%ROWCOUNT

The %ROWCOUNT yields the number of rows affected by the INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement, or returned by a SELECT INTO statement. The %ROWCOUNT yields zero when an

INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statement affected no rows, or the SELECT INTO statement return no rows. In the illustration below, you use the %ROWCOUNT to take the action if more than ten rows have been deleted:

DELETE FROM emp WHERE ...

IF SQL%ROWCOUNT > 10 THEN -- more than 10 rows were deleted

...

END IF;

If the SELECT INTO statement precedes more than one row, the PL/SQL raises the predefined exception TOO_MANY_ROWS and the %ROWCOUNT yields 1, not the actual number of rows that assure the query.