Oracle SQL and PL/SQL Handbook: A Guide for Data Administrators, Developers, and Business Analysts

DML and Views

There are two types of views: simple and complex. Table 10.2 compares the two types of views.

Simple views can be used in DML statements because the records displayed in a simple view relate to one row of a table. Complex-view records are virtual records and do not generally relate to one row of a table. The DELETE command cannot be used against a complex view if the view has any of the following features:

• Contains a group function

• Contains a GROUP BY clause

• Contains the DISTINCT keyword

• Contains the pseudocolumn ROWNUM

A view cannot be updated if the view contains any of the above properties. It also cannot be updated if the view has the following property:

• Contains a column that is defined by expressions. These are columns that ...