Oracle SQL Developer doesn't put in schema names in trigger DDLs - sql

In our test environment, the schema is prepended to the trigger DDL as one might expect. However, in our QA and PROD environments, the schema prefix doesn't show in the DDL. We always connect as the "SCHEMA" user so it hasn't been a problem thus far. Is it worth updating the QA and PROD DDL's to include the schema prefix? If we don't ever connect to the DB as a user/schema other than "SCHEMA", do we really have anything to worry about?
TEST DDL:
create or replace TRIGGER "SCHEMA"."MDATA_BIR_TRG"
BEFORE INSERT ON "SCHEMA"."METADATA"
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
---CODE HERE.
END;
QA DDL:
create or replace TRIGGER "MDATA_BIR_TRG"
BEFORE INSERT ON "METADATA"
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
---CODE HERE.
END;

I agree with omeinusch that the schema name is not that important (as long as the current schema is the same as the schema where the object is intended to reside). There is no need to recompile the trigger and make it fully qualified.
A common approach to exporting an object's DDL is to use the SQL Developer's export wizard which does allow you to indicate whether the DDL of the object is schema qualified.
Directions to obtain DDL from SQL Developer export wizard
right click on the object in the connection navigator and select export
choose characteristics of export (include schema by selecting check)
make sure file path is entered.
click next.

No, the SCHEMA is optional and only needed if you want ensure that the handled object belongs to a defined schema or not. If you "don't care" and always use mean your current schema, you can omit it.

Related

Creating a database view from a dynamic string (EXECUTE IMMEDIATE) in a PL/SQL package - Questions?

I want to create a dynamic view at runtime made up of string of columns and a where clause using EXECUTE IMMEDIATE on one database which will be queried on a second database using a db_link.
My question are the following.
The view will be queried on another database using a database_link do I need to also GRANT privileges to the view (i.e. PUBLIC) and the SYNONYM (as PUBLIC) at the same time (if at all)? or does this only need to be created once?
Can a package be INVALID if in the PL/SQL package there is a reference to an object on another database via a database link that doesn't exist, is INVALID or has changed in structure? Or does it compile regardless?
I'm assuming I would need "CREATE OR REPLACE VIEW" in the the EXECUTE IMMEDIATE string as the second time I run this process the view will already exist on the database?
Thanks Guys in advance for any feedback on this.
First of all, I'd suggest you not to do that. In Oracle, objects are created once and used any time you want. What benefit do you expect from creating a view dynamically? (I'm not saying that you must not do it, just suggesting to think it over).
Now, to answer your questions:
You don't need GRANT because - in order to create a database link, you already know remote database's username and password
If object in another database is invalid, then executing or compiling your procedure will fail
Yes, as without or replace Oracle will complain that object with that name already exists.

Why alter command is referred as DDL and not DML?

I was going through the different commands in SQL and I came across alter command which is referred as DDL (Data Definition Language). We can alter the column and values in it, so we can manipulate the data with this command so why does alter command is not referred as DML (Data Manipulation Language).
I have googled and I can not come across some good explanation, so please help me with this.
ALTER command is used to alter the structure of the database. And this is what DDL does i.e., DDL statements are used to define the database structure or schema.
Whereas DML statement is used to manage data within schema objects.
DDL - alter the schema.
This including creating tables, renaming columns, dropping views, etc. Such statements are DDL even though such might create (default value), alter (by conversion), or even lose (removed column) data as part of the process. Basically, any CREATE/DROP/ALTER command is DDL.
DML - alter the information/data within the schema; without updating the schema.
This includes DELETE and UPDATE statements.
Sometimes DDL and DML must be used together to correctly migrate a schema; but they are two distinct categories of SQL commands, and DML never causes the schema to be changed.
Cause ALTER command is not manipulating the data. It is used to change a definition of o column or table or other DB objects.
See
http://www.w3schools.com/sql/sql_alter.asp
The "data" is the data in the tables defined by the user via DDL. The "metadata" is the data in the tables pre-defined by the DBMS that describe the tables (themselves and those defined by the user). So DML manipulates data in user tables or (usually only) reads metadata from system tables while DDL defines (CREATEs, ALTERs, DROPs) user tables and as a side effect updates metadata in system tables.
The ALTER command can be both DDL and DML. I have known ALTER to be DDL over the past just like the majority of those who have responded to this. However, with MySQL 5.7.x you will see that soon after initializing the database with mysqld --initialize --console a default root user account and its corresponding password is created. You can access your database with this newly created root user account BUT there is absolutely nothing that you can do after logging in. The only SQL statement allowed at this stage is the ALTER statement. This is used to change the default password generated during initialization. The syntax is ALTER USER 'root'#'localhost' IDENTITIED BY 'new_password'; . This is the only statement that the database accepts. This modifies/updates/manipulates the data (password) in the users table. In this regard I have concluded that the ALTER statement can be both DDL and DML

SQL dot notation

Can someone please explain to me how SQL Server uses dot notation to identify
the location of a table? I always thought that the location is Database.dbo.Table
But I see code that has something else in place of dbo, something like:
DBName.something.Table
Can someone please explain this?
This is a database schema. Full three-part name of a table is:
databasename.schemaname.tablename
For a default schema of the user, you can also omit the schema name:
databasename..tablename
You can also specify a linked server name:
servername.databasename.schemaname.tablename
You can read more about using identifiers as table names on MSDN:
The server, database, and owner names are known as the qualifiers of the object name. When you refer to an object, you do not have to specify the server, database, and owner. The qualifiers can be omitted by marking their positions with a period. The valid forms of object names include the following:
server_name.database_name.schema_name.object_name
server_name.database_name..object_name
server_name..schema_name.object_name
server_name...object_name
database_name.schema_name.object_name
database_name..object_name
schema_name.object_name
object_name
An object name that specifies all four parts is known as a fully qualified name. Each object that is created in Microsoft SQL Server must have a unique, fully qualified name. For example, there can be two tables named xyz in the same database if they have different owners.
Most object references use three-part names. The default server_name is the local server. The default database_name is the current database of the connection. The default schema_name is the default schema of the user submitting the statement. Unless otherwise configured, the default schema of new users is the dbo schema.
What #Szymon said. You should also make a point of always schema-qualifying object references (whether table, view, stored procedure, etc.) Unqualified object references are resolved in the following manner:
Probe the namespace of the current database for an object of the specified name belonging to the default schema of the credentials under which the current connection is running.
If not found, probe the namespace of the current database for an object of the specified name belonging to the dbo schema.
And if the object reference is to a stored procedure whose name begins with sp_, it's worse, as two more steps are added to the resolution process (unless the references is database-qualified): the above two steps are repeated, but this time, looking in the database master instead of the current database.
So a query like
select *
from foo
requires two probes of the namespace to resolve foo (assuming that the table/view is actually dbo.foo): first under your default schema (john_doe.foo) and then, not being found, under dbo (dbo.foo'), whereas
select *
from dbo.foo
is immediately resolved with a single probe of the namespace.
This has 3 implications:
The redundant lookups are expensive.
It inhibits query plan caching, as every execution has to be re-evaluated, meaning the query has to be recompiled for every execution (and that takes out compile-time locks).
You will, at one point or another, shoot yourself in the foot, and inadvertently create something under your default schema that is supposed to exist (and perhaps already does) under the dbo schema. Now you've got two versions floating around.
At some point, you, or someone else (usually it happens in production) will run a query or execute a stored procedure and get...unexpected results. It will take you quite some time to figure out that there are two [differing] versions of the same object, and which one gets executed depends on their user credentials and whether or not the reference was schema-qualified.
Always schema-qualify unless you have a real reason not to.
That being said, it can sometimes be useful, for development purposes to be able to maintain the "new" version of something under your personal schema and the "current" version under the 'dbo' schema. It makes it easy to do side-by-side testing. However, it's not without risk (which see above).
When SQL sees the syntax it will first look at the current users schema to see if the table exists, and will use that one if it does.
If it doesn't then it looks at the dbo schema and uses the table from there

Can I change a SQL Server table name in a way that is backwards compatible? E.g add a permanent alias?

I have a Sql Server 2008 database I inherited. A number of apps and SSIS packages work off that database. Not too long ago the scope of the database changed and a lot of new tables were added. As a result of this a lot of the table names (and even the database name itself) no longer make sense, resulting in a very confusing schema.
I could rename the tables straight away and change the apps and processes to use the new names but the chaos and downtime it would cause in the meantime would not be acceptable.
Is there a way I can add an alternate name for a table (like a permanent alias) that I could use to refer to either the new or old table name until all of my refactoring is complete?
Create a synonym first.
CREATE SYNONYM dbo.SensibleName FOR dbo.CrazyName;
Now find all the references to CrazyName in your codebase, and update them to reference SensibleName instead. Once you believe you have found them all, you can eventually run:
SET TRANSACTION ISOLATION LEVEL SERIALIZABLE;
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
DROP SYNONYM dbo.SensibleName;
EXEC sp_rename N'dbo.CrazyName', N'SensibleName', N'OBJECT';
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
If you need to make column names more sensible, you'll have to do so using a view, as synonyms only cover a subset of database-level objects.
Some other info here.
You can rename it with sp_rename and then add synonym:
CREATE SYNONYM OldTableName FOR NewTableName

Create a Synonym for a database / Change DB views point to

I know databases aren't supported by CREATE SYNONYM, but I'm looking to achieve the functionality this would provide.
We've got Database A which contains views to tables on Database B. The trouble is "Database B" isn't always called "Database B". We use database projects for deployments, which at the moment fall over with an "Invalid Object Name" error if there isn't a "Database B".
The workaround at the moment is to open up the .dbschema file and do a find and replace. I guess another option would be to create a load of table synonyms.
What's the best way of changing the database a number of views reference without changing each view individually?
Thanks
Synonyms are a good way to do this. You have to create the synonyms at the object level though (as you've discovered). An easy way to do this would be to write a script that runs through the list of tables in DatabaseB (from your example) and creates a synonym for each one in DatabaseA. Keep the name of the synonym the same so the code in your views doesn't have to change. For instance, you you have tbl_a, tbl_b, and tbl_c in DatabaseB, you'd want your script to eventually do the following:
create synonym [otherDb].[tbl_a] for [DatabaseB].[schemaB].[tbl_a]
create synonym [otherDb].[tbl_b] for [DatabaseB].[schemaB].[tbl_b]
create synonym [otherDb].[tbl_c] for [DatabaseB].[schemaB].[tbl_c]
Now, in your view code, you'll always use [otherDb].[tbl_a], [otherDb].[tbl_b], and [otherDb].[tbl_c]. Hope this makes sense.
Last year I helped my current client with the implementation of a very similar design. We wrote a set of functions and stored procedures which generate the views automatically. Whenever you need to change the target database it generates the code to drop and recreate all of the views.
The code wasn't too difficult. It just uses the system tables to generate view code. I also wrote a Powershell prototype that uses SMO to do the same thing. The key is to have it automated to the point of requiring a single call so that you can do it easily and accurately.
We also included an exception table that used a pattern match of tables to exclude from view generation. It included a schema column and a table name column, each of which accepted LIKE patterns, so you could put "my_schema" and "%" to exclude all tables in the my_schema schema.
One master stored procedure accepted a target database name and would generate the entire script. Once the script is generated you can run it in SSMS or have that part automated as well.
This whole thing would be even easier if you just wanted to generate synonyms. We were using views so that we could change column lists, etc. and have the view DB look different than the target DB where needed.