Oracle Tips

Both %TYPE and %ROWTYPE are used to define variables in PL/SQL as it is defined within the database. If the datatype or precision of a column changes, the program automatically picks up the new definition from the database.
The %TYPE and %ROWTYPE constructs provide data independence, reduce maintenance costs, and allows programs to adapt as the database changes.
Here is shown an example of the differences between two.

-- %TYPE is used to declare a field with the same type as 
-- that of a specified table's column. In this example emp table column name ename. 
 
DECLARE
   v_EmpName  emp.ename%TYPE;
BEGIN
   SELECT ename INTO v_EmpName FROM emp WHERE ROWNUM = 1;
   DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Name = ' || v_EmpName);
END;
/
 
 
 
-- %ROWTYPE is used to declare a record with the same types as 
-- found in the specified database table, view or cursor: 
 
DECLARE
  v_emp emp%ROWTYPE;
BEGIN
  v_emp.empno := 10;
  v_emp.ename := 'XXXXXXX';
END;
/