Error PLS-00231 When Calling a Local Function In a Procedure

Question

I hope someone can help me find a workaround to this problem:
I have a function defined within a PL/SQL block. When I call the function from a SQL statement, I get the PLS-00231 error, which says "Function <fn name> may not be used in SQL.". I don't really understand why I can't do this, since the function works perfectly if I create it in the database. Unfortunately, storing the function in the database is not a desirable option.
Below is a very simple example program to illustrate the point. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Brian
DECLARE
var INTEGER;
FUNCTION return_it (i IN INTEGER) RETURN INTEGER IS
BEGIN
RETURN i;
END;
BEGIN
SELECT return_it (4)
INTO var
FROM dual;
END;
--

Answer 1

Your function return_it is not part of database so you cant use in query.
Here is what you can do
08:18:20 SQL> ed
Wrote file afiedt.buf
1 DECLARE
2 var INTEGER;
3 FUNCTION return_it (i IN INTEGER) RETURN INTEGER IS
4 BEGIN
5 RETURN i;
6 END;
7 BEGIN
8 var := return_it (4);
9 DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('var = '||var);
10* END;
08:18:26 SQL> /
var = 4
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.