Quickest query to check for the existence of a row in Oracle?

Question

I\'m using Oracle, and I have a very large table. I need to check for the existence of any row meeting some simple criteria. What\'s the best way to go about this using simple

Answer 1

begin
select 'row DOES exist' 
  into ls_result
from dual
where exists (select null from x where x.col_a = value_a and x.col_b = value_b);
exception
when no_data_found then
  ls_result := ' row does NOT exist';
end;