Oracle8 Black Book
(Publisher: The Coriolis Group)
Author(s): Michael R. Ault
ISBN: 1576101878
Publication Date: 01/01/98

Introduction

In my previous books, I attempted to teach prospective DBAs and Unix administrators how to progress from a junior level to a more senior level by use of general discussion and example. This book is a departure from that motif and is designed to be a hands-on reference for the developer and DBA alike. In the following chapters, we will discuss Oracle8 object-related jobs and tasks, and give real, concrete examples of how they should be accomplished—we won’t discuss theory. This book will not discuss Oracle processes, except when germane to a problem or solution. The book will not breakdown the sga, pga, uga, or any memory area unless again, it bears directly on whatever problem we are solving. This book will also not discuss general database internals tuning unless it is in light of a particular solution. For information on those types of topics, I refer the reader to my other books. This book is more of a reference book, a “book of tools” for the working developer/DBA to use.

Each chapter in this book is divided into two sections: technical information and then Practical Guides to performing specific tasks. The Practical Guide sections are all based on techniques hand-tested on several versions of Oracle. When necessary, the differences are pointed out. Any humor is solely the responsibility of the author. The book is divided into 13 chapters and an appendix. Read carefully; there will not be a test so you have to depend on your own memory.

•  Chapter 1—Provides an overview of relational and object-oriented terminology and technology. The Practical Guide provides concrete examples of how to apply these to database design. Actual conversion examples are given.

•  Chapter 2—Provides an overview of database structured design methodology. The Practical Guide demonstrates real-world application of the structured design concepts and provides a template for use in object-oriented diagramming.

•  Chapter 3—Discusses Oracle8 and how triggers are used to provide encapsulation and data hiding. Example triggers are shown, and the dreaded mutating table is slain.

•  Chapter 4—Discusses Oracle object/relational structures and insights into the use of the user-defined types. Comparisons to Java are utilized to demonstrate Oracle8’s object-oriented capabilities.

•  Chapter 5—Demonstrates Oracle8 data storage features. Partitioned tables, nested tables, VARRAYs, index-only tables, and LOB storage examples are given.

•  Chapter 6—Examines the new LOB features of Oracle8. Techniques for reading, inserting, and using LOB datatypes in the database are demonstrated including the DBMS_LOB package.

•  Chapter 7—Examines the PL/SQL enhancements specifically dealing with collection data types such as VARRAY and nested tables. The Practical Guide demonstrates the use of collection methods and data types.

•  Chapter 8—Deals with the new parallel and distributed options of Oracle8. Techniques for use of parallel insert, update, and delete are discussed and demonstrated. Advanced queuing is also discussed.

•  Chapter 9—Demonstrates how the Oracle8 data dictionary has been altered for the new features of Oracle8. The book’s companion appendix provides complete definitions of the major sets of data dictionary items such as the dollar ($), GV_$, and DBA_ views and tables. The Practical Guide shows how these tables and views are used to find information about Oracle8 objects.

•  Chapter 10—Provides information on application tuning with practical demonstrations of the use of Oracle provided tuning tools and scripts. All scripts discussed in Chapter 10 are provided on the com-panion CD-ROM, which also includes the Precise/SQL SQL-tuning tool from Precise Software Solutions.

•  Chapter 11—Provides information on tuning Oracle internals. The Practical Guide provides scripts, techniques, and guidelines for Oracle internal tunings. All scripts shown are provided on the companion CD-ROM along with the Q Diagnostic program from Savant Corporation.

•  Chapter 12—Covers the Oracle-supplied tuning and utility scripts, and demonstrates their use.

•  Chapter 13—Covers Oracle and Java topics. The Practical Guide shows examples of the use of Java with Oracle, including queries against the Oracle database using JDBC and JSQL, and the retrieval and display of objects (such as images) from the database. The companion CD-ROM contains the JDK1.1.4, JDBC, and JSQL development tool sets for use with Oracle8.

•  Appendix—Provides a reference for DBA_ and V$ views and ($) dollar tables.