Note a block itself is an executable statement, therefore you can nest a block within other blocks. The exception-handling section is where you catch and handle exceptions raised by the code in the execution section. The executable section must have a least one executable statement, even if it is the NULL statement which does nothing.Ī PL/SQL block has an exception-handling section that starts with the keyword EXCEPTION. An executable section starts with the keyword BEGIN and ends with the keyword END.

The following picture illustrates the structure of a PL/SQL block:Ī PL/SQL block has a declaration section where you declare variables, allocate memory for cursors, and define data types.Ī PL/SQL block has an executable section.

However, PL/SQL anonymous blocks can be useful for testing purposes. An anonymous block is not saved in the Oracle Database server, so it is just for one-time use. A named block is stored into the Oracle Database server and can be reused later.Ī block without a name is an anonymous block. Functions or Procedures is an example of a named block. In a block, the executable section is mandatory while the declaration and exception-handling sections are optional.Ī PL/SQL block has a name. A PL/SQL block consists of three sections: declaration, executable, and exception-handling sections. PL/SQL is a block-structured language whose code is organized into blocks. Summary: in this tutorial, you will learn about the PL/SQL anonymous block and how to execute it using SQL*Plus and SQL Developer tools.

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