Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference, 4th Edition

Object-Oriented Features

In the Oracle database, an object type combines attributes (data structures) and methods (functions and procedures) into a single programming construct. The object type construct allows programmers to define their own reusable datatypes for use in PL/SQL programs and table and column definitions. An object type must be created in a database before it can be used in a PL/SQL program.

An instance of an object type is an object in the same way that a variable is an instance of a scalar type. Objects are either persistent (stored in the database) or transient (stored only in PL/SQL variables). Objects can be stored in a database as a row in a table (a row object) or as a column in a table. A table of row objects can be created with syntax such as this:

CREATE TABLE table_name OF object_type;

When stored in such a table, the object (row) has a system-generated Object IDentifier (OID) that is unique throughout the database.

Object Types

An object type has two parts: a specification and a body. The specification is required and contains the attributes and method specifications. The syntax for creating the object type specification is:

CREATE [OR REPLACE] TYPE obj_type_name
[ AUTHID { CURRENT_USER | DEFINER } ]
{ { IS | AS } OBJECT | UNDER parent_type_name }
(
   attribute_name datatype,...,
   [ [ [NOT] OVERRIDING ] [ [NOT] FINAL ] [ [NOT]
   INSTANTIABLE ] method_spec,...,]
   [PRAGMA RESTRICT_REFERENCES(program_name, purities)]
)
[ [NOT] FINAL ]
[ [NOT] INSTANTIABLE ];

where