Update statement getting ORA-00904 invalid identifier

Question

I am getting this ORA error when I try to conduct an update statement from a column value in one table to a like-named column in another table.
For instance, in my select, shown below, this query runs like a champ, returning all of my records
SELECT
b.ID,
b.ZIP, a.ZIP,
a.NAME,
a.LOCATION
FROM TBL_ARCHIVE a
INNER JOIN TBL_UAT b ON
a.ID = b.ID
WHERE
b.ID > 470000  And b.ID <470100;However, if I try to run an update statement with any of the following, I get this error. It seems so strange to me that I'd get an error using the same columns in the update statement, but would return the desired results effectively from the select statement!
one version of UPDATE
UPDATE TBL_ARCHIVE a
SET a.ZIP = TBL_UAT.ZIP
WHERE TBL_UAT.ID = a.ID;and another
UPDATE TBL_ARCHIVE
SET a.ZIP  =
(SELECT b.ZIP
FROM TBL_UAT b
WHERE b.ID <472500 And b.ID >471000)
FROM TBL_ARCHIVE a
WHERE a.ID = b.ID)
WHERE ID IN
(SELECT ID
FROM TBL_UAT b
WHERE b.ID  <472500 And b.ID >471000
);^ - this one produces a SQL not properly ended. Error ORA-00933: SQL command not properly ended.
I'm really unsure though, how what I thought was a fairly basic update statement wouldn't work. I'm using Oracle 11g but through either Toad or SQL Plus. I've gotten these same errors in both.
Though MS Access runs slow as snails, I can manage to run the update statement successfully with it, a thousand records or so at a time. Problem is, I've got about 300K records needing updating.
I've looked around for similar problems but haven't found one where someone wasn't either using a reserved word for a column, which I'm not, I don't believe, or a problem that really dealt with this error in the context of an update statement.
But I'd welcome any enlightenment on this.

Answer 1

rp0428 wrote:
UPDATE TBL_ARCHIVE a
SET a.ZIP = TBL_UAT.ZIP
WHERE TBL_UAT.ID = a.ID;That isn't a valid query and neither is the other one.
Please post the actual query you are using and the actual complete error message you are getting (everything about the error that is displayed).^^
That is NOT a valid query?
How else would you have an UPDATE statement created to set the value of a column in table A to the value of a (in this case, same named) column in table B?
And keep them in order to update the records appropriately?
I'll append the create statements momentarily.
Thanks!
CREATE TABLE TBL_UAT
( ID NUMBER(6),
ZIP VARCHAR2(10 BYTE) ) and
CREATE TABLE TBL_ARCHIVE
( ID NUMBER(6) NOT NULL, NAME VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
EMAIL VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
LOCATION VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
DEPARTMENT VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
PRIORITY VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
APPROVING_MGR_NAME VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
TYPE1 VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
TYPE2 VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
CONTACT_NAME VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
CONTACT_PHN_NO VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
LOAN_NUM VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
REF_ID VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
BORROWER_NAME VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
ADDRESS VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
CITY VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
ST VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
ZIP VARCHAR2(10 BYTE),
SALE_DATE DATE,
COMMENTS VARCHAR2(800 BYTE),
TIME_REQ DATE,
ACCTLOC VARCHAR2(50 BYTE),
OTHER_ACCTLOC VARCHAR2(50 BYTE)) Hope this can be of assistance.
Thanks, folks!
Edited by: user515689 on Feb 7, 2012 11:59 AM