 where age < ? returning name into ?");
pstmt.setInt(1,18);

/** register returned parameter
  * in this case the maximum size of name is 100 chars
  */
pstmt.registerReturnParameter(2, OracleTypes.VARCHAR, 100);

// process the DML returning statement
count = pstmt.executeUpdate();
if (count>0)
{
  ResultSet rset = pstmt.getReturnResultSet(); //rest is not null and not empty
  while(rset.next())
  {
    String name = rset.getString(1);
    ...
  }
}
...

The following code example also illustrates the use of DML returning. However, in this case, the maximum size of the return parameters is not known. Therefore, the registerReturnParameter(int paramIndex, int externalType) method is used.

...
OraclePreparedStatement pstmt = (OraclePreparedStatement)conn.prepareStatement(
  "insert into lobtab values (100, empty_clob()) returning col1, col2 into ?, ?");

// register return parameters
pstmt.registerReturnParameter(1, OracleTypes.INTEGER);
pstmt.registerReturnParameter(2, OracleTypes.CLOB);

// process the DML returning SQL statement
pstmt.executeUpdate();
ResultSet rset = pstmt.getReturnResultSet();
int r;
CLOB clob;
if (rset.next())
{
  r = rset.getInt(1);
  System.out.println(r);
  clob = (CLOB)rset.getClob(2);
  ...
}
...

5.6.4 Limitations of DML Returning

When using DML returning, you need to be aware of the following:

  • It is unspecified what the getReturnResultSet method returns when it is invoked more than once. You should not rely on any specific action in this regard.

  • The ResultSet objects returned from the execution of DML returning statements do not support the ResultSetMetaData type. Therefore, the applications need to know the information of return parameters before running DML returning statements.

  • Streams are not supported with DML returning.

  • DML returning cannot be combined with batch update.

5.7 Accessing PL/SQL Index-by Tables

The Oracle JDBC drivers enable JDBC applications to make PL/SQL calls with index-by table parameters. This section covers the following topics:


Note:

Index-by tables of PL/SQL records are not supported.

5.7.1 Overview

The Oracle JDBC drivers support PL/SQL index-by tables of scalar data types. Table 5-3 displays the supported scalar types and the corresponding JDBC type codes.

Table 5-3 PL/SQL Types and Corresponding JDBC Types

PL/SQL Types JDBC Types
BINARY_INTEGER NUMERIC
NATURAL NUMERIC
NATURALN NUMERIC
PLS_INTEGER NUMERIC
POSITIVE NUMERIC
POSITIVEN NUMERIC
SIGNTYPE NUMERIC
STRING VARCHAR


Note:

Oracle JDBC does not support RAW, DATE, and PL/SQL RECORD as element types.

Typical Oracle JDBC input binding, output registration, and data-access methods do not support PL/SQL index-by tables. This chapter introduces additional methods to support these types.

The OraclePreparedStatement and OracleCallableStatement classes define the additional methods. These methods include the following:

  • setPlsqlIndexTable

  • registerIndexTableOutParameter

  • getOraclePlsqlIndexTable

  • getPlsqlIndexTable

These methods handle PL/SQL index-by tables as IN, OUT, or IN OUT parameters, including function return values.

5.7.2 Binding IN Parameters

To bind a PL/SQL index-by table parameter in the IN parameter mode, use the setPlsqlIndexTable method defined in the OraclePreparedStatement and OracleCallableStatement classes.

synchronized public void setPlsqlIndexTable    (int paramIndex, Object arrayData, int maxLen, int curLen, int elemSqlType,    int elemMaxLen) throws SQLException

Table 5-4 describes the arguments of the setPlsqlIndexTable method.

Table 5-4 Arguments of the setPlsqlIndexTable Method

Argument Description
int paramIndex Indicates the parameter position within the statement.
Object arrayData Is an array of values to be bound to the PL/SQL index-by table parameter. The value is of type java.lang.Object. The value can be a Java primitive type array, such as int[], or a Java object array, such as BigDecimal[].
int maxLen Specifies the maximum table length of the index-by table bind value that defines the maximum possible curLen for batch updates. For standalone binds, maxLen should use the same value as curLen. This argument is required.
int curLen Specifies the actual size of the index-by table bind value in arrayData. If the curLen value is smaller than the size of arrayData, then only the curLen number of table elements is passed to the database. If the curLen value is larger than the size of arrayData, then the entire arrayData is sent to the database.
int elemSqlType Specifies the index-by table element type based on the values defined in the OracleTypes class.
int elemMaxLen Specifies the index-table element maximum length in case the element type is CHAR, VARCHAR, or RAW. This value is ignored for other types.

The following code example uses the setPlsqlIndexTable method to bind an index-by table as an IN parameter:

// Prepare the statement
OracleCallableStatement procin = (OracleCallableStatement) 
   conn.prepareCall ("begin procin (?); end;"); 

// index-by table bind value 
int[] values = { 1, 2, 3 }; 

// maximum length of the index-by table bind value. This 
// value defines the maximum possible "currentLen" for batch 
// updates. For standalone binds, "maxLen" should be the 
// same as "currentLen". 
int maxLen = values.length; 

// actual size of the index-by table bind value 
int currentLen = values.length; 

// index-by table element type 
int elemSqlType = OracleTypes.NUMBER; 

// index-by table element length in case the element type 
// is CHAR, VARCHAR or RAW. This value is ignored for other 
// types. 
int elemMaxLen = 0; 

// set the value 
procin.setPlsqlIndexTable (1, values, 
                           maxLen, currentLen, 
                           elemSqlType, elemMaxLen); 

// execute the call 
procin.execute (); 

5.7.3 Receiving OUT Parameters

This section describes how to register a PL/SQL index-by table as an OUT parameter. In addition, it describes how to access the OUT bind values in various mapping styles.


Note:

The methods described in this section apply to function return values and the IN OUT parameter mode as well.

Registering the OUT Parameters

To register a PL/SQL index-by table as an OUT parameter, use the registerIndexTableOutParameter method defined in the OracleCallableStatement class.

synchronized public void registerIndexTableOutParameter     (int paramIndex, int maxLen, int elemSqlType, int elemMaxLen)
   throws SQLException

Table 5-5 describes the arguments of the registerIndexTableOutParameter method.

Table 5-5 Arguments of the registerIndexTableOutParameter Method

Argument Description
int paramIndex Indicates the parameter position within the statement.
int maxLen Specifies the maximum table length of the index-by table bind value to be returned.
int elemSqlType Specifies the index-by table element type based on the values defined in the OracleTypes class.
int elemMaxLen Specifies the index-by table element maximum length in case the element type is CHAR, VARCHAR, or FIXED_CHAR. This value is ignored for other types.

The following code example uses the registerIndexTableOutParameter method to register an index-by table as an OUT parameter:

// maximum length of the index-by table value. This 
// value defines the maximum table size to be returned.
int maxLen = 10;

// index-by table element type
int elemSqlType = OracleTypes.NUMBER;

// index-by table element length in case the element type
// is CHAR, VARCHAR or FIXED_CHAR. This value is ignored for other
// types
int elemMaxLen = 0;

// register the return value
funcnone.registerIndexTableOutParameter
   (1, maxLen, elemSqlType, elemMaxLen);

Accessing the OUT Parameter Values

To access the OUT bind value, the OracleCallableStatement class defines multiple methods that return the index-by table values in different mapping styles. There are three mapping choices available in JDBC drivers:

Mappings Methods to Use
JDBC default mappings getPlsqlIndexTable(int)
Oracle mappings getOraclePlsqlIndexTable(int)
Java primitive type mappings getPlsqlIndexTable(int, Class)

5.7.4 Type Mappings

This section covers the following topics:

JDBC Default Mappings

The getPlsqlIndexTable(int) method with returns index-by table elements using the JDBC default mappings. The syntax for this method is:

public Object getPlsqlIndexTable (int paramIndex)
   throws SQLException

Table 5-6 describes the argument of the getPlsqlIndexTable method.

Table 5-6 Argument of the getPlsqlIndexTable Method

Argument Description
int paramIndex This argument indicates the parameter position within the statement.

The return value is a Java array. The elements of this array are of the default Java type corresponding to the SQL type of the elements. For example, for an index-by table with elements of NUMERIC type code, the element values are mapped to BigDecimal by the Oracle JDBC driver, and the getPlsqlIndexTable method returns a BigDecimal[] array. For a JDBC application, you must cast the return value to BigDecimal[] to access the table element values.

The following code example uses the getPlsqlIndexTable method to return index-by table elements with JDBC default mapping:

// access the value using JDBC default mapping 
BigDecimal[] values = 
   (BigDecimal[]) procout.getPlsqlIndexTable (1); 

// print the elements 
for (int i=0; i<values.length; i++) 
   System.out.println (values[i].intValue()); 

Oracle Mappings

The getOraclePlsqlIndexTable method returns index-by table elements using Oracle mapping.

public Datum[] getOraclePlsqlIndexTable (int paramIndex)
      throws SQLException 

Table 5-7 describes the argument of the getOraclePlsqlIndexTable method.

Table 5-7 Argument of the getOraclePlsqlIndexTable Method

Argument Description
int paramIndex Indicates the parameter position within the statement.

The return value is an oracle.sql.Datum array, and the elements in the array are of the default Datum type corresponding to the SQL type of the element. For example, the element values of an index-by table of numeric elements are mapped to the oracle.sql.NUMBER type in Oracle mapping, and the getOraclePlsqlIndexTable method returns an oracle.sql.Datum array that contains oracle.sql.NUMBER elements.

The following code example uses the getOraclePlsqlIndexTable method to access the elements of a PL/SQL index-by table OUT parameter, using Oracle mapping.

// Prepare the statement 
OracleCallableStatement procout = (OracleCallableStatement)
                                  conn.prepareCall ("begin procout (?); end;");

...

// run the call
procout.execute ();
 
// access the value using Oracle JDBC mapping
Datum[] outvalues = procout.getOraclePlsqlIndexTable (1);

// print the elements
for (int i=0; i<outvalues.length; i++)
   System.out.println (outvalues[i].intValue());

Java Primitive Type Mappings

The getPlsqlIndexTable(int, Class) method returns index-by table elements in Java primitive types. The return value is a Java array. The syntax for this method is:

synchronized public Object getPlsqlIndexTable    (int paramIndex, Class primitiveType) throws SQLException

Table 5-8 describes the arguments of the getPlsqlIndexTable method.

Table 5-8 Arguments of the getPlsqlIndexTable Method

Argument Description
int paramIndex Indicates the parameter position within the statement.
Class primitiveType Specifies a Java primitive type to which the index-by table elements are to be converted. For example, if you specify java.lang.Integer.TYPE, the return value is an int array.

The following are the possible values of this parameter:

java.lang.Integer.TYPE

java.lang.Long.TYPE

java.lang.Float.TYPE

java.lang.Double.TYPE

java.lang.Short.TYPE


The following code example uses the getPlsqlIndexTable method to access the elements of a PL/SQL index-by table of numbers. In the example, the second parameter specifies java.lang.Integer.TYPE and the return value of the getPlsqlIndexTable method is an int array.

OracleCallableStatement funcnone = (OracleCallableStatement) 
   conn.prepareCall ("begin ? := funcnone; end;"); 

// maximum length of the index-by table value. This 
// value defines the maximum table size to be returned. 
int maxLen = 10; 

// index-by table element type 
int elemSqlType = OracleTypes.NUMBER; 

// index-by table element length in case the element type 
// is CHAR, VARCHAR or RAW. This value is ignored for other 
// types 
int elemMaxLen = 0; 

// register the return value 
funcnone.registerIndexTableOutParameter (1, maxLen, 
                                        elemSqlType, elemMaxLen); 
// execute the call 
funcnone.execute (); 

// access the value as a Java primitive array. 
int[] values = (int[]) 
   funcnone.getPlsqlIndexTable (1, java.lang.Integer.TYPE); 

// print the elements 
for (int i=0; i<values.length; i++) 
   System.out.println (values[i]);