65 DBMS_EPG

The DBMS_EPG package implements the embedded PL/SQL gateway that enables a Web browser to invoke a PL/SQL stored procedure through an HTTP listener.

This chapter contains the following topics:

Using DBMS_EPG
- Overview
- Security Model
- Exceptions
Data Structures
- VARCHAR2_TABLE Table Type
Subprogram Groups
- Configuration Subprograms
- Authorization Subprograms
Summary of DBMS_EPG Subprograms

Overview

The DBMS_EPG package is a platform on which PL/SQL users develop and deploy PL/SQL Web applications. The embedded PL/SQL gateway is an embedded version of the gateway that runs in the XML database HTTP server in the Oracle database. It provides the core features of mod_plsql in the database but does not require the Oracle HTTP server powered by Apache.

In order to make a PL/SQL application accessible from a browser by way of HTTP, a Database Access Descriptor (DAD) must be created and mapped to a virtual path. A DAD is a set of configuration values used for database access and the virtual path mapping makes the application accessible under a virtual path of the XML DB HTTP Server. A DAD is represented as a servlet in XML DB HTTP Server.

Security Model

The XDBADMIN role is required to invoke the configuration interface. It may invoked by the database user "XDB".

The authorization interface can be invoked by any user.

Exceptions

The following table lists the exceptions raised by the DBMS_EPG package.

Table 65-1 DBMS_EPG Exceptions

Exception	Error Code	Description
`DAD_NOT_FOUND`	20000	Database Access Descriptor (DAD) %s not found. Ensure that the name of the DAD is correct and that it exists.

Data Structures

The DBMS_EPG package defines a TABLE type.

VARCHAR2_TABLE Table Type

This type is used by the procedures GET_ALL_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES, GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES, GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS, and GET_DAD_LIST to return lists of attribute names, attribute values, virtual paths, and database access descriptors (DAD).

TYPE VARCHAR2_TABLE IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(4000) INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

Subprogram Groups

The DBMS_EPG consists of two interfaces:

Configuration Subprograms
Authorization Subprograms

Configuration Subprograms

The Configuration subprogram group contain the subprogram interfaces to examine and modify the global and database access descriptor (DAD) specific settings of the embedded PL/SQL gateway.

Table 65-2 Configuration Subprogram Group

Subprogram	Description
CREATE_DAD Procedure	Creates a new DAD
DELETE_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Deletes a DAD attribute
DELETE_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Deletes a global attribute
DROP_DAD Procedure	Drops a DAD
GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES Procedure	Retrieves all the attributes of a DAD.
GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS Procedure	Retrieves all virtual paths to which the specified DAD is mapped.
GET_ALL_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES Procedure	Retrieves all global attributes and values
GET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Function	Retrieves the value of a DAD attribute
GET_DAD_LIST Procedure	Retrieves a list of all DADs for an Embedded Gateway instance.
GET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Function	Retrieves the value of a global attribute
MAP_DAD Procedure	Maps a DAD to the specified virtual path.
SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Sets the value for a DAD
SET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Sets the value of a global attribute
UNMAP_DAD Procedure	Unmaps a DAD from the specified virtual path

Authorization Subprograms

The Authorization subprogram group contains the subprogram interfaces to authorize and deauthorize the use of a database user's privileges by the embedded PL/SQL gateway through a specific database access descriptor (DAD)

Table 65-3 Authorization Subprogram Group

Subprogram	Description
AUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure	Authorizes a DAD to invoke procedures and access document tables with a database user's privileges
DEAUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure	Deauthorizes a DAD with regard to invoking procedures and accessing document tables with a database user's privileges

Summary of DBMS_EPG Subprograms

Table 65-4 DBMS_EPG Package Subprograms

Subprogram	Description
AUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure	authorizes a DAD to invoke procedures and access document tables with a database user's privileges
CREATE_DAD Procedure	Creates a new DAD
DEAUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure	Deauthorizes a DAD with regard to invoking procedures and accessing document tables with a database user's privileges
DELETE_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Deletes a DAD attribute
DELETE_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Deletes a global attribute
DROP_DAD Procedure	Drops a DAD
GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES Procedure	Retrieves all the attributes of a DAD.
GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS Procedure	Retrieves all virtual paths to which the specified DAD is mapped.
GET_ALL_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES Procedure	Retrieves all global attributes and values
GET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Function	Retrieves the value of a DAD attribute
GET_DAD_LIST Procedure	Retrieves a list of all DADs for an Embedded Gateway instance.
GET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Function	Retrieves the value of a global attribute
MAP_DAD Procedure	Maps a DAD to the specified virtual path.
SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Sets the value for a DAD
SET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure	Sets the value of a global attribute
UNMAP_DAD Procedure	Unmaps a DAD from the specified virtual path

AUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure

This procedure authorizes a DAD to invoke procedures and access document tables with a database user's privileges. The invoker can always authorize the use of her/his own privileges.

See Also:

Authorization Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.AUTHORIZE_DAD (
   dad_name  IN  VARCHAR2,
   path     IN  VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL);

Parameters

Table 65-5 AUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD to create
`user`	The user whose privileges to deauthorize. If use, the invoker is assumed.

Usage Notes

To authorize the use of another user's privileges, the invoker must have the ALTER USER system privilege.
The DAD must exist but its "database-username" DAD attribute does not have to be set to user to authorize.
Multiple users can authorize the same DAD and it is up to the DAD's "database-username" setting to decide which user's privileges to use.

Exceptions

Raises an error if the DAD or user does not exist, or the invoker does not have the needed system privilege.

Examples

DBMS_EPG.AUTHORIZE_DAD('HR');

CREATE_DAD Procedure

This procedure creates a new DAD.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.CREATE_DAD (
   dad_name  IN  VARCHAR2,
   path      IN  VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL);

Parameters

Table 65-6 CREATE_DAD Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD to create
`path`	The virtual path to which to map the DAD

DEAUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure

This procedure deauthorizes a DAD with regard to invoking procedures and accessing document tables with a database user's privileges. The invoker can always deauthorize the use of his own privileges.

See Also:

Authorization Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.DEAUTHORIZE_DAD (
   dad_name  IN  VARCHAR2,
   path      IN  VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL);

Parameters

Table 65-7 DEAUTHORIZE_DAD Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD for which to deauthorize use
`user`	The user whose privileges to deauthorize. If use, the invoker is assumed.

Usage Notes

To deauthorize the use of another user's privileges, the invoker must have the ALTER USER system privilege.

Exceptions

Raises an error if the DAD or user does not exist, or the invoker does not have the needed system privilege.

Examples

DBMS_EPG.DEAUTHORIZE_DAD('HR');

DELETE_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure

This procedure deletes a DAD attribute.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.DELETE_DAD_ATTRIBUTE (
   dad_name      IN  VARCHAR2,
   attr_name     IN  VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Table 65-8 DELETE_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD for which to delete a DAD attribute
`attr_name`	The name of the DAD attribute to delete

Exceptions

Raises an error if DAD does not exist

DELETE_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure

This procedure deletes a global attribute.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.DELETE_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE (
   attr_name     IN  VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Table 65-9 DELETE_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`attr_name`	The global attribute to delete

DROP_DAD Procedure

This procedure drops a DAD. All the virtual-path mappings of the DAD will be dropped also

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.DROP_DAD (
   dadname  IN  VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Table 65-10 DROP_DAD Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The DAD to drop

Exceptions

Raises an error if the DAD does not exist.

GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES Procedure

This procedure retrieves all the attributes of a DAD. The outputs are 2 correlated index-by tables of the name/value pairs.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES (
   dad_name      IN          VARCHAR2,
   attr_names    OUT NOCOPY  VARCHAR2_TABLE,                       
   attr_values   OUT NOCOPY  VARCHAR2_TABLE);

Parameters

Table 65-11 GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`s	The name of the DAD
`attr_names`	The attribute names
`attr_values`	The attribute values

Exceptions

Raises an error if DAD does not exist.

Usage Notes

If the DAD has no attributes set, then attr_names and attr_values will be set to empty arrays.

GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS Procedure

This procedure retrieves all virtual paths to which the specified DAD is mapped.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS (
   dad_name      IN          VARCHAR2,
   paths         OUT NOCOPY  VARCHAR2_TABLE);

Parameters

Table 65-12 GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`s	The name of the DAD
`paths`	The virtual paths to which h the DAD is mapped

Exceptions

Raises an error if DAD does not exist.

Usage Notes

If the DAD is not mapped to any virtual path, paths will be set to empty arrays.

GET_ALL_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES Procedure

This procedure retrieves all global attributes and values. The outputs are 2 correlated index-by tables of the name/value pairs.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.GET_ALL_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES (
   attr_names     OUT   NOCOPY  VARCHAR2_TABLE,
   attr_values    OUT   NOCOPY  VARCHAR2_TABLE);

Parameters

Table 65-13 GET_ALL_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`attr_name`s	The global attribute names
`attr_values`	The values of the global attributes

Usage Notes

If the gateway instance has no global attributes set, then attr_names and attr_values will be set to empty arrays.

GET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Function

This procedure retrieves the value of a DAD attribute.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.GET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE (
   dad_name     IN  VARCHAR2,
   attr_name    IN  VARCHAR2)
 RETURN VARCHAR2;

Parameters

Table 65-14 GET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Function Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD for which to delete an attribute
`attr_name`	The name of the attribute to delete

Return values

Returns the DAD attribute value. Returns NULL if attribute is unknown or has not been set.

Exceptions

Raises an error if DAD does not exist.

GET_DAD_LIST Procedure

This procedure retrieves a list of all DADs for an Embedded Gateway instance.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.GET_DAD_LIST (
   dad_names     OUT NOCOPY  VARCHAR2_TABLE);

Parameters

Table 65-15 GET_DAD_LIST Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_names`	The list of all DADs

Usage Notes

If no DADs exist then dad_names will be set to an empty array.

GET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Function

This function retrieves the value of a global attribute.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.GET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE (
   attr_name  IN  VARCHAR2)
 RETURN VARCHAR2;

Parameters

Table 65-16 GET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`attr_name`	The global attribute to retrieve

Return Values

Returns the global attribute value. Returns NULL if attribute has not been set or is not a valid attribute.

MAP_DAD Procedure

This procedure maps a DAD to the specified virtual path. If the virtual path exists already, the old virtual-path mapping will be overridden.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.MAP_DAD (
   dad_name  IN  VARCHAR2,
   path      IN  VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Table 65-17 MAP_DAD Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD to map
`path`	The virtual path to map

Exceptions

Raises and error if the DAD does not exist.

SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure

This procedure sets the value for a DAD.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE (
   dad_name    IN  VARCHAR2,
   attr_name   IN  VARCHAR2,   attr_value  IN  VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Table 65-18 SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD for which to set the attribute
`attr_name`	The name of the attribute to set
`attr_value`	The attribute value to set

Table 65-19 Mapping Between mod_plsql and Embedded PL/SQL Gateway DAD Attributes

mod_plsql DAD Attribute	Embedded PL/SQL Gateway DAD Attribute	Allows Multiple Occurr-ences	Legal Values
`PlsqlAfterProcedure`	`after-procedure`	No	String
`PlsqlAlwaysDescribeProcedure`	`always-describe-procedure`	No	Enumeration of On, Off
`PlsqlAuthenticationMode`	`authentication-mode`	No	Enumeration of Basic, SingleSignOn, GlobalOwa, CustomOwa, PerPackageOwa
`PlsqlBeforeProcedure`	`before-procedure`	No	String
`PlsqlBindBucketLengths`	`bind-bucket-lengths`	Yes	Unsigned integer
`PlsqlBindBucketWidths`	`bind-bucket-widths`	Yes	Unsigned integer
`PlsqlCGIEnvironmentList`	`cgi-environment-list`	Yes	String
`PlsqlCompatibilityMode`	`compatibility-mode`	No	Unsigned integer
`PlsqlDatabaseUsername`	`database-usernam`e	No	String
`PlsqlDefaultPage`	`default-page`	No	String
`PlsqlDocumentPath`	`document-path`	No	String
`PlsqlDocumentProcedure`	`document-procedure`	No	String
`PlsqlDocumentTablename`	`document-table-name`	No	String
`PlsqlErrorStyle`	`error-style`	No	Enumeration of ApacheStyle, ModplsqlStyle, DebugStyle
`PlsqlExclusionList`	`exclusion-list`	Yes	String
`PlsqlFetchBufferSize`	`fetch-buffer-size`	No	Unsigned integer
`PlsqlInfoLogging`	i`nfo-logging`	No	Enumeration of InfoDebug
`PlsqlOWADebugEnable`	`owa-debug-enable`	No	Enumeration of On, Off
`PlsqlMaxRequestsPerSession`	`max-requests-per-session`	No	Unsigned integer
`PlsqlNLSLanguage`	`nls-language`	No	String
`PlsqlPathAlias`	`path-alias`	No	String
`PlsqlPathAliasProcedure`	`path-alias-procedure`	No	String
`PlsqlRequestValidationFunction`	`request-validation-function`	No	String
`PlsqlSessionCookieName`	`session-cookie-name`	No	String
`PlsqlSessionStateManagement`	`session-state-management`	No	Enumeration of StatelessWithResetPackageState, StatelessWithFastRestPackageState, StatelessWithPreservePackageState
`PlsqlTransferMode`	`transfer-mode`	No	Enumeration of Char, Raw
`PlsqlUploadAsLongRaw`	`upload-as-long-raw`	No	String

Exceptions

Raises an error if DAD does not exist or the attribute is unknown.

Usage Notes

If attr_name attribute has been set before, then the old value will be overwritten with the new attr_value argument.
The embedded gateway assumes default values when the attributes are not set. The default values of the DAD attributes should be sufficient for most users of the embedded gateway. mod_plsql users should note the following
- The PlsqlDatabasePassword attribute is not needed.
- The PlsqlDatabaseConnectString attribute is not needed because the embedded gateway does not support logon to external databases.

Examples

DBMS_EPG.SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE('HR', 'default-page', 'HRApp.home');

SET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure

This procedure sets the value of a global attribute.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.SET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE (
   attr_name    IN VARCHAR2,                     
   attr_value   IN VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Table 65-20 SET_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTE Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`attr_name`	The global attribute to set
`attr_value`	The attribute value to set

Table 65-21 Mapping Between mod_plsql and Embedded PL/SQL Gateway Global Attributes

mod_plsql Global Attribute	Embedded PL/SQL Gateway Global Attribute	Allows Multiple Occurr-ences	Legal Values
`PlsqlLogLevel`	`log-level`	No	Unsigned integer
`PlsqlMaxParameters`	`max-parameters`	No	Unsigned integer

Usage Notes

The attribute name is case sensitive. The value may or may not be case-sensitive depending on the attribute.
If attr_name attribute has been set before, then the old value will be overwritten with the new attr_value argument.

Exceptions

Raises an error if the attribute is unknown.

Examples

dbms_epg.set_global_attribute('max-parameters', '100');

UNMAP_DAD Procedure

This procedure unmaps a DAD from the specified virtual path. If path is NULL, the procedure removes all virtual-path mappings for the DAD but keeps the DAD.

See Also:

Configuration Subprograms for other subprograms in this group

Syntax

DBMS_EPG.UNMAP_DAD (
   dad_name IN VARCHAR2,
   path     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL);

Parameters

Table 65-22 UNMAP_DAD Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
`dad_name`	The name of the DAD to unmap
`path`	The virtual path to unmap

Usage Notes

Raises and error if the DAD does not exist.