REF

Syntax

Description of the illustration ref.gif

Purpose

REF takes as its argument a correlation variable (table alias) associated with a row of an object table or an object view. A REF value is returned for the object instance that is bound to the variable or row.

Examples

The sample schema oe contains a type called cust_address_typ, described as follows:

Attribute                                 Type
----------------------------- ----------------
STREET_ADDRESS                    VARCHAR2(40)
POSTAL_CODE                       VARCHAR2(10)
CITY                              VARCHAR2(30)
STATE_PROVINCE                    VARCHAR2(10)
COUNTRY_ID                             CHAR(2)

The following example creates a table based on the sample type oe.cust_address_typ, inserts a row into the table, and retrieves a REF value for the object instance of the type in the addresses table:

CREATE TABLE addresses OF cust_address_typ;

INSERT INTO addresses VALUES (
   '123 First Street', '4GF H1J', 'Our Town', 'Ourcounty', 'US');

SELECT REF(e) FROM addresses e;

REF(E)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00002802097CD1261E51925B60E0340800208254367CD1261E51905B60E034080020825436010101820000

See Also: Oracle Database Object-Relational Developer’s Guide for information on REFs