Oracle/PLSQL: Dump Function
In Oracle/PLSQL, the dump function returns a varchar2 value that includes the datatype code, the length in bytes, and the internal representation of the expression.
Syntax
The syntax for the dump function is:
dump( expression, [return_format], [start_position], [length] )
expression is the expression to analyze.
return_format is optional. It determines the format of the return value. This parameter can be any of the following values:
| Value | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 8 | octal notation |
| 10 | decimal notation |
| 16 | hexadecimal notation |
| 17 | single characters |
| 1008 | octal notation with the character set name |
| 1010 | decimal notation with the character set name |
| 1016 | hexadecimal notation with the character set name |
| 1017 | single characters with the character set name |
start_position and length are optional parameters. They determines which portion of the internal representation to display. If these parameters are omitted, the dump function will display the entire internal representation in decimal notation.
Applies To
- Oracle 11g, Oracle 10g, Oracle 9i, Oracle 8i
For Example
| dump('Tech') | would return 'Typ=96 Len=4: 84,101,99,104' |
| dump('Tech', 10) | would return 'Typ=96 Len=4: 84,101,99,104' |
| dump('Tech', 16) | would return 'Typ=96 Len=4: 54,65,63,68' |
| dump('Tech', 1016) | would return 'Typ=96 Len=4 CharacterSet=US7ASCII: 54,65,63,68' |
| dump('Tech', 1017) | would return 'Typ=96 Len=4 CharacterSet=US7ASCII: T,e,c,h' |