What Is Procedural Language/Structured Query Language (PL/SQL)?

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PL/SQL is the hottest new thing in SQL. It's a structured query language, but it's also a programing language. It combines SQL's querying ability with the bonus of programming features. It may not be as easy as learning Excel, but if you want to get ahead, you need to know how to use PL/SQL. Oracle's implementation of a structured query language. PL/SQL is a powerful tool that combines SQL's querying ability with the bonus of programming features.PL/SQL was introduced in Oracle in 1986 and has been used to create database applications since 1987. PL/SQL is available in all Oracle database versions, including Oracle Database 12c Release 1. In this article, we will learn what procedural language/structured query language (PL/SQL) is, how it works, and its advantages over other programming languages like Java or C++. In the early 1990s, Oracle developed PL/SQL. Since then, PL/SQL has been included wherever SQL is provided. A separate Oracle of PL/SQL engine inside the software is also used to process the code, like SQL. But what is PL/SQL? PL stands for Procedural Language, meaning it's not a declarative language like SQL (Structured Query Language). You can't simply run a query and expect results; you must tell Oracle how to get those results. It also means that you have complete control over what happens in your program instead of letting a database engine do it for you. PL/SQL stands for Procedural Language Extension of SQL, which means it extends the capability of SQL by adding procedural programming elements such as loops and procedures (functions). The Declaration section is optional and contains all the data declarations. Data declarations can be defined using the DECLARE keyword, declared at the beginning of the program. The Execution section is mandatory, and it contains the program itself. This is where you write your logic, so you'll spend most of your time! The Exception section is optional and contains exception-handling logic. This is where you'll take care of errors that might occur during execution or in your codebase.

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