List files stored in a Directory Object

Question

Hi,
I looked on Google, on Oracle DB docs and here to find a convenient way to list files stored in a DIRECTORY for batch loading in a table with PL/SQL. But no luck, UTL_FILE doesn't seem to have a method for directory listing. I saw examples with some workaround like putting files list in a text file prior to loading. The directory is feeded by other process and network services, so I don't know the filelist that I need to import and, then delete. I dont have access to the server console and it's impossible for me to dump a kind of «dir» result into a text file. I saw other examples using Java, but it looks like I don't have access to Server Side Java too.
Is there a simple way to do that in PL/SQL only?
If not, I'll ask to the DBA the necessary rights to compile/run java on the server side...
The DB target versions for this requirement are 10g and 11g (mainly) on Windows environment.
Thanks
Bruno

Answer 1

brlav35 wrote:
The XUTL_FINDFILES seems to be the more convenient way. If that works for you, I certainly have no objection. In a lot of environments, though, that package would be problematic.
1) It must be installed in the SYS schema. That's generally frowned upon and lots of sites would never allow user code to go into the SYS schema. Chris is a bright guy, so I'm sure the risk of it causing harm is minimal (most likely during an install or upgrade), and it will almost certainly never cause you harm, but that would be a political show-stopper at a lot of places.
2) The package body is wrapped (if there is a version with the package body in clear text, this point is moot). Again, Chris is a well-respected guy, so I have every confidence that the code is not malicious, but asking a DBA to install a wrapped package you downloaded from the internet into the SYS schema on a production database should generate a crud-load of red flags. This is almost certainly just a theoretical danger, but DBAs and audit compliance regulations care a great deal about theoretical dangers. If someone hacked the web site and uploaded their own wrapped bit of code that had a back door, for example, it would be very hard to catch.
3) Under the covers, the package is querying one of the undocumented X$ views. Oracle is free to change those views over time, which would potentially cause the package to stop working or stop working correctly in some way. If you're developing code for a system that may be around for a number of years, that becomes a concern. It's unlikely that Oracle will change the particular X$ view that is being referenced here over the lifetime of your code base, but it's more than a trivial concern.
4) The package is determining what directories a user has access to, that's not Oracle enforcing the restriction. Probably not too big a deal, but it is probably safer from a regulatory compliance standpoint to be able to rely on Oracle the database enforcing privileges rather than relying on a delivered package to enforce those privileges. It's the difference between telling Oracle via specific grants which directories the JVM can access vs. writing your own wrapper that enforces those restrictions. In the end, the restrictions are enforced, but in one case you're relying on the developers of the Oracle database and in the other you're relying on external developers.
Just to re-iterate-- Chris is a brilliant guy, I don't mean this in any way to impugn him or his code. I am totally confident that his code works, that it works well, and that it will continue to work going forward. My concerns are purely on the political/ regulatory side of things, not on the technical side of things. Technically, I am confident that the code is top-notch.
Justin
Edited by: Justin Cave on Sep 9, 2009 12:38 PM
I wrote this before seeing the last few bits of the exchange where you and Chris already talked about the first point.