Categories:: System functions (Information)

SYSTEM$REFERENCE¶

Returns a reference to an object (a table, view, or function). When you execute SQL actions on a reference to an object, the actions are performed using the role of the user who created the reference.

Note

As an alternative to calling this function, you can use the TABLE keyword, if you need to create a reference to an object that you don’t plan to modify (for example, if you are passing in a table that the stored procedure will query) and you want that reference to be valid for the scope of the call (rather than for the entire session). See Using the TABLE keyword to create a reference to a table, view, or query.

See also:: SYSTEM$QUERY_REFERENCE

Syntax¶

SYSTEM$REFERENCE('<object_type>', '<object_identifier>',
  [ , '<reference_scope>' [ , '<privilege>' [ , '<privilege>' ... ] ] ] )

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Arguments¶

Required

'object_type'

Type of the object. You can specify one of the following values:

api_integration
compute_pool
database
external_table
function
materialized_view
pipe
procedure
schema
table
task
view
warehouse

'object_identifier'

Identifier for the object. If the identifier contains spaces or special characters, the entire string must be enclosed in double quotes. Identifiers enclosed in double quotes are also case-sensitive.

For more details about identifiers, see Identifier requirements.

Optional

'reference_scope'

Specifies the scope of the reference.

If 'CALL' or omitted, specifies that the reference is valid within the context in which it was created. See Specifying the scope of the reference.

If 'SESSION', specifies that the reference should be valid for the duration for the session.

If 'PERSISTENT', specifies that the reference should be valid until the object is dropped. See persistent references.

Note: If you need to specify the 'privilege' argument, the 'reference_scope' argument is required.

Valid values:

'CALL'
'SESSION'
'PERSISTENT'

Default value: 'CALL'

'privilege'

Additional privilege that is needed to perform an SQL action on the object.

For example, suppose that you are passing the reference for a table to a stored procedure that inserts rows into that table. Specify 'INSERT' to confer the INSERT privilege on that table to the stored procedure.

For a list of supported objects and privileges, see Supported object types and privileges for references.

To specify more than one additional privilege, pass each privilege name as an additional argument to the function. For example, to confer the INSERT, UPDATE, and TRUNCATE privileges:

CALL myprocedure( SYSTEM$REFERENCE('TABLE', 'table_with_different_owner', 'SESSION', 'INSERT'. 'UPDATE', 'TRUNCATE'));

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Note that you cannot specify OWNERSHIP or ALL as privileges.

Returns¶

A serialized string representation of the reference that can be used as an identifier.

Usage notes¶

The 'object_type' argument must match the type of the object specified by object_identifier.

Troubleshooting¶

The following scenarios can help you troubleshoot issues that can occur.

Error	505028 (42601): Object type <object_type> does not match the specified type <type_of_the_specified_object> for reference creation
Cause	If you try to create a reference using the SYSTEM$REFERENCE function and the `object_type` argument does not match the type of the object specified by `object_identifier`, the function fails. For example, if the `object_type` argument is TABLE, but `object_identifier` resolves to an object type other than TABLE (for example, VIEW), the function fails.
Solution	Verify that the type of the object specified by `object_identifier` matches the `object_type` argument. For a list of supported object types, see Supported object types and privileges for references.

Examples¶

See Background: The problem with passing tables, views, and queries to stored procedures.