Serializing a CLOB using PL/SQL

Question

Is there a way to get the results of:
'SELECT xmlgen.getXML("select * from EMP")
from dual'
in serialized form rather than as a CLOB?
Basically to bypass the creation of the CLOB and just return the XML rows as they are created?
I want to get the same result I would get if the XML CLOB was written to a file and then the file was loaded into a table with one column defined as a varchar2(2000); each record in the file would be one record in the table. Naturally I want to avoid the file altogether.
I can write a procedure that parses the CLOB and creates a table but I would like to avoid the table also. I'm not sure if a function returning a REF cursor would work.
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Answer 1

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rick Post:
Is there a way to get the results of:
'SELECT xmlgen.getXML("select * from EMP")
from dual'
in serialized form rather than as a CLOB?
Basically to bypass the creation of the CLOB and just return the XML rows as they are created?
I want to get the same result I would get if the XML CLOB was written to a file and then the file was loaded into a table with one column defined as a varchar2(2000); each record in the file would be one record in the table. Naturally I want to avoid the file altogether.
I can write a procedure that parses the CLOB and creates a table but I would like to avoid the table also. I'm not sure if a function returning a REF cursor would work.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Write a simple PLSQL function like this:
function get_buf(page in CLOB) return VARCHAR2 is
buf_t LONG RAW;
amount BINARY_INTEGER := 32768;
begin
dbms_lob.read(page,amount,0,buf_t);
return utl_raw.cast_to_varchar2(buf_t);
end;
And add the correct pragme to be use this function into select statement (WRNDS,WRNPS):
then use it like this:
'SELECT get_buf(xmlgen.getXML("select * from EMP")) from dual'
Hope this help, Marcelo.