Product Description

It’s sometimes said that the true job of an Oracle database administrator can be summed up in one, essential skill: to be able to recover your database.

There’s much wisdom in that statement. Of all the things you are responsible for as a database administrator, nothing is more important than the data itself. Like it or not, the fearsome responsibility of protecting your organizations most critical data falls squarely upon your shoulders:

• Lose that data and your company could fail.
• Lose that data and you could be out of a job.

Scared? You should be. But theres help. You are not alone. Oracle experts Darl Kuhn, Sam Alapati, and Arup Nanda have come together in this book to show you the power of Recovery Manager, or RMAN, which is Oracles backup and recovery tool of choice. RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 11g helps you take advantage of all that RMAN has to offer by providing easy-to-understand solutions to business-critical backup and recovery operations. This handy guide

• Demystifies the steps required to protect your business data
• Provides ready-made and step-by-step solutions to simple and complex backup, restore, and recovery operations
• Is task-oriented, making it easy for you to find the solution to pressing backup and recovery problems
• Respects your time by providing example-based solutions, not endless reading material

When the pressure’s on, you dont have time for long discussions of theory. This book gets right to the point with quick and easy-to-read, step-by-step solutions that can help you backup and recover your data with confidence.

Customer Reviews (17)

Cookbook says it all............
I've been in the business for 28 years and after a while you get "manual tired". What I loved about this book was that I was able to use it immediately. Better yet (for the writers), I brought 2 more copies to present to my co-workers.

I wish more DBAs would write books in this format. Kevin Loney aside (the great one for writing details ).

Great and useful book
This book is used frequently at my work.I have a copy at home and at work.I got it quickly through Amazon.com

Lots of clear information
This is the best book I have found for information on utilizing RMAN.It is well written and I like the problem/solution approach.There are many practical examples and many of my questions have been answered in a short time.That is very refreshing after much Internet surfing and reading other Oracle references which do not get to the point.There is a lot of backup support information, regarding log files and the flash recovery area etc.This information is very helpful and to the point.I recommend this book to anyone involved in Oracle backups.I normally don't give anything 5 stars but in this case I'll make an exception, due to the relief of stress that I have enjoyed at a low cost.

oracle rman
I read the book at this weekend just to refresh my memory...
Most of the book is pretty create in terms of explaining other than the chapter Duplicating the database, Sounds like authors were in Hurry when writing this chapter.... Need to follow Oracle Documentation to be clear on this chapter.

THE BEST BOOK ON RMAN!!!!!!!!!
Simply "THE BEST BOOK ON RMAN!!!!!!!!!".Almost all of the RMAN topics are covered in this book.Today I was waiting for some meeting and I had 30 min before the meeting. I picked up this book and started going through some topics. In 30 min I have refreshed so many topics and I came to know many many new things which I don't know before.

MOHAMMED MOINUDDIN UMAIR
SENIOR ORACLE RAC DBA (AIG) ... Read more

Product Description
Learn cutting-edge technology from Oracle experts

Written by Oracle insiders, this comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about Real Application Clusters -- low-cost hardware platforms that can rival and exceed the quality of service, availability, and scalability of the most expensive mainframe systems.

• Concepts covered are applicable to all previous versions of Oracle
• Tuning and troubleshooting tips, providing insight on the most advanced diagnostics available
• Detailed coverage of advanced RAC concepts
• Working code for all examples available online

Customer Reviews (23)

Answers a lot of WHY questions.
I bought this book after Building a RAC on Oracle Unbreakable Linux mainly because I have lot of WHY questions. This book is a single stop shop for lot of them. Very good Book - no too much bla bla bla; hit right in the target. In my opinion a must have for any DBA who works on RAC. Its a small 400Page book which will guide you in the right direction but is not a BIBLE.

If you are new to RAC - First dig a little bit on ASM too "Oracle Automatic Storage Management: Under-the-Hood & Practical Deployment Guide (Osborne ORACLE Press Series)"

I strongly recommend this book (Oracle Database 10g Real Application Clusters Handbook)

Strong on Procedural Advice
This is a good book, in that it goes one step deeper into the realm of understanding the reasons behind the many steps necessary to setup a RAC environment for Oracle.It includes discussions of the use of raw devices and how they should be applied, as well as their advantages.What it doesn't really get into much are problem determination issues, and future directions for the product.Perhaps a followup version of this book or some other book will address these topics.

Stopped reading at page 50 - atrocious editing!
I was going to give it 1-star but I am 99% sure that is probably very unfair to the author. Also, given that there are 20 5-star reviews it is unlikely to deserve less than 3-stars. I couldn't read it but given that I write technical books, and that I write Oracle books, my guess is that this book was very poorly edited. Even the grammer and is completely non-sensical in places so perhaps it was not edited at all.

good book
its good book for the beginner's rac dbas, not too much for advanced level, of course one book can not cover all the topics.

Well written and thorough.Readable beyond its technical complexities.
I borrowed a copy of the book from my coworker.It's probably one of the few technical books I actually enjoyed reading.Besides providing a good technical foundation to RAC, it also includes business and historical perspectives to High Availability and Redundancy.Gives you the arsenal to understand CRS, ASM, and GES (some of the most difficult aspects of Oracle Clustering), and provides you with information on properRAC performance tuning.I bought the book from Amazon to read AGAIN because I actually enjoyed reading it the first time.I learned a lot from this book. ... Read more

Product Description

A Fully Integrated Study System for OCP Exam 1Z0-050

Prepare for the Oracle Certified Professional Oracle Database 11g New Features for Administrators exam with help from this exclusive Oracle Press guide. In each chapter, you'll find challenging exercises, practice questions, a two-minute drill, and a chapter summary to highlight what you've learned. This authoritative guide will help you pass the test, and serve as your essential on-the-job reference. Get complete coverage of all OCP objectives for exam 1Z0-050, including:

• Installation and upgrades
• Partitioning and storage
• Intelligent infrastructure
• Diagnostics and fault management
• Performance
• Oracle Recovery Manager and Oracle Flashback
• Security
• Oracle SQL Performance Analyzer
• SQL plan management
• Automatic SQL tuning

On the CD-ROM:

• One full practice exam that simulates the actual OCP exam
• Detailed answers and explanations
• Score report performance assessment tool
• Complete electronic book
• Bonus exam available free with online registration

Customer Reviews (13)

good structure, bad contents
Buy this book. It's not good, but buy it anyway. If you want to pass the exam and not to loose too much time, it is worth the money.

Mister Alapati is already known from his book "10g New Feautres for Administrators" as someone who makes enormous number of errors. The number of errors in this book (11g) is gigantic. Not only in the text, but also in the example codes, that obviously never has run. Even in the answers of the Self test questions you see errors.

So, you don't buy this book for its contents. Without additional source of information you don't have a chance on the exam. You buy it for its structure. It covers the most of the exam topics (watch out the release 2 new features!), and it gives you an idea how you should plan your work.

And most of all... there isn't any other exam prep book on the market for 11g. Sybex doesn't publish exam preps any more, so Mr. Alapati can enjoy his monopole position.

Worst technical book ever.
So many have said it, but after using or trying to use this book myself, I have to concede, this is by far the worst technical book I have ever, ever read. It is absolutely loaded with mistakes. Unfortunately if you plan to upgrade then this is the only book out there to use at the moment, so if you decide to buy it you'll need to verify absolutely everything against the Oracle documentation and a 11gR1 database . This in itself might not be a bad thing, but if you're pressed for time it can be very frustrating... and who wants to pay top dollar for a book full of mistakes!

Further to this the author struggles to explain complicated subject matter and I had to refer to Oracle's documentation time and again to clarify concepts.

This proofed to be extremely frustrating. I will not buy a book from this author again.

Ps. The errata only covers a small set of mistakes and still has mistakes in it!

Horrible Book
I had to read Sam Alapathi's earlier book to upgrade my Oracle Cert to 10g.This most recent book takes one to new levels of frustration.Not only is the book riddled with errors, he constantly repeats the same verbiage/points to fill up the pages to make it look like you are getting something for your money.Unfortunately not a lot of alternate books are available to cover the material so I am stuck.Can someone else write the 12g book next time who can actually compose sentences in English?

What was the author thinking ?? !!!
I had read this authors (Sam Alapati) new features guide on Oracle 10g, and it had helped me a great deal with my OCP certification.
The 11g new features guide on the other hand falls short on expectations. As some previous reviewers have stated, the book can be best described as inaccurate. I was lucky to have taken the 11g new features class shortly after, where I was able to validate some of the inaccuracies in the book.

This Book Did Serve Its Purpose
I found that this book did serve the purpose - Idid pass the test.There are a few typo's, but as a experienced DBA, I was able to spot them.The author did an adaquit job in covering all of the required subject matter for the test.As with any professional certification test, it is important to use many resources to prepare. ... Read more

Product Description

This book is a comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide for using the Oracle Data Provider (ODP) version 11g on the .NET Framework. It also outlines the core GoF (Gang of Four) design patterns and coding techniques employed to build and deploy high-impact mission-critical applications using advanced Oracle database features through the ODP.NET provider.

The book details the features of the ODP.NET provider in two main sections: “Basic,” covering the basics and mechanisms for data access via ODP.NET; and “Advanced,’ covering advanced Oracle features such as globalization, savepoints, distributed transactions and how to call them via ODP.NET, advanced queueing (AQ), and promotable transactions. It takes you from the ground up through different implementation scenarios via a rich collection of both VB.NET and C# code samples.

It outlines database security and performance optimization tricks and techniques on ODP.NET that conform to best practices and adaptable design. Different GoF design patterns are highlighted for different types of ODP.NET usage scenarios with consideration of performance and security.

It provides a comprehensive guide to the synergistic integration of Oracle and Microsoft technologies such as the upcoming Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio (11.1.0.7.10). It also details how programmers can make use of ODT to streamline the creation of robust ODP.NET applications from within the Visual Studio environment.

What you’ll learn

• How to use the full set of features available in ODP.NET 11g (with code samples and diagrams illustrating each feature/concept). New features such as using Oracle Streams AQ, promotable transactions, Oracle database event notifications, and Oracle database control are also covered.
• The core performance and feature differences between ODP.NET, Microsoft.NET Provider for Oracle, OLEDB.NET, and ODBC.NET, together with the strengths and weaknesses of each method. This section also provides comprehensive coverage on the differences between ODP.NET 9i, 10g, and 11g.
• How to take advantage of connection pooling, fetch size controls, ref cursors, bind variables, client result cache and statement caching via ODP.NET to squeeze every ounce of performance from your .NET application.
• How to secure your ODP.NET applications via authentication and ODP.NET 11g’s new classes to enforce imperative and declarative Oracle security.
• The common programming pitfalls and design patterns to use/avoid in different ODP.NET usage scenarios
• How to use a significant set of features of Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio (11.1.0.7.10), including new features such as the AQ designers, user/role management, and performance-tuning tools.

Who this book is for

This book is aimed at .NET developers looking for a comprehensive guide to ODP.NET and its latest features. The book will also appeal to those looking to optimize their OPD.NET applications by applying the best design patterns and other practices.

Customer Reviews (1)

Good book, but misleading description in Amazon, no VB
I just started into the book and it seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.My frustration is that the Amazon description indicates the book as "a rich set of VB and C# examples..." only to find out there are only C# examples.I also checked the apress site and the available source code is only for C#.Therefore this book is not worth a whole lot to me. ... Read more

Product Description

Oracle Database 11g : New Features for DBAs and Developers is a comprehensive, example–laden review of the most significant new features and improvements offered by the latest release of Oracle Corporation’s flagship database product.

• Learn what’s new in Oracle that really counts.
• See actual examples and test run output.
• Make sound decisions on new feature adoption.

Sift the gold from the silt and discover which new features of the latest release of Oracle’s flagship database product are really worth adopting. Years of database administration experience from authors Sam Alapati and Charles Kim are combined with sound, step–by–step testing and a heart–felt emphasis on what matters in the real–world to help you get the most out of Oracle Database 11g .

What you’ll learn

• Which new features really can make your day–to–day work easier
• How to automate more of your DBA work than ever before

Who is this book for?

Oracle Database 11g : New Features for DBAs and Developers is for developers, DBAs, project managers, consultants, and other technically minded users of the Oracle database. The book will be of use to any professional in the field who wants to quickly review the new features offered by the Oracle Database 11grelease.

Customer Reviews (10)

Good book, many errors
This is a good book with a lot of details and examples about new features in Oracle 11g.
Very comprehensive.

But there are so many errors!
I would add to the error list other two:
1) at page 404
the example call of md_backup is wrong, instead of :
"ASMCMD> md_backup -o asm_backup.mdb -g data,fra"
should be:
"ASMCMD> md_backup -b asm_backup.mdb -g data,fra"

2) at page 560 there is a LOGIC error, or confusion !!
The authors want to demonstrate that when using system partitioning, for DML commands INSERT and MERGE one has to use partition-aware syntax.That is correct.

But the example given is about the DDL MERGE PARTITION command and not about the usual DML MERGE !!!
" Like the insert command, the merge command must be performed with partition-aware syntax.Here's an example of alter table with the merge partition command: ..."

The book overall is good, my recommendation is BUY, it did help me pass the Oracle 11g upgrade OCP exam.

Thank you,
Cristian

Kindle version illustrations impossible (nearly) to read
Taking into account the shortcomings of this book detailed in previous reviews, I found that there were really no alternatives to read while travelling if I wanted to prepare for the 11g upgrade exam. The book is OK to read, but since I was on the road, I opted for the Kindle version. I found that there is a technical problem with doing this, as the illustrations that include text (screen shots, report illustrations) are nearly impossible to read on a Kindle!I believe that the text has been reviewed adequately in the previous posts, but I hadn't seen this warning before... so people can keep this in mind when in the same situation I was in and contemplate a Kindle version rather than the hard copy. Also, you don't (obviously) get the referenced CD with the Kindle.

Oracle Database 11g Review
This is the first book I have read from Sam Alapati and Charles Kim.Coincidently or not, Sam is also the author of the "OCP Oracle Database 11g: New Features for Administrators Exam Guide (Exam 1Z0-050)" book.
After completing this book I am very happy with what I have learned.The authors are very thorough in their coverage of the new features in 11g and do a good job of providing applicable real world examples.

Chapter 9 on ASM covered the new features well and Oracle has made some nice improvements.ASM is a growth area for Oracle and am looking forward to it becoming friendlier and easier to use.Moving files in and out of ASM has been made easier in Oracle 11g.

Chapter 11 on Application Development will be best utlized by developers or DBA's that are involved with development beyond the intermediate level.This chapter also introduces DBAs to APEX.

Chapter 12 is one of the most important chapters.This chapter focuses on Data Warehousing and includes the new partitioning features.The examples are easy to understand and are applicable to the real world.This chapter also does an excellent job on explaing Oracle's next generation LOBs called "Secure Files".This is a must read chapter.

If I could have added a chapter to this book it would be a chapter dedicated to RAC.Even though 11g does not bring too many new features to RAC it does have a few.For example the new features on parallel execution I do not think are mentioned. Their are also enhanced configuration assistants that can be better explained and can be found in a single place.

Overall this is an excellent book and for someone who is just starting to work with 11g this is the best place to start.

Decent 11g New Features Book
For the most part it was a decent book and gave me a great overview of the new features in Oracle 11g. However there are quite a few typos and a bit of inaccurate information (result_cache_mode = AUTO is not valid/supported).

I wouldn't say this is a bad book - it's a nice read and contains the majority of the information. I am impressed by it being one of the first 11g books out. The authors put in a lot of hard work and I congratulate them.

Very good book
I'd recommend this book for a DBA who already has experience administering Oracle 9i and 10g, and want to maintain his/her knowledge up-to-date. It focus on the main new features of Oracle 11g, and it's certaily worth buying it! ... Read more

Product Description

FOREWORD by Tom Kyte

Your Must-Have Guide to Everything New in Oracle Database 11g

Realize the full potential of Oracle Database 11g with help from the experts. Written by Robert G. Freeman, and with insightful commentary throughout from Arup Nanda, this Oracle Press guide offers full details on the architectural changes, database administration upgrades, availability and recovery revisions, security enhancements, and programming innovations. Every new and updated feature is covered and presented with screenshots, code samples, tables, and charts. Find out how to take full advantage of all the new and improved capabilities of Oracle Database 11g, including:

• New Oracle Automatic Storage Management features, such as Fast Disk Resync, Compatibility Attributes, Preferred Mirror Read, and Rolling Upgrade components
• Improved Automated Memory Management capabilities
• New database design features, such as virtual columns, tablespace encryption, and true table-level data compression
• New Database Advisors for data recovery and repair, partitioning, and streams performance
• New tuning features, such as Automatic SQL Tuning and SQL Performance Analyzer
• Enhancements to Oracle RMAN, including active database duplication and UNDO backup optimization
• Improved auditing and security capabilities
• Advanced BI, data warehousing, and partitioning features
• New SQL and PL/SQL enhancements

Customer Reviews (9)

Excellent book, though one error and one thing missing
I did read carefully this book three times as preparation for Oracle 11g OCP upgrade exam(from 10g).
I love the clarity, simplicity and robust examples provided by Robert Freeman.
I have rated this book with 4 stars(not 5) as I found one error and one topic that I would say is missing:

1) Error, at page 281
"Manually loaded plans are automatically fixed.Oracle will mark plans as fixed when they are evolved..."
This is not true, plans are just accepted, but not fixed when they are loaded manually.
Should be "Manually loaded plans are automatically accepted.Oracle will mark plans as accepted when they are evolved..."
Robert actually in the next section at page 282 describes correctly that evolving a plan means actually to change it from not accepted to accepted.

2) Missing, a complete description about SecureFiles new feature.
Only at page 209 Robert briefly describes SecureFiles on a half of a page.
Unfortunately the 11g upgrade OCP exam has a big chunk of the questions about SecureFiles.
Knowing or not knowing about SecureFiles can make you pass or faile the OCP exam.
I am sure when Robert Freeman wrote this book the OCP exam topics had not been probably defined.

Great book anyway, it did help me pass the OCP 11g upgrade exam.
Thank you Robert Freeman.

A must for all DBA
I have been an Oracle dba since version 5.
Every time I upgrade Oracle to a new version I read the Oracle release notes, new features and all other related books.
This time I chose this book and I must say that it is much easier and clear than other Oracle material I read before.
It is well organized, the chapters are detailed and the material is well understood.
Go get it!

Alon

A good intro to 11g, but not very detailed.
I think this book is good as an overview of Oracle Database 11g.Better than a whitepaper, but not enough to fully utilize the new features.It is a good reference when you can consult the Oracle documentation for more detail.It is not good as a new features exam guide, but isn't labeled as such, so that is OK.It still can be helpful in the process of studying though.Also, it's worth keeping on the shelf.

Excerpt
The book is fun reading.
"If you are running a physical standby database in Oracle Database 11g, Oracle physical standby databases can detect the corruption. When this error is detected, Oracle recommends switching over to the physical standby database, making it the primary database. You can then re-create the primary database.
[...]
This new feature leads to quicker identification of problems and reduced down time. When the physical standby database detects the lost write, it will generate an error in the alert log of the standby database and managed recovery will be halted." (pp. 119-120)

It is nice, isn't it? You review standby alert log, find an error, then you switch over to the standby (halted!) as Oracle recommends, making it primary, and then you re-create the primary.

Mr. Freeman! What were you thinking? :)

Approachable read, value-directed understanding
Other reviewers may have negative opinions, but I think the book is well worth the cost - especially if you bill your time. Yes, the material is covered in Oracle's New Features docs, and yes, this volume is not for either the beginner or the true expert. Remember, these books have to be written well before the new product is actually available, so there are naturally some discrepancies and small errors; these are rather benign in their impact.

However, Freeman has done a great job for those of us "in the middle" who are neither beginners or world-class experts. The explanations and "here's why you care" approach make for an approachable read and a value-directed understanding of the material. The practical tips aid understanding and will save a great deal of (billable?) time.

I would still recommend reading the Oracle documentation, and of course these new features must be tested in the crucible of real environments. But buy the book, enjoy the organized approach and the time you'll save by studying it. I recommend it to my user group and co-workers. ... Read more

Product Description

The fastest way to get up and running on Oracle Database XE

Take full advantage of all the powerful features available in Oracle Database 10g Express Edition with help from this easy-to-follow Oracle Press guide. Hands-On Oracle Database 10g Express Edition for Windows shows you, step by step, how to set up, administer, tune, troubleshoot, and secure a robust database system. You will also learn to use PL/SQL and Oracle Application Express to build custom database applications. Get started today with the Oracle database that's free to develop, deploy, and distribute.

Customer Reviews (4)

a good well written book to understand Oracle 10g
After I took a quick glance of my copy, however, it is not a book Oracle DBA can be sufficient. The scripts are primitive for illustration purpose. Not much DBA scripts are discussed. Well devoted effort to write this book, well written. Just for different target audience.

Oracle DB 10g
I started with the book and the CD due to the thought of getting a ground rules idea of what Oracle is about. I did notice several areas where SQL code was used but other than that it is a powerful tool. The "Express" edition really gives you an idea of how powerful this database is. Once you complete the Express edition, go to Oracles website and download the Personal Edition for free and get the whole kit and kaboodle!

Good book
The book was well written and very methodically built the topic.I would have liked to have an introductory overview section/chapter that illustrated how the topics come together, and an example of an end result.

Hands-On Oracle Database 10g Express Edition for Windows (Osborne Oracle Press)
This book is very good! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume will take you from novice to master, covering not only how to use SQL but also the Oracle extensions to SQL. The examples feature the sample schemas available with Oracle Database 10g, and free code will be available for download. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Buy from this vendor!!!
Thank you for such outstanding service, quality and honesty!I received the book well before the expected date, and it was in perfect condition!I would definitely buy again from this vendor!!! Well done!!!

Almost makes it
Maybe a little disorganized, but overall a pretty good reference.Lots of odd omissions though.For instance, the SUBSTR function can take negative number parameters but that is not shown.In the numeric functions, where are the GREATEST and LEAST functions? There is a list of conversion functions but no examples.If you've ever pulled your hair out over a deeply nested DECODE, you know some good examples would be nice.A few of the SQL*Plus SET commands are scattered here and there, but there is no list.
Bottom line... not bad but needs more work.

Good coverage of concepts but with no exercises for the reader to practice
Oracle Database 10g SQL - Is a good book to read or reference concepts in detail. Author has covered good amount of concepts from basics of SQL to advanced SQL queries. But we were disappointed to find that the book doesn't come with exercises at the end of each chapter to practice and play on the concepts understood.

Good book from scratch to practice
It is a very good book for both who are beginning to learn SQL from scratch or those who are not too familiar with Oracle SQL databases. It introduces a lot of new 10g functionalities. Examples are given in almost most functions for easy understanding of practical usage. However, the book does not explain enough about the concept of storage about the Oracle 10g.

It is a good book for beginners
The book is good for beginners, especially who do not know SQL. The book talked about basic SQL syntax, and SQL Plus at the beginning. It also covers advanced SQL at the second part which I just ignored. ... Read more

Product Description
For easy-to-understand, comprehensive information about Oracle technology, this is the one book every user needs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Good introduction to Oracle
I'm into the third chapter and the book is an easy read and explains the topic with good examples. So far I have no bones about the format and I'm not a DBA as of yet so, I can't rip this book apart. What I like about this book are the following: 1.Technical terms/words defined at the start of each chapter 2.Good laymen expamles of subject, terms and functions, 3.Tutorial format, 4.Easy reading.

Oracle A Beginner's Guide
This book suffers from a lack of consistant tone and flow.The chapter on PL/SQL is bad.The examples are incomplete and poorly explained.The SQL and DBA chapters are decent.This book doesn't appear to be a labor oflove.The updates for Oracle 8 and 8i add a couple of chapters, but thefailings of the earlier editions remain.

would be an OK book if not for errors
I was reading this book to get familiar with some of DBA work in Oracle and found that it had lots of errors and typos in the areas that I know as well as obvious mistakes in examples. If I see that it's wrong about thingsI know - how can I trust it about the things I don't know? Read withcaution, don't be surprized when examples don't work.

A broad Intro for Starters
Buy this book if you are totally new to Oracle and would like to get introduced to all that is out there. It is not too focused and I realized that I wanted more very soon and am already looking for the next level.It's useful but not enough.

* It introduces a variety of topics (General concept, Architecture, SQL*plus, Forms, Reports, Loader, DBA stuff,tuning and so on... so it is priced well for all that information that isoffered. However if your need is more focused then do not buy thisbook.

* Has got a gentle pace and lots of reminders, tips and guidelinesto help you let the facts sink in.

* Some analogies used by the authorsto emphasize system concepts were very distracting.

* One initialchapter dealt a lot with "how to install the software", which ishardly what I was looking for.

Very good overview of Oracle 7
As someone starting from ground zero, I found this book easy to read and understand.My one reservation is that the authors sometimes used terms and code examples which had not been previously defined or explained.A more complete explanation of code examples would have been very helpful in some places. However, the book is still very much worth reading. ... Read more

Product Description

This book is an anthology of effective database management techniques representing the collective wisdom of the OakTable Network. With an emphasis upon performance—but also branching into security, national language, and other issues—the book helps you deliver the most value for your company’s investment in Oracle Database technologies. You’ll learn to effectively plan for and monitor performance, to troubleshoot systematically when things go wrong, and to manage your database rather than letting it manage you.

• Adopt a rational approach to database management; eliminate guesswork
• Add value to your organization as a database professional
• Manage and optimize performance
• Exploit different platform technologies
• Secure your organization's data
• Gain deep understanding of database internals and structures

Who is this book for?

This book is aimed at Oracle database administrators who want to further their careers by implementing sound and proven database administration practices—and especially repeatable and predictable practices—in their daily work.

Customer Reviews (2)

Expert Oracle Practices
The book seems to be very knowledgeable about expert practices - though I wantedsomething a little less advanced.I'd recommend it for advanced users but newbies should look elsewhere.

Coherent and cohesive flavor, critically important topics, infused with practical, real-world experience
I found the first Oak Table book, "Oracle Insights, Tales of the Oak Table" to be inspirational, practical, and fun to read. That was a very rare combination, so I eagerly read this new book as soon as it became available. Also, since the authors are all very active contributors to the Oracle community, I was very interested in what they would write in this collaborative forum. I was not disappointed!

This book covers a wide variety of critically important topics. Each chapter author is a recognized expert in their field, and each chapter is infused with practical, real-world experience. Each chapter includes illustrative and informative examples. The topics cover a very wide range: design, troubleshooting, monitoring, tuning, firefighting, very large databases, running on Windows, cloud computing, and security. Most of the chapters are technical, but plenty of organizational and collaborative advice is also included. Although it is unlikely that your work spans all of these topics, you will certainly find direct and immediate benefit from one or more of the chapters. Reading the other chapters is an excellent and easy way to broaden your outlook and improve your skills.

A book like this, written independently by sixteen authors, with each chapter addressing a different topic, has a real potential to be scattered and incoherent. This book does not fall prey to that danger. Instead, this book has a very coherent and cohesive flavor, probably due to the shared vision of the Oak Table Network. What seems to bind these authors together is a scientific spirit, grounded in empirical, verifiable, real-world experience. Also, these authors are all very active contributors to the Oracle community, so they know how to collaborate, explain, and educate. Moreover, they do this with a sense of fun and adventure! This spirit of joyful sharing, combined with practical expert advice, sets this book apart. It is required reading for all serious DBAs.
... Read more

Product Description

Expert Oracle Database Architecture: 9i and 10g Programming Techniques and Solutions is the definitive book if you're a developer or DBA who works with Oracle-driven database applications. This fully revised edition covers both the 9i and 10g versions. It also comes with a CD containing a searchable PDF of the 8i version of the book.

One of the world's foremost Oracle experts, Thomas Kyte covers every important feature and function of the database: the importance, inner workings, proper usage, and pitfalls if handled incorrectly. This book will show you how to program correctly with the Oracle database and exploit its feature-set effectively. As a result, you will be able to build fast, effective, scalable, and secure Oracle applications.

Customer Reviews (33)

Great Book for Develoepr & DBA
This book explains basic & advance about Oracle database and He wrote about his experience, that's great ;)
I suggest Oracle Developer & DBA read this book. I believe this book is helpful...

One of the best book of Oracle DB
Hallo,
this book is the base book for every programmer in oracle, which explains the main architecture principles of this DB system by intelligible language of Tom Kyte, the Oracle guru.
Jarda

recommended but flawed
I recommend this book, more so if you are new to industrial strength relational databases of today (keeping in mind this review is in June 2009) and if you are new to Oracle. My main complaint is that the author spends too much time paying the "faint praise" to Microsoft SQL Server which spoils the book and fills up extra pages. I think the author should have concentrated on just Oracle 9/10 and left the competitive/comparison talk to Oracle sales (which I get download for free) - in context of this book it is not relevant. BTW, much of what the author says about SQL Server is not correct or no longer correct since release of SQL 2005 in CY2005, and SQL Server 2008 in CY2008. I hope the next edition of this book only talks about Oracle and how it works and leaves the other databases out.

must read for Oracle user
This is THE best book for anyone who uses Oracle. I've read it several times. And I still learn from reading it. I couldn't find anything better. Well, the document is thorough (good for reference), but too damn long to read from cover to cover.

Must Have Book For Anyone Oracle
If you work with the Oracle database, or write software that utilizes the Oracle database, you must read this book and apply the knowledge therein to utilize the database to its highest potential. The majority of developers would probably learn a lot about Oracle just by reading through the first chapter. I would recommend anyone who assumes the database is a black box simply to store data to read this book if they want to effectively use Oracle.

This book is not a "how-to" or a "check your syntax" reference manual, but I find myself going back to it time after time for answers concerning design, or production problems that I have encountered. I think the book acts as this sort of reference inherently because of the nature of the author's step by step detail of each problem domain. For example, in the chapter on concurrency and multi-versioning, the author is explaining Oracle's read consistency model. In the code examples, he shows you how to quickly and easily prove exactly how Oracle works by giving the code sample to open one session, perform tasks, then open another session and perform tasks to see for yourself exactly what happens in different scenarios. You can believe what he says in this book is true, simply because he puts the code right in front of you, and even provides all of the code samples from the book online for free on the Apress website.

The author provides in this book details on all aspects of Oracle database. You get a full explanation of the architecture of the database system itself, to behavior of the database such as locking, concurrency, transactional controls. After you understand what the database does, the book goes into details of how to use it. A typical Oracle book, including the Oracle reference, will just give you the options that you have, for example, listing the types of tables that are available for use. What this book does is give you complete detailed analysis of each implementation, along with examples and common pitfalls. It will help you choose the right tool for each implementation.

This is not a DBA handbook! Kyte often writes something to the effect of "but I don't want to get into the details of the DBA world". While it is not a detailed reference or handbook for DBAs, it still provides the best overview of the Oracle database that I have read anywhere, and would do all DBA's a favor to read it.

Of all the books in the pile on my desk, this one stays near the top!
... Read more

Product Description

Get a Solid Foundation in Oracle Database Technology

Master Oracle Database 11g fundamentals quickly and easily. Using self-paced tutorials, this book covers core database essentials, the role of the administrator, high availability, and large database features. Oracle Database 11g: A Beginner's Guide walks you, step by step, through database setup, administration, programming, backup, and recovery. In-depth introductions to SQL and PL/SQL are included. Designed for easy learning, this exclusive Oracle Press guide offers:

• Core Concepts--Oracle Database 11g topics presented in logically organized chapters
• Critical Skills--Lists of specific skills covered in each chapter
• Projects--Practical exercises that show how to apply the critical skills learned in each chapter
• Progress Checks--Quick self-assessment sections to check your progress
• Notes--Extra information related to the topic being covered
• Mastery Checks--Chapter-ending quizzes to test your knowledge

Customer Reviews (2)

Poor Quality -Very patronizing and worthless.
This book is one of the worst books I have read on databases. The quality of this book is worst than a term report from a Junior in college. It has fill-in the blanks at the end of each chapter; Seriously what were they thinking?

Midway in the book page 208 of 410 pages total the author talks about
"LEARN What a DBA does" and marks that as a critical skill, in the same section the author encourages readers to take Oracle Certification. Buy this book if you are Freshmen or grade school student trying to use Oracle, better google and find some decent getting started guides. It is full of fluff.

Not worth the paper it's written on.

-Very disappointed.

Beginner's guide to 11g
The book was comprehensive enough for a junior dba and skilled enough for a 15 yr veteran. The incorporation of the 11g concepts and OEM was a welcome addition. The pace was good for the expected audience and the book captured the fundamentals of a dba and some concepts of 11g. I found the Mastery Checks at the end of the chapters were challenging enough. The PL/SQL will help me get feedback to development on better ways to write loops, which we all know can be done better. A topic on statistics would enhance the overall skill set for this book. Overall the book was and will be helpful going forward.
... Read more

Product Description

Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration is a task-oriented, best-practices approach to database administration using Oracle’s industry-leading database management system, Oracle Database 11g. It helps you cut through the complexity of the Oracle Database feature set and the size of its documentation set. Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration condenses and organizes the core job of a database administrator, giving you the foundation on which to achieve a senior level of expertise.

Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration is a book focused on results. Author Darl Kuhn draws from a well of experience over a decade deep to lay out real-world techniques that lead to success as an Oracle DBA. He gives clear explanations on how to perform critical tasks. He weaves in theory where necessary without bogging you down in unneeded detail. He is not afraid to take a stand on how things should be done. He won’t leave you adrift in a sea of choices, showing you three ways to do something and then walking away.

Database administration isn’t about passing a certified exam, or about pointing-and-clicking your way through a crisis, nor about earning a wooden-table label. Database administration is about applying the right solution at the right time, about avoiding risk, about making robust choices that get you home each night in time for dinner with your family. If you have “buck stops here” responsibility for an Oracle database, then Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration is the book you need to help elevate yourself to the level of Professional Oracle Database Administrator.

• Condenses and organizes the core job of a database administrator into one volume.
• Takes a results-oriented approach to getting things done.
• Lays a foundation upon which to build a senior level of expertise

What you’ll learn

Product Description

Ramp Up Your PL/SQL Programming Skills

Master PL/SQL through the hands-on exercises, extensive examples, and real-world projects inside this Oracle Press guide. Filled with best practices, Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming Workbook covers all the latest features and enhancements of the language. Mastery checks at the end of each chapter reinforce the material covered, and sample code from the book is available for download. Even experienced Oracle professionals will benefit from this practical resource.

• Understand the Oracle development architecture and the mechanics of connections
• Work with data types, structures, blocks, cursors, and PL/SQL semantics
• Write, deploy, and use functions, procedures, and packages
• Manage transactions and more
• Use dynamic SQL statements in real-world applications
• Support online transaction processing and data warehousing applications with external tables
• Find syntax samples and best practices to solve problems
• Write, deploy, and use object types

For a complete list of Oracle Press titles, visit www.OraclePressBooks.com ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Oracle Developer, you need this book!
This book is essential for Oracle veteran and beginner alike.It wraps all the best practices and new features into an easy to read, example laden, treasure of insight into PL/SQL on 11g.A must for all.It is like having a friend who is ready when you need him to point out the new, give you an example, and teach you the pit falls and best practices that you may not think of otherwise.

Review for Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming Workbook
Product is perfect for folks who have used PL/SQL for years as a refresher and way to catch up on/practice the art of PL/SQL as well as see whats new! ... Read more

Product Description

Secrets of the Oracle Database is the definitive guide to undocumented and partially documented features of the Oracle database server. Covering useful but little–known features from Oracle9i Database through Oracle Database 11g, this book will improve your efficiency as an Oracle database administrator or developer. Norbert Debes shines the light of day on features that help you master more difficult administrative, tuning, and troubleshooting tasks than you ever thought possible.

Finally, in one place, you have at your fingertips knowledge that previously had to be acquired through years of experience and word of mouth through knowing the right people. What Norbert writes is accurate, well–tested, well–illustrated by clear examples, and sure to improve your ability to make an impact in your day–to–day work with Oracle.

Customer Reviews (2)

Everything you knew about, but didn't understand.
I am so surprised that a book like this has not already been written. In a nutshell, the book contains dozens of snippets of information that you mostly knew about but never had time to understand or learn properly.

As a DBA you're always on the lookout for those little snippets of info that just allow you to make it through one more project while keeping your sanity. You know those little things like the undocumented dbms_system parameter that allows you to write direct to the alert log, those sort of things. Well this book is jammed packed with a mish-mash of those little tricks you have been collecting for the last X number of years.

The book doesn't really have any solid structure and the author is pains to state that you simply dip into the book when you have time and pick up another titbit of info, which might come in useful one day.

The book is not for beginners, so if you are a casual user of Oracle don't bother, you will not not find it useful at all and will waste your money, it is aimed squarely at slightly more experienced DBA and a developer with serious interest in the internals of Oracle, may find it useful. Once again the author is clear at the start, the subjects are glanced over, the book gives you just about enough to get you started and leaves the rest to you to work out. Things like reading raw SQL trace files, one thing the masochist in me has always enjoyed! This book expects you to understand how to read a raw SQL trace to a basic standard before moving on to more advanced aspects of the interpreting them.

There is a great section on using the inbuilt Perl distro that comes with the RDBMS installation, nothing spectacular but extremely useful, saves you having to convince the SA to load this module and that to Oracle connectivity, so you will less of a pain to you Sys Admin when you need to script stuff up!

All sorts of stuff is covered, things like how to use DBMS_PIPE against RMAN to run your RMAN backups from within the DB using schedules, the author is big fan of STATSPACK, proving that it still has some very valid uses when working with performance issues. Lots and lots of stuff about undocumented parameters, lots of info on the more obscure DBMS packages and their uses. Info about the various and little used trace event 10027, 10053 and 10079. The books covers mainly 10g but there are lots of references to the changes in 11g and how things behaved in 9i, so quite broad in scope.

Very please with this book, I read it cover to cover, I simply couldn't put it down. I would stress again, this is not a tutorial book, most likely you will nothing if you have only a passing interest in Oracle or are just getting started as a DBA, the author expects you to be familiar with a lot of the concepts and ideas and very little introduction is given to each subject.

Another great quality release from Apress, I have yet to find an Oracle book from Apress that I have not thoroughly enjoyed and have not got my money's worth from!

Useful Book Even without a Lot of Real Undocumented Secrets
The "Secrets of the Oracle Database" book with the subtitle of "Advanced administration, tuning, and troubleshooting using undocumented features" follows the same pattern as most of the other Apress books, with very well researched and verified information with careful references to well regarded books and external resources.Many code samples and demonstrations are provided throughout the book in the format of: tell me about something, and then show me/prove to me that it actually works.The topics in this book reminded me a bit of the topics discussed in the book "Oracle 10g Insider Solutions," except for the fact that the "Secrets of the Oracle Database" book actually makes an effort (a very thorough effort) at indicating which features are available with each version of Oracle (through 11.1.0.7), which features require additional cost licenses (such as the use of AWR), and provides a good enough example of the features so that the feature may be utilized with an understanding of why the feature should be used.The "Secrets of the Oracle Database" book even does a thorough job indicating the permissions and/or roles needed to leverage the various features.Specific items that I found to be helpful:
* In most cases, commands are provided for Linux/Unix and the equivalents for Windows.
* Good description of SYS.AUX_STATS and the various functions to view and populate the CPU stats are described in the book.
* Very detailed description of raw 10046 trace files.
* Detailed listing of the purpose of the various database tables related to Statspack.
* Good summary of ORADEBUG functionality.
* Provides a warning not to adjust the hidden (underscore) parameters unless under the supervision of Oracle support.

With the above in mind, why not give the book a 5 out of 5 rating?
* Several Oracle features/behavior which are described as undocumented are in fact fairly well documented and/or discussed in Metalink notes, on various Oracle related blogs, and various Internet forums:Page 143 describes ALTER USER IDENTIFIED BY VALUES as being undocumented while it is documented in Metalink (279355.1 last modified 27-OCT-2008 and 1051962.101 last modified 16-OCT-2008) and on several websites.Page 136 states that the TRACE=TRUE parameter for the exp/imp and expdp/impdp utilities is undocumented while it is documented in a couple Metalink notes (271782.1 last modified 17-JAN-2005 and 286496.1 last modified 21-APR-2009) .Page 337 states that DBMS_SYSTEM is undocumented while it is documented in a couple Metalink notes (286496.1 last modified 21-APR-2009 and 103267.1last modified 20-NOV-2002 and 436036.1 last modified 09-MAR-2009 and DBMS_SUPPORT is described in 62294.1 last modified 25-OCT-2002), several books, and several websites.Pages 271 and 371 state that the 10046 trace file format is undocumented while it is documented in a couple Metalink notes (39817.1 last modified 09-DEC-2008 and 376442.1 last modified 25-JUN-2009), two books referenced by this book ("Optimizing Oracle Performance" and "Troubleshooting Oracle Performance"), and several websites.Page 299 states that "it is undocumented which parameter changes force the optimizer to consider a new plan," after showing how changing OPTIMIZER_INDEX_COST_ADJ forced a change in the execution plan - but the book never went on to suggest checking V$SES_OPTIMIZER_ENV, V$SQL. OPTIMIZER_ENV_HASH_VALUE/V$SQL. OPTIMIZER_ENV, or a 10053 trace file.

There also appear to be a couple errors, or at least exceptions to some of the broad rules discussed in the book:
* Page 29 states that "V$PARAMETER is built in such a way that it lists documented (non-hidden) parameters only," with documented parameters being those which do not begin with one or two underscore characters.This is a correct statement, until one of the hidden parameters is modified, with a command such as the following: ALTER SYSTEM SET "_OPTIMIZER_UNDO_COST_CHANGE"='10.1.0.4'; (_OPTIMIZER_UNDO_COST_CHANGE is one of those parameters which are adjusted automatically when OPTIMIZER_FEATURES_ENABLE is set to a different value). Once the _OPTIMIZER_UNDO_COST_CHANGE parameter (or likely any _ parameter) is modified, it will then be listed along with the documented parameters in V$PARAMETER (tested on Oracle 10.2.0.2 and 11.1.0.7).
* Page 45 states "Since SELECT statements don't benefit from unused indexes... it may be worthwhile to drop unused indexes."Richard Foote's blog provides evidence that those indexes which appear to be unused indexes may actually provide the cost based optimizer statistical information that it would not otherwise have.Also, not every use of an index is recorded as a use of that index.

Given the title and subtitle of the book, I expected much more insight into the internals of Oracle databases.For instance on page 277 when describing the content of a 10046 trace file, the book stated that cr is defined simply as "consistent reads", while cu is defined simply as "current blocks processed".Page 357 gives a little more detail on the cu statistic "call parameter cu (current read) corresponds to the statistic db block gets."This limited description is disappointing as a book described as providing advanced administration, tuning, and troubleshooting techniques should be able to tell much more about the cr and cu statistics.The same might also be stated about the coverage of V$SYS_TIME_MODEL, V$LOCK, V$SQL_SHARED_CURSOR and several other features discussed in the book.

Several of the chapters (5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15, etc.) are very short, ranging from two to five pages in length.It might have been a better idea to combine several of these small chapters and/or provide more knowledge of Oracle's internal behavior in those chapters.The author seems to favor the word "contrary" as it appears many times throughout the book.The back cover of the book indicates that this book should be read after "Troubleshooting Oracle Performance" and/or "Expert Oracle Database 11g Administration".Reading either of these two books before reading the book "Secrets of the Oracle Database" might make some of the secrets disclosed in the book seem quite ordinary.

In summary, this book's contents would likely seem as "secrets" for those DBA who have worked with Oracle for only a couple years and for those DBAs whose last book read was an Oracle 8.0.5 administrator's guide.This book contains a great collection of disconnected information about Oracle (no building process from one item to the next), but it sometimes stops short of providing undocumented secrets to those DBAs who have read a couple good books recently, read a couple good blogs, and followed along on the discussions of a couple Oracle related forums.Much of the information may be obtained from other sources, but it is helpful that so much of the information is contained in a single book. ... Read more

Product Description

This is a unique, one-volume guide to the administration and management of the Oracle database. Fully revised and updated from its best-selling 9i predecessor, this edition covers all new features, with fully field-tested examples&emdash;not just "showcase" examples.

This book covers the new 10g management and performance tools and provides essential primers on Unix, Linux and Windows NT administration and on core SQL and PL/SQL programming techniques. And it provides everything the new and aspring Oracle DBA needs to build and admisiter complex Oracle 10g databases.

Customer Reviews (13)

a lot of bugs! - not worthy
I reviewed this book and I found a looooot of bugs in there. Nobody bothered to check if all queries are ok.
Examples? Here you are:
command: rmdir -r newdir
should be: rm -r newdir

another here: SELECT name FROM sys.obj$ WHERE obj#='4916681';
should be:SELECT name FROM sys.obj$ WHERE dataobj#='4916681';

it is only a couple of first pages. I am scared what gonna be later...

Exellent guide for beginners.
A good book for a reader that did not attend Oracle courses or lack an expertise in several fields, definitely not a study textbook, but a reference for already working DBA.

read one month before taking the class, at lease
read one month before taking the class, at lease, because it's not a 1200 pages book full of snapshot, but full of characters. good for students who never touch the Unix/Linux subject

Probably the Best book on Oracle DBA..
Guys..
This is it. I have 2 other DBA books that i use to refer. I sold them on Ebay, and bought this book. This is the only book that i have on my desk. It got everything from Basics like 1NF ( first Normalization) to PL/SQL packages.
Time spent reading this book is worth it. Thanks Sam for Wondeful book.

What a book
I knew this book for a long time and i am so lucky to get it... it explain stuff in a very nice and sequential way, the best about it is that it trains the DBA to use command line at all time..... ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (12)

Pocket Reference - TOAD
This book as more information on TOAD than I could find online.Book arrived in excellent shape and delivery was fast.

Developer
This book is a great book. It covers various flavors of SQL with a main focus on Oracle.
It has been a convenient pocket sized reference for those who are on the move.
What I like most is it covers differences in Postgres, DB2, and MySql, "well as much as one can put in a pocket guide". One word "Helpful"!

Definitely Not for the Beginner
Being new to TOAD, when I first glanced at the book without having the TOAD application opened, my eyes glazed over.After I set it aside and picked it up another time but have the TOAD application opened, the book was somewhat easy to follow.Too bad that there isn't a TOAD 101 (book or tutorial) out there.

Good handy reference for TOAD users
I don't use this book a lot, but have found it to be worthwhile. It's a good read when riding the bus because I can always pick up a tip or two.

Just what the name says - A pocket refernce
Useful - but I would say costs too much for its content.
Anyone can make their own reference book similar to or better than this using TOAD's Help features! ... Read more

Product Description
Oracle's Mr. Linux details everything from installing the OS (Red Hat and United Linux) to installing the database to debugging and troubleshooting to performance, availability, and scalability. Wim is the Director of Linux Engineering at Oracle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

no useful information
Before I bought this book I read its table of contents and I found it wery interesting for me. But when I started reading it I found very few concreate informations in this book. A lot of repeated sentences, a lot of general informations. If you would like to learn something useful about Oracle implementation in Linux try another book.

Useful info and perspective of running Oracle's database on Linux
This is a well written book for anyone who wants to learn lots of useful Linux specific details and perspective about set up, administration, monitoring, and tuning Oracle 10g on Linux.

Granted, there's lots of free documentation on Oracle's web site.But, instead of just being dry documentation that's not a lot of fun to read, this book gives conciseness, and prose that communicates the authors actual real-world experience of working with this stuff.

If you're administering Oracles 10g on Linux, this is a great book to read.

Very satisfied with the contents
If you read the editorial review: It is stated that the book is about installing and configuring Oracle Database 10g on Linux. Yes, the author did explain clearly the process of installing and configuring the Oracle 10g on Linux. He also covered a few more topics such as HA (High Availability), Tuning SQL, RAC, Replication, Index and Partitioning ... but not in depth. But the coverage is acceptable and useful. Do buy this book and you will find it useful if you love Oracle DBMS running on LINUX platform.

Good intro to Oracle 10g for Linux
As an experienced Oracle DBA, I wanted a nice text that covers Linux specifics to Oracle 10g. This book is okay not perfect but the only real Oracle 10g for Linux book on the market.

Good
1. RAC coverage is decent
2. Linux tuning for Oracle is nice

Bad
1. Data Guard coverage is very weak
2. No workarounds for installation issues with Linux and Oracle

So I give it 3 stars because its not bad but not great. I hope that the other Linux for Oracle RAC book that comes out next year is better.

lots of buzzwords but no useful info
I was very anxious for this book to come out since it had a very lucrative table of contents with all the "right" stuff in it.
Unfortunately I found the book to have a lot of unneeded info such as history of Oracle, history of Linux, Unix, overview of Oracle products,etc junk. If you an Oracle professional, you probably knowall of this anyways. I was hoping to find "trade secrets" and "best pratices of ORacle on Linux" that will help me , but instead found very basic descriptive information, nothing detailed in particular.
There is nothing "special" about Oracle architecture, backup and recovery in this book that refers to Linux that you can't find in any other oracle 10g book. The only useful detail that I found is remapping of kernel base when using Large memory for SGA, but that also can be dug out of OTN. Also you will find a much better overview of Linux from any "Linux Administration" book.

Overall this book may be ok for a newbie as introduction, but if you are past that stage, I would say pass on this one. ... Read more

Product Description
SQL for Query Writers assumes that you have no previous experience with SQL. This book is intended for the business analyst, report developer, business intelligence user and those new to SQL. It introduces basic relational database concepts and includes many diagrams to help with data set visualization.This book is packed full of examples to help you write SQL queries. Learn best practices, SQL functions, formatting query results, analytical functions, converting query results into XML, basic performance tuning, object types, report applications and more. Level: Rookie to SuperstarA SQL tutorial and reference that covers Oracle Database 11g ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Pure SQL Queries
I am the author of this book. I thought that I would take a moment to share a little about this book with you. SQL queries are what you develop or write when you are writing reports, customizing BI dashboards and developing software against a database. I've been helping new report developers and programmers write SQL, tune SQL and refactor SQL over the last 10 years. When I recommend a good SQL book or reference the online Oracle documentation I have found that it can be overwhelming for those new to SQL. This was my motivation in writing "SQL for Query Writers". "SQL for Query Writers" is a pure SQL book that leaves out all of the DBA-related SQL commands (as report writers are not typically managing databases). I also include many of the SQL optimizations that I have used over the years to achieve performance expectations (another hard thing to learn). So I invite you to take a look at my book with Amazon's Look Inside feature. The source code for creating the examples in this book is available online as a free download. ... Read more

Product Description

A Fully Integrated Study System for OCP Exam 1Z0-053

Prepare for the Oracle Certified Professional Oracle Database 11g: Administration II exam with help from this exclusive Oracle Press guide. In each chapter, you'll find challenging exercises, practice questions, a two-minute drill, and a chapter summary to highlight what you've learned. This authoritative guide will help you pass the test and serve as your essential on-the-job reference. Get complete coverage of all OCP objectives for exam 1Z0-053, including:

• Database structure and Oracle Automatic Storage Management
• Configuring database recoverability                  
• Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN)
• Oracle Flashback                    
• Memory management techniques                      
• Database tuning advisors                   
• Disk space and resource management              
• Configuring database diagnostics                      
• Administering the Oracle Scheduler                 
• Database globalization

On the CD-ROM:

• One full practice exam that simulates the actual OCP exam
• Detailed answers and explanations
• Score report performance assessment tool
• Complete electronic book
• Bonus exam available free with online registration