rspec/rules/S5870/rule.adoc

Using ``FORALL i IN x.first ... x``.last or ``FORALL i IN 1 ... x.count`` might fail when indexed collections are sparse as Oracle tries to access non-existent element(s) of x. ``FORALL i IN INDICES OF x`` syntax will always work including sparse collections. Thus using ``FORALL i IN INDICES OF x`` should be preferred as it makes code more robust and easier to review.


== Noncompliant Code Example

----
FORALL i IN 1 .. l_tab.COUNT  -- Non-Compliant
    INSERT INTO forall_test VALUES l_tab(i);

FORALL i IN l_tab.first .. l_tab.last  -- Non-Compliant
    INSERT INTO forall_test VALUES l_tab(i);
----


== Compliant Solution

----
FORALL i IN INDICES OF l_tab
    INSERT INTO forall_test VALUES l_tab(i);
----


== See

* https://blogs.oracle.com/oraclemagazine/oracle-10g-adds-more-to-forall[Oracle 10g Adds More to FORALL]
* https://stevenfeuersteinonplsql.blogspot.com/2019/03/using-sparse-collections-with-forall.html[Using sparse collections with FORALL] - Steven Feuerstein