27.22 INITIALIZE_CLOB_OUTPUT Procedure

This procedure initializes the output interface to write to a temporary CLOB. The default is to write to SYS.HTP. If using CLOB output, you should call FREE_OUTPUT() at the end to free the CLOB.

Syntax

APEX_JSON.INITIALIZE_CLOB_OUTPUT (
    p_dur         IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT sys.dbms_lob.call,
    p_cache       IN BOOLEAN     DEFAULT TRUE,
    p_indent      IN PLS_INTEGER DEFAULT NULL,
    p_preserve    IN BOOLEAN     DEFAULT FALSE );

Parameters

Table 27-29 INITIALIZE_CLOB_OUTPUT Procedure Parameters

Parameter	Description
p_dur	Duration of the temporary CLOB. this can be DBMS_LOB.SESSION or DBMS_LOB.CALL (the default).
p_cache	Specifies if the lob should be read into buffer cache or not.
p_indent	Indent level. Defaults to 2 if debug is turned on, 0 otherwise.
p_preserve	Whether to preserve the currently active output object. After calling FREE_OUTPUT, subsequent write calls will be executed on the preserved output. Defaults to "false". If HTP output has already been initialized and a CLOB needs to be created, use p_preserve => true. After FREE_OUTPUT, sunsequent output will be directed to the original HTP output again. Note that FREE_OUTPUT must be called after JSON processing, if p_preserve was set to true.

Example

This example configures APEX_JSON for CLOB output, generates JSON, prints the CLOB with DBMS_OUTPUT, and finally frees the CLOB.

BEGIN
  apex_json.initialize_clob_output( p_preserve => true );

  apex_json.open_object;
  apex_json.write('hello', 'world');
  apex_json.close_object;

  dbms_output.put_line(apex_json.get_clob_output);

  apex_json.free_output;
END;
/