How to keep "*" in VIEW output clause so that columns track table changes? - sql

Question

I'm creating an Oracle view like this :
SELECT * FROM TABLE;
When I create the view, I notice that oracle changes the view query to something like :
SELECT FIELD1, FIELD2,... FROM TABLE;
My problem is that if I change the TABLE structure, add a new field for instance, the changes are not taken into consideration in the view. I have then to recreate the view, and regrant privileges on this view to the users/roles.
Is there any way to make a view mode generic and keep it as the form of : SELECT * FROM TABLE ?
Thanks.

Answer 1

You cannot define a simple view that would automatically change its structure when the underlying table changes. When new columns are added, you'll need to touch the view. You'll almost certainly need to do as #GordonLinoff suggests and do a CREATE OR REPLACE when the table changes. Given that changes to tables should be rare and should involve proper change control, touching the view as part of the change should be a relatively simple step.
If you're really determined to avoid having to touch the view, there are some alternatives. I generally wouldn't recommend these because they are very likely to increase rather than decrease the complexity of maintaining your system. But if you have a third party system that is generating DDL to add columns on an unpredictable basis, maybe it makes sense.
You could create a DDL trigger that fires in response to statements that ALTER the table and that submits a job using dbms_job that re-creates the view. That's quite a few moving pieces but it's generally workable.
Alternately, instead of a view, you could create a pipelined table function that returns a variable number of columns. That's going to be really complicated but it's also pretty slick. There aren't many places that I'd feel comfortable using that approach simply because there aren't many people that can look at that code and have a chance of maintaining it. But the code is pretty slick.

Answer 2

The * is evaluated when the view is created, not when it is executed. In fact, Oracle compiles views for faster execution. It uses the compiled code when the view is referenced. It does not just do a text substitution into the query.
The proper syntax for changing a view is:
create or replace view v_table as
select *
from table;

Answer 3

I have face this same issue and created a procedure which accepts the name of the table and creates the view:
str := 'create or replace view xyz.'|| tablename_in ||'_v as select * from '|| tablename_in;
execute immediate str;
Then in Toad (not sure if you use Toad), in the schema browser, right click on the table name, and then select 'Custom Queries' --> 'Edit Custom Queries' and then have it call your procedure as:
exec view_create<ObjectList>
Then you can right click on the table name and in one click create the view as Toad will pass the name of the table into the procedure.
Also in the procedure you may want to recompile the schema, so after the view is created do:
sys.utl_recomp.recomp_parallel(4, 'XYZ');
If you develop a script of some sort which can semi automate, it makes things easy.
Hope this helps...