Oracle Web Applications: PL/SQL Developer's Intro

Chapter 7. The PL/SQL Toolkit

The PL/SQL toolkit is a set of PL/SQL packages supplied by Oracle for use in developing web applications. These packages are used to generate HTML dynamically, perform text operations, and improve developer productivity. Table 7.1 shows an alphabetical listing of the packages included in the PL/SQL toolkit, along with an explanation of their uses.

Table 7-1. PL/SQL Toolkit Packages

Package Name	Use
HTF	Parses HTML
HTP	Generates HTML
OWA_COOKIE	Stores cookies
OWA_OPT_LOCK	Performs record locking
OWA_PATTERN	Searches and replaces text
OWA_SEC	Manages security
OWA_TEXT	Represents text
OWA_UTIL	Improves productivity

The sections that follow group these packages in categories according to their functionality. HTF and HTP are used for communicating with the outside world; OWA_TEXT and OWA_PATTERN are used for text processing; OWA_COOKIE and OWA_OPT_LOCK are used for maintaining state. The last two packages, OWA_UTIL and OWA_SEC, are used for maintaining productivity and security.

In addition to learning how to use dozens of procedures, we’ll keep an eye on what these packages can teach us about good design. After all, the developers who created these packages are some of the most talented PL/SQL programmers in the world. We would be wise to learn from their examples.

Communicating with the Outside World

When scripting languages like Perl are used to develop dynamic resources, their output is sent to the standard output (stdout) device, then ...