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Home / PL/SQL Tutorial / What is PL/SQL

What is PL/SQL

Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn about the PL/SQL program language and its architecture.

Introduction to PL/SQL

PL/SQL stands for “Procedural Language extensions to the Structured Query Language”. SQL is a popular language for both querying and updating data in the relational database management systems (RDBMS). PL/SQL adds many procedural constructs to SQL language to overcome some limitations of SQL. Besides, PL/SQL provides a more comprehensive programming language solution for building mission-critical applications on Oracle Databases.

PL/SQL is a highly structured and readable language. Its constructs express the intent of the code clearly. Also, PL/SQL is a straightforward language to learn.

PL/SQL is a standard and portable language for Oracle Database development. If you develop a program that executes on an Oracle Database, you can quickly move it to another compatible Oracle Database without any changes.

PL/SQL is an embedded language. PL/SQL only can execute in an Oracle Database. It was not designed to use as a standalone language like Java, C#, and C++. In other words, you cannot develop a PL/SQL program that runs on a system that does not have an Oracle Database.

PL/SQL is a high-performance and highly integrated database language. Besides PL/SQL, you can use other programming languages such as Java, C#, and C++. However, it is easier to write efficient code in PL/SQL than other programming languages when it comes to interacting with the Oracle Database. In particular, you can use PL/SQL specific constructs like the FORALL statement that helps improve database performance.

PL/SQL architecture

The following picture illustrates the PL/SQL architecture:

PL/SQL Architecture

PL/SQL engine is in charge of compiling PL/SQL code into byte-code and executes the executable code. The PL/SQL engine can only be installed in an Oracle Database server or an application development tool such as Oracle Forms.

Once you submit a PL/SQL block to the Oracle Database server, the PL/SQL engine collaborates with the SQL engine to compile and execute the code. PL/SQL engine runs the procedural elements while the SQL engine processes the SQL statements.

Now you should have a basic understanding of PL/SQL programming language and its architecture. Let’s create the first working PL/SQL anonymous block.

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PL/SQL Getting Started

  • What is PL/SQL
  • PL/SQL Anonymous Block
  • PL/SQL Data Types
  • PL/SQL Variables
  • PL/SQL Comments
  • PL/SQL Constants

PL/SQL Conditional Control

  • PL/SQL IF THEN
  • PL/SQL CASE
  • PL/SQL GOTO
  • PL/SQL NULL Statement

PL/SQL Loops

  • PL/SQL LOOP
  • PL/SQL FOR LOOP
  • PL/SQL WHILE Loop
  • PL/SQL CONTINUE

PL/SQL Select Into

  • PL/SQL SELECT INTO

PL/SQL Exception Handlers

  • PL/SQL Exception
  • PL/SQL Exception Propagation
  • PL/SQL RAISE Exceptions
  • RAISE_APPLICATION_ERROR

PL/SQL Records

  • PL/SQL Record

PL/SQL Cursors

  • PL/SQL Cursor
  • PL/SQL Cursor FOR LOOP
  • PL/SQL Cursor with Parameters
  • PL/SQL Updatable Cursor

PL/SQL Procedures & Functions

  • PL/SQL Procedure
  • PL/SQL Function
  • PL/SQL Cursor Variables

PL/SQL Packages

  • PL/SQL Package
  • PL/SQL Package Specification
  • PL/SQL Package Body

PL/SQL Triggers

  • PL/SQL Triggers
  • PL/SQL Statement-level Triggers
  • PL/SQL Row-level Triggers
  • PL/SQL INSTEAD OF Triggers
  • PL/SQL Disable Triggers
  • PL/SQL Enable Triggers
  • PL/SQL Drop Triggers
  • Oracle Mutating Table Error

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