12
CTX_THES Package

This chapter provides reference information for using the CTX_THES package to manage and browse thesauri. These thesaurus functions are based on the ISO-2788 and ANSI Z39.19 standards except where noted.

Knowing how information is stored in your thesaurus helps in writing queries with thesaurus operators. You can also use a thesaurus to extend the knowledge base, which is used for ABOUT queries in English and French and for generating document themes.

CTX_THES contains the following stored procedures and functions:

Name	Description
ALTER_PHRASE	Alters thesaurus phrase.
ALTER_THESAURUS	Renames or truncates a thesaurus.
BT	Returns all broader terms of a phrase.
BTG	Returns all broader terms generic of a phrase.
BTI	Returns all broader terms instance of a phrase.
BTP	Returns all broader terms partitive of a phrase.
CREATE_PHRASE	Adds a phrase to the specified thesaurus.
CREATE_RELATION	Creates a relation between two phrases.
CREATE_THESAURUS	Creates the specified thesaurus.
CREATE_TRANSLATION	Creates a new translation for a phrase.
DROP_PHRASE	Removes a phrase from thesaurus.
DROP_RELATION	Removes a relation between two phrases.
DROP_THESAURUS	Drops the specified thesaurus from the thesaurus tables.
DROP_TRANSLATION	Drops a translation for a phrase.
HAS_RELATION	Tests for the existence of a thesaurus relation.
NT	Returns all narrower terms of a phrase.
NTG	Returns all narrower terms generic of a phrase.
NTI	Returns all narrower terms instance of a phrase.
NTP	Returns all narrower terms partitive of a phrase.
OUTPUT_STYLE	Sets the output style for the expansion functions.
PT	Returns the preferred term of a phrase.
RT	Returns the related terms of a phrase
SN	Returns scope note for phrase.
SYN	Returns the synonym terms of a phrase
THES_TT	Returns all top terms for phrase.
TR	Returns the foreign equivalent of a phrase.
TRSYN	Returns the foreign equivalent of a phrase, synonyms of the phrase, and foreign equivalent of the synonyms.
TT	Returns the top term of a phrase.
UPDATE_TRANSLATION	Updates an existing translation.

---

ALTER_PHRASE

Alters an existing phrase in the thesaurus. Only CTXSYS or thesaurus owner can alter a phrase.

Syntax

CTX_THES.ALTER_PHRASE(tname      in varchar2, 
                       phrase     in varchar2,
                       op         in varchar2,
                       operand    in varchar2 default null);

tname

Specify thesaurus name.

phrase

Specify phrase to alter.

op

Specify the alter operation as a string or symbol. You can specify one of the following operations with the op and operand pair:'

op	meaning	operand
RENAME or CTX_THES.OP_RENAME	Rename phrase. If the new phrase already exists in the thesaurus, this procedure raises an exception.	Specify new phrase. You can include qualifiers to change, add, or remove qualifiers from phrases.
PT or CTX_THES.OP_PT	Make phrase the preferred term. Existing preferred terms in the synonym ring becomes non-preferred synonym.	(none)
SN or CTX_THES.OP_SN	Change the scope note on the phrase.	Specify new scope note.

operand

Specify argument to the alter operation. See table for op.

Examples

Correct misspelled word in thesaurus:

ctx_thes.alter_phrase('thes1', 'tee', 'rename', 'tea');

Remove qualifier from mercury (metal):

ctx_thes.alter_phrase('thes1', 'mercury (metal)', 'rename', 'mercury');

Add qualifier to mercury:

ctx_thes.alter_phrase('thes1', 'mercury', 'rename', 'mercury (planet)');

Make Kowalski the preferred term in its synonym ring:

ctx_thes.alter_phrase('thes1', 'Kowalski', 'pt');

Change scope note for view cameras:

ctx_thes.alter_phrase('thes1', 'view cameras', 'sn', 'Cameras with lens 
focusing');

---

ALTER_THESAURUS

Use this procedure to rename or truncate an existing thesaurus. Only the thesaurus owner or CTXSYS can invoke this function on a given thesaurus.

Syntax

CTX_THES.ALTER_THESAURUS(tname     in   varchar2,
                          op       in   varchar2,
                          operand  in   varchar2 default null);

tname

Specify the thesaurus name.

op

Specify the alter operation as a string or symbol. You can specify one of two operations:

op	Meaning	operand
RENAME or CTX_THES.OP_RENAME	Rename thesaurus. Returns an error if the new name already exists.	Specify new thesaurus name.
TRUNCATE or CTX_THES.OP_TRUNCATE	Truncate thesaurus.	None.

operand

Specify the argument to the alter operation. See table for op.

Examples

Rename thesaurus THES1 to MEDICAL:

ctx_thes.alter_thesaurus('thes1', 'rename', 'medical'); 

or

ctx_thes.alter_thesaurus('thes1', ctx_thes.op_rename, 'medical');

You can use symbols for any op argument, but all further examples will use strings.

Remove all phrases and relations from thesaurus THES1:

ctx_thes.alter_thesaurus('thes1', 'truncate');

---

BT

This function returns all broader terms of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.BT(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
            phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
            lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.BT(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
            lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of broader terms to return. For example 2 means get the broader terms of the broader terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of broader terms in the form:

 {bt1}|{bt2}|{bt3} ...

Example

String Result

Consider a thesaurus named MY_THES that has an entry for cat as follows:

cat 
   BT1 feline 
     BT2 mammal 
       BT3 vertebrate 
         BT4 animal

To look up the broader terms for cat up to two levels, issue the following statements:

set serveroutput on

declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.bt('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('The broader expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

This code produces the following output:

The broader expansion for CAT is: {cat}|{feline}|{mammal}

Table Result

The following code does an broader term lookup for white wolf using the table result:

set serveroutput on

declare
  xtab ctx_thes.exp_tab;
begin
  ctx_thes.bt(xtab, 'white wolf', 2, 'my_thesaurus');
  for i in 1..xtab.count loop
    dbms_output.put_line(xtab(i).rel||' '||xtab(i).phrase);
  end loop;
end;

This code produces the following output:

PHRASE WHITE WOLF
BT WOLF
BT CANINE
BT ANIMAL

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Broader Term (BT, BTG, BTP, BTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

BTG

This function returns all broader terms generic of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.BTG(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.BTG(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of broader terms to return. For example 2 means get the broader terms of the broader terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of broader terms generic in the form:

 {bt1}|{bt2}|{bt3} ...

Example

To look up the broader terms generic for cat up to two levels, issue the following statements:

set serveroutput on
declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.btg('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the broader expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Broader Term (BT, BTG, BTP, BTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

BTI

This function returns all broader terms instance of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.BTI(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.BTI(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of broader terms to return. For example 2 means get the broader terms of the broader terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of broader terms instance in the form:

 {bt1}|{bt2}|{bt3} ...

Example

To look up the broader terms instance for cat up to two levels, issue the following statements:

set serveroutput on
declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.bti('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the broader expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Broader Term (BT, BTG, BTP, BTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

BTP

This function returns all broader terms partitive of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.BTP(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.BTP(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of broader terms to return. For example 2 means get the broader terms of the broader terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, the system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of broader terms in the form:

 {bt1}|{bt2}|{bt3} ...

Example

To look up the 2 broader terms partitive for cat, issue the following statements:

declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.btp('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the broader expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Broader Term (BT, BTG, BTP, BTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

CREATE_PHRASE

The CREATE_PHRASE procedure adds a new phrase to the specified thesaurus.

Syntax

CTX_THES.CREATE_PHRASE(tname   IN VARCHAR2,
                       phrase  IN VARCHAR2,
                       rel     IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
                       relname IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL);

tname

Specify the name of the thesaurus in which the new phrase is added or the existing phrase is located.

phrase

Specify the phrase to be added to a thesaurus or the phrase for which a new relationship is created.

rel

Specify the new relationship between phrase and relname. This parameter is supported only for backward compatibility. Use CTX_THES.CREATE_RELATION to create new relations in a thesaurus.

relname

Specify the existing phrase that is related to phrase. This parameter is supported only for backward compatibility. Use CTX_THES.CREATE_RELATION to create new relations in a thesaurus.

Returns

The ID for the entry.

Examples

Creating Entries for Phrases

In this example, two new phrases (os and operating system) are created in a thesaurus named tech_thes.

begin
   ctx_thes.create_phrase('tech_thes','os');
   ctx_thes.create_phrase('tech_thes','operating system');
end;

---

CREATE_RELATION

Creates a relation between two phrases in the thesaurus.

Only thesaurus owner and CTXSYS can invoke this procedure on a given thesaurus.

Syntax

CTX_THES.CREATE_RELATION(tname     in    varchar2,
                          phrase    in    varchar2,
                          rel       in    varchar2,
                          relphrase in    varchar2);

tname

Specify the thesaurus name

phrase

Specify the phrase to alter or create. If phrase is a disambiguated homograph, you must specify the qualifier. If phrase does not exist in the thesaurus, it is created.

rel

Specify the relation to create.The relation is from phrase to relphrase. You can specify one of the following relations:

relation	meaning	relphrase
BT*/NT*	Add hierarchical relation.	Specify related phrase. The relationship is interpreted from phrase to relphrase.
RT	Add associative relation.	Specify phrase to associate.
SYN	Add phrase to a synonym ring.	Specify an existing phrase in the synonym ring.
Specify language	Add translation for a phrase.	Specify new translation phrase.

relphrase

Specify the related phrase. If relphrase does not exist in tname, relphrase is created. See table for rel.

Notes

The relation you specify for rel is interpreted as from phrase to relphrase. For example, consider dog with broader term animal:

dog
  BT animal

To add this relation, specify the arguments as follows:

begin
CTX_THES.CREATE_RELATION('thes','dog','BT','animal'); 
end;     

Examples

Create relation VEHICLE NT CAR:

ctx_thes.create_relation('thes1', 'vehicle', 'NT', 'car');

Create Japanese translation for you:

ctx_thes.create_relation('thes1', 'you', 'JAPANESE:', 'kimi');

---

CREATE_THESAURUS

The CREATE_THESAURUS procedure creates an empty thesaurus with the specified name in the thesaurus tables.

Syntax

CTX_THES.CREATE_THESAURUS(name           IN VARCHAR2,
                          casesens       IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE);

name

Specify the name of the thesaurus to be created. The name of the thesaurus must be unique. If a thesaurus with the specified name already exists, CREATE_THESAURUS returns an error and does not create the thesaurus.

casesens

Specify whether the thesaurus to be created is case-sensitive. If casesens is true, Oracle retains the cases of all terms entered in the specified thesaurus. As a result, queries that use the thesaurus are case-sensitive.

Example

begin
   ctx_thes.create_thesaurus('tech_thes', FALSE);
end;

---

CREATE_TRANSLATION

Use this procedure to create a new translation for a phrase in a specified language.

Syntax

CTX_THES.CREATE_TRANSLATION(tname       in    varchar2,
                            phrase      in    varchar2,
                            language    in    varchar2,
                            translation in    varchar2);

tname

Specify the name of the thesaurus, using no more than 30 characters.

phrase

Specify the phrase in the thesaurus to which to add a translation. Phrase must already exist in the thesaurus, or an error is raised.

language

Specify the language of the translation, using no more than 10 characters.

translation

Specify the translated term, using no more than 256 characters.

If a translation for this phrase already exists, this new translation is added without removing that original translation, so long as that original translation is not the same. Adding the same translation twice results in an error.

Example

The following code adds the Spanish translation for dog to my_thes:

begin
   ctx_thes.create_translation('my_thes', 'dog', 'SPANISH', 'PERRO');
end;

---

DROP_PHRASE

Removes a phrase from the thesaurus. Only thesaurus owner and CTXSYS can invoke this procedure on a given thesaurus.

Syntax

CTX_THES.DROP_PHRASE(tname      in varchar2, 
                     phrase     in varchar2);

tname

Specify thesaurus name.

phrase

Specify phrase to drop. If phrase is a disambiguated homograph, you must include the qualifier. When phrase does not exist in tname, this procedure raises and exception.

BT* / NT* relations are patched around the dropped phrase. For example, if A has a BT B, and B has BT C, after B is dropped, A has BT C.

When a word has multiple broader terms, then a relationship is established for each narrower term to each broader term.

Note that BT, BTG, BTP, and BTI are separate hierarchies, so if A has BTG B, and B has BTI C, when B is dropped, there is no relation implicitly created between A and C.

RT relations are not patched. For example, if A has RT B, and B has RT C, then if B is dropped, there is no associative relation created between A and C.

Example

Assume you have the following relations defined in mythes:

wolf
   BT canine
canine
   BT animal

You drop phrase canine:

begin
ctx_thes.drop_phrase('mythes', 'canine');
end;

The resulting thesaurus is patched and looks like:

wolf
   BT animal

---

DROP_RELATION

Removes a relation between two phrases from the thesaurus.

Only thesaurus owner and CTXSYS can invoke this procedure on a given thesaurus.

Syntax

CTX_THES.DROP_RELATION(tname     in    varchar2,
                        phrase    in    varchar2,
                        rel       in    varchar2,
                        relphrase in    varchar2 default null);

tname

Specify thesaurus name.

phrase

Specify the filing phrase.

rel

Specify relation to drop. The relation is from phrase to relphrase. You can specify one of the following relations:

relation	meaning	relphrase
BT*/NT*	Remove hierarchical relation.	Optional specify relphrase. If not provided, all relations of that type for the phrase are removed.
RT	Remove associative relation.	Optionally specify relphrase. If not provided, all RT relations for the phrase are removed.
SYN	Remove phrase from its synonym ring.	(none)
PT	Remove preferred term designation from the phrase. The phrase remains in the synonym ring.	(none)
language	Remove a translation from a phrase.	Optionally specify relphrase. You can specify relphrase when there are multiple translations for a phrase for the language, and you want to remove just one translation. If relphrase is NULL, all translations for the phrase for the language are removed.

relphrase

Specify the related phrase.

Notes

The relation you specify for rel is interpreted as from phrase to relphrase. For example, consider dog with broader term animal:

dog
  BT animal

To remove this relation, specify the arguments as follows:

begin
CTX_THES.DROP_RELATION('thes','dog','BT','animal'); 
end;

You can also remove this relation using NT as follows:

begin
CTX_THES.DROP_RELATION('thes','animal','NT','dog'); 
end;

Example

Remove relation VEHICLE NT CAR:

ctx_thes.drop_relation('thes1', 'vehicle', 'NT', 'car');

Remove all narrower term relations for vehicle:

ctx_thes.drop_relation('thes1', 'vehicle', 'NT');

Remove Japanese translations for me:

ctx_thes.drop_relation('thes1', 'me', 'JAPANESE:');

Remove a specific Japanese translation for me:

ctx_thes.drop_relation('thes1', 'me', 'JAPANESE:', 'boku')

---

DROP_THESAURUS

The DROP_THESAURUS procedure deletes the specified thesaurus and all of its entries from the thesaurus tables.

Syntax

CTX_THES.DROP_THESAURUS(name IN VARCHAR2);

name

Specify the name of the thesaurus to be dropped.

Examples

begin
ctx_thes.drop_thesaurus('tech_thes');
end;

---

DROP_TRANSLATION

Use this procedure to remove one or more translations for a phrase.

Syntax

CTX_THES.DROP_TRANSLATION (tname       in    varchar2,
                           phrase      in    varchar2,
                           language    in    varchar2 default null,
                           translation in    varchar2 default null);

tname

Specify the name of the thesaurus, using no more than 30 characters.

phrase

Specify the phrase in the thesaurus to which to remove a translation. The phrase must already exist in the thesaurus or an error is raised.

language

Optionally, specify the language of the translation, using no more than 10 characters. If not specified, the translation must also not be specified and all translations in all languages for the phrase are removed. An error is raised if the phrase has no translations.

translation

Optionally, specify the translated term to remove, using no more than 256 characters. If no such translation exists, an error is raised.

Example

The following code removes the Spanish translation for dog:

begin
   ctx_thes.drop_translation('my_thes', 'dog', 'SPANISH', 'PERRO');
end;

To remove all translations for dog in all languages:

begin
   ctx_thes.drop_translation('my_thes', 'dog');
end;

---

HAS_RELATION

Use this procedure to test that a thesaurus relation exists without actually doing the expansion. The function returns TRUE if the phrase has any of the relations in the specified list.

Syntax

CTX_THES.HAS_RELATION(phrase in varchar2, 
                      rel in varchar2, 
                      tname in varchar2 default 'DEFAULT')
  returns boolean;

phrase

Specify the phrase.

rel

Specify a single thesaural relation or a comma-separated list of relations, except PT. Specify 'ANY' for any relation.

tname

Specify the thesaurus name.

Example

The following example returns TRUE if the phrase cat in the DEFAULT thesaurus has any broader terms or broader generic terms:

set serveroutput on
result boolean;

begin 
 result := ctx_thes.has_relation('cat','BT,BTG');
 if (result) then dbms_output.put_line('TRUE');
  else  dbms_output.put_line('FALSE');
 end if;
end;

---

NT

This function returns all narrower terms of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.NT(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.NT(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of narrower terms to return. For example 2 means get the narrower terms of the narrower terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of narrower terms in the form:

 {nt1}|{nt2}|{nt3} ...

Example

String Result

Consider a thesaurus named MY_THES that has an entry for cat as follows:

cat
 NT domestic cat
 NT wild cat
 BT mammal
mammal
 BT animal
domestic cat
 NT Persian cat
 NT Siamese cat

To look up the narrower terms for cat down to two levels, issue the following statements:

declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.nt('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the narrower expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

This code produces the following output:

the narrower expansion for CAT is: {cat}|{domestic cat}|{Persian cat}|{Siamese 
cat}| {wild cat}

Table Result

The following code does an narrower term lookup for canine using the table result:

declare
  xtab ctx_thes.exp_tab;
begin
  ctx_thes.nt(xtab, 'canine', 2, 'my_thesaurus');
  for i in 1..xtab.count loop
    dbms_output.put_line(lpad(' ', 2*xtab(i).xlevel) || 
    xtab(i).xrel || ' ' || xtab(i).xphrase);
  end loop;
end;

This code produces the following output:

PHRASE CANINE
 NT WOLF (Canis lupus)
   NT WHITE WOLF
   NT GREY WOLF
 NT DOG (Canis familiaris)
   NT PIT BULL
   NT DASCHUND
   NT CHIHUAHUA
NT HYENA (Canis mesomelas)
NT COYOTE (Canis latrans)

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Narrower Term (NT, NTG, NTP, NTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

NTG

This function returns all narrower terms generic of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.NTG(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.NTG(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of narrower terms to return. For example 2 means get the narrower terms of the narrower terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of narrower terms generic in the form:

 {nt1}|{nt2}|{nt3} ...

Example

To look up the narrower terms generic for cat down to two levels, issue the following statements:

declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.ntg('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the narrower expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Narrower Term (NT, NTG, NTP, NTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

NTI

This function returns all narrower terms instance of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.NTI(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.NTI(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of narrower terms to return. For example 2 means get the narrower terms of the narrower terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of narrower terms instance in the form:

 {nt1}|{nt2}|{nt3} ...

Example

To look up the narrower terms instance for cat down to two levels, issue the following statements:

declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.nti('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the narrower expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Narrower Term (NT, NTG, NTP, NTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

NTP

This function returns all narrower terms partitive of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.NTP(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.NTP(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             lvl    IN NUMBER DEFAULT 1,
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lvl

Specify how many levels of narrower terms to return. For example 2 means get the narrower terms of the narrower terms of the phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of narrower terms partitive in the form:

 {nt1}|{nt2}|{nt3} ...

Example

To look up the narrower terms partitive for cat down to two levels, issue the following statements:

declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.ntp('CAT', 2, 'MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the narrower expansion for CAT is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Narrower Term (NT, NTG, NTP, NTI) Operators in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

OUTPUT_STYLE

Sets the output style for the return string of the CTX_THES expansion functions. This procedure has no effect on the table results to the CTX_THES expansion functions.

Syntax

CTX_THES.OUTPUT_STYLE (
      showlevel     IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
      showqualify   IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
      showpt        IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
      showid        IN BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE
);

showlevel

Specify TRUE to show level in BT/NT expansions.

showqualify

Specify TRUE to show phrase qualifiers.

showpt

Specify TRUE to show preferred terms with an asterisk *.

showid

Specify TRUE to show phrase ids.

Notes

The general syntax of the return string for CTX_THES expansion functions is:

{pt indicator:phrase (qualifier):level:phraseid}

Preferred term indicator is an asterisk then a colon at the start of the phrase. The qualifier is in parentheses after a space at the end of the phrase. Level is a number.

The following is an example return string for turkey the bird:

*:TURKEY (BIRD):1:1234 
 

---

PT

This function returns the preferred term of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.PT(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
            phrase IN VARCHAR2,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT')
RETURN varchar2;

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.PT(phrase IN VARCHAR2,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT')
RETURN varchar2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns the preferred term as a string in the form:

{pt}

Example

Consider a thesaurus MY_THES with the following preferred term definition for automobile:

AUTOMOBILE 
  PT CAR 

To look up the preferred term for automobile, execute the following code:

 declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.pt('AUTOMOBILE','MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('The prefered term for automobile is: '||terms); 
end; 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Preferred Term (PT) Operator in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

RT

This function returns the related terms of a term in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.RT(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
            phrase IN VARCHAR2,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.RT(phrase IN VARCHAR2,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT')
RETURN varchar2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of related terms in the form:

{rt1}|{rt2}|{rt3}| ...

Example

Consider a thesaurus MY_THES with the following related term definition for dog:

DOG 
  RT WOLF 
  RT HYENA 

To look up the related terms for dog, execute the following code:

 declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.rt('DOG','MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('The related terms for dog are: '||terms); 
end; 

This codes produces the following output:

The related terms for dog are: {dog}|{wolf}|{hyena}

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Related Term (RT) Operator in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

SN

This function returns the scope note of the given phrase.

Syntax

CTX_THES.SN(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns the scope note as a string.

Example

declare 
  note varchar2(80); 
begin 
  note := ctx_thes.sn('camera','mythes'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('CAMERA'); 
  dbms_output.put_line(' SN ' || note); 
end; 
 
sample output: 
 
CAMERA 
 SN Optical cameras

---

SYN

This function returns all synonyms of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.SYN(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
             phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.SYN(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
             tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of the form:

 {syn1}|{syn2}|{syn3} ...

Example

String Result

Consider a thesaurus named ANIMALS that has an entry for cat as follows:

CAT 
  SYN KITTY 
  SYN FELINE 
 

To look-up the synonym for cat and obtain the result as a string, issue the following statements:

declare 
  synonyms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  synonyms := ctx_thes.syn('CAT','ANIMALS'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the synonym expansion for CAT is: '||synonyms); 
end; 

This code produces the following output:

the synonym expansion for CAT is: {CAT}|{KITTY}|{FELINE}

Table Result

The following code looks up the synonyms for canine and obtains the results in a table. The contents of the table are printed to the standard output.

declare  
  xtab ctx_thes.exp_tab;  
begin 
  ctx_thes.syn(xtab, 'canine', 'my_thesaurus'); 
  for i in 1..xtab.count loop 
    dbms_output.put_line(lpad(' ', 2*xtab(i).xlevel) || 
    xtab(i).xrel || ' ' || xtab(i).xphrase); 
  end loop; 
end; 
 

This code produces the following output:

PHRASE CANINE 
 PT DOG 
SYN PUPPY 
SYN MUTT 
SYN MONGREL 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

SYNonym (SYN) Operator in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

THES_TT

This procedure finds and returns all top terms of a thesaurus. A top term is defined as any term which has a narrower term but has no broader terms.

This procedure differs from TT in that TT takes in a phrase and finds the top term for that phrase, but THES_TT searches the whole thesaurus and finds all top terms.

Large Thesauri

Since this procedure searches the whole thesaurus, it can take some time on large thesauri. Oracle recommends that you not call this often for such thesauri. Instead, your application should call this once, store the results in a separate table, and use those stored results.

Syntax

CTX_THES.THES_TT(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
                 tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

restab

Specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This procedure returns all top terms and stores them in restab.

---

TR

For a given mono-lingual thesuarus, this function returns the foreign language equivalent of a phrase as recorded in the thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.TR(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
            phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
            lang   IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.TR(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
            lang   IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lang

Specify the foreign language. Specify 'ALL' for all translations of phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of foreign terms in the form:

 {ft1}|{ft2}|{ft3} ...

Example

Consider a thesaurus MY_THES with the following entries for cat:

cat 
  SPANISH: gato 
  FRENCH:  chat 
  SYN lion 
    SPANISH: leon 

To look up the translation for cat, you can issue the following statements:

declare 
  trans      varchar2(2000);
  span_trans varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  trans := ctx_thes.tr('CAT','ALL','MY_THES'); 
  span_trans := ctx_thes.tr('CAT','SPANISH','MY_THES') 
  dbms_output.put_line('the translations for CAT are: '||trans); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the Spanish translations for CAT are: '||span_trans); 
end; 
 

This codes produces the following output:

the translations for CAT are: {CAT}|{CHAT}|{GATO} 
the Spanish translations for CAT are: {CAT}|{GATO} 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Translation Term (TR) Operator in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

TRSYN

For a given mono-lingual thesuarus, this function returns the foreign equivalent of a phrase, synonyms of the phrase, and foreign equivalent of the synonyms as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.TRSYN(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
               phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
               lang   IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
               tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.TRSYN(phrase IN VARCHAR2, 
            lang   IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT NULL,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT') 
RETURN VARCHAR2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

lang

Specify the foreign language. Specify 'ALL' for all translations of phrase.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns a string of foreign terms in the form:

 {ft1}|{ft2}|{ft3} ...

Example

Consider a thesaurus MY_THES with the following entries for cat:

cat 
  SPANISH: gato 
  FRENCH:  chat 
  SYN lion 
    SPANISH: leon 

To look up the translation and synonyms for cat, you can issue the following statements:

declare 
  synonyms   varchar2(2000);
  span_syn   varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  synonyms := ctx_thes.trsyn('CAT','ALL','MY_THES'); 
  span_syn := ctx_thes.trsyn('CAT','SPANISH','MY_THES') 
  dbms_output.put_line('all synonyms for CAT are: '||synonyms); 
  dbms_output.put_line('the Spanish synonyms for CAT are: '||span_syn); 
end; 
 

This codes produces the following output:

all synonyms for CAT are: {CAT}|{CHAT}|{GATO}|{LION}|{LEON} 
the Spanish synonyms for CAT are: {CAT}|{GATO}|{LION}|{LEON} 

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Translation Term Synonym (TRSYN) Operator in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

TT

This function returns the top term of a phrase as recorded in the specified thesaurus.

Syntax 1: Table Result

CTX_THES.TT(restab IN OUT NOCOPY EXP_TAB,
            phrase IN VARCHAR2,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT');

Syntax 2: String Result

CTX_THES.TT(phrase IN VARCHAR2,
            tname  IN VARCHAR2 DEFAULT 'DEFAULT')
RETURN varchar2;

restab

Optionally, specify the name of the expansion table to store the results. This table must be of type EXP_TAB which the system defines as follows:

type exp_rec is record (
    xrel varchar2(12),
    xlevel number,
    xphrase varchar2(256)
);
type exp_tab is table of exp_rec index by binary_integer;

phrase

Specify phrase to lookup in thesaurus.

tname

Specify thesaurus name. If not specified, system default thesaurus is used.

Returns

This function returns the top term string in the form:

{tt}

Example

Consider a thesaurus MY_THES with the following broader term entries for dog:

DOG 
   BT1 CANINE 
     BT2 MAMMAL 
       BT3 VERTEBRATE 
         BT4 ANIMAL

To look up the top term for DOG, execute the following code:

 declare 
  terms varchar2(2000); 
begin 
  terms := ctx_thes.tt('DOG','MY_THES'); 
  dbms_output.put_line('The top term for DOG is: '||terms); 
end; 

This code produces the following output:

The top term for dog is: {ANIMAL}

Related Topics

OUTPUT_STYLE

Top Term (TT) Operator in Chapter 3, "CONTAINS Query Operators"

---

UPDATE_TRANSLATION

Use this procedure to update an existing translation.

Syntax

CTX_THES.UPDATE_TRANSLATION(tname       in     varchar2,
                             phrase      in     varchar2,
                             language    in     varchar2,
                             translation in     varchar2,
                             new_translation in varchar2);

tname

Specify the name of the thesaurus, using no more than 30 characters.

phrase

Specify the phrase in the thesaurus to which to update a translation. The phrase must already exist in the thesaurus or an error is raised.

language

Specify the language of the translation, using no more than 10 characters.

translation

Specify the translated term to update. If no such translation exists, an error is raised.

You can specify NULL if there is only one translation for the phrase. An error is raised if there is more than one translation for the term in the specified language.

new_translation

Optionally, specify the new form of the translated term.

Example

The following code updates the Spanish translation for dog:

begin
   ctx_thes.update_translation('my_thes', 'dog', 'SPANISH:', 'PERRO', 'CAN');
end;