Multiset Conditions

Multiset conditions test various aspects of nested tables.

IS A SET Condition

Use IS A SET conditions to test whether a specified nested table is composed of unique elements. The condition returns UNKNOWN if the nested table is NULL. Otherwise, it returns TRUE if the nested table is a set, even if it is a nested table of length zero, and FALSE otherwise.

is_a_set_condition::=

Description of is_a_set_condition.eps follows
Description of the illustration is_a_set_condition.eps

Example

The following example selects from the table customers_demo those rows in which the cust_address_ntab nested table column contains unique elements: 

SELECT customer_id, cust_address_ntab
  FROM customers_demo
  WHERE cust_address_ntab IS A SET
  ORDER BY customer_id;

CUSTOMER_ID CUST_ADDRESS_NTAB(STREET_ADDRESS, POSTAL_CODE, CITY, STATE_PROVINCE, COUNTRY_ID)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        101 CUST_ADDRESS_TAB_TYP(CUST_ADDRESS_TYP('514 W Superior St', '46901', 'Kokomo', 'IN', 'US'))
        102 CUST_ADDRESS_TAB_TYP(CUST_ADDRESS_TYP('2515 Bloyd Ave', '46218', 'Indianapolis', 'IN', 'US'))
        103 CUST_ADDRESS_TAB_TYP(CUST_ADDRESS_TYP('8768 N State Rd 37', '47404', 'Bloomington', 'IN', 'US'))
        104 CUST_ADDRESS_TAB_TYP(CUST_ADDRESS_TYP('6445 Bay Harbor Ln', '46254', 'Indianapolis', 'IN', 'US'))
        105 CUST_ADDRESS_TAB_TYP(CUST_ADDRESS_TYP('4019 W 3Rd St', '47404', 'Bloomington', 'IN', 'US'))

The preceding example requires the table customers_demo and a nested table column containing data. Refer to "Multiset Operators" to create this table and nested table column.

IS EMPTY Condition

Use the IS [NOT] EMPTY conditions to test whether a specified nested table is empty. A nested table that consists of a single value, a NULL, is not considered an empty nested table.

is_empty_condition::=

Description of is_empty_condition.eps follows
Description of the illustration is_empty_condition.eps

The condition returns a Boolean value: TRUE for an IS EMPTY condition if the collection is empty, and TRUE for an IS NOT EMPTY condition if the collection is not empty. If you specify NULL for the nested table or varray, then the result is NULL.

Example

The following example selects from the sample table pm.print_media those rows in which the ad_textdocs_ntab nested table column is not empty: 

SELECT product_id, TO_CHAR(ad_finaltext) AS text
   FROM print_media
   WHERE ad_textdocs_ntab IS NOT EMPTY 
   ORDER BY product_id, text;

MEMBER Condition

member_condition::=

Description of member_condition.eps follows
Description of the illustration member_condition.eps

A member_condition is a membership condition that tests whether an element is a member of a nested table. The return value is TRUE if expr is equal to a member of the specified nested table or varray. The return value is NULL if expr is null or if the nested table is empty.

  • expr must be of the same type as the element type of the nested table.

  • The OF keyword is optional and does not change the behavior of the condition.

  • The NOT keyword reverses the Boolean output: Oracle returns FALSE if expr is a member of the specified nested table.

  • The element types of the nested table must be comparable. Refer to Comparison Conditions for information on the comparability of nonscalar types.

Example

The following example selects from the table customers_demo those rows in which the cust_address_ntab nested table column contains the values specified in the WHERE clause: 

SELECT customer_id, cust_address_ntab
  FROM customers_demo
  WHERE cust_address_typ('8768 N State Rd 37', 47404, 
                         'Bloomington', 'IN', 'US')
  MEMBER OF cust_address_ntab
  ORDER BY customer_id;

CUSTOMER_ID CUST_ADDRESS_NTAB(STREET_ADDRESS, POSTAL_CODE, CITY, STATE_PROVINCE, COUNTRY_ID)
------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        103 CUST_ADDRESS_TAB_TYP(CUST_ADDRESS_TYP('8768 N State Rd 37', '47404', 'Bloomington', 'IN', 'US'))

The preceding example requires the table customers_demo and a nested table column containing data. Refer to Multiset Operators to create this table and nested table column.

SUBMULTISET Condition

The SUBMULTISET condition tests whether a specified nested table is a submultiset of another specified nested table.

The operator returns a Boolean value. TRUE is returned when nested_table1 is a submultiset of nested_table2. nested_table1 is a submultiset of nested_table2 when one of the following conditions occur:

  • nested_table1 is not null and contains no rows. TRUE is returned even if nested_table2 is null since an empty multiset is a submultiset of any non-null replacement for nested_table2.

  • nested_table1 and nested_table2 are not null, nested_table1 does not contain a null element, and there is a one-to-one mapping of each element in nested_table1 to an equal element in nested_table2.

NULL is returned when one of the following conditions occurs:

  • nested_table1 is null.

  • nested_table2 is null, and nested_table1 is not null and not empty.

  • nested_table1 is a submultiset of nested_table2 after modifying each null element of nested_table1 and nested_table2 to some non-null value, enabling a one-to-one mapping of each element in nested_table1 to an equal element in nested_table2.

If none of the above conditions occur, then FALSE is returned.

submultiset_condition::=

Description of submultiset_condition.eps follows
Description of the illustration submultiset_condition.eps

  • The OF keyword is optional and does not change the behavior of the operator.

  • The NOT keyword reverses the Boolean output: Oracle returns FALSE if nested_table1 is a subset of nested_table2.

  • The element types of the nested table must be comparable. Refer to Comparison Conditions for information on the comparability of nonscalar types.

Example

The following example selects from the customers_demo table those rows in which the cust_address_ntab nested table is a submultiset of the cust_address2_ntab nested table: 

SELECT customer_id, cust_address_ntab
  FROM customers_demo
  WHERE cust_address_ntab SUBMULTISET OF cust_address2_ntab
  ORDER BY customer_id;

The preceding example requires the table customers_demo and two nested table columns containing data. Refer to Multiset Operators to create this table and nested table columns.