ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments

ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments error occurs when there is a discrepancy between the number of arguments expected and the number of arguments provided when executing an Oracle function in a SQL query.In an Oracle function, if no arguments are given or if fewer than the required number of arguments are passed, the Oracle function will fail to execute. If the required number of arguments are not provided in the oracle function, an error message ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments is shown.

The Oracle function accepts a list of arguments as input, executes the function logic, and outputs a value. If an incorrect number of parameters is provided while invoking an Oracle function, the function logic cannot be executed. If no parameters or a less number of arguments are used, Oracle will display an error message ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments instead of executing the function.

If the number of argument values expected and the number of argument values passed in an oracle function do not match, the oracle function cannot execute without the argument value. The discrepancy is caused by a missed single quotes in the arguments, a line break between arguments, or some of the argument values being missed in the Oracle function. The error message ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments is displayed.



When the ORA-00909 error occurs

An error message is displayed if an Oracle function that takes one or more parameters is used in a SQL Statement and no or few arguments are used to invoke the function. Create a SQL statement that invokes an Oracle function. Without any arguments, use the Oracle function. Oracle will provide an error message indicating that the incorrect number of arguments were used in an Oracle function.

Problem

select sum() from emp;

Error

ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments
00909. 00000 -  "invalid number of arguments"
*Cause:    
*Action:
Error at Line: 40 Column: 8


Root Cause

Oracle functions can be executed with or without arguments. The Oracle function is defined by the number of arguments that must be passed to it when it is created. The number of arguments should be used in the SQL statements that call the Oracle function. Oracle functions could not be executed in the presence of the required number of arguments. The oracle error message will be displayed if any SQL Statement provides no arguments or the incorrect number of arguments in the oracle function.



Solution 1

Oracle functions can be defined either with or without parameters. The argument values are not required to be given to the function that does not require a value argument. If an Oracle function has one or more arguments, the argument values should be sent to the function when it is executed in a SQL query. If the number of arguments values given to the function is lesser than the expected number of arguments, an error message ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments will be shown.

Problem

select sum() from emp;

ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments
00909. 00000 -  "invalid number of arguments"

Solution

select sum(salary) from emp;


Solution 2

The number of necessary argument values in the Oracle nvl function is two in the example below. In the nvl() function, one of the parameter values is given. The function was not provided with an argument value for the other parameter. The number of arguments passed to the function and the number of parameters in the oracle function should both be the same.

When you execute the Oracle function in the sql query, the number of arguments, the datatype of the arguments, and the order of the arguments should all be the same. If there is a discrepancy in the list, an error message ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments will be displayed.

Problem

select nvl(name) from emp;

ORA-00909: invalid number of arguments
00909. 00000 -  "invalid number of arguments"

Solution

select nvl(name,'NA') from emp;



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