7 DBMS_UTILITY

Using DBMS_UTILITY

• Security model

• Constants

• Types

• Exceptions

Security model

DBMS_UTILITY runs with the privileges of the calling user for the NAME_RESOLVE procedure and the COMPILE_SCHEMA procedure. This is necessary so that the SQL works correctly.

The package does not run as SYS.

Constants

The DBMS_UTILITY package uses the constants shown in Table 7-1.

Types

• dblink_array

• index_table_type

• instance_record

• lname_array

• name_array

• number_array

• uncl_array

dblink_array

TYPE dblink_array IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(128) INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

Lists of database links would be stored here. (TimesTen does not support dblinks.)

index_table_type

TYPE index_table_type IS TABLE OF BINARY_INTEGER INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

The order in which objects should be generated is returned here.

instance_record

  TYPE instance_record IS RECORD (
       inst_number   NUMBER,
       inst_name     VARCHAR2(60));
  TYPE instance_table IS TABLE OF instance_record INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

The list of active instance number and instance name.

The starting index of instance_table is 1; instance_table is dense.

lname_array

TYPE lname_array IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(4000) index by BINARY_INTEGER;

Lists of long NAME should be stored here, including fully qualified attribute names.

name_array

TYPE name_array IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(30) INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

Lists of NAME should be stored here.

number_array

TYPE number_array IS TABLE OF NUMBER INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

The order in which objects should be generated is returned here.

uncl_array

TYPE uncl_array IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(227) INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

Lists of "USER"."NAME"."COLUMN"@LINK should be stored here.

Exceptions

The following table lists the exceptions raised by DBMS_UTILITY.

Summary of DBMS_UTILITY subprograms

[[a.]b.]c[@dblink]

'a[.b[.c]][@dblink]"

CANONICALIZE procedure

This procedure canonicalizes the given string. The procedure handles a single reserved or key word (such as "table"), and strips off white spaces for a single identifier. For example, " table" becomes TABLE.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.CANONICALIZE(
   name           IN    VARCHAR2,
   canon_name     OUT   VARCHAR2,
   canon_len      IN    BINARY_INTEGER);

Parameters

Return value

Returns the first canon_len bytes in canon_name.

Usage notes

• If name value is NULL, the canon_name value becomes NULL.

• If name is not a dotted name, and if name begins and ends with a double quote, remove both quotes. Alternatively, convert to upper case with NLS_UPPER. Note that this case does not include a name with special characters, such as a space, but is not doubly quoted.

• If name is a dotted name (such as a."b".c), for each component in the dotted name in the case in which the component begins and ends with a double quote, no transformation will be performed on this component. Alternatively, convert to upper case with NLS_UPPER and apply begin and end double quotes to the capitalized form of this component. In such a case, each canonicalized component will be concatenated in the input position, separated by ".".

• Any other character after a[.b]* will be ignored.

• The procedure does not handle cases like 'A B.'

Examples

• a becomes A.

• "a" becomes a.

• "a".b becomes "a"."B".

• "a".b,c.f becomes "a"."B" with",c.f" ignored.

COMMA_TO_TABLE procedure

This procedure converts a comma-delimited list of names into a PL/SQL table of names. The second version supports fully qualified attribute names.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.COMMA_TO_TABLE ( 
   list   IN  VARCHAR2,
   tablen OUT BINARY_INTEGER,
   tab    OUT dbms_utility.uncl_array); 

DBMS_UTILITY.COMMA_TO_TABLE ( 
   list   IN  VARCHAR2,
   tablen OUT BINARY_INTEGER,
   tab    OUT dbms_utility.lname_array);

Parameters

a[.b[.c]][@d]

a[.b]*

Return value

A PL/SQL table with values 1..n, and n+1 is NULL.

Usage notes

The list must be a non-empty, comma-delimited list. Anything other than a comma-delimited list is rejected. Commas inside double quotes do not count.

Entries in the comma-delimited list cannot include multibyte characters.

The values in tab are copied from the original list, with no transformations.

COMPILE_SCHEMA procedure

This procedure compiles all procedures, functions, packages, and views in the specified schema.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.COMPILE_SCHEMA (
   schema          IN VARCHAR2,
   compile_all     IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT TRUE,
   reuse_settings  IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE);

Parameters

Usage notes

• Note that this subprogram is a wrapper for the RECOMP_SERIAL procedure included with the UTL_RECOMP package.

• After calling this procedure, you should select from view ALL_OBJECTS for items with status INVALID to see if all objects were successfully compiled.

• To see the errors associated with invalid objects, you can use the ttIsql show errors command:

  Command> show errors [{FUNCTION | PROCEDURE | PACKAGE | PACKAGE BODY}
  [schema.]name];
  

  Examples:

  Command> show errors function foo;
  Command> show errors procedure fred.bar;
  Command> show errors package body emp_actions;
  

Exceptions

DB_VERSION procedure

This procedure returns version information for the database.

Returns NULL for the compatibility setting because TimesTen does not support the system parameter COMPATIBLE.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.DB_VERSION (
   version       OUT VARCHAR2,
   compatibility OUT VARCHAR2); 

Parameters

FORMAT_CALL_STACK function

This function formats the current call stack. It can be used on any stored procedure to access the call stack and is useful for debugging.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.FORMAT_CALL_STACK 
  RETURN VARCHAR2;

Return value

Returns the call stack, up to 2000 bytes.

FORMAT_ERROR_BACKTRACE function

This procedure displays the call stack at the point where an exception was raised, even if the procedure is called from an exception handler in an outer scope. The output is similar to the output of the SQLERRM function, but not subject to the same size limitation.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.FORMAT_ERROR_BACKTRACE 
  RETURN VARCHAR2;

Return value

The backtrace string. A null string is returned if no error is currently being handled.

Examples

Script format_error_backtrace.sql

Execute the following script from ttIsql, using the run command.

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE Log_Errors ( i_buff in varchar2 ) IS
  g_start_pos integer := 1;
  g_end_pos  integer;
 
  FUNCTION Output_One_Line RETURN BOOLEAN IS
  BEGIN
    g_end_pos := Instr ( i_buff, Chr(10), g_start_pos );
 
    CASE g_end_pos > 0
      WHEN true THEN
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ( Substr ( i_buff, g_start_pos,
                               g_end_pos-g_start_pos ) );
        g_start_pos := g_end_pos+1;
        RETURN TRUE;
 
      WHEN FALSE THEN
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ( Substr ( i_buff, g_start_pos,
                               (Length(i_buff)-g_start_pos)+1 ) );
        RETURN FALSE;
    END CASE;
  END Output_One_Line;
 
BEGIN
  WHILE Output_One_Line() LOOP NULL; 
  END LOOP;
END Log_Errors;
/
 
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P0 IS
  e_01476 EXCEPTION; pragma exception_init ( e_01476, -1476 );
BEGIN
  RAISE e_01476;
END P0;
/
Show Errors
 

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P1 IS
BEGIN
  P0();
END P1;
/
SHOW ERRORS
 
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P2 IS
BEGIN
  P1();
END P2;
/
SHOW ERRORS
 
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P3 IS
BEGIN
  P2();
END P3;
/
SHOW ERRORS
 
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P4 IS
BEGIN 
  P3(); 
END P4;
/
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE P5 IS
BEGIN 
  P4(); 
END P5;
/
SHOW ERRORS
 
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE Top_Naive IS
BEGIN
  P5();
END Top_Naive;
/
SHOW ERRORS
 
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE Top_With_Logging IS
  -- NOTE: SqlErrm in principle gives the same info as Format_Error_Stack.
  -- But SqlErrm is subject to some length limits,
  -- while Format_Error_Stack is not.
BEGIN
  P5();
EXCEPTION
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    Log_Errors ( 'Error_Stack...' || Chr(10) ||
      DBMS_UTILITY.FORMAT_ERROR_STACK() );
    Log_Errors ( 'Error_Backtrace...' || Chr(10) ||
      DBMS_UTILITY.FORMAT_ERROR_BACKTRACE() );
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ( '----------' );
END Top_With_Logging;
/
SHOW ERRORS

Execute Top_Naive

This shows the results of executing the Top_Naive procedure that is created in the script, assuming user SCOTT ran the script and executed the procedure.

Command> set serveroutput on
Command> begin
       > Top_Naive();
       > end;
       > /
 8507: ORA-01476: divisor is equal to zero
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P0", line 4
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P1", line 3
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P2", line 3
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P3", line 3
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P4", line 3
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P5", line 3
 8507: ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.TOP_NAIVE", line 3
 8507: ORA-06512: at line 2
The command failed.

This output shows the call stack at the point where an exception was raised. It shows the backtrace error message as the call stack unwound, starting at the unhandled exception ORA-01476 raised at SCOTT.P0 line 4, back to SCOTT.Top_Naive line 3.

Execute Top_With_Logging

This shows the results of executing the Top_With_Logging() procedure that is created in the script, assuming user SCOTT ran the script and executed the procedure.

Command> begin
       > Top_With_Logging();
       > end;
       > /
Error_Stack...
ORA-01476: divisor is equal to zero
Error_Backtrace...
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P0", line 4
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P1", line 3
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P2", line 3
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P3", line 3
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P4", line 3
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.P5", line 3
ORA-06512: at "SCOTT.TOP_WITH_LOGGING", line 6
----------
 
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

This output shows the call stack at the point where an exception was raised. It shows the backtrace error message as the call stack unwound, starting at the unhandled exception ORA-01476 raised at SCOTT.P0 line 4, back to SCOTT.Top_With_Logging line 6.

ORA-06512 information

Oracle Database Error Messages provides the following information about the ORA-06512 error:

ORA-06512: at stringline string
    Cause: Backtrace message as the stack is unwound by unhandled exceptions.
    Action: Fix the problem causing the exception or write an exception handler
 for this condition. Or you may need to contact your application administrator or
 DBA.

FORMAT_ERROR_STACK function

This function formats the current error stack. It can be used in exception handlers to look at the full error stack.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.FORMAT_ERROR_STACK 
  RETURN VARCHAR2;

Return value

This returns the error stack, up to 2000 bytes. A null string is returned if no error is currently being handled.

GET_CPU_TIME function

This function returns the current CPU time in hundredths of a second from some arbitrary epoch.

Syntax

  DBMS_UTILITY.GET_CPU_TIME
   RETURN NUMBER;

Return value

The number of hundredths of a second from some arbitrary epoch.

Usage notes

This subprogram reports cycles (CPU time) used in performing work and is unrelated to clock time or any other fixed reference. Since the base line is rubricator, and the relationship between work performed and the number generated is operating system specific, the amount of work performed is calculated by measuring the difference between a start point and end point for a particular operation.

GET_DEPENDENCY procedure

This procedure shows the dependencies on the object passed in.

Syntax

  DBMS_UTILITY.GET_DEPENDENCY
   type      IN     VARCHAR2,
   schema    IN     VARCHAR2,
   name      IN     VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Usage notes

This procedure uses the DBMS_OUTPUT package to display results, so you must declare SET SERVEROUTPUT ON to view dependencies. Alternatively, any application that checks the DBMS_OUTPUT output buffers can invoke this subprogram and then retrieve the output through DBMS_OUTPUT subprograms such as GET_LINES.

GET_ENDIANNESS function

This function indicates the endianness of the database platform.

Syntax

  DBMS_UTILITY.GET_ENDIANNESS
   RETURN NUMBER;

Return value

A NUMBER value indicating the endianness of the database platform: 1 for big-endian or 2 for little-endian.

GET_HASH_VALUE function

This function computes a hash value for the given string.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.GET_HASH_VALUE (
   name      IN  VARCHAR2, 
   base      IN  NUMBER, 
   hash_size IN  NUMBER)
  RETURN NUMBER;

Parameters

Return value

A hash value based on the input string. For example, to get a hash value on a string where the hash value should be between 1000 and 3047, use 1000 as the base value and 2048 as the hash_size value. Using a power of 2 for hash_size works best.

GET_SQL_HASH function

This function computes a hash value for the given string using the MD5 algorithm.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.GET_SQL_HASH (
   name          IN   VARCHAR2,
  [hash          OUT  RAW,
   pre10ihash    OUT  NUMBER])
  RETURN NUMBER;

Parameters

Return value

A hash value (last four bytes) based on the input string. The MD5 hash algorithm computes a 16-byte hash value, but TimesTen returns only the last four bytes to return an actual number. One could use an optional RAW parameter to get all 16 bytes and to store the pre-Oracle 10g hash value of four bytes in the pre10ihash optional parameter.

GET_TIME function

This function determines the current time in hundredths of a second and is primarily used for determining elapsed time. The subprogram is called twice, at the beginning and end of a process. The first (earlier) number is subtracted from the second (later) number to determine the time elapsed.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.GET_TIME 
  RETURN NUMBER;

Return value

The number of hundredths of a second from the time at which the subprogram is invoked.

Usage notes

Numbers are returned in the range -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647 depending on platform and system, and your application must take the sign of the number into account in determining the interval. For example, for two negative numbers, application logic must allow that the first (earlier) number will be larger than the second (later) number that is closer to zero. By the same token, your application should also allow for the first (earlier) number to be negative and the second (later) number to be positive.

INVALIDATE procedure

This procedure invalidates a database object and (optionally) modifies its PL/SQL compiler parameter settings. It also invalidates any objects that directly or indirectly depend on the object being invalidated.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.INVALIDATE ( 
   p_object_id              IN  NUMBER,
  [p_plsql_object_settings  IN  VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
   p_option_flags           BINARY_INTEGER DEFAULT 0]);

Parameters

Usage notes

The object type (object_type column from ALL_OBJECTS) of the object specified by p_object_id must be a PROCEDURE, FUNCTION, PACKAGE, PACKAGE BODY, LIBRARY, OPERATOR, or SYNONYM. If the object is not one of these types and the flag inv_error_on_restrictions is specified in p_option_flags, then the exception inv_restricted_object is raised. If inv_error_on_restrictions is not specified in this situation, then no action is taken.

If the object specified by p_object_id is the package specification of STANDARD or DBMS_STANDARD, or the specification or body of DBMS_UTILITY, and if the flag inv_error_on_restrictions is specified in p_option_flags, then the exception inv_restricted_object is raised. If inv_error_on_restrictions is not specified in this situation, then no action is taken.

If the object specified by p_object_id is an object type specification and there are tables that depend on the type, and if the flag inv_error_on_restrictions is specified in p_option_flags, then the exception inv_restricted_object is raised. If inv_error_on_restrictions is not specified, then no action is taken.

Exceptions

Examples

This example invalidates a procedure created in the example in "FORMAT_ERROR_BACKTRACE function". From examining user_objects, you can see information for the procedures created in that example. The following describes user_objects then queries its contents.

Command> describe user_objects;
 
View SYS.USER_OBJECTS:
  Columns:
    OBJECT_NAME                     VARCHAR2 (30) INLINE
    SUBOBJECT_NAME                  VARCHAR2 (30) INLINE
    OBJECT_ID                       TT_BIGINT NOT NULL
    DATA_OBJECT_ID                  TT_BIGINT
    OBJECT_TYPE                     VARCHAR2 (17) INLINE NOT NULL
    CREATED                         DATE NOT NULL
    LAST_DDL_TIME                   DATE NOT NULL
    TIMESTAMP                       VARCHAR2 (78) INLINE NOT NULL
    STATUS                          VARCHAR2 (7) INLINE NOT NULL
    TEMPORARY                       VARCHAR2 (1) INLINE NOT NULL
    GENERATED                       VARCHAR2 (1) INLINE NOT NULL
    SECONDARY                       VARCHAR2 (1) INLINE NOT NULL
    NAMESPACE                       TT_INTEGER NOT NULL
    EDITION_NAME                    VARCHAR2 (30) INLINE
 
1 view found.
 
Command> select * from user_objects;
...
< LOG_ERRORS, <NULL>, 296, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12
:58:22, 2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< P0, <NULL>, 297, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< P1, <NULL>, 298, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< P2, <NULL>, 299, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< P3, <NULL>, 300, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< P4, <NULL>, 301, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< P5, <NULL>, 302, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< TOP_NAIVE, <NULL>, 303, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:
58:22, 2009-09-18:12:58:22, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< TOP_WITH_LOGGING, <NULL>, 304, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09
-18 15:19:16, 2009-09-18:15:19:16, VALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
...
20 rows found.

To invalidate the P5 procedure, for example, specify object_id 302 in the INVALIDATE call:

Command> begin
       > dbms_utility.invalidate(302, 'PLSQL_OPTIMIZE_LEVEL=2 REUSE SETTINGS');
       > end;
       > /

This will mark the P5 procedure invalid and set its PLSQL_OPTIMIZE_LEVEL compiler setting to 2. The values of other compiler settings will remain unchanged because REUSE SETTINGS is specified. Note that in addition to P5 being invalidated, any PL/SQL objects that refer to that object are invalidated. Given that Top_With_Logging and Top_Naive call P5, here are the results of the INVALIDATE call, querying for all user objects that are now invalid:

Command> select * from user_objects where status='INVALID';
< P5, <NULL>, 302, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< TOP_NAIVE, <NULL>, 303, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:
58:22, 2009-09-18:12:58:22, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< TOP_WITH_LOGGING, <NULL>, 304, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09
-18 15:19:16, 2009-09-18:15:19:16, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
3 rows found.

A user can explicitly recompile and revalidate an object by calling the VALIDATE procedure discussed later in this chapter, or by executing ALTER PROCEDURE, ALTER FUNCTION, or ALTER PACKAGE, as applicable, on the object. Alternatively, each object is recompiled and revalidated automatically the next time it is executed.

IS_BIT_SET function

This function checks the bit setting for the given bit in the given RAW value.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.IS_BIT_SET (
   r       IN RAW,    
   n       IN NUMBER)  
  RETURN NUMBER;

Parameters

Return value

This function returns 1 if bit n in RAW r is set. Bits are numbered high to low with the lowest bit being bit number 1.

NAME_RESOLVE procedure

This procedure resolves the given name of the form:

[[a.]b.]c[@dblink]

Where a, b, and c are SQL identifiers and dblink is a dblink, including synonym translation and authorization checking as necessary.

Do not use @dblink. TimesTen does not support database links.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.NAME_RESOLVE (
   name          IN  VARCHAR2, 
   context       IN  NUMBER,
   schema        OUT VARCHAR2, 
   part1         OUT VARCHAR2, 
   part2         OUT VARCHAR2,
   dblink        OUT VARCHAR2, 
   part1_type    OUT NUMBER, 
   object_number OUT NUMBER);

Parameters

[[a.]b.]c[@dblink]

Exceptions

All errors are handled by raising exceptions. A wide variety of exceptions are possible, based on the various syntax errors that are possible when specifying object names.

NAME_TOKENIZE procedure

This procedure calls the parser to parse the input name as:

"a[.b[.c]][@dblink]"

Where a, b, and c are SQL identifiers and dblink is a dblink. It strips double quotes, or converts to uppercase if there are no quotes. It ignores comments of all sorts, and does no semantic analysis. Missing values are left as NULL.

Do not use @dblink. TimesTen does not support database links.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.NAME_TOKENIZE ( 
   name    IN  VARCHAR2,
   a       OUT VARCHAR2,
   b       OUT VARCHAR2,
   c       OUT VARCHAR2,
   dblink  OUT VARCHAR2, 
   nextpos OUT BINARY_INTEGER);

Parameters

Examples

Consider the following script:

declare
   a varchar2(30);
   b varchar2(30);
   c varchar2(30);
   d varchar2(30);
   next integer;
begin
   dbms_utility.name_tokenize('scott.foo', a, b, c, d, next);
   dbms_output.put_line('a: ' || a);
   dbms_output.put_line('b: ' || b);
   dbms_output.put_line('c: ' || c);
   dbms_output.put_line('d: ' || d);
   dbms_output.put_line('next: ' || next);
end;
/

This produces the following output.

a: SCOTT
b: FOO
c:
d:
next: 9
 
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

TABLE_TO_COMMA procedure

This procedure converts a PL/SQL table of names into a comma-delimited list of names. This takes a PL/SQL table, 1..n, terminated with n+1 being NULL. The second version supports fully qualified attribute names.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.TABLE_TO_COMMA ( 
   tab    IN  dbms_utility.uncl_array, 
   tablen OUT BINARY_INTEGER,
   list   OUT VARCHAR2);

DBMS_UTILITY.TABLE_TO_COMMA ( 
   tab    IN  dbms_utility.lname_array,
   tablen OUT BINARY_INTEGER,
   list   OUT VARCHAR2);

Parameters

Return value

A VARCHAR2 value with a comma-delimited list and the number of elements found in the table.

VALIDATE procedure

Validates the object described either by owner, name, and namespace or by object ID.

Syntax

DBMS_UTILITY.VALIDATE(
    object_id     IN  NUMBER);

DBMS_UTILITY.VALIDATE(
   owner          IN  VARCHAR2, 
   objname        IN  VARCHAR2, 
   namespace      NUMBER,
   edition_name   VARCHAR2 := NULL;

Parameters

Usage notes

• Executing VALIDATE on a subprogram will also validate subprograms that it references. (See the example below.)

• No errors are raised if the object does not exist, is already valid, or is an object that cannot be validated.

• The INVALIDATE procedure invalidates a database object and optionally changes its PL/SQL compiler parameter settings. The object to be invalidated is specified by its object_id value.

Examples

This example starts where the INVALIDATE example in "INVALIDATE procedure" left off. Assume P5, Top_Naive, and Top_With_Logging are invalid, shown as follows:

Command> select * from user_objects where status='INVALID';
< P5, <NULL>, 302, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:58:22,
2009-09-18:12:58:22, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< TOP_NAIVE, <NULL>, 303, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-18 12:
58:22, 2009-09-18:12:58:22, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
< TOP_WITH_LOGGING, <NULL>, 304, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09
-18 15:19:16, 2009-09-18:15:19:16, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
3 rows found.

Validating Top_With_Logging, for example, will also validate P5, because it calls P5 (leaving only Top_Naive invalid):

Command> begin
       > dbms_utility.validate(304);
       > end;
       > /
 
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
 
Command> select * from user_objects where status='INVALID';
< TOP_NAIVE, <NULL>, 303, <NULL>, PROCEDURE, 2009-09-18 12:53:45, 2009-09-21 11:
14:37, 2009-09-21:11:14:37, INVALID, N, N, N, 1, <NULL> >
1 row found.