Oracle (47) 

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Here you will find a comprehensive collection of interview questions and well-crafted answers for Oracle Developers. Whether you are preparing for an interview or simply looking to enhance your knowledge, this resource is designed to help you succeed and excel in your Oracle development career. Enjoy exploring!

Top 20 Basic Oracle Developer interview questions and answers

1. What is Oracle Developer?
Oracle Developer is a set of development tools used to build and deploy business applications using Oracle Database.

2. What are the important components of Oracle Developer?
Oracle Developer consists of a series of tools, including Oracle Forms, Oracle Reports, Oracle Designer, and Oracle Discoverer.

3. What is Oracle Forms?
Oracle Forms is a tool used to create data entry forms and build user interfaces for Oracle databases.

4. What is Oracle Reports?
Oracle Reports is a tool used to design and generate reports from Oracle databases.

5. What is the role of Oracle Designer?
Oracle Designer is a tool used for creating and modifying database designs and generating the necessary database objects.

6. What is Oracle Discoverer?
Oracle Discoverer is a tool used for ad-hoc querying and analysis of data stored in Oracle databases.

7. What are the advantages of using Oracle Developer?
Oracle Developer provides a user-friendly interface for application development, improves productivity, supports rapid application development, and integrates well with Oracle databases.

8. What is PL/SQL?
PL/SQL (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language) is Oracle’s extension to SQL, which allows developers to write procedural code directly in the database.

9. What are the basic data types supported by PL/SQL?
The basic data types supported by PL/SQL include INTEGER, VARCHAR2, NUMBER, DATE, BOOLEAN, and more.

10. How do you declare a variable in PL/SQL?
Variables are declared using the DECLARE keyword in PL/SQL, followed by the variable name, data type, and optional initial value.

11. What is a cursor in Oracle Database?
A cursor is a pointer to a result set returned by a SQL query. It allows developers to retrieve and manipulate data row by row.

12. What is the difference between a function and a procedure in Oracle?
A function returns a value and can be called within SQL statements, while a procedure does not return a value and is called using the CALL statement in PL/SQL.

13. How do you raise an exception in PL/SQL?
Exceptions can be raised using the RAISE statement in PL/SQL. This allows for controlled error handling and exception propagation.

14. What is a trigger in Oracle Database?
A trigger is a database object that is automatically executed in response to a specified event, such as an INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE operation on a table.

15. How do you debug PL/SQL code in Oracle Developer?
PL/SQL code can be debugged using the Debug mode in Oracle Developer, which allows developers to set breakpoints, step through code, and monitor variables.

16. What is a package in Oracle Database?
A package is a database object that groups related PL/SQL types, variables, constants, cursors, procedures, and functions into a single unit.

17. How do you execute dynamic SQL in Oracle Developer?
Dynamic SQL can be executed using the EXECUTE IMMEDIATE statement in PL/SQL. It allows for the execution of SQL statements constructed at runtime.

18. What is the difference between UNION and UNION ALL in Oracle?
UNION combines the result sets of two or more SELECT statements and removes any duplicate rows, while UNION ALL does not remove duplicate rows.

19. How do you handle NULL values in Oracle Database?
NULL values can be handled using the NVL function in Oracle. It allows developers to replace NULL values with a specified default value.

20. How do you create an index in Oracle Database?
An index can be created using the CREATE INDEX statement in Oracle. It improves the performance of queries by providing faster access to data.

Top 20 Advanced Oracle Developer interview questions and answers

1. What is the difference between a PRIMARY KEY and a UNIQUE constraint in Oracle?
A PRIMARY KEY constraint enforces both uniqueness and not-null constraints, while a UNIQUE constraint enforces only uniqueness.

2. Explain the purpose of the NVL function in Oracle.
NVL function is used to replace null values with a specified value. It takes two arguments: the first is the column to check for null, and the second is the value to replace nulls with.

3. What is the difference between UNION and UNION ALL in Oracle?
UNION combines the result sets of two or more SELECT statements and eliminates duplicate rows, while UNION ALL combines the result sets without removing duplicate rows.

4. How do you retrieve the last inserted row from an Oracle table?
You can use the RETURNING clause with the INSERT statement to retrieve the last inserted row. For example: INSERT INTO table_name VALUES (…) RETURNING column_name INTO variable_name;

5. Explain the purpose of the TO_DATE function in Oracle.
TO_DATE function is used to convert a string value to a date format. It takes two arguments: the first is the string to be converted, and the second is the format of the string.

6. What is the difference between CHAR and VARCHAR2 datatypes in Oracle?
CHAR datatype is fixed-length, which means it will always occupy the defined length, while VARCHAR2 is variable-length, which means it will only occupy the actual length of the data stored.

7. How do you find the number of rows in a table in Oracle?
You can use the COUNT function to find the number of rows in a table. For example: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM table_name;

8. Explain the purpose of the RANK function in Oracle.
RANK function is used to assign a rank to each row within the result set according to a specified column. It can be useful in calculating top-N or bottom-N results.

9. What is the difference between TRUNCATE and DELETE in Oracle?
TRUNCATE is a DDL statement that is used to remove all rows from a table without logging individual row deletions. DELETE is a DML statement that removes rows one at a time and logs individual row deletions.

10. How do you handle exceptions in Oracle PL/SQL?
Exceptions in PL/SQL can be handled using the EXCEPTION block. You can catch specific exceptions using the WHEN clause, and handle them appropriately using the corresponding exception handlers.

11. Explain the purpose of the HAVING clause in Oracle.
HAVING clause is used to filter the result set based on groups created by the GROUP BY clause. It allows filtering on aggregated values of a column.

12. What is the purpose of the COMMIT statement in Oracle?
COMMIT statement is used to permanently save the changes made in the current transaction. It makes the changes visible to other users.

13. How do you create a sequence in Oracle?
You can use the CREATE SEQUENCE statement to create a sequence in Oracle. For example: CREATE SEQUENCE seq_name START WITH 1 INCREMENT BY 1;

14. Explain the purpose of the CASE statement in Oracle.
CASE statement is used to perform conditional branching within SQL statements. It allows you to perform specific actions based on different conditions.

15. What is an Oracle stored procedure?
An Oracle stored procedure is a PL/SQL block that performs a specific task. It can accept parameters, execute SQL statements, and return values.

16. How do you use the COALESCE function in Oracle?
COALESCE function is used to return the first non-null value from a list of arguments. It takes multiple arguments and returns the first non-null value.

17. Explain the purpose of the Analytic functions in Oracle.
Analytic functions in Oracle are used to perform calculations across multiple rows in a result set. They can be used to calculate running totals, moving averages, and more.

18. What is the purpose of the WITH clause in Oracle?
WITH clause, also known as the Common Table Expression (CTE), allows you to define temporary named result sets that can be used multiple times within a single SQL statement.

19. How do you create an index in Oracle?
You can use the CREATE INDEX statement to create an index in Oracle. For example: CREATE INDEX index_name ON table_name (column_name);

20. Explain the concept of database normalization in Oracle.
Database normalization is a technique used to organize data in a database to minimize redundancy and improve data integrity. It involves dividing a database into multiple tables and defining relationships between them.

Oracle (47) 

Interview Questions and answers