14 SQL Statements for Stored PL/SQL Units
This chapter explains how to use the SQL statements that create, change, and drop stored PL/SQL units.
CREATE [ OR REPLACE ] Statements
Each of these SQL statements creates a PL/SQL unit at schema level and stores it in the database:
Each of these CREATE
statements has an optional OR
REPLACE
clause. Specify OR
REPLACE
to re-create an existing PL/SQL unit—that is, to change its declaration or definition without dropping it, re-creating it, and regranting object privileges previously granted on it. If you redefine a PL/SQL unit, the database recompiles it.
Caution:
A CREATE
OR
REPLACE
statement does not issue a warning before replacing the existing PL/SQL unit.
None of these CREATE
statements can appear in a PL/SQL block.
ALTER Statements
To recompile an existing PL/SQL unit without re-creating it (without changing its declaration or definition), use one of these SQL statements:
Reasons to use an ALTER
statement are:
-
To explicitly recompile a stored unit that has become invalid, thus eliminating the need for implicit runtime recompilation and preventing associated runtime compilation errors and performance overhead.
-
To recompile a stored unit with different compilation parameters.
-
To enable or disable a trigger.
-
To specify the
EDITIONABLE
orNONEDITIONABLE
property of a stored unit whose schema object type is not yet editionable in its schema.
The ALTER
TYPE
statement has additional uses.
DROP Statements
To drop an existing PL/SQL unit from the database, use one of these SQL statements:
Related Topics
-
For instructions for reading the syntax diagrams in this chapter, see Oracle Database SQL Language Reference.
-
For information about editioned and noneditioned objects, see Oracle Database Development Guide.
-
For information about compilation parameters, see "PL/SQL Units and Compilation Parameters".