Error in using plsql record type inside packages

Question

Dear Friends,
Using Ora9iR2 on Windows 2000 Server. I am trying to declare a record type and a nested table of that record type in the package body and the initialise that in the package body then insert records into that. But I receive error msg.
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE sample1 AS
TYPE rcur IS REF CURSOR;
TYPE emp_record IS RECORD
(empname VARCHAR2(20),
job VARCHAR2(10),
salary NUMBER);
TYPE emp_result IS TABLE OF emp_record;
PROCEDURE emp_test ( i_empno emp.empno%TYPE);
END sample1;
-- Package Body
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY sample1 AS
PROCEDURE emp_test ( i_empno IN emp.empno%TYPE)AS
c1 rcur;
eresult emp_result := emp_result();
v_empname VARCHAR2(20);
v_job VARCHAR2(10);
v_sal NUMBER;
BEGIN
OPEN c1 FOR SELECT ename,job,sal FROM emp WHERE empno = i_empno;
LOOP FETCH c1 INTO v_empname,v_job,v_sal;
EXIT WHEN c1%NOTFOUND;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_empname||' , '||v_job||' , '||v_sal);
eresult := emp_result(v_empname,v_job,v_sal); showing error
END LOOP;
CLOSE c1;
END emp_test;
END sample1;
While executing the procedure with out the line eresult := emp_result(v_empname,v_job,v_sal); the procedure executes fine.
SQL> execute sample1.emp_test(7900);
JAMES , CLERK , 950
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
With that line, i have error
SQL> execute sample1.emp_test(7900);
BEGIN sample1.emp_test(7900); END;
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-04068: existing state of packages has been discarded
ORA-04063: package body "KUMAR.SAMPLE1" has errors
ORA-06508: PL/SQL: could not find program unit being called
ORA-06512: at line 1
While executing in PL/SQL Developer, it says the wrong number or types of arguments call to ;EMP_RESULT'.
Please guide me where I am wrong.
Kumar

Answer 1

I got invalide data type error.I think the datatype in the CAST() clause must be a SQL Type i.e. one created with a CREATE TYPE command in the database. emp_result is only a PL/SQL datatype.
But I dont know why it is saying error
eresult(eresult.count) := emp_result(v_empname,v_job,v_sal); eresult is a table of records. It is therefore expecting a record. records don't seem to be created in the same way that user defined types are.
The concept of handling records like this is new to 9i and they are still smoothing out the bumps. Things are a lot better in 9.2 than in 9.0.1 if it's any consolation. There is a particular gap in the documentation, which is what's tripping you up at the moment: the difference between TYPE AS RECORD and other types, also the difference between VARRAY, NESTED TABLE and REF CURSOR. To be honest, it's all kind of hazy for me at the moment: I always need to run some code before I make any pronouncements on this topic.
Good luck, APC