I finally got around to cleaning up old contact me messages. One of the messages raises a question about RESULT_CACHE functions. The writer wanted an example implementing both a standalone schema and package RESULT_CACHE function.

The question references a note from the Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming book (on page 322). More or less, that note points out that at the time of writing a RESULT_CACHE function worked as a standalone function but failed inside a package. When you tried it, you raised the following error message:

PLS-00999: Implementation Restriction (may be temporary)

It’s no longer true in Oracle 11gR2, but it was true in Oracle 11gR1. I actually mentioned in a blog entry 4 years ago.

You can implement a schema RESULT_CACHE function like this:

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CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION full_name
( pv_first_name   VARCHAR2
, pv_last_name    VARCHAR2 )
RETURN VARCHAR2 RESULT_CACHE IS
BEGIN  
  RETURN pv_first_name || ' ' || pv_last_name;
END full_name;
/

You would call it like this from a query:

SELECT   full_name(c.first_name, c.last_name)
FROM     contact c;

You can declare a published package RESULT_CACHE function like this:

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CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE cached_function IS
  FUNCTION full_name
  ( pv_first_name   VARCHAR2
  , pv_last_name    VARCHAR2 )
  RETURN VARCHAR2 RESULT_CACHE;
END cached_function;
/

You would implement the function in a package body like this:

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CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY cached_function IS
  FUNCTION full_name
  ( pv_first_name   VARCHAR2
  , pv_last_name    VARCHAR2 )
  RETURN VARCHAR2 RESULT_CACHE IS
  BEGIN  
    RETURN pv_first_name || ' ' || pv_last_name;
  END full_name; 
END cached_function;
/

You would call the package function like this from a query:

SELECT   cached_function.full_name(c.first_name, c.last_name)
FROM     contact c;

I hope this answers the question.