Dynamic sql query question

Question

hi all,
i created a report that displays results based on this query initially.
select *
from EMP
where 1=1;
i'm using a SQL Query (PL/SQL Function Body Returning SQL Query).
i have search items in my page like empno, lastname, firstname, middle, email_address etc... when i place a value for lastname then in my query it should add AND LASTNAME = :P1_LASTNAME.
so the query returned should now have
select *
from EMP
where 1=1
and LASTNAME = :P1_LASTNAME;
is this possible?
i was thinking something like looping for all search items in the page (ie. text, popup lov, datetimepicker) then check whether the item is null or not... when not null then probably get the substring of the item name like (ie. substr(:P1_LASTNAME) and get only LASTNAME then add "=" then concat it with the item name. not sure if this is possible though.
thanks
allen

Answer 1

hi denes,
thanks for the sample... i noticed that the sample hard codes additional conditions to be added to the sql query which is okay when the search criteria is less than 5-10... but i'm thinking if the search criteria will be like 15-30 fields or make all fields searchable, this might be uncomfortable.
what i was thinking is like loop thru all the items i.e.
declare
sql varchar2(4000) := 'select * from emp where 1=1';
begin
for i in (select * from all_items_in_apex) -- this is just an example.
loop
if i.value is not null then
sql := sql || ' and ' || i.column || '=' || i.value;
end if;
end loop;
end;
the only thing is that i don't know if there's a possible replacement for the clause (select * from all_items_in_apex).
sorry if i'm asking too much but this is how i normally do it in forms. the suggestion in the link you provided should be sufficient but i was just wondering if this idea is also possible.
thanks again.
allen