Database Reference
In-Depth Information
16
Datatypes and Collections
In this chapter:
What are datatypes?
What are simple datatypes?
What are complex datatypes?
What is a user-defined datatype?
What are object datatypes?
What types of object collection functionality exist?
What are special Oracle datatypes?
This chapter examines simple, complex, and object datatypes. Addition-
ally, this chapter includes user-defined datatypes plus details of special
object datatype functions. Object functions are included in this chapter
because they are specific to object datatypes. Object functions do not
belong with single-row functions in Chapter 9 or with grouping functions
in Chapter 11.
Like Chapter 7, this chapter contains some information found in other
chapters, but it also contains new information. It is necessary to place this
information in a single chapter in order to put everything in one place.
Let's begin with what could be termed simple datatypes.
16.1
Simple Datatypes
I like to classify simple datatypes as those containing single scalar values,
such as strings, numbers, and dates. Table 16.1 shows a summary of Oracle
simple datatypes.
