Can I use bind variable instaed of writing static COLUMN Name

Question

Hi , I am having a table containing id and column names, the data is stored against that id in other tables. Now I wish to update data into another table so that it goes into apppropriate column without using decode function.
I am trying to do this:
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'update TEST set :1 = :2
where PROJECT_ID= :3 and UNIQUE_ID= :4' using P_DEST_COLUMN, P_TEXT_VALUE, P_PROJ_ID, P_TASK_UID;
the values P_DEST_COLUMN, P_TEXT_VALUE, P_PROJ_ID, P_TASK_UID are populated using a cursor in PL/SQl
Is this statement valid? If not can you tell me how to do it as I am getting some error I am unable to comprehend.
thanks
Rishabh

Answer 1

Column names cannot be substituted at run-time as bind variables. If you need to specify the column name at run-time, you'd need to construct a new string and execute that string dynamically, i.e.
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'UPDATE test SET ' || p_dest_column || ' = :1 ' || ...From a data model standpoint, storing column names as data elements in another table is generally a rather poor idea. It's likely to make ad-hoc reporting nearly impossible and to cause a lot more parsing than would otherwise be required.
Justin