As legacy and other critical systems continue to migrate online, the need for continuous operation is imperative. Code has to handle data issues as well as hard external problems today, including outages of networks, storage systems, power, and ancillary systems. This practical guide provides system administrators, DevSecOps engineers, and cloud architects with a concise yet comprehensive overview on how to use PL/SQL to develop resilient database solutions. Integration specialist Stephen B Morris helps you understand the language, build a PL/SQL toolkit, and collect a suite of reusable components and patterns. You'll dive into the benefits of synthesizing the toolkit with a requirements-driven, feature-oriented approach and learn how to produce resilient solutions by synthesizing the PL/SQL toolkit in conjunction with a scale of resilience. Build solid PL/SQL solutions while avoiding common PL/SQL antipatterns Learn why embedding complex business logic in SQL is often a brittle proposition Learn how to recognize and improve weak PL/SQL code Verify PL/SQL code by running data-driven, in-database tests Understand the safe operation, maintenance, and modification of complex PL/SQL systems Learn the benefits of thinking about features rather than just use cases Define good requirements for PL/SQL and hybrid solutions involving PL/SQL and high level languages

Level up your skill set to the latest that Oracle Database can offer. This book introduces features that are not well known that can transform your development efforts. You’ll discover built-in functionality that can save you massive amounts of time that otherwise would be spent reinventing the wheel. You’ll find that what used to take a lot of programming some years ago can be done with less code in a more reliable way today. Anyone using Oracle Database without the knowledge in this book is leaving valuable functionality–that their company has paid for–on the table, and this book opens the door to that functionality so that you can deliver reliable and performant solutions faster and more easily than ever. Part I looks at features in SQL and PL/SQL that are underused and not well known. You’ll learn about new join types, pattern matching across rows, Top N pagination (useful in reporting!), qualified expressions, and enhancements to iterators that reduce code complexity and make your logic easier to understand. Part II covers how and when to invoke PL/SQL from SQL while maintaining performance. You'll learn about SQL macro functions for creating reusable SQL fragments, polymorphic table functions with return types determined by incoming argument types, and constructing and parsing JSON documents for data interchange with other systems. Part III introduces a vast array of built-in functionality that Oracle provides that is just waiting to be used. Edition-based redefinition enables zero-downtime application and schema upgrades. Data redaction enables easier compliance with privacy laws and similar regulations by protecting sensitive data from those who have no need to see it. Virtual private databases provide the appearance of giving each user their own database, again helping to secure sensitive data. These features are just a taste of what the book provides. Soon you’ll be improving your skillsand wondering why you ever worked so hard to solve problems that Oracle Database already solves for you. What You Will Learn Write more powerful code by incorporating underused features in SQL and PL/SQL Optimize your integration between SQL and PL/SQL for best performance Take advantage of enhanced set operators, lateral joins, row-based pattern matching, and other advanced features in SQL Make your code easier to understand through your use of newer PL/SQL features, such as qualified expressions and iterator enhancements Integrate with web services and external data sources directly from the database Create and parse JSON documents for easy data exchange and flexible schema design Who This Book Is For Any developer who is writing SQL or PL/SQL, PL/SQL experts who want to level up their knowledgeand skills to the latest features that Oracle Database provides, and developers who don’t want to write their own solutions only to find out later that they’ve wasted their time by building something that Oracle Database provides out of the box

Master the Underutilized Advanced Features of SQL and PL/SQL This hands-on guide from Oracle Press shows how to fully exploit lesser known but extremely useful SQL and PL/SQL features―and how to effectively use both languages together. Written by a team of Oracle ACE Directors, Real-World SQL and PL/SQL: Advice from the Experts features best practices, detailed examples, and insider tips that clearly demonstrate how to write, troubleshoot, and implement code for a wide variety of practical applications. The book thoroughly explains underutilized SQL and PL/SQL functions and lays out essential development strategies. Data modeling, advanced analytics, database security, secure coding, and administration are covered in complete detail. Learn how to: • Apply advanced SQL and PL/SQL tools and techniques • Understand SQL and PL/SQL functionality and determine when to use which language • Develop accurate data models and implement business logic • Run PL/SQL in SQL and integrate complex datasets • Handle PL/SQL instrumenting and profiling • Use Oracle Advanced Analytics and Oracle R Enterprise • Build and execute predictive queries • Secure your data using encryption, hashing, redaction, and masking • Defend against SQL injection and other code-based attacks • Work with Oracle Virtual Private Database Code examples in the book are available for download at www.MHProfessional.com. TAG: For a complete list of Oracle Press titles, visit www.OraclePressBooks.com

In "Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Developer's Guide (Second Edition)", you'll delve into the advanced capabilities of Oracle PL/SQL, honing skills needed for professional-level certification while mastering the innovations introduced in Oracle Database 12c. This book serves as a comprehensive resource for enhancing your database development expertise. What this Book will help me do Master advanced Oracle PL/SQL development skills aligned with Oracle Database 12c innovations. Understand and implement Virtual Private Database (VPD) for advanced database security. Gain expertise in tuning, profiling, and debugging PL/SQL code for robust application performance. Integrate and utilize Oracle Database 12c features such as Multitenant feature and Database In-Memory. Prepare for the 1Z0-146 Oracle certification to become recognized as an Advanced PL/SQL Developer. Author(s) Saurabh K. Gupta is an experienced Oracle developer and author known for his clarity and depth in explaining advanced technical concepts. With a strong background in Oracle Database and PL/SQL development, he imparts knowledge that bridges the gap between learning and practical application. Gupta's writing emphasizes clarity and hands-on understanding, making complex topics accessible to developers. Who is it for? This book is tailored for advanced Oracle developers looking to deepen their understanding of PL/SQL and integrate Oracle Database 12c's features into their workflow. It is particularly beneficial for professionals preparing for the 1Z0-146 Oracle exam. Readers should have foundational knowledge in PL/SQL and a determination to elevate their technical proficiency.

Covers Oracle DBMS versions 10, 11, 12, and XE Sams Teach Yourself Oracle PL/SQL in 10 Minutes offers straightforward, practical answers when you need fast results. By working through the book’s 26 lessons of 10 minutes or less, you’ll learn what you need to know to take advantage of Oracle’s PL/SQL language. This handy pocket guide starts with simple data retrieval and moves on to more complex topics, including the use of joins, subqueries, regular expression and full text-based searches, stored procedures, cursors, triggers, table constraints, and much more. 10 minutes is all you need to learn how to... Use PL/SQL in the Oracle environments and tools Construct complex PL/SQL statements using multiple clauses and operators Retrieve, sort, and format database contents Pinpoint the data you need using a variety of filtering techniques Use string, date-time, and math functions to manipulate your data Join two or more related tables Insert, update, and delete data Create and alter database tables Work with views, stored procedures, cursors, triggers, and more

Be more productive with the Oracle PL/SQL language. The fifth edition of this popular pocket reference puts the syntax of specific PL/SQL language elements right at your fingertips, including features added in Oracle Database 12c. Whether you’re a developer or database administrator, when you need answers quickly, the Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference will save you hours of frustration with concise summaries of: Fundamental language elements, such as block structure, datatypes, and declarations Statements for program control, cursor management, and exception handling Records, procedures, functions, triggers, and packages Execution of PL/SQL functions in SQL Compilation options, object-oriented features, collections, and Java integration This handy pocket reference is a perfect companion to Steven Feuerstein and Bill Pribyl’s bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming.

Beginning Oracle PL/SQL gets you started in using the built-in language that every Oracle developer and database administrator must know. Oracle Database is chock-full of built-in application features that are free for the using, and PL/SQL is your ticket to learning about and using those features from your own code. With it, you can centralize business logic in the database, you can offload application logic, and you can automate database- and application-administration tasks. Author Don Bales provides in Beginning Oracle PL/SQL a fast-paced and example-filled tutorial. Learn from Don’s extensive experience to discover the most commonly used aspects of PL/SQL, without wasting time on obscure and obsolete features. The author takes his 20+ years of experience and a wealth of statistics he's gathered on PL/SQL usage over those years and applies the 80/20 rule: cover what's most needed and used by PL/SQL professionals and avoid what's not necessary! The result is a book that covers all the key features of PL/SQL without wasting your time discussing esoteric and obsolete parts of the language. Learn what really matters, so that you can get to work feeling confident with what you know about PL/SQL. Covers the key topics that matter, including variables and datatypes, executing statements, working with cursors, bulk operations, real-world objects, debugging, testing, and more. Teaches you to write production-level, object-oriented PL/SQL. You'll explore relational PL/SQL, but unlike most other books on the subject, this one emphasizes the use of PL/SQLs object-oriented features as well. Guides you in working through real examples of using of PL/SQL. You'll learn PL/SQL by applying it to real-world business problems, not by heavy theory.

Take Your PL/SQL Programming Skills to the Next Level Build robust database-centric PL/SQL applications quickly and effectively. Oracle Database 12c PL/SQL Advanced Programming Techniques shows you how to write and deploy Java libraries inside Oracle Database 12c, use the utl_file and DBMS_SCHEDULER packages, and create external tables and external procedures. Application security, performance tuning, and Oracle Database In-Memory are also covered in this Oracle Press guide. Configure, deploy, and troubleshoot Java libraries for Oracle object types Use the utl_file package to manage unstructured and structured data Develop and deploy Java I/O libraries and wrap them with PL/SQL Create and use external tables Implement high-speed data transfer Harden database systems and develop secure applications Manage complex schedules and jobs with the DBMS_SCHEDULER package Optimize PL/SQL for use in performance tuning Create and deploy external procedures Implement the Oracle Database In-Memory column store feature

Proven PL/SQL Optimization Solutions In Oracle PL/SQL Performance Tuning Tips & Techniques, Oracle ACE authors with decades of experience building complex production systems for government, industry, and educational organizations present a hands-on approach to enabling optimal results from PL/SQL. The book begins by describing the discovery process required to pinpoint performance problems and then provides measurable and repeatable test cases. In-depth coverage of linking SQL and PL/SQL is followed by deep dives into essential Oracle Database performance tuning tools. Real-world examples and best practices are included throughout this Oracle Press guide. Follow a request-driven nine-step process to identify and address performance problems in web applications Use performance-related database tools, including data dictionary views, logging, tracing, PL/SQL Hierarchical Profiler, PL/Scope, and RUNSTATS Instrument code to pinpoint performance issues using call stack APIs, error stack APIs, and timing markers Embed PL/SQL in SQL and manage user-defined functions Embed SQL in PL/SQL using a set-based approach to handle large volumes of data Properly write and deploy data manipulation language triggers to avoid performance problems Work with advanced datatypes, including LOBs and XML Use caching techniques to avoid redundant operations Effectively use dynamic SQL to reduce the amount of code needed and streamline system management Manage version control and ensure that performance fixes are successfully deployed Code examples in the book are available for download.

Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition unlocks the power of SQL in the Oracle database—one of the most potent SQL implementations on the market today. To master it requires a multi-pronged approach: learn the language features, learn how and why the language features work, learn the supporting features that Oracle provides to help use the language effectively, and learn to think and work in sets. Karen Morton has updated the content for Oracle version 12c and helps you master powerful aspects of Oracle SQL from the inside-out. You'll learn analytic functions, the MODEL clause, and advanced grouping syntax—features that will help in creating good queries for reporting and business intelligence applications. Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition also helps you minimize parsing overhead, read execution plans, test for correct results, understand performance management, and exert control over SQL execution in your database. You'll learn when to create indexes, how to verify that they make a difference, how to use SQL Baselines and Profiles to optimize and stabilize SQL execution plans, and much more. You'll also understand how SQL is optimized for working in sets, and that the key to getting accurate results lies in making sure that queries ask clear and precise questions. Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition helps you work at a truly professional level in the Oracle dialect of SQL. You'll master the language, the tools to work effectively with the language, and the right way to think about a problem in SQL. Endorsed by the OakTable Network, a group of Oracle technologists well-known for their rigorous and scientific approach to Oracle Database performance Comprehensive—goes beyond the language with a focus on what you need to know to write successful queries and data manipulation statements. Performance focused—teaches you how to measure the performance of your SQL statements and not just the syntax. What you'll learn Master powerful SQL features implemented in the Oracle Database Understand how the Oracle Optimizer develops execution plans Read and interpret SQL execution plans Quickly diagnose and fix badly performing SQL Control execution plans through hints, profiles, and plan baselines Optimize queries within packaged applications without touching the code Recognize when not to waste time on SQL that is performing optimally Who this book is for Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition is aimed at developers and database administrators who submit SQL for execution by an Oracle database. Readers should already know the basic four SQL statements, and be ready to learn deeply about Oracle's specific implementation of the language, including Oracle-specific features and syntax. Readers should also want to learn about Oracle Database features such as analytic queries, the MODEL clause, and the WITH clause (subquery factoring) that are designed to help developers and database administrators exert control over their SQL environment and its execution.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to the advanced features of PL/SQL, Oracle's procedural extension for SQL. It is especially designed for developers looking to master complex concepts, optimize code, and prepare for the Oracle 11g Advanced PL/SQL Professional certification (1Z0-146). Through clear explanations, practical examples, and exercises, you will advance your skills effectively. What this Book will help me do Master the use of advanced PL/SQL interface methods for robust database interactions. Implement Virtual Private Database settings with Fine Grained Access Control. Effectively use collections and data caching techniques to optimize your programs. Apply techniques to protect PL/SQL code from various security vulnerabilities, including injections. Implement result caching strategies and learn performance tuning methods to enhance application efficiency. Author(s) Saurabh K. Gupta is an experienced database professional specializing in Oracle technologies, with a focus on advanced PL/SQL development and optimization. He brings years of hands-on expertise to his writing, making complex subjects accessible for developers. In this book, he combines practical knowledge with certification-focused insights to guide readers towards programming excellence. Who is it for? This book is designed for PL/SQL programmers who have intermediate experience and are aiming to elevate their skills to a professional level. If you are preparing for the Oracle 1Z0-146 Professional certification or wish to deepen your understanding of advanced PL/SQL topics, this guide is ideal for you. A foundational knowledge of PL/SQL programming is assumed to fully benefit from the content.

Expert PL/SQL Practices is a book of collected wisdom on PL/SQL programming from some of the best and the brightest in the field. Each chapter is a deep-dive into a specific problem, technology, or feature set that you'll face as a PL/SQL programmer. Each author has chosen their topic out of the strong belief that what they share can make a positive difference in the quality and scalability of code that you write. The path to mastery begins with syntax and the mechanics of writing statements to make things happen. If you've reached that point with PL/SQL, then let the authors of Expert PL/SQL Practices show you how to combine syntax and mechanics with features and techniques to really make the language sing. You'll learn to do more with less effort, to write code that scales and performs well, and to eliminate and avoid defects. These authors are passionate about PL/SQL and the power it places at your disposal. They want you to succeed, to know all that PL/SQL can offer. Let Expert PL/SQL Practices open your eyes to the full power of Oracle's world-class language for the database engine. Goes beyond the manual to cover good techniques and best practices Delivers knowledge usually gained only by hard experience Covers the functionality that distinguishes PL/SQL as a powerful and scalable programming language for deploying logic inside the database engine

Oracle PL/SQL Recipes is your go to book for PL/SQL programming solutions. It takes a task-oriented approach to PL/SQL programming that lets you quickly look up a specific task and see the pattern for a solution. Then it's as simple as modifying the pattern for your specific application and implementing it. And you're done and home for dinner. Oracle PL/SQL Recipes is another in Apress' ongoing series of recipe books aimed at Oracle practitioners. The recipe format is ideal for the busy professional who just needs to get the job done. Covers the most common PL/SQL programming problems Presents solutions in ready-to-use format Stays short and to-the-point What you'll learn Move business logic into the database Implement robust exception-handling Optimize and debug, taking advantage of Oracle SQL Developer Integrate PL/SQL with web-based applications Interface with Java code and dynamic languages in the database, and running externally Run the UTPLSQL unit-testing framework Who this book is for Oracle PL/SQL Recipes is database administrators and developers wanting to take advantage of Oracle Database's built-in support for procedural logic. Database administrators can use PL/SQL to automate administrative tasks, audit access to sensitive data, and more. Developers will be able to optimize processing, push business logic into the database layer, and interface with Java and web applications.

Oracle Application Express is an easy-to-use application development environment built on the Oracle technology stack. There are two aspects of that previous sentence that you may find jarring—that Oracle, a company widely known for its database technology, has an application development environment, and that Oracle, a company thought of as delivering high-end, enterprise-ready technology, has anything that is easy to use. But, as this book will show, the introductory statement is completely accurate. Oracle Application Express, commonly known as Oracle APEX or simply APEX, does benefit from the long-established enterprise-class robustness that is the hallmark of Oracle technology. The applications you build will be able to support hundreds of users and many terabytes of data, scalability far beyond even the imagination of most other development environments. And Oracle APEX, with its declarative, wizard-driven methodology, is truly easy to use. In the course of the few hundred pages of this book, you will not only learn about how to use APEX, you will create a usable order entry system. The fast learning curve presented in these pages is a consequence of many years of development and refinement of the APEX product, which began life almost a decade ago within Oracle. By the end of this volume, you will know enough to create your own applications, as well as having the knowledge and understanding of Oracle APEX and the world of Oracle technology to explore further refinements on your own. Best of all, you can use APEX with absolutely no cost—either in a hosted environment, as suggested in Chapter 1, or with a free version of the Oracle database. Welcome to the world of Oracle Application Express! This book is aimed at a particular group of users—those who are not familiar with Oracle Application Express. The book assumes that you have a basic knowledge of application development, the type you could get from playing around with a personal database such as Access. In fact, this book was written with an Access developer in mind—an Access developer looking to step up to a more scalable and reliable environment, with reduced maintenance overhead and greater integration between application systems. This book covers the use of Oracle Application Express. Although the book is based on the 3.5 version, you can use the book with older versions as well. However, since the book will use a hosted version of Oracle Application Express, and since both the Oracle database that support the product and the product itself are available as free downloads from http://otn.oracle.com, you should be able to use the latest version easily. This book is structured to give the reader a gradual introduction to the essentials of development with Oracle Application Express. The book contains the following: Welcome to Oracle!—This contains an overview of Oracle Application Express, as well as instructions on how to set up a hosted development environment for performing the exercises used in the book. Jumpstart Oracle Application Express—You will leap into creating applications with Oracle Application Express and finish a simple application by the end of this. Extending Your Oracle APEX Application—This will introduce you to the options in Oracle APEX that let you ensure that your users will enter correct data while using your application. Validation, Calculation, Navigation, and Lists—This continues the exploration of the aspects of APEX that help you to ensure that data used in your application is correct. Additionally, this covers basic navigation options for your application. Reporting and Charting—This covers the powerful and flexible reports you can create with Oracle APEX, and introduces you to the graphical capabilities of APEX reporting. Components Working Together—This extends your work with charts, showing how you can create charts that link to a more detailed view of the data they represent. You will also learn how to create a calendar page with links to the data shown as part of the calendar, and how to add images taken from the underlying database to an Oracle APEX report. Customizing User Interfaces—This explores advanced options for customizing user interfaces, on individual pages as well as across your entire APEX application. PL/SQL—This introduces you to PL/SQL, the underlying language used to implement your APEX application, and demonstrates how to use the power of PL/SQL to extend the logic in your application. Security—This covers how security is implemented for your APEX environment. Deployment and Administration—This covers the options you have for deploying an APEX application to another environment and walks you through one of those options. Additionally, this introduces you to the administrative functionality you can use to monitor and manage your APEX applications. Packaged Applications—This gives an overview of packaged applications available for Oracle Application Express, with a more detailed look at a select few. Migration—This describes how to migrate applications from Microsoft Access to Oracle Application Express.

Design Feature-Rich PL/SQL Applications Deliver dynamic, client/server PL/SQL applications with expert guidance from an Oracle programming professional. With full coverage of the latest features and tools, Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming lays out each topic alongside detailed explanations, cut-and-paste syntax examples, and real-world case studies. Access and modify database information, construct powerful PL/SQL statements, execute effective queries, and deploy bulletproof security. You'll also learn how to implement C, C++, and Java procedures, Web-enable your database, cut development time, and optimize performance. Create, debug, and manage Oracle-driven PL/SQL programs Use PL/SQL structures, delimiters, operators, variables, and statements Identify and eliminate errors using PLSQL_WARNINGS and exception handlers Work with functions, procedures, packages, collections, and triggers Define and deploy varray, nested table, and associative array data types Handle external routines, object types, large objects, and secure files Communicate between parallel sessions using DBMS_ALERT and DBMS_PIPE Call external procedures through Oracle Net Services and PL/SQL wrappers Integrate internal and server-side Java class libraries using Oracle JVM Develop robust Web applications using PL/SQL Gateway and Web Toolkit

The fourth edition of this popular pocket guide provides quick-reference information that will help you use Oracle's PL/SQL language, including the newest Oracle Database 11g features. It's a companion to Steven Feuerstein and Bill Pribyl's bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming. This concise guide boils down the most vital PL/SQL information into an accessible summary of: The new edition describes such Oracle Database 11g elements as PL/SQL's function result cache, compound triggers, the CONTINUE statement, the SIMPLE_INTEGER datatype, and improvements to native compilation, regular expressions, and compiler optimization (including intra-unit inlining). In addition, this book now includes substantial new sections on Oracle's built-in functions and packages. Fundamental language elements (e.g., block structure, datatypes, declarations) Statements for program control, cursor management, and exception handling Records, procedures, functions, triggers, and packages Calling PL/SQL functions in SQL Compilation options, object-oriented features, collections, and Java integration When you need answers quickly, the Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference will save you hours of frustration.

In this compact book, Steven Feuerstein, widely recognized as one of the world's leading experts on the Oracle PL/SQL language, distills his many years of programming, teaching, and writing about PL/SQL into a set of best practices-recommendations for developing successful applications. Covering the latest Oracle release, Oracle Database 11gR2, Feuerstein has rewritten this new edition in the style of his bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming. The text is organized in a problem/solution format, and chronicles the programming exploits of developers at a mythical company called My Flimsy Excuse, Inc., as they write code, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes-and each other. This book offers practical answers to some of the hardest questions faced by PL/SQL developers, including: What is the best way to write the SQL logic in my application code? How should I write my packages so they can be leveraged by my entire team of developers? How can I make sure that all my team's programs handle and record errors consistently? Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices summarizes PL/SQL best practices in nine major categories: overall PL/SQL application development; programming standards; program testing, tracing, and debugging; variables and data structures; control logic; error handling; the use of SQL in PL/SQL; building procedures, functions, packages, and triggers; and overall program performance. This book is a concise and entertaining guide that PL/SQL developers will turn to again and again as they seek out ways to write higher quality code and more successful applications. "This book presents ideas that make the difference between a successful project and one that never gets off the ground. It goes beyond just listing a set of rules, and provides realistic scenarios that help the reader understand where the rules come from. This book should be required reading for any team of Oracle database professionals." --Dwayne King, President, KRIDAN Consulting

Get started with PL/SQL, the built-in language that every Oracle developer and database administrator must know, in Beginning PL/SQL, a fast-paced and example-filled tutorial. Learn from author Don Bales extensive experience to discover the most commonly used aspects of PL/SQL, without wasting time with obscure and obsolete features. Bales takes his 20+ years of experience and a wealth of statistics he's gathered on PL/SQL usage over those years and applies the 80/20 rule: cover what's most needed and used by PL/SQL professionals and avoid what's not necessary! The result is a book that covers all the key features of PL/SQL without wasting your time discussing esoteric and obsolete parts of the language. Learn what really matters, so that you can get to work feeling confident with what you know about PL/SQL. Discover the 20% of PL/SQL that gives you 80% of the bang! Key topics covered include variables and datatypes, executing statements, working with cursors, real-world objects, debugging, testing, and more. Learn how to write production-level, object-oriented PL/SQL. You'll explore relational PL/SQL, but unlike most other books on the subject, this one emphasizes the use of PL/SQLs object-oriented features as well. Work through real examples of using of PL/SQL. You'll learn PL/SQL by applying it to real-world business problems, not by heavy theory.

Find tips for creating efficient PL/SQL code If you know a bit about SQL, this book will make PL/SQL programming painless! The Oracle has spoken—you need to get up to speed on PL/SQL programming, right? We predict it'll be a breeze with this book! You'll find out about code structures, best practices, and code naming standards, how to use conditions and loops, where to place PL/SQL code in system projects, ways to manipulate data, and more. Discover how to Write efficient, easy-to-maintain code Test and debug PL/SQL routines Integrate SQL and PL/SQL Apply PL/SQL best practices Use new features introduced in Oracle 9i and 10g

Key Features Architecture, syntax, development and composition of Business Processes and Services using BPEL Advanced BPEL features such as compensation, concurrency, links, scopes, events, dynamic partner links, and correlations Oracle BPEL Process Manager and BPEL Designer Microsoft BizTalk Server as a BPEL server Book Description Web services provide the basic technical platform required for application interoperability. They do not, however, provide higher level control, such as which web services need to be invoked, which operations should be called and in what sequence. Nor do they provide ways to describe the semantics of interfaces, the workflows, or e-business processes. BPEL is the missing link to assemble and integrate web services into a real business process BPEL4WS standardizes process automation between web services. This applies both within the enterprise, where BPEL4WS is used to integrate previously isolated systems, and between enterprises, where BPEL4WS enables easier and more effective integration with business partners. In providing a standard descriptive structure BPEL4WS enables enterprises to define their business processes during the design phase. Wider business benefits can flow from this through business process optimization, reengineering, and the selection of most appropriate processes . Supported by major vendors - including BEA, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, SAP, Sun, and others - BPEL4WS is becoming the accepted standard for business process management. This book provides detailed coverage of BPEL4WS, its syntax, and where, and how, it is used. It begins with an overview of web services, showing both the foundation of, and need for, BPEL. The web services orchestration stack is explained, including standards such as WS-Security, WS-Coordination, WS-Transaction, WS-Addressing, and others. The BPEL language itself is explained in detail, with Code snippets and complete examples illustrating both its syntax and typical construction. Having covered BPEL itself, the book then goes on to show BPEL is used in context. by providing an overview of major BPEL4WS servers. It covers the Oracle BPEL Process Manager and Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 in detail, and shows how to write BPEL4WS solutions using these servers. What you will learn Chapter 1 provides a detailed introduction to BPEL and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). It discusses business processes and their automation, explains the role of BPEL, web services, and Enterprise Service Buses (ESB) in SOA, provides insight into business process composition with BPEL, explains the most important features, compares BPEL to other specifications, provides an overview of BPEL servers, and discusses the future of BPEL. Chapter 2 provides a detailed introduction to the Web Services Technology Stack. It discusses the important standards and specifications for using BPEL and implementing SOA with web services, such as WS-Security, WS-Addressing, WS-Coordination, WS-AtomicTransaction, WS-BusinessActivity, WS-Reliable Messaging, etc. Chapter 3 discusses the composition of web services with BPEL. The chapter introduces the core concepts of BPEL and explains how to define synchronous and asynchronous business processes with BPEL. The reader gets familiar with BPEL process structure, partner links, sequential and parallel service invocation, variables, conditions, etc. Chapter 4 goes deeper into the BPEL specification and covers advanced features for modeling complex business processes. Advanced activities, scopes, serialization, fault handing, compensations, event handling, correlation sets, concurrent activities and links, process lifecycle, and dynamic partner links are covered in detail. Chapter 5 explains how to use the Oracle BPEL Process Manager for deploying and executing business processes defined in BPEL. It describes the server architecture, tools, features, and common approaches for managing and debugging BPEL processes. The chapter also looks at graphical development of BPEL processes using Oracle BPEL Designer for JDeveloper and for Eclipse. Chapter 6 takes a detailed look at the advanced features of the Oracle BPEL Process Manager including extension functions, dynamic parallel flows, Web Services Invocation Framework, Java embedding, Notification service, Workflow service, Identity service, and Oracle BPEL Server APIs. Chapter 7 discusses MS BizTalk Server 2004 and its support for BPEL. It explains how to develop business processes in BizTalk and export them to BPEL. It also explains how to import BPEL processes into BizTalk and how to use the Orchestration Designer tool to define processes graphically, and compares BizTalk and BPEL constructs. Appendix A provides a syntax reference for BPEL version 1.1. The appendix covers standard BPEL activities and elements, functions, attributes, and faults. Who this book is for This book is aimed at architects and developers in the design, implementation, and integration phases of advanced information systems and e-business solutions, developing business processes and dealing with the issues of composition, orchestration, transactions, coordination, and security. The book presumes knowledge of XML and web services, web services development (either on J2EE or .NET), and multi-tier architecture