Convert comma separated string to array in PL/SQL

Question

How do I convert a comma separated string to a array?

I have the input \'1,2,3\' , and I need to convert it into an array.

Answer 1

TYPE string_aa IS TABLE OF VARCHAR2(32767) INDEX BY PLS_INTEGER;

FUNCTION string_to_list(p_string_in IN VARCHAR2)
    RETURN string_aa
    IS
      TYPE ref_cursor IS ref cursor;
      l_cur    ref_cursor;
      l_strlist string_aa;
      l_x      PLS_INTEGER;
    BEGIN      
      IF p_string_in IS NOT NULL THEN 
         OPEN l_cur FOR 
            SELECT regexp_substr(p_string_in,'[^,]+', 1, level) FROM dual
            CONNECT BY regexp_substr(p_string_in, '[^,]+', 1, level) IS NOT NULL;      
         l_x := 1; 
         LOOP
           FETCH l_cur INTO l_strlist(l_x);
           EXIT WHEN l_cur%notfound;
           -- excludes NULL items  e.g.   1,2,,,,5,6,7
           l_x := l_x + 1;
         END LOOP;
      END IF;   
      RETURN l_strlist;
   END string_to_list;