How to Update Data In Oracle?

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To update data in Oracle, you can use the UPDATE statement. Here is the syntax for updating data in a single table:


UPDATE table_name SET column1 = value1, column2 = value2, ... WHERE condition;


In the above syntax:

  • "table_name" refers to the name of the table you want to update.
  • "column1", "column2", etc. represent the columns you want to update.
  • "value1", "value2", etc. are the new values you want to set for the respective columns.
  • "condition" is an optional parameter that specifies the conditions for updating the records. If not specified, all records in the table will be updated.


For example, to update the salary of an employee with an employee ID of 101 in a table called "employees" to 5000, you would use the following SQL statement:


UPDATE employees SET salary = 5000 WHERE employee_id = 101;


This statement will update the "salary" column to 5000 for the record where the "employee_id" is 101 in the "employees" table.

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How to update data in Oracle using a join operation?

To update data in Oracle using a join operation, you can use the UPDATE statement with the JOIN clause. Here is an example syntax:

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UPDATE table1
SET table1.column1 = new_value
FROM table1
JOIN table2 ON table1.column2 = table2.column2
WHERE condition;


Here's a breakdown of the syntax:

  1. Specify the table you want to update in the UPDATE clause.
  2. Use the SET clause to specify the column you want to update and assign it a new value.
  3. Use the FROM clause to specify the tables you want to join.
  4. Use the JOIN clause to define the join condition between the tables.
  5. Use the WHERE clause to specify any additional conditions for the update operation.


Note that the join condition must be defined properly to ensure accurate and desired results.


Example:


Let's say you have two tables: employees and departments. You want to update the department_id of employees table with the department_id from the departments table where the employee's department_name is 'Sales'.

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UPDATE employees
SET employees.department_id = departments.department_id
FROM employees
JOIN departments ON employees.department_name = departments.department_name
WHERE employees.department_name = 'Sales';


In this example, the employees table is updated with the department_id from the departments table for employees who work in the 'Sales' department.


How to update data in Oracle using a temporary table?

To update data in Oracle using a temporary table, you can follow these steps:

  1. Create a temporary table: Start by creating a temporary table that will hold the updated data. Temporary tables are created by prefixing the table name with GLOBAL TEMPORARY or LOCAL TEMPORARY. For example:
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CREATE GLOBAL TEMPORARY TABLE temp_table (
  id NUMBER,
  name VARCHAR2(50)
) ON COMMIT PRESERVE ROWS;


  1. Insert the updated data into the temporary table: Use the INSERT INTO statement to insert the updated data into the temporary table. For example:
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INSERT INTO temp_table (id, name)
VALUES (1, 'Updated Name 1');


  1. Update the original table using the temporary table: Now, you can use the temporary table to update the original table. Use the UPDATE statement with a join to update the data in the original table based on the data in the temporary table. For example:
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UPDATE original_table
SET original_table.name = temp_table.name
FROM original_table
JOIN temp_table ON original_table.id = temp_table.id;


  1. Commit the transaction: Finally, commit the transaction to save the changes permanently using the COMMIT statement. For example:
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COMMIT;


By following these steps, you can update data in Oracle using a temporary table.


How to update data in Oracle using dynamic SQL statements?

To update data in Oracle using dynamic SQL statements, you can follow these steps:

  1. Construct the update statement dynamically by concatenating the necessary SQL components. For example, you can use the CONCAT or || operator to join the SQL components together.
  2. Declare a string variable to hold the dynamically generated SQL statement.
  3. Use the EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement to execute the dynamically generated SQL statement. The EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement allows you to execute dynamic SQL statements in your PL/SQL code.
  4. Provide the necessary bind variables or parameter values for the dynamic SQL statement, if any, using the USING clause. This step is crucial to ensure proper data binding and to prevent SQL injection attacks.


Here is an example that demonstrates how to update data in Oracle using dynamic SQL:

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DECLARE
  v_employee_id NUMBER := 100;
  v_new_salary NUMBER := 5000;
  v_sql_stmt VARCHAR2(200);
BEGIN
  -- Construct the dynamic SQL statement
  v_sql_stmt := 'UPDATE employees SET salary = :new_salary WHERE employee_id = :emp_id';

  -- Execute the dynamic SQL statement
  EXECUTE IMMEDIATE v_sql_stmt USING v_new_salary, v_employee_id;

  -- Commit the changes
  COMMIT;

  -- Output success message
  DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Data updated successfully');
EXCEPTION
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    -- Output error message
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Error occurred: ' || SQLERRM);
END;


In the above example, the update statement is constructed dynamically, and the bind variables :new_salary and :emp_id are provided using the USING clause in the EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement. The changes are then committed, and appropriate error handling is implemented as well.


It is important to note that dynamic SQL statements can potentially introduce security risks such as SQL injection attacks. Therefore, it's recommended to sanitize and validate any user input before constructing dynamic SQL statements. Additionally, dynamic SQL should be used only when necessary and appropriate precautions should be taken to prevent possible security vulnerabilities.


What is the significance of the SET clause in an update statement in Oracle?

The SET clause in an update statement in Oracle is significant as it defines the columns to be updated and specifies the new values for those columns. It allows the user to specify one or more column assignments, separating them with commas. The SET clause is used to modify data in one or more rows of a table.


For example, suppose we have a table named "employees" with columns "first_name", "last_name", and "salary". To update the salary of an employee with the first name "John" to a new value of 5000, we would use the following update statement:

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UPDATE employees
SET salary = 5000
WHERE first_name = 'John';


In this example, the SET clause specifies the column "salary" and assigns it the value 5000. The WHERE clause is used to specify the condition for which rows should be updated.


The SET clause in an update statement allows for flexible and customizable data modifications in Oracle. It is a key component in updating and modifying data within database tables.


How to update data in Oracle without locking the entire table?

To update data in Oracle without locking the entire table, you can make use of the SELECT FOR UPDATE statement. Here's the process:

  1. Start a transaction using the BEGIN TRANSACTION statement.
  2. Execute a SELECT statement with the FOR UPDATE clause to retrieve the rows you want to update. For example: SELECT * FROM your_table WHERE condition FOR UPDATE;
  3. Perform the necessary updates on the selected rows.
  4. Commit the transaction using the COMMIT statement.


By selecting the rows for update before performing the update operation, you ensure that other transactions are not blocked from accessing the entire table, but rather only those specific rows you have selected.


Note: It's important to keep the transaction duration as short as possible to avoid potential locks and concurrency issues.


What is the impact of updating a large amount of data in Oracle on performance?

Updating a large amount of data in Oracle can have a significant impact on performance, depending on various factors. Some potential impacts include:

  1. Increased I/O Operations: The update operation requires reading the existing data, modifying it, and writing it back to the disk. This can result in a high number of I/O operations, impacting disk performance and increasing the time taken for the update.
  2. Locking and Blocking: During the update operation, Oracle locks the affected rows and blocks other transactions from making changes to those rows. This can lead to contention and blocking issues, especially if multiple concurrent transactions are updating the same data.
  3. Log Buffer and Redo Log Overhead: Each update operation generates redo logs, which are used for recovery and replication purposes. Updating a large amount of data can result in a significant increase in log generation, leading to increased log buffer writes and redo log disk I/O.
  4. Query Performance: If queries are executing concurrently with the update operation, they may experience degraded performance due to locking and blocking. The queries may have to wait for the update operation to complete or encounter inconsistencies if reading partially updated data.
  5. Materialized Views: If the update affects tables with associated materialized views, Oracle may need to refresh those materialized views, which can result in additional workload and impact performance.
  6. Index Maintenance: Updating a large amount of data may require modifications in indexes, leading to increased index maintenance overhead. This could result in slower index rebuilds and more time taken during subsequent queries that utilize those indexes.


To mitigate these performance impacts, it is recommended to perform updates during maintenance windows when system load is relatively low. Additionally, optimizing the update statements, using techniques like batch updates, parallel execution, and proper index management can help improve performance. Monitoring database performance and tuning various Oracle parameters and resources such as I/O subsystems, buffers, and memory allocation can also minimize the impact of large data updates.

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