Customer Reviews

Oracle Database 10g PL/SQL 101 (Oracle Press)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With all the many Oracle Press books I have been able to review, I have not yet been disappointed by one of them. They have consistently been written clearly, been relevant, and valuable in real-world Oracle development. This book is of course no exception. It is written as a beginning guide to not only Oracle development but as an entry-level text to SQL syntax and concepts as well.

After a good introduction to what a database is, the author begins into a tutorial on basic SQL syntax. In this introductory section, the reader learns how to create tables, write INSERT statements, and then select the data back out via the SELECT statement. The author quickly moves to more advanced techniques, illustrating the use of the WHERE clause, and discusses use of the UPDATE statement.

Practical use of the techniques just discussed will likely be implemented in SQL*Plus, so the author begins a very thorough discussion of this tool. Many of the potential problems a user might experience with SQL*Plus are covered and solutions are provided. I was quite pleased with how extensive this chapter covers the topic of SQL*Plus. It is an excellent introduction to this tool.

The author then begins to discuss more advanced database techniques, including the use of indexes and constraints. Finally, the author begins a discussion of basic PL/SQL syntax. This is really my only problem with the book: the book is called PL/SQL 101, yet only the last chapter is dedicated to discussing the subject. Sure, the proceeding material is necessary to have the framework to discuss PL/SQL. I just think the title is a bit misleading.

Trys to review all of Oracle 10G and basic SQL commands in less than 360 pages. Too high level and contains very little PL/SQL included.

I bought this book as a compliment to a current course I'm taking on DB systems. Knowing nothing about Oracle and very little about SQL, I've found this book to very informative thus far. Though I'm still reading this book, it is the perfect companion for someone new to Oracle PL/SQL and SQL.

I don't know why they called it PL/SQL 101, given that only 2 out of 11 chapters actually are about or even mentions PL/SQL. What it actually is is a brief introduction to databases, Oracle 10g, and brief explanations of various parts of that.

It starts out with explaining what a database and a spreadsheet is, and then goes on to try to teach you a bit about everything in only a few pages. If I

would have to guess, the target audience for this book would have to be not too technical management, to establish a brief understanding of what Oracle is so that they can actually talk with the database administrators. Still it sometimes delves into technical details that is of no use to that
audience.

For people who actually know what Oracle is (and are likely buyers of a title like this), it is mostly a waste of time.

Still giving it 2 stars, since most people reading this book would probably at least pick up one or two things they didn't know...

This book is good for beginner. It introduces most of the basic pl/sql fundamentals.