PL SQL Compilation with error

Question

Hi guys,
Sorry that i'm quite new to PL SQL and oracle. I having some issue on pl sql function as i implementing a CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION. Below is my syntax for my function.
create or replace function auth_Name ( v_auth_state IN varchar)
return varchar2 is
v_authName varchar;
BEGIN
select name into v_authName from employee
where
name= v_auth_state;
return v_authName;
end auth_Name;
But whenever I compile it will show "Function created with compilation errors". Isn't it supposed to show "Function created successfully"? anyone can guide me along with this?

Answer 1

Hi,
Welcome to the forum!
The immediate problem is that the local variable v_authName can't be declared as just VARCHAR. That's how you give the datatype of an argument (like v_auth_state) or the function's return type, but the local variable has to be given a length.
You could say something like:
v_authName varchar (20);but, since v_authName has to match a specific column from a specific table, it's better to define it as that column's type and length directly.
You might want to do the same for the argument and the return type, like this:
create or replace function auth_Name ( v_auth_state IN employee.name%TYPE)
return employee.name%TYPE is
     v_authName     employee.name%TYPE;
BEGIN
     select      name
     into      v_authName
     from     employee
     where
          name     = v_auth_state;
     return v_authName;
end auth_Name;
show errorsIt looks the function is just returning it's argument. Is that what you want? If not, describe what the function is supposed to do.
As written, the function will have a run-time error if there is not exactly one row in the employee table with the given name. What would you like to happen if there is no matching row in the table? How about if there are several?