Creating a Varray Containing References to LOBs

LOBs, or rather references to LOBs, can also be created using VARRAYs. To create a VARRAY containing references to LOBs read the following:

Column, MAP_OBJ of type MAP_TYP, already exists in table Multimedia_tab. See Appendix B, "The Multimedia Schema Used for Examples in This Manual" for a description of table Multimedia_tab. Column MAP_OBJ contains a BLOB column named DRAWING.

The syntax for creating the associated types and table Multimedia_tab is described in Chapter 10, "Internal Persistent LOBs", SQL: Create a Table Containing One or More LOB Columns, .

Creating a Varray Containing LOB References: Example

Suppose you need to store multiple map objects per multimedia clip. To do that follow these steps:

1. Define a VARRAY of type REF MAP_TYP.

   For example:

   CREATE TYPE MAP_TYP_ARR AS
            VARRAY(10) OF REF MAP_TYP;
   

2. Define a column of the array type in Multimedia_tab.

   For example:

   CREATE TABLE MULTIMEDIA_TAB ( ......etc. [list all columns here]
                ... MAP_OBJ_ARR MAP_TYP_ARR)
                VARRAY MAP_OBJ_ARR STORE AS LOB MAP_OBJ_ARR_STORE;