This question comes up very frequently:

Why can’t I see my compilation errors when I’m working with PL/SQL?

Because you are either:

  1. using the wrong editor, or
  2. not asking to see the errors

SQL Developer is the PL/SQL IDE for the database. So we obviously need to have those ‘fancy’ IDE features like a debugger, compilation message support, profiling, bookmarks, etc.

We provide this with the Procedure Editor.

Click on the error message, we'll move the cursor to the appropriate line number and cursor position.
Click on the error message, we’ll move the cursor to the appropriate line number and cursor position.

You invoke a procedure editor whenever you ask to create a new PL/SQL object, open an existing PL/SQL object from the connection tree, or open a file type associated with the procedure editor (pls, pks, pkb.)

If you insist on using the SQL Worksheet – think of it as a free-form scratchpad that you can send anything you want to Oracle…then you can still see your errors. You just have to ask for them.

Ta-da! But you can't click on them to navigate.
Ta-da! But you can’t click on them to navigate.

We do let you click on scripting errors in the Worksheet…

We added this feature for version 4.0, and it’s just for SQL stuff, not PL/SQL. Check it out.

See error, click error, goto error
See error, click error, goto error
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I'm a Distinguished Product Manager at Oracle. My mission is to help you and your company be more efficient with our database tools.

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