The document outlines the features and functionalities of JSON management in Oracle Database 12.1.0.2.0, including storage, indexing, and querying capabilities, as well as compatibility with SQL through new JSON operators and path expressions. It details various JSON-related functions such as json_value, json_query, and json_exists, presenting examples of syntax and implementation. The document also discusses error handling, ensuring the validity of JSON documents, and performance considerations in storing and managing JSON data.

1. Mark D. Drake, Marco Gralike

2. Manager, Product Management
• ServerTechnology, OracleCorporation
• Oracle 25+ years experience
• XML Infrastructure products in Oracle's
ServerTechnology division

3. ManagementConsultant
• Ordina,The Netherlands
• Oracle 20+ years experience
• OracleACE Director (www.xmldb.nl)

4. Basic constructs
(recursive)
 Base values
number, string,
boolean, …
 Objects { }
sets of label-value
pairs
 Arrays [ ]
lists of values

6.  New in Oracle Database 12.1.0.2.0
 Store and manage JSON documents in Database
▪ JSON documents stored as text
▪ JSON documents can be indexed
 Access JSON documents via developer-friendly
‘Document-Store’ API’s
 SQL query capabilities over JSON documents for
reporting and analysis

7.  Allows Oracle RDBMS to be used as a JSON
Document Store
 Enables storing, indexing and querying of JSON
documents
 No new JSON data type
 IS JSON constraint used to ensure a column
contains valid JSON documents
 Apply to CLOB, VARCHAR2, RAW and BLOB data
 Enables use of .dotted notation to navigate JSON
document structure and access content

8.  Flexible Schema development

9.  JSON data can also be
 Partitioned
 Used with Flashback
 Recovered (when proper backup is in place)
 Used with Securefile storage
▪ Smaller storage
▪ Encryption, Deduplication, Compressed
 Multiple index options
 Caching advantages, etc., etc.,…

11.  JSON content is accessible from SQL via
new operators
 JSON operators use JSON Path
language to navigate JSON objects
 Proposed extention to SQL standards

12.  The JSON Path language makes it possible to
address the contents of a JSON document
 A JSON path expression can address 1 of 4 items
▪ The entire object, a scalar value, an array, a specific object
 JSON Path expressions are similar to XPath
Expressions
▪ The entire document is referenced by $
▪ All JSON path expressions start with a $ symbol
▪ Key names are separated by a ’.’ (period)
 JSON Path expressions are case sensitive

13. JSON Path Expression Type Contents
$.Reference String "ABULL-20120421"
$.ShippingInstructions.Address.zipcode Number 99236
$.ShippingInstructions.Address Object
{ "street": "200 SportingGreen",
"city": "South San Francisco",
"state": "CA",
"zipCode": 99236,
"country": “USA"
}
$LineItems Array
[ { "ItemNumber" : 1,
"Part" : {
"Description" : “Christmas”
"UPCCode" : 13131092899 }
},
{ "ItemNumber" : 2,
"Part" : {
"Description" : “Easter”
"UPCCode" : 13131092899 }
]

14.  Compatible with Java Script
 $.phone[0]
 Wildcards, Multi-Selects, Ranges
 $.phone[*], $.phone[0,1 5 to 9]
 Predicates
 .address?(.zip > $zip)
 SQL conversion functions usable in
predicates
 .?(to_date(.date) > $date)

16.  JSON_VALUE
 Return a single scalar value from a JSON Document
 JSON_QUERY
 Return a JSON Object or JSON Array from a JSON
Document
 JSON_EXISTS
 Filter rows based on JSON-PATH expressions
 JSON_TABLE
 Project in-line, nested relational views from JSON
Documents
 JSON_TEXTCONTAINS
 JSON aware full-text searching of JSON Documents
Proposed extension to SQL standards

17.  Using .dotted notation
SQL> select j.PO_DOCUMENT
2 from J_PURCHASEORDER j
3 where j.PO_DOCUMENT.PONumber = 1600
4 /
SQL> select j.PO_DOCUMENT.ShippingInstructions.Address
2 from J_PURCHASEORDER j
3 where j.PO_DOCUMENT.PONumber = 1600
4 /

18.  Can only return a SCALAR value
SQL> select JSON_VALUE(PO_DOCUMENT,
2 '$.LineItems[0].Part.UnitPrice'
3 returning NUMBER(5,3))
4 from J_PURCHASEORDER p
5 where JSON_VALUE(PO_DOCUMENT,
6 '$.PONumber' returning NUMBER(10)) = 1600 ;

19.  Can only returns an ARRAY or OBJECT
SELECT JSON_QUERY('{a:100, b:200, c:300}', '$.*' WITH WRAPPER)
AS value
FROM DUAL;
VALUE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[100,200,300]

20.  Used in theWHERE clause
SQL> select count(*)
2 from J_PURCHASEORDER
3 where JSON_EXISTS( PO_DOCUMENT
4 , '$.ShippingInstructions.Address.state')
5 /

21.  Used in the FROM clause
 Creation of an inline relational view of JSON
SQL> SELECT m.*
2 FROM J_PURCHASEORDER p
3 , JSON_TABLE
4 ( p.PO_DOCUMENT, '$'
5 columns
6 po_rno FOR ORDINALITY,
7 po_number NUMBER(10) path '$.PONumber'
8 ) m
9 WHERE po_number > 1600 and PO_Number < 1605;

22. SQL> SELECT m.*
2 FROM J_PURCHASEORDER p
3 , JSON_TABLE
4 ( p.PO_DOCUMENT, '$'
5 columns
6 po_number NUMBER(10) path '$.PONumber',
7 reference VARCHAR2(30) path '$.Reference',
8 requestor VARCHAR2(32) path '$.Requestor',
9 userid VARCHAR2(10) path '$.User',
10 center VARCHAR2(16) path '$.CostCenter'
11 ) m
12 WHERE po_number > 1600 and PO_Number < 1605;

23.  1 row output for each row in table
PO_NUMBER REFERENCE REQUSTOR USERID CENTER
1600 ABULL-20140421 Alexis Bull ABULL A50
1601 ABULL-20140423 Alexis Bull ABULL A50
1602 ABULL-20140430 Alexis Bull ABULL A50
1603 KCHUNG-20141022 Kelly Chung KCHUNG A50
1604 LBISSOT-20141009 Laura Bissot LBISSOT A50

24. create or replace view J_PURCHASEORDER_DETAIL_VIEW as
select d.*
from J_PURCHASEORDER p,
JSON_TABLE
(p.PO_DOCUMENT, '$'
columns (
PO_NUMBER NUMBER(10) path '$.PONumber',
USERID VARCHAR2(10) path '$.User',
COSTCENTER VARCHAR2(16) path '$.CostCenter',
NESTED PATH '$.LineItems[*]'
columns
( ITEMNO NUMBER(38) path '$.ItemNumber',
UNITPRICE NUMBER(14,2) path '$.Part.UnitPrice'
) ) ) d;

25.  Full-text search of JSON data that is stored in
aVARCHAR2, BLOB, or CLOB column
 Must be used in conjunction with special
JSON OracleText Index
 Use CTXSYS.JSON_SECTION_GROUP

26. SQL> SELECT po_document
2 FROM j_purchaseorder
3 WHERE JSON_TEXTCONTAINS
4 ( po_document
5 , '$.LineItems.Part.Description'
6 , 'Magic' );
Execution path
|* | DOMAIN INDEX | PO_SEARCH_IDX | | | 4 (0)

28.  Check constraint guarantees that values are
valid JSON documents
 IS [NOT] JSON predicate
 ReturnsTRUE if column value is JSON, FALSE
otherwise
 Full parse of the data while validating syntax
 Tolerant and strict modes
 Use to ensure that the documents stored in a
column are valid JSON

29.  LAX
 Default
 STRICT
 Among others:
▪ JSON property (key) name and each string value must be enclosed
in double quotation marks (")
▪ Fractional numerals must have leading zero ( 0.14 | .14)
▪ XML DB Developers Guide or JSON Standards (ECMA-404 / 262)
 More performance intensive than Lax

30. create table J_PURCHASEORDER
( ID RAW(16) NOT NULL,
DATE_LOADED TIMESTAMP(6) WITHTIME ZONE,
PO_DOCUMENT CLOB
CHECK (PO_DOCUMENT IS JSON) )
insert into J_PURCHASEORDER values(‘0x1’,‘{Invalid JSONText}');
ERROR at line 1:
ORA-02290: check constraint (DEMO.IS_VALID_JSON) violated

31.  ALL_JSON_COLUMNS
 DBA_JSON_COLUMNS
 USER_JSON_COLUMNS
 Will not show up when
 Check constraint combines condition IS JSON
with another condition using logical condition OR
 “jcol is json OR length(jcol) < 1000” ???

32. -- Default (lax)
SQL> SELECT json_column
2 FROM t
3 WHERE ( json_column IS JSON);
-- Explicit
SQL> SELECT json_column
2 FROM t
3 WHERE ( json_column IS JSON (STRICT));

33. SQL> insert into J_PURCHASEORDER
2 select SYS_GUID(),
3 SYSTIMESTAMP,
4 JSON_DOCUMENT
5 from STAGING_TABLE
6 where JSON_DOCUMENT IS JSON;
SQL> delete from STAGING_TABLE
2 where DOCUMENT IS NOT JSON;

36.  NULL on ERROR
 The Default
 Return NULL instead of raising the error
 ERROR on ERROR
 Raise the error (no special handling)
 TRUE ON ERROR
 In JSON_EXISTS
 ReturnTRUE instead of raising the error

37.  FALSE ON ERROR
 In JSON_EXISTS
 Return FALSE instead of raising the error
 EMPTY ON ERROR
 In JSON_QUERY
 Return an empty array ([]) instead of raising the error
 DEFAULT 'literal_value' ON ERROR
 Return the specified value instead of raising the error

42.  RETURNING clause
 PRETTY
▪ Can only be used in JSON_QUERY
▪ Pretty-print the returned data
 ASCII
▪ Can only be used in JSON_VALUE, JSON_QUERY
▪ Automatically escape all non-ASCII Unicode characters
in the returned data, using standard ASCII Unicode

43.  JSON_TABLE, JSON_QUERY
 WITHOUT WRAPPER
▪ Default, no change
▪ Raise error, if scalar/multiple values in non JSON result
 WITH WRAPPER
▪ Wrap result as a JSON ARRAY [ ]
 WITH CONDITIONAL WRAPPER
▪ Wrap result as a JSON ARRAY [ ]
▪ Don’t wrap result if scalar/multiple values in JSON result

44. JSON
Example
WITH WRAPPER WITHOUT
WRAPPER
WITH CONDITIONAL
WRAPPER
{"id": 38327}
(single object)
[{"id": 38327}] {"id": 38327} {"id": 38327}
[42, "a", true]
(single array)
[[42, "a", true]] [42, "a", true] [42, "a", true]
42 [42] Error
(scalar)
[42]
42, "a", true [42, "a", true] Error
(multiple values)
[42, "a", true]
none [] Error
(no values)
[]
For a single JSON object or array value, it is the same as WITHOUT WRAPPER.

45.  JSON_TABLE
 FORMAT JSON
▪ Forces JSON_QUERY behavior
▪ Therefore can have an explicit wrapper clause
 Default
▪ Projection like JSON_VALUE

47. filelist.dat
./data/www.json-generator.com.01.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.02.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.03.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.04.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.05.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.06.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.07.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.08.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.09.json
./data/www.json-generator.com.10.json
sqlldr.sh
sqlldr userid=json/json control=sqlldr.ctl log=sqlldr.log bad=sqlldr.bad

48. sqlldr.ctl
LOAD DATA
INFILE 'filelist.dat'
truncate
INTO table JSON_DATA
FIELDSTERMINATED BY ',‘
( clob_filename filler char(120)
, clob_content LOBFILE(clob_filename) TERMINATED BY EOF
, nclob_filename filler char(120)
, nclob_content LOBFILE(nclob_filename)TERMINATED BY EOF
, bfile_filename filler char(120)
, bfile_content BFILE(CONSTANT "JSON_LOAD", bfile_filename))

51. create unique index PO_NUMBER_IDX
on J_PURCHASEORDER
(JSON_VALUE ( PO_DOCUMENT, '$.PONumber'
returning NUMBER(10)
ERROR ON ERROR));
create bitmap index COSTCENTER_IDX
on J_PURCHASEORDER
(JSON_VALUE (PO_DOCUMENT, '$.CostCenter'));

53.  Path Expressions
 Operators
 Functions
 Conditions
 Error Handling
 Returning results
 Loading JSON data
 Indexing JSON data

54.  Oracle Database SQL
Language Reference
 JSON Functions
▪ JSON_QUERY
▪ JSON_TABLE
▪ JSON_VALUE
 JSON Conditions
▪ IS JSON
▪ JSON_EXISTS
▪ JSON_TEXTCONTAINS
 Oracle XMLDB
Developers Guide
 JSON in DB 12.1.0.2
 JSON Path Expressions
▪ Syntax
 Indexing JSON
▪ Syntax
 Loading JSON
▪ A Method
 JSON on xmldb.nl

55.  Stanford - Introduction to Databases (JSON)
 Eclipse JSON Editor Plugin
 JSONView addon (Firefox/Chrome)
 JSON Schema
 Get StartedWith JSON
 www.json-generator.com
 JSON Datasets: www.data.gov