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Description

The "Magic numbers should not be used" rule in PL/SQL code states that hard-coded numeric values should not be used in code. Instead, constants should be used to represent the numeric values, so that the code is more readable and maintainable. This makes it easier to understand the code and to modify it if needed.

Key Benefits

• Security: Using Magic numbers makes code vulnerable to attack as they are easily guessed.
• Maintainability: Using Magic numbers makes code difficult to maintain as it is not clear what the numbers represent.
• Readability: Using Magic numbers makes code hard to read and understand.

Non-compliant Code Example

BEGIN
  FORALL j IN CUSTOMER_TABLE.FIRST..CUSTOMER_TABLE.LAST SAVE EXCEPTIONS
    UPDATE CUSTOMERS SET minimunExpense = 1800      --Non compliant code (Magic numbers is used)
    WHERE 100 < CUSTOMER_TABLE(j);                  --Non compliant code (Magic numbers is used)
 
EXCEPTION
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    error_message := SQLERRORMSG;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (error_message);
    RAISE;
END;

Compliant Code Example

DECLARE 
	minExpenseValue INTEGER := 1800;
	counter INTEGER := 100;

BEGIN
  FORALL j IN CUSTOMER_TABLE.FIRST..CUSTOMER_TABLE.LAST SAVE EXCEPTIONS
    UPDATE CUSTOMERS SET minimunExpense = minExpenseValue      --Compliant code
    WHERE counter < CUSTOMER_TABLE(j);                  --Compliant code
 
EXCEPTION
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    error_message := SQLERRORMSG;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (error_message);
    RAISE;
END;