Quick PL/SQL, a code generator for PL/SQL based on simple markup

Maybe you've heard about "Quick SQL", a utility (previously a separate application, now part of APEX 18.1 itself) that generates SQL scripts based on a simple markup language. Quick SQL is a real time-saver and allows you to go from idea to prototype to working application in an instant.

Inspired by Quick SQL, I've created a similar utility, called "Quick PL/SQL", that does the same thing, except it generates PL/SQL code (packages with functions and procedures, with standard comment blocks, formatting, etc.) based on a simple markup.

I've recorded a couple of videos to show the tool in action.

Here is an introduction which explains the basic input syntax and the output options:

And here is another video which explains how to create standard CRUD-style (Create, Read, Update, Delete) APIs for your tables:

Try it out for yourself here: https://apex.oracle.com/pls/apex/f?p=QUICKPLSQL:HOME&c=MULEDEV or via this shortcut: https://tinyurl.com/quickplsql2

Of course, I wouldn't mind if this functionality becomes available as part of the QuickSQL utility that is built into APEX! :-)

Longer names coming to Oracle?

Have you ever, like me, been silently finger-counting the number of characters in a table name, column name or procedure name that you are about to create in the Oracle Database, to make sure it is short enough? It appears those days will soon (?) be at an end...

The current limit on names (identifiers such as table names, column names, procedure names, parameter names, etc) in Oracle SQL and PL/SQL is 30 characters. Here is what you see when you do a describe of the the user_tab_columns dictionary view in Oracle 11g:

But what do we see if we do the same on an Oracle 12c database? The database on apex.oracle.com was upgraded to 12c some time ago, so let's try the same there:

Interesting...! Looks like the new limit will be 128 characters. All the relevant views such as user_arguments, user_identifiers and user_objects have been likewise altered.

Mind you, as of version 12.1.0.2.0, it's still not possible to actually create objects with long names:

But it appears that the preparations have been done to allow longer names, so I'm guessing this will become possible in the next version (12.2?).

The world moves forward... it will be great to stop worrying about short names (but let's not go crazy and turn our PL/SQL into the equivalent of this silliness !).

Implementing table inheritance in the database

Over at sqlteam.com, there is an interesting article about "Implementing table inheritance in SQL Server". But the concept is just as applicable to Oracle, of course:

http://www.sqlteam.com/article/implementing-table-inheritance-in-sql-server