Parameterised Function

Question

the query that i wish to write is as follows :
i want to parameterise the column name , table name, value
and then retrieve the no of rows returned for that column, table and that value.
Example Query : select ename from emp where empno = 1;
here the count returned will be = 1. but there can be more employees by the empno 1. this is the requirement.
so how can i write a parameterised function to parameterise 'ename' column , 'emp' table name
and 'empno' value and return the number of rows for the parameters entered.
please help..
regards.

Answer 1

Prakash & Maximus,
i created the function it is as follows :
function count_in_table
(colnm in varchar2, val in varchar2, tbl in varchar2)
return number
is
cnt number;
begin
execute immediate 'select count(1) from ' || tbl || ' where ' || colnm || ' = :a' into cnt using val;
return cnt;
end;
and out put of this is :
SQL> variable cnt varchar2(5)
SQL> exec :cnt := count_in_table('job','MANAGER','emp');
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> print cnt
CNT
3
this is what i wanted to achieve.
thanks so much guys .. :)
regards