Re-order columns of table in Oracle

Solution 1:

Since the release of Oracle 12c it is now easier to rearrange columns logically.

Oracle 12c added support for making columns invisible and that feature can be used to rearrange columns logically.

Quote from the documentation on invisible columns:

When you make an invisible column visible, the column is included in the table's column order as the last column.

Example

Create a table:

CREATE TABLE t (
    a INT,
    b INT,
    d INT,
    e INT
);

Add a column:

ALTER TABLE t ADD (c INT);

Move the column to the middle:

ALTER TABLE t MODIFY (d INVISIBLE, e INVISIBLE);
ALTER TABLE t MODIFY (d VISIBLE, e VISIBLE);

DESCRIBE t;

Name
----
A
B
C
D
E

Credits

I learned about this from an article by Tom Kyte on new features in Oracle 12c.

Solution 2:

Look at the package DBMS_Redefinition. It will rebuild the table with the new ordering. It can be done with the table online.

As Phil Brown noted, think carefully before doing this. However there is overhead in scanning the row for columns and moving data on update. Column ordering rules I use (in no particular order):

• Group related columns together.
• Not NULL columns before null-able columns.
• Frequently searched un-indexed columns first.
• Rarely filled null-able columns last.
• Static columns first.
• Updateable varchar columns later.
• Indexed columns after other searchable columns.

These rules conflict and have not all been tested for performance on the latest release. Most have been tested in practice, but I didn't document the results. Placement options target one of three conflicting goals: easy to understand column placement; fast data retrieval; and minimal data movement on updates.