Beyond the Basics: Addressing Updatability and Performance with Oracle Views

CREATE VIEW ActiveCustomers AS
SELECT *
FROM Customers
WHERE Status = 'Active';

This view definition acts as a blueprint for the ActiveCustomers view. It essentially says: "Whenever someone queries ActiveCustomers, show them all columns (*) from the Customers table, but only for entries where the Status is 'Active'."

Views offer several advantages:

• Simplified data access: You can present a simplified view of your data, hiding complex joins and filtering logic behind the scenes. This makes it easier for users like application developers or analysts to understand and work with the data.
• Improved security: You can restrict access to sensitive data by controlling who has permissions to see the underlying tables. Views allow you to grant access to specific columns or filtered subsets of data, enhancing data security.
• Enhanced data integrity: Views can enforce certain rules or logic through the definition itself. For instance, a view might always display specific values in a specific format, ensuring consistency in data presentation.

• Updatability: While you can query data through views, updating or modifying data directly through them can be more complex. It depends on the complexity of the view definition and the underlying tables.
  • Solution: If you need to update data through a view, ensure the view definition allows for updates and follows specific guidelines. Consult the Oracle documentation for detailed information on updatable views.
• Performance: Complex views involving joins or aggregations might impact query performance.