Beginning Oracle Programming [Paperback]

Sean Dillon (Author), Christopher Beck (Author), Thomas Kyte (Author), Joel Kallman (Contributor), Howard Rogers (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2002

Oracle is the world's leading relational database. It provides a rich environment to store, handle, and extract data. When used properly, Oracle provides a solid foundation upon which to build enterprise scale applications.

Mastering the Oracle database is not an overnight job. It takes time, practice, and a lot of real world experience. This book teaches you the core concepts behind using the database, shows you the tools and techniques you need to master, and gives you practical examples of programming Oracle. By the time you have completed this book, you will have all the knowledge you need to use Oracle databases with confidence.

You are setting out on the same journey we travelled some years ago. We know the things you are going to run into time and time again. We understand the challenges you are going to meet when you have to develop an application or administer your database. We can guarantee you that the techniques you'll learn in this book are proven and have led us through many successful implementations.

What does this book cover:

* Oracle terminology, tools, concepts, and architecture
* The functionality of the different versions and editions of Oracle (8, 8i, and 9i)
* Basic and advanced Oracle SQL
* Mastering SQL
* Plus as an Oracle development tool
* Understanding tables, indexes, transactions and concurrency, views, triggers, and objects
* Using PL/SQL to write and package procedural code in the database
* Securing your Oracle applications
* Evaluating performance and tuning your Oracle application
* A SQL Toolkit of useful scripts that you can use in your database
* Case studies that apply this knowledge to create two practical Oracle applications

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Beginning Oracle Programming is a book for would-be Oracle administrators and developers alike. No matter what your background might be, this book takes a simple approach to teaching you Oracle technology. This tutorial takes you from no knowledge to mastery - concepts introduced in earlier chapters are built upon in later chapters. The only things we have assumed are that you understand the underlying concepts behind relational databases and have experience of basic SQL.

About the Author

Sean Dillon started programming a Commodore Vic 20 back in 1980 at the age of 9. As Sean grew, so did his love for programming. He began his professional programming career in the United States Marine Corps, shortly after returning from the Gulf War. Sean is now a principal technologist working for Oracle Corporation based in Reston, Virginia. He has 10 years of experience specializing in database architecture, database tuning, web application development, XML, and web services technologies.

Christopher Beck has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Rutgers University and has been working in the technology industry for 11 years. Starting off as a junior Ada software developer for a government systems integrator, he has spent the past 7 years with Oracle, most recently as a principal technologist. He specializes in core database technologies and web application development. Beck is also a cocreator of Oracle Portal, a commercial product that began as, in Beck's own words, a "science project," then known as WebView.

Thomas Kyte is the vice president of the Core Technologies Group at Oracle Corporation and has been with the company since version 7.0.9 was released in 1993. Kyte, however, has been working with Oracle since version 5.1.5c.

At Oracle, Kyte works with the Oracle database, and more specifically, he helps clients who are using the Oracle database, and works directly with them specifying and building their systems or rebuilding and tuning them. Prior to working at Oracle, Kyte was a systems integrator who built large-scale, heterogeneous databases and applications for military and government clients.

Tom Kyte is the same "Ask Tom" whose column appears in Oracle Magazine, where he answers questions about the Oracle database and tools that developers and DBAs struggle with every day.

Joel Kallman is a web systems technologist for Oracle Corporation. His work over the past 13 years has centered around database and content management, from SGML databases and publishing systems to text and document management. He is currently developing solutions and tools for customers to easily build database-centric web applications. Joel is a proud alumnus of The Ohio State University, where he received his bachelor's degree in computer engineering. He and his wife, Kristin, reside in Powell, Ohio.

No biography is available for this author. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1000 pages
• Publisher: Wrox Press; 1st edition (March 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 186100690X
• ISBN-13: 978-1861006905
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,088 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Beginner Book, HANDS DOWN!, July 3, 2002

By 

Telly Mosley (Falls Church, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Oracle Programming (Paperback)

I am a Web Developer (ASP) with an MS SQL background. I got throw into a project that uses an Oracle database for its backend. If not for this book I do not know where I would be. This is the best book I've seen for a newbie to Oracle. BUY THIS BOOK NOW!!!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Should be titled "Beginning Oracle 9i Programming", July 3, 2002

By 

Kevin Carlson (Everett, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Oracle Programming (Paperback)

In the usual Wrox style, this is a well-rounded introductory book on Oracle programming, with detailed, reader-friendly discussions on architecture and many "Try it out" exercises.

That being said, the book concentrates so much on 9i that if you have installed 8i (or perhaps even Personal Oracle 9i) then you might be discouraged by frequent references and exercises for things you won't be able to do. According to Oracle, 9i Enterprise for Win2K requires 512M of RAM (although other sources indicate that it will run in 256M). The OTN download is around 1.5G (approximately 3 CDROMs worth), or you can request the CDs from Oracle at otn.oracle.com.

I would have preferred to see separate sections and exercises that concentrated on 9i-specific details. There are still plenty of features common with previous Oracle releases to support a general-purpose Beginning Oracle book.

Recommended, with the above-mentioned caveat.

4.0 out of 5 stars Provides in-depth, lucid and systematic treatment of subject, October 7, 2004

By 

Anoop Jaloree - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Oracle Programming (Expert's Voice) (Paperback)

The book epitomises simple yet detailed coverage of the Oracle 9i programming. The best feature of the book is the methodical illustration of even the smallest and trivial concept by sample program which aides in understanding. Nonetheless I found the coverage of arcane topics like index, objects - which sound simple at the periphery but daunt the programmers once dealth in depth - very nice. The two case studies provided illustrates the concept better. However the book doesnt cover data modelling concept which can be discounted as being out of scope.