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DBMS_ALERT

DBMS_ALERT supports asynchronous notification of database events (alerts). By appropriate use of this package and database triggers, an application can notify itself whenever values of interest in the database are changed.

For example, suppose a graphics tool is displaying a graph of some data from a database table. The graphics tool can, after reading and graphing the data, wait on a database alert (WAITONE) covering the data just read. The tool automatically wakes up when the data is changed by any other user. All that is required is that a trigger be placed on the database table, which performs a signal (SIGNAL) whenever the trigger is fired.

Alerts are transaction-based. This means that the waiting session is not alerted until the transaction signalling the alert commits. There can be any number of concurrent signalers of a given alert, and there can be any number of concurrent waiters on a given alert.

A waiting application is blocked in the database and cannot do any other work.

This chapter discusses the following topics:

• Security, Constants, and Errors for DBMS_ALERT
• Using Alerts
• Summary of DBMS_ALERT Subprograms

Security, Constants, and Errors for DBMS_ALERT

Security

Security on this package can be controlled by granting EXECUTE on this package to selected users or roles. You might want to write a cover package on top of this one that restricts the alert names used. EXECUTE privilege on this cover package can then be granted rather than on this package.

Constants

maxwait constant integer :=  86400000; -- 1000 days 
 

The maximum time to wait for an alert (this is essentially forever).

Errors

DBMS_ALERT raises the application error -20000 on error conditions. Table 2-1 shows the messages and the procedures that can raise them.

Table 2-1  DBMS_ALERT Error Messages

Error Message	Procedure
ORU-10001 lock request error, status: N	SIGNAL
ORU-10015 error: N waiting for pipe status	WAITANY
ORU-10016 error: N sending on pipe 'X'	SIGNAL
ORU-10017 error: N receiving on pipe 'X'	SIGNAL
ORU-10019 error: N on lock request	WAIT
ORU-10020 error: N on lock request	WAITANY
ORU-10021 lock request error; status: N	REGISTER
ORU-10022 lock request error, status: N	SIGNAL
ORU-10023 lock request error; status N	WAITONE
ORU-10024 there are no alerts registered	WAITANY
ORU-10025 lock request error; status N	REGISTER
ORU-10037 attempting to wait on uncommitted signal from same session	WAITONE

Using Alerts

The application can register for multiple events and can then wait for any of them to occur using the WAITANY procedure.

An application can also supply an optional timeout parameter to the WAITONE or WAITANY procedures. A timeout of 0 returns immediately if there is no pending alert.

The signalling session can optionally pass a message that is received by the waiting session.

Alerts can be signalled more often than the corresponding application wait calls. In such cases, the older alerts are discarded. The application always gets the latest alert (based on transaction commit times).

If the application does not require transaction-based alerts, the DBMS_PIPE package may provide a useful alternative.

If the transaction is rolled back after the call to SIGNAL, no alert occurs.

It is possible to receive an alert, read the data, and find that no data has changed. This is because the data changed after the prior alert, but before the data was read for that prior alert.

Checking for Alerts

Usually, Oracle is event-driven; this means that there are no polling loops. There are two cases where polling loops can occur:

• Shared mode. If your database is running in shared mode, a polling loop is required to check for alerts from another instance. The polling loop defaults to one second and can be set by the SET_DEFAULTS procedure.
• WAITANY procedure. If you use the WAITANY procedure, and if a signalling session does a signal but does not commit within one second of the signal, a polling loop is required so that this uncommitted alert does not camouflage other alerts. The polling loop begins at a one second interval and exponentially backs off to 30-second intervals.