Oracle PL/SQL Programming, 5th Edition

Managing Code in the Database

When you compile a PL/SQL program unit, its source code is stored in the database itself. Information about that program unit is then made available through a set of data dictionary views. This approach to compiling and storing code information offers two tremendous advantages:

Information about that code is available via the SQL language

You can write queries and even entire PL/SQL programs that read the contents of these data dictionary views, obtain lots of fascinating and useful information about your code, and even change the state of your application code.

The database manages dependencies between your stored objects

In the world of PL/SQL, you don’t have to “make” an executable that is then run by users. There is no “build process” for PL/SQL. The database takes care of all such housekeeping details for you, letting you focus more productively on implementing business logic.

The following sections introduce you to some of the most commonly accessed sources of information in the data dictionary.

Overview of Data Dictionary Views

The Oracle data dictionary is a jungle—lushly full of incredible information, but often with less than clear pathways to your destination. There are hundreds of views built on hundreds of tables, many complex interrelationships, special codes, and, all too often, nonoptimized view definitions. A subset of this multitude is particularly handy to PL/SQL developers; I will take a closer look at the key views in a moment. First, ...