XML from a procedure

Question

Hello,
I am trying to pass a value in XML from a procedure to another (non-apex) application.
The issue is that in the following code, I've replaced this line:
qryCtx := dbms_xmlgen.newContext('select hash_value from hash');
with this line:
qryCtx := dbms_xmlgen.newContext(V_Return);
I did this because the value that I want to be in XML is in the variable V_Return and not in a table. I get a compilation error:
PLS-00382: expression is of wrong typeCompilation failed
Is there a way to use newContext with a variable value rather than a select statement from a table?
Thank you for any help!
Matt
create or replace PROCEDURE DO_HASH2 (p_username in VARCHAR2, p_app_id in VARCHAR2, p_app_name in VARCHAR2) is
  v_pad_amt NUMBER;
  v_salt RAW( 2048 );
  v_encrypted_str RAW( 2048 );
  v_return VARCHAR2( 255 );
  p_str VARCHAR2(255);
  p_thing_to_hash VARCHAR2(255);
  v_hash_date TIMESTAMP;
  qryCtx DBMS_XMLGEN.ctxHandle;
  result CLOB;
  nextval NUMBER;
Begin
p_thing_to_hash := p_app_name;
  -- Create Salt
  V_Salt := Utl_Raw.Cast_To_Raw( Substr( To_Char( Sqrt(( 8438/12*4-7/256 ) ) ), 3, 38 ) );
    -- If p_thing_to_hash is not null then
    -- Pad the string so that it will encrypt properly
    IF LENGTH( p_thing_to_hash ) MOD 8 > 0 THEN
        v_pad_amt        := TRUNC( LENGTH( p_thing_to_hash ) / 8 ) + 1;
        p_str  := RPAD(p_thing_to_hash, v_pad_amt * 8, '^' );
    END IF;
    -- Encrypt the string
    Dbms_Obfuscation_Toolkit.Desencrypt(Input => Utl_Raw.Cast_To_Raw( p_str ), Key => V_Salt, Encrypted_Data => V_Encrypted_Str );
    -- Now change the raw to hex
    V_Return := Rawtohex( V_Encrypted_Str );
--qryCtx := dbms_xmlgen.newContext('select hash_value from hash');
qryCtx := dbms_xmlgen.newContext(V_Return);
  -- set the row header to be HASH
  DBMS_XMLGEN.setRowTag(qryCtx, 'HASH');
  -- now get the result
  result := DBMS_XMLGEN.getXML(qryCtx);
-- Set the timestamp
select localtimestamp into v_hash_date from dual;
-- Insert the user info into the HASH table
INSERT INTO hash(USERNAME,APP_ID,APP_NAME,HASH_VALUE,HASH_DATE,RESULT) VALUES (p_username, p_app_id,p_app_name,V_Return,v_hash_date,result);
  --close context
DBMS_XMLGEN.closeContext(qryCtx);
END DO_HASH2;
HASH Table structure:
Column Name     Data Type
ID     NUMBER
USERNAME     VARCHAR2(250)
APP_ID     VARCHAR2(250)
APP_NAME     VARCHAR2(250)
HASH_VALUE     VARCHAR2(250)
HASH_DATE     TIMESTAMP(6)
RESULT     CLOB

Answer 1

>
The issue is that in the following code, I've replaced this line:
qryCtx := dbms_xmlgen.newContext('select hash_value from hash');
with this line:
qryCtx := dbms_xmlgen.newContext(V_Return);
I did this because the value that I want to be in XML is in the variable V_Return and not in a table. I get a compilation error:
PLS-00382: expression is of wrong typeCompilation failed
Is there a way to use newContext with a variable value rather than a select statement from a table?
>
It seems unlikely. The DBMS_XMLGEN documentation says:
>
The DBMS_XMLGEN package converts the results of a SQL query to a canonical XML format. The package takes an arbitrary SQL query as input, converts it to XML format, and returns the result as a CLOB.
>
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E11882_01/appdev.112/e10577/d_xmlgen.htm#i1012053
If <tt>VReturn</tt> is not a SQL query then you will need to use one of the (many) other ways of generating XML. This question has nothing to do with APEX and would be better addressed to the XML DB.
Additionally, the recommended methods for XML generation, encryption and hashing are heavily version-dependent and you should always quote the relevant DB version/edition information to ensure an appropriate answer. For example, DBMS_OBFUSCATION_TOOLKIT is deprecated as of Oracle 10g and replaced by DBMS_CRYPTO.