PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "end-of-file" when expecting one of the following: ; - sql

Question

I am running the following script -
BEGIN
select department_name
from egpl_department
where department_id in (select department_id
from egpl_casemgmt_activity);
END ;
And got the Error -
PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "end-of-file" when
expecting one of the following:
;

Answer 1

In a PL/SQL block select statement should have an into clause:
DECLARE
v_department egpl_department.department_name%type;
BEGIN
select department_name
into v_department
from egpl_department
where department_id in (select department_id from egpl_casemgmt_activity);
-- Do something useful with v_department
END;

Answer 2

PLS-00103 always means the compiler has hurled because we have made a syntax error. It would be really neat if the message text said: You have made a syntax error, please check your code but alas it doesn't.
Anyway, in this case the error is that in PL/SQL select statements must populate a variable. This is different from the behaviour of say T-SQL. So you need to define a variable which matches the projection of your query and select INTO that variable.
Oracle's documentation is comprehensive and online. You can find the section on integrating SQL queries into PL/SQL here. I urge you to read it, to forestall your next question. Because once you have fixed the simple syntax bloomer you're going to hit TOO_MANY_ROWS (assuming you have more than one department).

Answer 3

In PL/SQL you cannot just select some data. Where is the result supposed to go?
Your options are:
Remove BEGIN and END and run the SELECT with SQL*plus or some other tool that can run a SQL statement and present the result somewhere.
Use SELECT department_name INTO dep_name to put the result into a PL/SQL variable (only works if your SELECT returns a single row)
Use SELECT department_name BULK COLLECT INTO dep_name_table to put the result into a PL/SQL table (works for several rows)
Or maybe you can describe what you're trying to achieve and in what environment you want to run the SQL or PL/SQL code.

Answer 4

To avoid the too_many_rows problem, you could use a cursor, something like this (I haven't tested this, but along these lines )
DECLARE
v_department egpl_department.department_name%type;
cursor c_dept IS
select department_name
into v_department
from egpl_department
where department_id in (select department_id from egpl_casemgmt_activity)
order by department_name;
BEGIN
OPEN c_dept;
FETCH c_dept INTO v_department;
CLOSE c_dept;
-- do something with v_department
END;
This will put the first value it finds in the table into v_department. Use the ORDER BY clause to make sure the row returned would be the one you required, assuming there was the possibility of 2 different values.

Answer 5

Most people would not consider the call to be the issue,
but here's an amusing bug in Oracle Sql Developer that may emulate the issue..
exec dbowner.sp1 ( p1, p2, p3); -- notes about the fields
Error report -
ORA-06550: line 1, column 362:
PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "end-of-file" when expecting one of the following:
begin case declare end exception exit for goto if loop mod
null pragma raise return select update while with
<< close current delete fetch lock insert
open rollback savepoint set sql execute commit forall merge
pipe
06550. 00000 - "line %s, column %s:\n%s"
*Cause: Usually a PL/SQL compilation error.
*Action:
exec dbowner.sp1 ( p1, p2, p3);
-- notes about the fields
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

Answer 6

DECLARE is only used in anonymous PL/SQL blocks and nested PL/SQL blocks.
You do not need to use the DECLARE key word before you 'introduce' a new variable in a Procedure block, unless .... the procedure is a nested PL/SQL block.
This is an example of how you would declare a variable without the 'DECLARE' Key word below.
eg.;
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE EXAMPLE( A IN NUMBER, B OUT VARCHAR2 )
IS
num1 number;
BEGIN
num1:=1;
insert into a (year) values(7);
END;
This question/answer explains it better
create procedure in oracle