Oracle PL/SQL Programming Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I recommend this book wholeheartedly for beginners as well as veterans of PL/SQL. Especially against the Oracle Press book by author Scott Urman. That book (though it covers the basics), it does not give you the tips and tricks or insight as does Steve's book.
The O'Reilly series book is well crafted, with excellent examples. The style of writing is humorous as well as straight forward. And it is a companion amongst other Oracle books by O'Reilly. O'Reilly Publishing seems to know Oracle better than Oracle Press knows itself.
Gio

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The first edition of Oracle PL/SQL Programming quickly became anindispensable reference for both novice and experienced PL/SQLdevelopers. Packed with examples and recommendations, it helpedeveryone using PL/SQL (from the Oracle Forms developer to the databaseadministrator) make the most of this powerful language.

Oracle8 presents PL/SQL programmers with new challenges by increasing both the possibilities and complexities of the language.This newedition updates the original book for Oracle8, adding chapters describingthe new PL/SQL object features (object types, collections, object views, and external procedures). The second edition also contains a much-requestedchapter on tuning PL/SQL, as well as expanded discussions of debuggingand tracing PL/SQL execution.

The book comes with a companion diskette containing the Companion UtilitiesGuide for Oracle PL/SQL Programming, an online tool developed by RevealNet,Inc. The online guide contains more than 100 file of source code anddocumentation prepared by the authors.

Even if you've already read the first edition of Oracle PL/SQL Programming,you'll find an enormous amount of new and revised information in thissecond edition and on its companion diskette. If you're new to PL/SQL,you'll soon find yourself on the road to mastery.

NOTE: To make room for the new material, some summaries and code from the first edition have been moved to the companion disk.

Oracle PL/SQL Programming is divided into seven parts:

Foreword Preface

Part I: Programming in PL/SQL
1. Introduction to PL/SQL2. PL/SQL Language Fundamentals3. Effective Coding Style
Part II: PL/SQL Language Elements 4. Variables and Program Data5. Conditional and Sequential Control6. Database Interaction and Cursors7. Loops8. Exception Handlers9. Records in PL/SQL10.PL/SQL Tables Part III: Built-in Functions and Packages 11. Character Functions12. Date Functions13. Numeric, LOB, and Miscellaneous Functions14. Conversion Functions
Part IV: Modular Code 15. Procedures and Functions16. Packages17. Calling Stored PL/SQL Functions from SQL
Part V: PL/SQL Oracle8 Features 18. Object Types19. Nested Tables and VARRAYs20. Object Views21. External Procedures
Part VI: Making PL/SQL Programs Work 22. Code Design Tips23. Managing Code in the Database24. Debugging PL/SQL25. Tracing PL/SQL26. Tuning PL/SQL
Part VII: Appendixes A. What's on the Companion Disk?B. Calling Stored Procedures from PL/SQL Version 1.1C. Built-in Packages

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The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL Review

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(More customer reviews)Ah, where to begin. This book is a masterpiece. It is over the top. It distills, in one volume, all that's worth knowing about advanced Transact-SQL. If you've read the Books Online, this book is a natural next step in your T-SQL education. It took me from a rank amateur to an advanced coder within days. It gave me insights into new ways of coding that I'd never have thought of on my own. It showed me how to work in harmony with T-SQL and SQL Server, rather than try to get them to do things they weren't designed to do.
The best chapters, are, IMHO, these:
- DML Insights
- DDL Insights
- The Mighty SELECT
- Statistical Functions
- Transactions
- Cursors
- Sets
- Arrays
- Stored Procedures and Triggers
- T-SQL Performance Tuning
- Administrative T-SQL
- OLE Automation
- Undocumented T-SQL
There's so much good info in this book, it's hard to pick a list of the "best chapters." To be sure, there's not a weak chapter in the book, and you should read every last one of them.
[...] This book is a must-read for anyone serious about coding in Transact-SQL.

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Since its introduction over a decade ago, the Microsoft SQL Server query language, Transact-SQL, has become increasingly popular and more powerful. The current version sports such advanced features as OLE Automation support, cross-platform querying facilities, and full-text search management. This book is the consummate guide to Microsoft Transact-SQL. From data type nuances to complex statistical computations to the bevy of undocumented features in the language, The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL imparts the knowledge you need to become a virtuoso of the language as quickly as possible. In this book, you will find the information, explanations, and advice you need to master Transact-SQL and develop the best possible Transact-SQL code. Some 600 code examples not only illustrate important concepts and best practices, but also provide working Transact-SQL code that can be incorporated into your own real-world DBMS applications. Your journey begins with an introduction explaining language fundamentals such as database and table creation, inserting and updating data, queries, joins, data presentation, and managing transactions. Moving on to more advanced topics, the journey continues with in-depth coverage of: Transact-SQL performance tuning using tools such as Query Analyzer and Performance Monitor Nuances of the various T-SQL data types Complex statistical calculations such as medians, modes, and sliding aggregates Run, sequence, and series identification and interrogation Advanced Data Definition Language (DDL) and Data Management Language (DML) techniques Stored procedure and trigger best practices and coding methods Transaction management Optimal cursor use and caveats to look out for Full-text search Hierarchies and arrays Administrative Transact-SQL OLE Automation More than 100 undocumented commands and language features, including numerous unpublished DBCC command verbs, trace flags, stored procedures, and functions Comprehensive, written in understandable terms, and full of practical information and examples, The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL is an indispensable reference for anyone working with this database development language. The accompanying CD-ROM includes the complete set of code examples found in the book as well as a SQL programming environment that will speed the development of your own top-notch Transact-SQL code.

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Oracle Database 11g SQL (Osborne ORACLE Press Series) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm an experienced Oracle developer and I use this book all the time. I have several books on SQL, and this book is by far the best. It has good examples. I highly recommend it.

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Write powerful SQL statements and PL/SQL programs

Learn to access Oracle databases through SQL statements and construct PL/SQL programs with guidance from Oracle expert, Jason Price. Published by Oracle Press, Oracle Database 11g SQL explains how to retrieve and modify database information, use SQL Plus and SQL Developer, work with database objects, write PL/SQL programs, and much more. Inside, you'll find in-depth coverage of the very latest SQL features and tools, performance optimization techniques, advanced queries, Java support, and XML. This book contains everything you need to master SQL.

Explore SQL Plus and SQL Developer

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Production database administrators have to know at least a little about a lot of things:
* How to install or upgrade SQL Servers
* How to build clusters
* How to plan for disaster recovery and high availability
* How to do performance tuning
* How to secure and protect databases
The production role revolves around management, not creation. Sure, they do need to know T-SQL and be able to debug problem code, but the majority of their day is making the trains run on time - not designing the seats inside the train cars.
Windows administrators who are forced into the SQL Server DBA role need this same type of information. They get handed a database server to manage, often with a database from a third party vendor like Citrix or Blackberry. They have to manage the server, make sure it performs as needed, and back it up safely - but they'll never touch a line of T-SQL code that runs on the server.
Ross Mistry and Hilary Cotter's book Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Management and Administration is a great companion for production DBAs and accidental DBAs. It covers this wide variety of topics in a good depth, and leaves topics like beginning T-SQL or how to write stored procedures out to other books.

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If you need to deploy, manage, or secure Microsoft SQL Server 2008, this is the complete, fast-paced, task-based reference you've been searching for. Authored by a world-class expert on SQL Server in the enterprise, this book goes far beyond the basics, taking on the complex tasks that DBAs need to make the most of Microsoft's flagship database platform. SQL Server MVP, Ross Mistry presents proven techniques for SQL Server 2008 installation, upgrades, backup/restore, data transfer, indexing, high availability, security, and much more. He draws on extensive testing in high-profile production environments to offer step-by-step solutions and powerful tips you won't find anywhere else. Every chapter begins with a section identifying SQL Server 2008's most significant new improvements, and concludes with a convenient summary of best practices. Each chapter also outlines the benefits of leveraging Windows Server 2008.

Understand how to:
Master DBA tips, tricks, and best practices proven in actual enterprise environments

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Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Covers Versions Through Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (Animal Guide) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There are always 2-3 books every developer has in their area of expertise and if you're using PL/SQL, the Feuerstein book is one of them.
I'm not sure how much someone can get out of it if they never did work coding before and you're trying to learn it but I can think of many many times I needed an example for a specific problem and the book had a great example of how to do it.
Also I warn people to be careful because especially for the later chapters, they evolve to the answer to the problem and the cognitive method for this book is to follow along to the end to see how it got there - I think to some of the reviewers this is verbose but this really sinks the PL/SQL concept into your brain effectively and in my experience it's clearly worthwhile. I'm amazed (as always) how clear the evolution is if you take the time to follow it.
I might also add if you're not doing PL/SQL for work but trying to learn it, the evolution might not make sense it's very obvious to me the author has hard core real experience to approach the topics the way he does it.
For people in the field, I'd even say if you're a brand new developer on a job or programmed in something else and are approaching PL/SQL for the first time, the examples are more than clear enough and the opening chapters cover relatively universal and simple concepts so I believe the book is extremely beneficial for beginners as well as very advanced PL/SQL developers.

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This book is the definitive reference on PL/SQL, considered throughout the database community to be the best Oracle programming book available. Like its predecessors, this fifth edition of Oracle PL/SQL Programming covers language fundamentals, advanced coding techniques, and best practices for using Oracle's powerful procedural language. Thoroughly updated for Oracle Database 11g Release 2, this edition reveals new PL/SQL features and provides extensive code samples, ranging from simple examples to complex and complete applications, in the book and on the companion website. This indispensable reference for both novices and experienced Oracle programmers will help you:



Get PL/SQL programs up and running quickly, with clear instructions for executing, tracing, testing, debugging, and managing PL/SQL code
Optimize PL/SQL performance with the aid of a brand-new chapter in the fifth edition
Explore datatypes, conditional and sequential control statements, loops, exception handling, security features, globalization and localization issues, and the PL/SQL architecture
Understand and use new Oracle Database 11g features, including the edition-based redefinition capability, the function result cache, the new CONTINUE statement, fine-grained dependency tracking, sequences in PL/SQL expressions, supertype invocation from subtypes, and enhancements to native compilation, triggers, and dynamic SQL
Use new Oracle Database 11g tools and techniques such as PL/Scope, the PL/SQL hierarchical profiler, and the SecureFiles technology for large objects
Build modular PL/SQL applications using procedures, functions, triggers, and packages

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