Supplying multiple values to the IN select query

Question

Hi,
I just wanted to know if there is a more efficient way of supplying values to my SELECT IN statement. What we do is, we are given an excel file containing a single column of serial numbers then we format the content for it to be read by pl sql. By format, I mean put single quotes on the serial numbers then separate then by comma.
Like, we get sent
8181818181818
2323123525241
1231231231234
then, we have to format it to look like this (using formulas in excel)
'8181818181818',
'2323123525241',
'1231231231234'
in the process, I have to do a lot of copying and pasting which seems to take some time.
So, is there a way to make pl sql process the serial numbers passed to me as an excel file or are there any other alternate methods that I can use?

Answer 1

are these numbers or alpha-numeric in nature? Oracle can do some implicit translation on numbers. Not sure why you are having to put them in single-quotes. It is better to not do implicit conversions, however, it can make things easier.
SQL> create table abc (a varchar2(10));
Table created.
SQL> insert into abc values (123456789);
1 row created.
SQL> insert into abc values ('122456789');
1 row created.
SQL> select * from abc;
A
123456789
122456789
SQL> create or replace procedure i_abc(p_in varchar2)
is
begin
insert into abc values (p_in);
commit;
end;
Procedure created.
SQL> exec i_abc(1234444);
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> select * from abc;
A
123456789
122456789
1234444
SQL> exec i_abc('123445555');
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> select * from abc;
A
123456789
122456789
1234444
123445555