Customer Reviews

Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming (Oracle Press)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is one of the best technical books I have read. It makes PL/SQL easy to learn for the beginners and it is so detailed that very experienced users will find it extremely useful. It covers the usage of PL/SQL with many different types of applications such as JAVA, XML, PHP, etc. I have recommended very few language books in my time, because, I have found them to be written with the writer's logic as to how the writer thinks the code would be better executed. However this is the first book that I have seen that is written logically based on how the language would be better used to efficiently interact with the database. In short, I give this book my highest recommendation. I would like to congratulate Michael on writing such a great book.

Michael McLaughlin has delivered the most comprehensive book on PL/SQL on the market. No matter where you are, novice or master, you will find this book helpful. The book is loaded with practical, working examples and detailed descriptions that will help you from getting lost. Even the most complex topics are covered thoroughly and comprehensively in a way that makes them feel simple. Even if you are not on 11g yet, you need to buy this book. It's not only a great reference, but an interesting and captivating read that will give you ideas and understanding which will help in any project.

Most of all, this book reveals the power of PL/SQL as a viable and fully-featured programming language. It covers complex subjects such as Object Oriented Programming and utilizing Large Objects (LOBS) with striking detail. It also contains a primer on using PHP and Java with PL/SQL! You'll also find a revealing discussion on using Functions, Procedures, and Packages that enhance understanding in a way that no other book does. Other books teach you the "how", this book covers the "what" and the "why" so that you not only can write the code, but you understand everything that it is doing.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that uses PL/SQL no matter your current skill level. There's great content for everyone.

Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming by Michael McLaughlin. New York, 2008 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

As business processes and problems rely more and more on reporting and data analysis from Oracle databases, there is an increasing need for personnel that have a working knowledge of the PL/SQL language. In this book, the author intends to teach those just beginning to learn PL/SQL the basic concepts through some of the more challenging capabilities of the language. McLaughlin does quite a respectable job of accomplishing this difficult task.

Throughout the book a reader is supplied with example code that works as prescribed, personal experiences illustrating code hazards and successes for various applications, figures demonstrating how code works in complex situations, appendices abundant with relevant information for easy reference and finally even a bit of humor here and there. Although the intended audience is new users, experienced PL/SQL programmers would benefit as new features in 11g are explained and clarified with code examples.

There are many ways to present methods for learning programming languages, ranging from brief explanations with code snippets to extraordinary or mind numbing details with few or no examples. In the former case many gaps exist and a reader is usually left without a clue as to how to use the language at all, let alone effectively. And in the latter case, by the time a reader finishes a paragraph she is left wondering how to use and apply the material in a realistic scenario. In this book McLaughlin balances the two extremes to provide a consistent method useful for both new and experienced programmers. Clearly and succinctly he presents a topic and then provides an easily understandable example. However, for some of the more complex concepts presented in Part III of the book the PL/SQL novice should be prepared to spend some time reading and practicing coding. There are a few cases where a concept is presented briefly in early chapters without a complete coding example and then in later chapters details are revealed in more advanced situations. In such cases a reader is expected to have the memory and insight to integrate this information to fully appreciate the code example. I spotted such a condition while reading the technique of overloading a function in Chapter 9 Packages. I was looking forward to an example but one did not exist. Later while working in Chapter 15 Java Libraries, to my surprise found that complete code example in HelloWorld2.sql for an overloaded procedure. This minor oversight would not faze an experienced programmer and hopefully should not prove too frustrating for a new user either. It could serve as a discovery or maybe was intended as a self-check on how well previous chapters were understood.

In summary, whether you are new to Oracle Corporation's PL/SQLÒ or an experienced PL/SQL programmer, this book provides valuable direction and advice for learning the language. It introduces and details new features for 11g and provides readers the opportunity to expand their repertoire of programming tools.

This is the first technical/computing book that I have ever read cover to cover.
In fact I read this book cover to cover with multiple iterations of chapters that were difficult for me (e.g., Chapter 6 Functions and Procedures, Chapter 8 Large Objects, Chapter 13, External Procedures, Chapter 14 Object Types and the PHP/Java Primers in Appendices C and D, respectively).
I have been a PL/SQL Developer for over 6 years.
I thought I was doing pretty well but it turns out I was doing a limited number of things in my development experience over and over again. The ease with which I was writing functions and procedures, organizing the same in packages and utilizing a very few of the more advanced features like BULK COLLECT and BULK UPDATE was a deceptive set of convenient facts: Thanks to this book I now know how much I didn't know and I have a more than vague feeling that even now my ship is still relatively close to shore. There is much more the the "sea of PL/SQL", if you'll allow me that much of a poetic license!
I was particularly surprised to find out how little I knew about Oracle functions after having written so many over the years. Pipelined functions? I had never heard of them! Creation options? Eh...those either! I did not know you could used mixed notation to make a call to a procedure with multiple parameters.
The book has some typographical/copy and paste-type issues which threw me off in the beginning. It's likely not the book as much as it is my personality: I'm a classically trained musician from another life (a MUCH younger life) so you can imagine that I might be predisposed to being a stickler for details.
In the end, I finished this book because it was thorough, clear, deep (the way I like it!) and had great continuity (I am easily confused so this is important to me!).
One of the most frustrating parts of reading techinical books for me has been when the book begins an example, abandons the example and then starts a new one without the author saying something to the effect of, "In this *new* example..." or "I'll use a different example to demonstrate...".
The examples in this book are so continuous that those statements are never even needed.
Mr. McLaughlin very courteously (in my opinion) allows readers to benefit from a well-thought plan (apparently!) of moving smoothly from one technical issue to the next by extending an already developed example. I find this feature to be very reassuring and conducive to quick learning. I mean, code is hard enough to read by itself; much more so when the context of the code switches from page to page or randomly 2,3,4 or 5 pages into an issue.
The way Mr. McLaughlin makes use of code examples in this book is very helpful, too, because it allows the reader to better understand how one technical issue is related to another. As an example: how to use Virtual Directories is included in the chapter on Large Objects. Now, one wouldn't necessarily *only* use Virtual Directories with Large Objects, but it does make sense, and having the subject placed there helps me understand the most common (I assume) real-world application of Virtual Directories.
I would say that this has been an excellent resource for me as a cover-to-cover read and I have already used it as a reference manual so I am sure it works well in that way also.
I hope your experience with this book is as good as mine has been.
Many congratulations and my deepest appreciation to this author!
My first technical book ever!
This is a huge accomplishment for me (and the author!)!!.

This is probably one of the worst books you can find for Oracle 11g PL/SQL. With so many typos all over the book, Reading this is not going to be very pleasant. The author could have tried to save the reader's time by avoiding redundant information. For instance he explains about CLOB in few pages and when he comes to explain BLOB, it's just Copy paste CLOB explanation, Find the word 'CLOB' and replace with 'BLOB'. Though this book is not meant to help you pass the Oracle PL/SQL exam, I guess a good technical book should have exercises, but this one does not. The irony is this one of the very few books available for Oracle 11g PL/SQL programming.

This book is full of coding errors and incomplete descriptions of the tasks required to implement PL/SQL. I think the author assumes that the reader already knows a lot about PL/SQL. In addition, there are many code and text errors. I do not know the other people who gave this book such glowing reviews, but most of them must have some previous knowledge of PL/SQL and have learned to accept the fact that many publishing companies do not take the required steps to insure the accuracy of their texts. This is the first time I purchased a book from Oracle Press. And maybe the last.

Knowing that this text was written by a College Professor with a lot of past experience in writing about PL/SQL I was expecting very good coverage of the subject and superb style and communication skills.. so I was really amazed when I started reading this book and found myself disgusted by the writing style after just a few pages.. This is by far one of the most horribly written books I have ever come across, even for a tech book! To give you an idea of how bad it is, I can only say that it sounds like it's been written "mechanically". Sentence after sentence is laid down, a sequence of "correct facts" but with no "discourse" to tie them together, no "story" to tell. This book does not explain, it just "enumerates". I can tell you if there is one thing I like to do is reading, but the book style is so cold, boring, mechanical, dispersive and repetitive ( and in the sense of mechanically repeating the obvious, not in the sense of positively reinforcing an important point ) that is was a gigantic pain to read through. My advice: be sure to read a reasonable part of this book to get a taste for his style before buying it. The material inside is pretty good, but you will have a hard time to get to it unless you have a liking for soulless writing.
Why is that so? My guess is prof. McLaughlin suffers from a combination of sheer lack of writing/communication talent and "acute professoritis".. meaning that terrible disease that hits every author who's more concerned with his status and respectability than with the results of his teaching efforts, worrying about himself and how he will look, and not about his students and how much and how easily they will learn. The best teacher are the ones that make the simple look obvious and the complex look simple and easy.. Everybody can make the simple look harsh, complex and difficult, and prof. McLaughlin manages it brilliantly.
If you're looking for a good PL/SQL book my advice is go for:
Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Covers Versions Through Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (Animal Guide)
it's technically accurate and deep, but also wonderfully written.

Oracle Database 11g PL/SQL Programming (Oracle Press)
I use this book in conjunction with a second I had to buy called "Oracle Database 11g: The Complete Reference". The PL/SQL Progaming is excellent in decribing how to what I want to achieve. However it had no reference to the available functions and the syntax. That is why I got the second book. The second book may not be the best option, but it is helpful. I am new to Oracle in general, but I have extensive eperience in MS SQL Server. In "PL/SQL Programming" I have been staying in the first three parts of the book. I will go on the latter parts next quarter. This is not a book for beginner's. I am experienced, but no guru in MS SQL Server so most this book was readable to me. However the book covers a wide range of topics, therefore some individuals who only want part of the book may need to look elsewhere.

After reading through the 10g version of this book, I immediately ordered his 11g version. I am glad that I did. As our work deals with both versions of the database, it's great to have both explained in such a clear and precise manner. This book is my reference for all things 11g PL/SQL.

If you are learning PL/SQL, I recommend either of his two books (10g and 11g). Neither have let me down on the job when a question comes up.

Really good book. Details all the basics and more advanced topics of Pl/SQL. Great read.