Help - Oracle function w/RETURN VIEW_NAME%ROWTYPE

Question

I have a fairly complex Oracle function with a signature like this:
FUNCTION get_some_data
in_param_one VARCHAR2
, in_param_two VARCHAR2
)RETURN VIEW_NAME%ROWTYPE
(The internal logic of the function is such that it will return at most one row.)
I have sample code from MSDN that outlines calling functions in .Net, like this:
// create the command for the function
OracleCommand cmd = new OracleCommand();
cmd.Connection = conn;
cmd.CommandText = "GET_EMPLOYEE_EMAIL";
cmd.CommandType = CommandType.StoredProcedure;
// add the parameters, including the return parameter to retrieve
// the return value
cmd.Parameters.Add("p_employee_id", OracleType.Number).Value = 101;
cmd.Parameters.Add("p_email", OracleType.VarChar, 25).Direction =
ParameterDirection.ReturnValue;
// execute the function
conn.Open();
cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
conn.Close();
// output the result
Console.WriteLine("Email address is: " + cmd.Parameters["p_email"].Value);
I don't see an available OracleType to fit the '...%ROWTYPE' return value.
I think the Oracle code is doing inferred 'table inlining' but it may, instead, be using an inferred refcursor (clearly I'm no DBA). Everything I've been able to find online when googling for how to handle this in .Net doesn't seem to match this situation.
How can I call this function and get the data back in C#? Please note that I don't have the authority to modify the package to make it explicitly return a refcursor.
Thank you for any light you can shed!
MarFarMa

Answer 1

Here's a "quick and dirty" example using the HR sample schema that I think might be enough to get you going...
Pl/SQL (used to mimic your function that returns %rowtype):
create or replace function get_country_row (p_id in varchar2) return countries%rowtype as
  cursor emp_cur is select * from countries where country_id = p_id;
  emp_rec emp_cur%rowtype;
begin
  open emp_cur;
  fetch emp_cur into emp_rec;
  close emp_cur;
  return emp_rec;
end;C# Code:
using System;
using System.Data;
using System.Text;
using Oracle.DataAccess.Client;
using Oracle.DataAccess.Types;
namespace RowTypeTest
  /// <summary>
  /// Summary description for Class1.
  /// </summary>
  class Class1
    /// <summary>
    /// The main entry point for the application.
    /// </summary>
    [STAThread]
    static void Main(string[] args)
      // create and open connection
      string constr = "User Id=hr; Password=hr; Data Source=oranet; Pooling=false";
      OracleConnection con = new OracleConnection(constr);
      con.Open();
      // build anonymous pl/sql block to get the data
      StringBuilder sbSQL = new StringBuilder();
      sbSQL.Append("declare ");
      sbSQL.Append("  l_country_row countries%rowtype; ");
      sbSQL.Append("begin ");
      sbSQL.Append("  l_country_row   := get_country_row(:p_id); ");
      sbSQL.Append("  :p_country_id   := l_country_row.country_id; ");
      sbSQL.Append("  :p_country_name := l_country_row.country_name; ");
      sbSQL.Append("  :p_region_id    := l_country_row.region_id; ");
      sbSQL.Append("end;");
      // input parameter for country id
      OracleParameter p_id = new OracleParameter();
      p_id.OracleDbType = OracleDbType.Varchar2;
      p_id.Size = 2;
      p_id.Value = "UK";
      p_id.Direction = ParameterDirection.Input;
      // input/output parameter for country id
      // this is redundant but we are selecting * from the table...
      OracleParameter p_country_id = new OracleParameter();
      p_country_id.OracleDbType = OracleDbType.Varchar2;
      p_country_id.Size = 2;
      p_country_id.Direction = ParameterDirection.InputOutput;
      // input/output parameter for country name
      OracleParameter p_country_name = new OracleParameter();
      p_country_name.OracleDbType = OracleDbType.Varchar2;
      p_country_name.Size = 40;
      p_country_name.Direction = ParameterDirection.InputOutput;
      // input/output parameter for region id
      OracleParameter p_region_id = new OracleParameter();
      p_region_id.OracleDbType = OracleDbType.Decimal;
      p_region_id.Direction = ParameterDirection.InputOutput;
      // create command object
      OracleCommand cmd = con.CreateCommand();
      cmd.CommandText = sbSQL.ToString();
      // add parameters to command
      cmd.Parameters.Add(p_id);
      cmd.Parameters.Add(p_country_id);
      cmd.Parameters.Add(p_country_name);
      cmd.Parameters.Add(p_region_id);
      // get the data
      cmd.ExecuteNonQuery();
      // display data retrieved
      Console.WriteLine("{0}, {1}, {2}", p_country_id.Value, p_country_name.Value, p_region_id.Value);
      // clean up objects
      p_region_id.Dispose();
      p_country_name.Dispose();
      p_country_id.Dispose();
      p_id.Dispose();
      cmd.Dispose();
      con.Dispose();
}Output:
UK, United Kingdom, 1This only works if the stored function returns a single row and obviously has no error handling, etc. but I hope it helps a bit...
- Mark