SQL & PL/SQL

Hi all,

I want to write a package function that returns the number of active sessions, I try with the code below:

FUNCTION clientSessionCount RETURN NUMBER AS
retValue NUMBER;
BEGIN
SELECT COUNT(*) INTO retValue FROM V$SESSION
WHERE UPPER(PROGRAM) NOT LIKE 'ORACLE.EXE%';
RETURN retValue;
END clientSessionCount;

The result of compiling is: ORA-00942: table or view does not exist
But the query SELECT COUNT(*) FROM V$SESSION executed with the same user that owns the package works without errors.
What is my mistake?

Thanks and regards.

Maurizio