DELETE Statement

The DELETE statement removes entire rows of data from a specified table or view. For a full description of the DELETE statement, see Oracle Database SQL Reference.

Syntax

delete ::=

Description of the illustration delete_statement.gif

table_reference ::=

Description of the illustration table_reference.gif

Keyword and Parameter Description

alias

Another (usually short) name for the referenced table or view. Typically referred to later in the WHERE clause.

BULK COLLECT

Returns columns from the deleted rows into PL/SQL collections, as specified by the RETURNING INTO list. The corresponding columns must store scalar (not composite) values. For more information, see "Reducing Loop Overhead for DML Statements and Queries with Bulk SQL".

returning_clause

Returns values from the deleted rows, eliminating the need to SELECT the rows first. You can retrieve the column values into individual variables or into collections. You cannot use the RETURNING clause for remote or parallel deletes. If the statement does not affect any rows, the values of the variables specified in the RETURNING clause are undefined. See "RETURNING INTO Clause".

subquery

A SELECT statement that provides a set of rows for processing. Its syntax is like the select_into_statement without the INTO clause. See "SELECT INTO Statement".

table_reference

A table or view, which must be accessible when you execute the DELETE statement, and for which you must have DELETE privileges.

TABLE (subquery2)

The operand of TABLE is a SELECT statement that returns a single column value, which must be a nested table. Operator TABLE informs Oracle that the value is a collection, not a scalar value.

WHERE CURRENT OF cursor_name

Refers to the latest row processed by the FETCH statement associated with the cursor identified by cursor_name. The cursor must be FOR UPDATE and must be open and positioned on a row. If the cursor is not open, the CURRENT OF clause causes an error.

If the cursor is open, but no rows have been fetched or the last fetch returned no rows, PL/SQL raises the predefined exception NO_DATA_FOUND.

WHERE search_condition

Conditionally chooses rows to be deleted from the referenced table or view. Only rows that meet the search condition are deleted. If you omit the WHERE clause, all rows in the table or view are deleted.

Usage Notes

You can use the DELETE WHERE CURRENT OF statement after a fetch from an open cursor (this includes implicit fetches executed in a cursor FOR loop), provided the associated query is FOR UPDATE. This statement deletes the current row; that is, the one just fetched.

The implicit cursor SQL and the cursor attributes %NOTFOUND, %FOUND, and %ROWCOUNT let you access useful information about the execution of a DELETE statement.

Examples

For examples, see the following:

Example 6-1, "Data Manipulation With PL/SQL"
Example 6-5, "Using CURRVAL and NEXTVAL"
Example 6-7, "Using SQL%FOUND"
Example 6-8, "Using SQL%ROWCOUNT"
Example 6-29, "Stored Procedure to Open a Ref Cursor"
Example 6-30, "Stored Procedure to Open Ref Cursors with Different Queries"
Example 11-2, "Issuing DELETE Statements in a Loop"
Example 11-16, "Using FORALL With BULK COLLECT"