Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference [Paperback]

Bill Pribyl (Author), Steven Feuerstein (Author), Chip Dawes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 1999

This pocket reference provides quick-reference information that will help you use Oracle's PL/SQL language. It is a companion to Steven Feuerstein and Bill Pribyl's bestselling book, Oracle PL/SQL Programming, and includes coverage of the latest version of Oracle, Oracle8i.

Oracle is the most popular database management system in use today, and PL/SQL plays a pivotal role in current and projected Oracle products and applications. PL/SQL provides procedural extensions to the SQL relational database language and to an ever-growing number of Oracle development tools. It offers a myriad of data types, and such features as cursors, loops, conditional and sequential control statements, exception handlers, records, tables, and constructs for developing modular code (functions, procedures, and packages). Originally a rather limited tool, PL/SQL became with Oracle7 a mature and effective language for developers. Now, with the introduction of Oracle8, PL/SQL has taken the next step towards becoming a fully realized programming language providing sophisticated object-oriented capabilities.

The book on which this pocket reference is based, Oracle PL/SQL Programming, filled a huge gap in the Oracle market, providing developers with a single, comprehensive guide to building applications with PL/SQL -- and building them the right way. That book has become the bible for PL/SQL developers who have raved about its completeness, readability, and practicality. The book is packed with strategies, code architectures, tips, techniques, and fully realized code. The second edition of the book updated the text with the new Oracle8 PL/SQL features, including object types, collections, external procedures, and large object data types and functions.

The pocket reference boils down the most vital information from the large (nearly 1000 pages) book into an accessible quick reference that summarizes the basics of PL/SQL -- its block structure, fundamental language elements (e.g., identifiers, declarations, defaults), data structures (including Oracle8 objects), and statements for program control, loops, exception handling, and database access. It also covers the the basics of using Oracle's procedures, functions, and packages, and the latest features for Oracle8i.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bill Pribyl, author, teacher, and software consultant,is the primary author of Learning Oracle PL/SQL and the coauthor of Oracle PL/SQL Programming and its companion pocket reference, all published by O'Reilly & Associates. An Oracle user since 1986, Bill has consulted on many aspects of using Oracle products. He recently spearheaded PLNet.org, a Web-based repository where developers can share open source PL/SQL.

Steven Feuerstein is considered one of the world's leading experts on the Oracle PL/SQL language. He is the author or coauthor of Oracle PL/SQL Programming, Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices, Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Guide to Oracle8i Features, Oracle PL/SQL Developer's Workbook, Oracle Built-in Packages, Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages, and several pocket reference books (all from O'Reilly & Associates). Steven is a Senior Technology Advisor with Quest Software, has been developing software since 1980, and worked for Oracle Corporation from 1987 to 1992.

Chip Dawes has been building and maintaining systems on relational databases since 1988 and with Oracle since 1990. He is currently a consultant with D&D Technologies, a Chicago consultancy. He enjoys working with, lecturing on, and writing about Oracle database administration, client server application development, and Unix system administration. Chip is an Oracle Certified Professional and earned computer science and aerospace engineering degrees from St. Louis University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 99 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (May 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565924576
• ISBN-13: 978-1565924574
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,152,973 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only "OK", May 18, 2000

By 

Andrew Harbick (Harrisonburg, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference (Paperback)

I've worked with Oracle for quite a while, and I've tinkered with PL/SQL, triggers, etc. on and off during the time that I used Oracle. Recently, I needed to write a really simple PL/SQL program to assist in doing a backfill. I bought this book expecting to pluck out details quickly for writing this program. Unfortunately, there was no index, and the table of contents was a little too high-level to help you find specific information. Finally, once you locate an appropriate section, the text is terse and the examples are quite basic.

I concede that I probably should've bought "Oracle PL/SQL Language" the book for which this is a reference for my particular need. Just beware, however, that this book is solely a reference, and is hard to use unless you already know PL/SQL.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great pocket reference, 2nd edition WITH INDEX now, April 3, 2003

By 

Gregor Theis (Meerbusch Deutschland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference (Paperback)

This small booklet "ORACLE PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference" in this new 2nd edition is exactly what you need as PL/SQL (PL/SQL is the ORACLE procedural language extension of SQL) programmer (and is even more important for casual PL/SQL programmer).

"ORACLE PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference" assumes that you are running at least ORACLE 8i and it covers ORACLE 9i as well (ORACLE 9i features are marked as such).

The content and coverage of the book is very good from my perspective. Even the more exotic features that I just can't remember, like e.g. the AUTHID stuff for PL/SQL procedures, are covered in this book. Even if you do not remember the exact keyword to look something up in the index, the book is still small enough to brose over every page in a couple of minutes to find your solution. All of the ORACLE 9i features (that I know of) are explained like e.g. "bulk binds" (cool PL/SQL performance feature).

The language and the new index are very good.

Even though this is a relatively small book, there are examples for almost every topic covered (although not big ones).

This is NOT the right book to learn PL/SQL and it will not teach you any SQL. If you want to learn PL/SQL, I recommend the other books (by the same authors) from O'Reilly that are all VERY good.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Handy but could be easier to access topics, June 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference (Paperback)

There is no index and only a scanty table of contents. You are forced to go to the area and browse for information. It is a short book, and scanning works, but an index would be more efficient.