This book is the definitive guide to SQLPlus. If you want to take best advantage of the power and flexibility of this popular Oracle tool, you need this book. SQLPlus is an interactive query tool that is ubiquitous in the Oracle world. It is present in every Oracle installation and is available to almost every Oracle developer and database administrator. SQLPlus has been shipped with Oracle since at least version 6. It continues to be supported and enhanced with each new version of Oracle, including Oracle8 and Oracle8i. It is still the only widely available tool for writing SQL scripts. Despite this wide availability and usage, few developers and DBAs know how powerful SQLPlus really is. This book introduces SQLPlus, includes a quick reference to all of its syntax options, and, most important, provides chapters that describe, in step-by-step fashion, how to perform all of the tasks that Oracle developers and DBAs want to perform with SQLPlus -- and maybe some they didn't realize they COULD perform with SQLPlus. You will learn how to write and execute script files, generate ad hoc reports, extract data from the database, query the data dictionary tables, customize your SQLPlus environment, and use the SQLPlus administrative features (new in Oracle8i). This book is an indispensable resource for readers who are new to SQLPlus, a task-oriented learning tool for those who are already using it, and a quick reference for every user. A table of contents follows: Preface Introduction to SQLPlus Interacting with SQLPlus Generating Reports with SQLPlus Writing SQLPlus Scripts Extracting Data with SQLPlus Exploring Your Database with SQLPlus Advanced Scripting Tuning and Timing The Product User Profile Administration with SQLPlus Customizing Your SQLPlus Environment A. SQLPlus Command Reference B. Connect Strings and the SQLPlus Command Appendices

Oracle is the most popular database management system in use today, and PL/SQL plays a pivotal role in current and projected Oracle products and applications. PL/SQL is a programming language providing procedural extensions to the SQL relational database language and to an ever-growing number of oracle development tools. originally a rather limited tool, PL/SQL became with Oracle7 a mature and effective language for developers. now, with the introduction of Oracle8, PL/SQL has taken the next step towards becoming a fully realized programming language providing sophisticated object-oriented capabilities. Steven Feuerstein's Oracle PL/SQL Programming is a comprehensive guide to building applications with PL/SQL. That book has become the bible for PL/SQL developers who have raved about its completeness, readability, and practicality. Built-in packages are collections of PL/SQL objects built by Oracle Corporation and stored directly in the Oracle database. The functionality of these packages is available from any programming environment that can call PL/SQL stored procedures, including Visual Basic, Oracle Developer/2000, Oracle Application Server (for web-based development), and, of course, the Oracle database itself. Built-in packages extend the capabilities and power of PL/SQL in many significant ways. for example: DBMS_SQL executes dynamically constructed SQL statements and PL/SQL blocks of code. DBMS_PIPE communicates between different Oracle sessions through a pipe in the RDBMS shared memory. DBMS_JOB submits and manages regularly scheduled jobs for execution inside the database. DBMS_LOB accesses and manipulates Oracle8's large objects (LOBs) from within PL/SQL programs. 1. Introduction Executing Dynamic SQL and PL/SQL Intersession Communication User Lock and Transaction Management Oracle Advanced Queuing Generating Output from PL/SQL Programs Defining an Application Profile Managing Large Objects Datatype Packages Miscellaneous Packages Managing Session Information Managing Server Resources Job Scheduling in the Database Snapshots Advanced Replication Conflict Resolution Deferred Transactions and Remote Procedure Calls The first edition of Oracle PL/SQL Programming contained a chapter on Oracle's built-in packages. but there is much more to say about the basic PL/SQL packages than Feuerstein could fit in his first book. In addition, now that Oracle8 has been released, there are many new Oracle8 built-in packages not described in the PL/SQL book. There are also packages extensions for specific oracle environments such as distributed database. hence this book. Oracle Built-in Packages pulls together information about how to use the calling interface (API) to Oracle's Built-in Packages, and provides extensive examples on using the built-in packages effectively. The windows diskette included with the book contains the companion guide, an online tool developed by RevealNet, Inc., that provides point-and-click access to the many files of source code and online documentation developed by the authors. The table of contents follows: Preface Part I: Overview Part II: Application Development Packages Part III: Server Management Packages Part IV: Distributed Database Packages Appendix. What's on the companion disk?

Special Edition Using Access 97, Second Edition, is your authoritative guide to mastering every facet of this powerful 32-bit database development platform. Get started quickly by using the Database Wizard to create a working Access 97 application in less than 30 minutes. Detailed, step-by-step instructions guide you through the process of designing and using Access tables, queries, forms, and reports. Newly added chapters on advanced VBA 5.0 techniques pave your way to Access programming expertise. Plus, you get full coverage of the latest updates to Access 97, including report Snapshot technology from Office Service Release 1 and the Upsizing Wizard for SQL Server 6.5+.

The books in O'Reilly's Oracle series are authoritative -- they tell the whole story about complex topics, ranging from performance tuning to the use of packages in PL/SQL to new technologies like Power Objects. And they're independent; they're alternatives for readers who need to know how products and features really work. They're packed with real-world advice and techniques from practitioners in the field, and they come with disks containing code you can use immediately in your own applications. O'Reilly is the alternative for Oracle people who need to solve problems -- and solve them now.Performance tuning is crucial in any modern relational database management system. Too many organizations respond to Oracle performance problems by throwing money at these problems -- by buying larger and more expensive computers or by hiring expert consultants. But there's a lot you can do on your own to increase dramatically the performance of your existing system. Whatever version of Oracle you're running -- from Version 6 to Oracle8, proper tuning can save your organization a huge amount of money in additional equipment, extra memory, and hardware upgrades.The first edition of Oracle Performance Tuning became a classic for programmers, managers, database administrators, system administrators, and anyone who cares about improving the performance of an Oracle system. This second edition contains 400 pages of updated material updating on Oracle features, incorporating advice about disk striping and mirroring, RAID, client-server, distributed databases, MPPS, SMPs, and other architectures. It also includes chapters on parallel server, parallel query, backup and recovery, the Oracle Performance Pack, and more.

Steven Feuerstein's first book, Oracle PL/SQL Programming, has become the classic reference to PL/SQL, Oracle's procedural extension to its SQL language. His new book looks thoroughly at one especially advanced and powerful part of the PL/SQL language -- the package. The use of packages can dramatically improve your programming productivity and code quality, while preparing you for object-oriented development in Oracle technology. In this book, Feuerstein explains how to construct packages -- and how to build them the right way. His "best practices" for building packages will transform the way you write packages and help you get the most out of the powerful, but often poorly understood, PL/SQL language. Much more than a book, Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages comes with a PC diskette containing a full-use software companion. Developed by Feuerstein, RevealNet's PL/Vision Lite is the first of its kind for PL/SQL developers: a library of thirty-plus PL/SQL packages. The packages solve a myriad of common programming problems and vastly accelerate the development of modular and maintainable applications. The packages provided in PL/Vision Lite fall into three categories: Building block packages: low-level development enhancers, including string parsers, a list manager, and an interface to PL/SQL tables. Developer utilities: programs that improve your PL/SQL development environment, including a code generator, a powerful substitute for SHOW ERRORS, and an online help delivery mechanism. Plug-and-play components: pieces of code that can be used as is in your own applications, including a high-level exception handler mechanism and a generic, reusable logging mechanism. In addition to describing the details of these packages, this book explores why and how they were built the way they were. You'll come away with an increased appreciation of the PL/SQL language and the power of packages. Most importantly, you'll be ready and eager to put that power to use immediately in your own applications.