13 PL/SQL Language Elements

This chapter is a quick reference guide to PL/SQL syntax and semantics. It shows you how commands, parameters, and other language elements are combined to form PL/SQL statements. It also provides usage notes and links to examples.

To understand the syntax of a PL/SQL statement, trace through its syntax diagram, reading from left to right and top to bottom. The diagrams represent Backus-Naur Form (BNF) productions. Within the diagrams, keywords are enclosed in boxes, delimiters in circles, and identifiers in ovals. Each diagram defines a syntactic element. Every path through the diagram describes a possible form of that element. Follow in the direction of the arrows. If a line loops back on itself, you can repeat the element enclosed by the loop.

This chapter contains these topics:

• Assignment Statement

• AUTONOMOUS_TRANSACTION Pragma

• Block Declaration

• CASE Statement

• CLOSE Statement

• Collection Definition

• Collection Methods

• Comments

• COMMIT Statement

• Constant and Variable Declaration

• Cursor Attributes

• Cursor Variables

• Cursor Declaration

• DELETE Statement

• EXCEPTION_INIT Pragma

• Exception Definition

• EXECUTE IMMEDIATE Statement

• EXIT Statement

• Expression Definition

• FETCH Statement

• FORALL Statement

• Function Declaration

• GOTO Statement

• IF Statement

• INSERT Statement

• Literal Declaration

• LOCK TABLE Statement

• LOOP Statements

• MERGE Statement

• NULL Statement

• Object Type Declaration

• OPEN Statement

• OPEN-FOR Statement

• Package Declaration

• Procedure Declaration

• RAISE Statement

• Record Definition

• RESTRICT_REFERENCES Pragma

• RETURN Statement

• RETURNING INTO Clause

• ROLLBACK Statement

• %ROWTYPE Attribute

• SAVEPOINT Statement

• SELECT INTO Statement

• SERIALLY_REUSABLE Pragma

• SET TRANSACTION Statement

• SQL Cursor

• SQLCODE Function

• SQLERRM Function

• %TYPE Attribute

• UPDATE Statement