8.2 Calling Java from Database Triggers

A database trigger is a stored program that is associated with a specific table or view. Oracle Database runs the trigger automatically whenever a data manipulation language (DML) operation affects the table or view.

When a triggering event occurs, the trigger runs and either a PL/SQL block or a CALL statement performs the action. A statement trigger runs once, before or after the triggering event. A row trigger runs once for each row affected by the triggering event.

In a database trigger, you can reference the new and old values of changing rows by using the correlation names new and old. In the trigger-action block or CALL statement, column names must be prefixed with :new or :old.

The following are examples of calling Java stored procedures from a database trigger:

Example 8-3 Calling Java Stored Procedure from Database Trigger - I

Assume you want to create a database trigger that uses the following Java class to log out-of-range salary increases:

import java.sql.*;
import java.io.*;
import oracle.jdbc.*;

public class DBTrigger
{
  public static void logSal (int empID, float oldSal, float newSal)
                                                        throws SQLException
  {
    Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:default:connection:");
    String sql = "INSERT INTO sal_audit VALUES (?, ?, ?)";
    try
    {
      PreparedStatement pstmt = conn.prepareStatement(sql);
      pstmt.setInt(1, empID);
      pstmt.setFloat(2, oldSal);
      pstmt.setFloat(3, newSal);
      pstmt.executeUpdate();
      pstmt.close();
    }
    catch (SQLException e)
    {
      System.err.println(e.getMessage());
    }
  }
}

The DBTrigger class has one method, logSal(), which inserts a row into the sal_audit table. Because logSal() is a void method, you must publish it as a procedure:

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE log_sal (
 emp_id NUMBER,
 old_sal NUMBER,
 new_sal NUMBER
)
AS LANGUAGE JAVA
NAME 'DBTrigger.logSal(int, float, float)';

Next, create the sal_audit table, as follows:

CREATE TABLE sal_audit (
 empno NUMBER,
 oldsal NUMBER,
 newsal NUMBER
);

Finally, create the database trigger, which fires when a salary increase exceeds 20 percent:

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER sal_trig
AFTER UPDATE OF salary ON employees
FOR EACH ROW
WHEN (new.salary > 1.2 * old.salary)
CALL log_sal(:new.employee_id, :old.salary, :new.salary);

When you run the following UPDATE statement, it updates all rows in the employees table:

SQL> UPDATE employee SET salary = salary + 300;

For each row that meets the condition set in the WHEN clause of the trigger, the trigger runs and the Java method inserts a row into the sal_audit table.

SQL> SELECT * FROM sal_audit;

     EMPNO     OLDSAL     NEWSAL
---------- ---------- ----------
      7369        800       1100
      7521       1250       1550
      7654       1250       1550
      7876       1100       1400
      7900        950       1250
      7934       1300       1600

6 rows selected.

Example 8-4 Calling Java Stored Procedure from Database Trigger - II

Assume you want to create a trigger that inserts rows into a database view, which is defined as follows:

CREATE VIEW emps AS
SELECT empno, ename, 'Sales' AS dname FROM sales
UNION ALL
SELECT empno, ename, 'Marketing' AS dname FROM mktg;

The sales and mktg database tables are defined as:

CREATE TABLE sales (empno NUMBER(4), ename VARCHAR2(10));
CREATE TABLE mktg (empno NUMBER(4), ename VARCHAR2(10));

You must write an INSTEAD OF trigger because rows cannot be inserted into a view that uses set operators, such as UNION ALL. Instead, the trigger will insert rows into the base tables.

First, add the following Java method to the DBTrigger class, which is defined in Example 8-3:

public static void addEmp (int empNo, String empName, String deptName)
                                                              throws SQLException
{
  Connection conn = DriverManager.getConnection("jdbc:default:connection:");
  String tabName = (deptName.equals("Sales") ? "sales" : "mktg");
  String sql = "INSERT INTO " + tabName + " VALUES (?, ?)";
  try
  {
    PreparedStatement pstmt = conn.prepareStatement(sql);
    pstmt.setInt(1, empNo);
    pstmt.setString(2, empName);
    pstmt.executeUpdate();
    pstmt.close();
  }
  catch (SQLException e)
  {
    System.err.println(e.getMessage());
  }
}

The addEmp() method inserts a row into the sales or mktg table depending on the value of the deptName parameter. Write the call specification for this method, as follows:

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE add_emp (
 emp_no NUMBER,
 emp_name VARCHAR2,
 dept_name VARCHAR2
)
AS LANGUAGE JAVA
NAME 'DBTrigger.addEmp(int, java.lang.String, java.lang.String)';

Next, create the INSTEAD OF trigger, as follows:

CREATE OR REPLACE TRIGGER emps_trig
INSTEAD OF INSERT ON emps
FOR EACH ROW
CALL add_emp(:new.empno, :new.ename, :new.dname);

When you run each of the following INSERT statements, the trigger runs and the Java method inserts a row into the appropriate base table:

SQL> INSERT INTO emps VALUES (8001, 'Chand', 'Sales');
SQL> INSERT INTO emps VALUES (8002, 'Van Horn', 'Sales');
SQL> INSERT INTO emps VALUES (8003, 'Waters', 'Sales');
SQL> INSERT INTO emps VALUES (8004, 'Bellock', 'Marketing');
SQL> INSERT INTO emps VALUES (8005, 'Perez', 'Marketing');
SQL> INSERT INTO emps VALUES (8006, 'Foucault', 'Marketing');

SQL> SELECT * FROM sales;

     EMPNO ENAME
---------- ----------
      8001 Chand
      8002 Van Horn
      8003 Waters

SQL> SELECT * FROM mktg;

     EMPNO ENAME
---------- ----------
      8004 Bellock
      8005 Perez
      8006 Foucault

SQL> SELECT * FROM emps;

     EMPNO ENAME      DNAME
---------- ---------- ---------
      8001 Chand      Sales
      8002 Van Horn   Sales
      8003 Waters     Sales
      8004 Bellock    Marketing
      8005 Perez      Marketing
      8006 Foucault   Marketing