Building SQL Test Cases

For many SQL-related problems, obtaining a reproducible test case makes it easier to resolve the problem. Starting with the 11g Release 2 (11.2), Oracle Database contains the SQL Test Case Builder, which automates the somewhat difficult and time-consuming process of gathering and reproducing as much information as possible about a problem and the environment in which it occurred.

SQL Test Case Builder captures information pertaining to a SQL-related problem, along with the exact environment under which the problem occurred, so that you can reproduce and test the problem on a separate database. After the test case is ready, you can upload the problem to Oracle Support to enable support personnel to reproduce and troubleshoot the problem.

The information gathered by SQL Test Case Builder includes the query being executed, table and index definitions (but not the actual data), PL/SQL functions, procedures, and packages, optimizer statistics, and initialization parameter settings.

16.6.1 Creating a Test Case

You can access the SQL Test Case Builder from Enterprise Manager or manually using the DBMS_SQLDIAG package.

16.6.1.1 Accessing SQL Test Case Builder from Enterprise Manager

From Enterprise Manager, the SQL Test Case Builder is accessible only when a SQL incident occurs. A SQL-related problem is referred to as a SQL incident, and each SQL incident is identified by an incident number. You can access the SQL Test Case Builder from the Support Workbench page in Enterprise Manager.

You can access the Support Workbench page in either of the following ways:

• In the Database Home page of Enterprise Manager, under Diagnostic Summary, click the link to Active Incidents (indicating the number of active incidents). This opens the Support Workbench page, with the incidents listed in a table.

• Click Advisor Central under Related Links to open the Advisor Central page. Next, click SQL Advisors and then Click here to go to Support Workbench to open the Support Workbench page.

From the Support Workbench page, to access the SQL Test Case Builder:

1. Click an incident ID to open the problem details for the particular incident.

2. Next, click Oracle Support in the Investigate and Resolve section.

3. Click Generate Additional Dumps and Test Cases.

4. For a particular incident, click the icon in the Go To Task column to run the SQL Test Case Builder.

   The output of the SQL Test Case Builder is a SQL script that contains the commands required to re-create all the necessary objects and the environment. SQL Test Case Builder stores the file in the following location, where inc_num refers to the incident number and run_num refers to the run number:

   $ADR_HOME/incident/incdir_inc_num/SQLTCB_run num
   

   For example, a valid output file name could be as follows:

   $ORACLE_HOME/log/diag/rdbms/dbsa/dbsa/incident/incdir_2657/SQLTCB_1
   

16.6.1.2 Accessing SQL Test Case Builder Using DBMS_SQLDIAG

You can also invoke the SQL Test Case Builder manually, using the DBMS_SQLDIAG package. This package consists of various subprograms for the SQL Test Case Builder, some of which are listed in Table 16-1.

Table 16-1 SQL Test Case Builder Procedures in DBMS_SQLDIAG

Procedure Name	Function
EXPORT_SQL_TESTCASE	Generates a SQL test case
EXPORT_SQL_TESTCASE_DIR_BY_INC	Generates a SQL test case corresponding to the incident ID passed as an argument
EXPORT_SQL_TESTCASE_DIR_BY_TXT	Generates a SQL test case corresponding to the SQL text passed as an argument

For more information on this package and all of its procedures and parameters, see Oracle Database PL/SQL Packages and Types Reference.

http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/server.112/e41573/sql_overview.htm#PFGRF94838