Oracle designed its database products to be flexible and configurable so they would operate on a variety of hardware platforms, and they succeeded--Oracle software runs on more than seventy computer platforms, from mainframes to PC networks to handheld PDAs. The secret to this flexibility lies in the software's initialization parameters, whose numerous settings can be configured for top performance in countless environments. On the downside, however, improper settings can slow a system down; even grind it to a halt. And with so many parameters--which change from version to version of Oracle software--it's challenging for Oracle administrators to keep in mind the characteristics and optimal settings for each parameter.

The "Oracle Initialization Parameters Pocket Reference" provides the crucial information you need to make key adjustments to your Oracle database. This concise guide is a mix of invaluable performance tips and a quick reference to Oracle's initialization parameters. The book describes each initialization parameter, indicates what category it's in--from auditing to multi-threaded server MTS--and whether it can be modified dynamically via the ALTER SESSION or ALTER SYSTEM command.

In addition to the details about parameter characteristics and settings, you'll find performance tips, such as how the various parameters interact, and what the most advantageous settings are for different configurations. No other reference focuses exclusively on these initialization parameters--an absolute must for anyone working with an Oracle database.

Presented in a handy, easy-to-use format, the "Oracle Initialization Parameters Pocket Reference" is a welcome alternative for anyonewho's struggled to memorize the best configuration settings or gone back and forth to online resources, trying to figure out what works. O'Reilly's Pocket References put the information you need close at hand where you need it most. This guide will keep your Oracle databases operating at peak performance.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Implement a Centralized Cloud Storage Infrastructure with Oracle Automatic Storage Management Build and manage a scalable, highly available cloud storage solution. Filled with detailed examples and best practices, this Oracle Press guide explains how to set up a complete cloud-based storage system using Oracle Automatic Storage Management. Find out how to prepare hardware, build disk groups, efficiently allocate storage space, and handle security. Database Cloud Storage: The Essential Guide to Oracle Automatic Storage Management shows how to monitor your system, maximize throughput, and ensure consistency across servers and clusters. Set up and configure Oracle Automatic Storage Management Discover and manage disks and establish disk groups Create, clone, and administer Oracle databases Consolidate resources with Oracle Private Database Cloud Control access, encrypt files, and assign user privileges Integrate replication, file tagging, and automatic failover Employ pre-engineered private cloud database consolidation tools Check for data consistency and resync failed disks Code examples in the book are available for download

Toad is an enormously popular interactive environment tool for Oracle development and administration. It allows developers to build, test, debug, and format their code via an easy-to-use graphical user interface, available in both freeware and commercial versions. Toad makes developers far more productive; using Toad, you'll find that program changes that once took hours can now be completed in minutes. Toad allows developers to browse their database tables, procedures, and object types; use code templates; and show errors. It also simplifies database administration by providing a way for DBAs to graphically browse and change database characteristics.

Updated for Toad Versions 8.0 and 8.5, this pocket book is packed with quick-reference material: Toad feature and menu summaries, shortcut keys, suggested changes to Toad defaults, productivity tips and tricks, and more. The book includes concise discussions of all the basic Toad components: the SQL Editor, Procedure Editor, SQL Modeler, Schema Browser, Project Manager, and Debugger. The second edition includes coverage of new SQL Editor features, improvements in usability, and new tools such as CodeXpert (a robust code analyzer and advisor) and Script Debugger (the only tool available that provides real-time debugging of SQL*Plus scripts). It also provides helpful hints on using Toad to perform database administration and SQL tuning and optimization.

Whether you're a new or experienced Toad user, you'll find this quick reference an indispensable companion to the product and its online help files.

The goal of Oracle in a Nutshell is to pull together the most essential information on Oracle architecture, syntax, and user interfaces. The content and format of this book, an admirable addition to O'Reilly's respected In-a-Nutshell line, combine to boil down vital Oracle commands, language constructs, parameters, and file formats in a succinct and highly accessible desktop reference.

Perl is a very powerful tool for Oracle database administrators, but too few DBAs realize how helpful Perl can be in managing, monitoring, and tuning Oracle9i, Oracle8i, and earlier databases. You don't need to be a Perl expert to reap the rewards of reading Perl for Oracle DBAs. The book explains what you need to know about Perl, profiles the best Perl open source applications available to DBAs, and provides the Perl DBA Toolkit, a comprehensive suite of ready-to-use scripts designed to ease the burden of Oracle database administration.

If you are an Oracle DBA moving to Unix from another environment such as Windows NT or IBM Mainframe, you know that the commands you need to learn are far different from those covered in most beginning Unix books. In this handy pocket-sized book, Don Burleson introduces those Unix commands that you as an Oracle DBA most need to know.

Be more productive with the Oracle PL/SQL language. The fifth edition of this popular pocket reference puts the syntax of specific PL/SQL language elements right at your fingertips, including features added in Oracle Database 12c. Whether you're a developer or database administrator, when you need answers quickly, the Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference will save you hours of frustration with concise summaries of: Fundamental language elements, such as block structure, datatypes, and declarations Statements for program control, cursor management, and exception handling Records, procedures, functions, triggers, and packages Execution of PL/SQL functions in SQL Compilation options, object-oriented features, collections, and Java integration This handy pocket reference is a perfect companion to Steven Feuerstein and Bill Pribyl's bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming.

The vast majority of Oracle SQL books discuss some syntax, provide the barest rudiments of using Oracle SQL, and perhaps include a few simple examples. It might be enough to pass a survey course, or give you some buzz words to drop in conversation with real Oracle DBAs. But if you use Oracle SQL on a regular basis, you want much more. You want to access the full power of SQL to write queries in an Oracle environment. You want a solid understanding of what's possible with Oracle SQL, creative techniques for writing effective and accurate queries, and the practical, hands-on information that leads to true mastery of the language. Simply put, you want useful, expert best practices that can be put to work immediately, not just non-vendor specific overview or theory.

Updated to cover the latest version of Oracle, Oracle 10g, this edition of the highly regarded "Mastering Oracle SQL" has a stronger focus on technique and on Oracle's implementation of SQL than any other book on the market. It covers Oracle s vast library of built-in functions, the full range of Oracle SQL query-writing features, regular expression support, new aggregate and analytic functions, subqueries in the SELECT and WITH clauses, multiset union operators, enhanced support for hierarchical queries: leaf and loop detection, and the CONNECT_BY_ROOT operator, new partitioning methods (some introduced in Oracle9i Release 2), and the native XML datatype, XMLType.

"Mastering Oracle SQL," 2nd Edition fills the gap between the sometimes spotty vendor documentation, and other books on SQL that just don't explore the full depth of what is possible with Oracle-specific SQL. For those who want to harness the untapped (and often overlooked) power of Oracle SQL, this essential guide for putting Oracle SQL to work will prove invaluable.

Expert Oracle Application Express Plugins is your go to book on the groundbreaking plugin architecture introduced in Oracle Application Express 4.0. Using the new APEX functionality, you can create well-packaged, documented, reusable components and reliably leverage your coding investments across many applications. Components you create can define new item and region types, specify validation processes, and present dynamic actions to client applications. You can design innovative and colorful ways to display information, such as displaying the temperature using an image of a thermometer, or displaying sales velocity in the form of an automotive speedometer. The new plugin architecture is sure to create a tidal wave of creativity. Author Martin D'Souza shows everything you need to know to get started in building and deploying plugins of your own design. You'll learn the underlying architecture, including the APIs used to tie your plugins seamlessly into an Application Express environment. You'll learn about the different types of plugins, and you'll walk through examples of each to ensure that you can create the right type of plugin when you need it. Finally, Expert Oracle Application Express Plugins shows how to work as part of the larger Application Express community by leveraging that community's efforts and by giving back as you deploy your own plugins to the broad audience of Application Express developers. Presents the architecture and APIs available for customizing Application Express Gives clear examples of plugin development, for each type of plugin Helps you work as part of the broader community of plugin developers What you'll learn Understand the APEX plugin architecture Design and develop each of the four types of plugin Debug and troubleshoot plugin-based applications Deploy your plugins to the wider community Make your plugins compatible across different browsers Master the plugin APIs that APEX provides Who this book is for

Expert Oracle APEX Plugins is aimed at Oracle Application Express developers wanting to develop reusable components using Application Express's new, plugin architecuture. The book appeals to in-house developers wanting to preserve their investment in writing code by packaging it for convenient reuse in other applications. The book also appeals to commercial software developers who want to write plugins for sale. Table of Contents Introduction to Plugins Plug-in Fundamentals Item Plug-ins Dynamic Action Plug-ins Region Plugiins Process Plugiins Best Practices & Community Debugging& Tools

Now available in paperback-- What makes seasoned IT professionals run for cover? Answer: Forecasting Oracle Performance Craig Shallahamer is an Oracle performance expert with over 18 years of experience. His book is the first to focus not on the problem of solving today's problem, but squarely on the problem of forecasting the future performance of an Oracle database. Other Oracle performance books are good for putting out fires; Craig's book helps you avoid all the heat in the first place. If you're an IT practioner who appreciates application over mathematical proofs than you'll be pleasantly surprised Each chapter is filled with examples to transform the theory, mathematics, and methods into something you can practically apply. Craig's goal is to teach you about real-word Oracle performance forecasting. Period. There is no hidden agenda. This book is a kind of training course. After reading, studying, and practicing the material covered in this book, you to be able to confidently, responsibly, and professionally forecast performance and system capacity in a wide variety of real-life situations.If you are more management-minded (or want to be), you will be delighted with the service level management focus. Forecasting makes good business sense because it maximizes the return on IT investment and minimizes unplanned down time. To those who think forecasting is a waste of money: well...obviously, they've never been on the evening news because their company lost millions of dollars in revenue and brand destruction because of poorly performing or unavailable systems. Without a doubt, you will be equipped to deal with the realities of forecasting Oracle performance. But this book gives you more. Not only will you receive a technical and mathematical perspective, but also a communication, a presentation, and a management perspective. This is career building stuff and immensely satisfying What you'll learnThis book is a how-to book filled with examples to transform theory and mathematics into something you can practically apply.You will learn how to use a variety of forecasting models, which will enable you to methodically: * Help manage service levels from a business value perspective * Identify the risk of over utilized resources * Predict what component of an architecture is at risk * Predict when a system will be at risk * Develop multiple risk mitigating strategies to ensure service levels are maintained * Characterize a complex Oracle workload Who this book is for IT professionals who must ensure their production Oracle systems are meeting service levels, in part, through forecasting performance, identifying risk, and developing solutions to ensure systems are available without wasting budget. Readers include database administrators, IT managers, developers, capacity planners, systems architects, systems integrators.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Leverage Oracle Database 11g Release 2 High Availability FeaturesProtect your critical business assets and achieve maximum database uptime using the detailed information in this Oracle Press guide. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 High Availability: Maximize Your Availability with Grid Infrastructure, Oracle Real Application Clusters, and Oracle Data Guard, Second Edition provides cost-effective solutions to current availability challenges. Discover how to grid-enable your IT framework, roll out Oracle Real Application Clusters, maintain standby databases, and deploy Oracle Flashback. Monitoring, tuning, and disaster recovery techniques are also covered in this comprehensive resource. Install Oracle Clusterware (as part of Oracle's grid infrastructure) or upgrade from an earlier version Build test clusters and hosts using Oracle VM Work with Oracle Automatic Storage Management and Oracle Automatic Storage Management Cluster File System Create synchronized standby databases using Oracle Data Guard Reliably archive and restore data with Oracle Recovery Manager Use Oracle Flashback to identify and undo user errors Configure Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control for management of an Oracle maximum availability architecture environment

Have you ever been faced with a new type of query to write, or been asked to create an unfamiliar database object? In such situations, you have probably wanted a good, solid example upon which to build, and instead have been forced into the drudgery of parsing railroad-style syntax diagrams in Oracle's manual set. This book frees you from that drudgery by providing tested and working examples of SQL used to solve common problems faced by developers and database administrators on a daily basis. When you're under pressure to get results fast, Oracle SQL Recipes is there at your side.Example-based, providing quality solutions to everyday problems Respects your time by putting solutions first and keeping discussions short Solves the most commonly encountered SQL problems What you'll learn Recognize common query patterns and apply their corresponding solutions. Solve common reporting problems such as sorting rows into buckets. Troubleshoot SQL performance problems. Create and manage database objects such as tables, indexes, and views. Work with XML and tree-structured data. Take advantage of analytic functions, regular expressions, hierarchical query support, and other powerful aspects of Oracle SQL. Who this book is for

Oracle SQL Recipes is written for developers and database administrators who write SQL to run against an Oracle database. It is further written for those whose time is precious, and who just wish for a good example to help them get on with their work. If you want to spend your time writing SQL rather than reading about it, then this is the right book for you. Table of Contents The Basics Summarizing and Aggregating Data Querying from Multiple Tables Creating and Deriving Data Common Query Patterns Working with Date and Time Values Strings Working with Numbers Managing Transactions Data Dictionary Common Reporting Problems Cleansing Data Tree-Structured Data Working with XML Data Partitioning LOBs Database Administration Object Management SQLMonitoring and Tuning Database Troubleshooting

Despite its wide availability and usage, few developers and DBAs have mastered the true power of Oracle SQL*Plus. This bestselling book--now updated for Oracle 10g--is the only in-depth guide to this interactive query tool for writing SQL scripts. It's an essential resource for any Oracle user.

The new second edition of "Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide" clearly describes how to perform, step-by-step, all of the tasks that Oracle developers and DBAs want to perform with SQL*Plus--and maybe some you didn't realize you could perform.

With "Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide," you'll expertly:

write and execute script files

generate ad hoc reports

extract data from the database

query the data dictionary tables

customize an SQL*Plus environment

and much more

It also includes a handy quick reference to all of its syntax options and an often-requested chapter on SQL itself, along with a clear, concise, and complete introduction.

This book is truly the definitive guide to SQL*Plus. It's an indispensable resource for those who are new to SQL*Plus, a task-oriented learning tool for those who are already using it, and an immediately useful quick reference for every user. If you want to leverage the full power and flexibility of this popular Oracle tool, you'll need this book.

Oracle Regular Expressions Pocket Reference is part tutorial and part quick-reference. It's suitable for those who have never used regular expressions before, as well as those who have experience with Perl and other languages supporting regular expressions. The book describes Oracle Database 10G's support for regular expressions, including globalization support and differences between Perl's syntax and the POSIX syntax supported by Oracle 10G. It also provides a comprehensive reference, including examples, to all supported regular expression operators, functions, and error messages.

The JDBC Pocket Reference offers quick look-ups for all methods of the standard JDBC classes. These include concise reviews of the procedures for common JDBC tasks such as connecting to a database, executing stored procedures, executing DDL and the like. You'll find documentation of the connect string formats for the most common databases, including Oracle, SQL-Server, and PostgreSQL. You'll even find information on working with large objects, and on using SQL99 user defined datatypes to work with object-relational data. Searching for this sort of material through large tutorials is frustrating and a waste of time, but this pocket-sized book is easy to take anywhere and makes finding the information you need a snap.

One of the most important challenges faced by Oracle database administrators and Oracle developers is the need to tune SQL statements so that they execute efficiently. In this book, Mark Gurry shares his in-depth knowledge of Oracle's SQL statement optimizers. Mark provides solutions to many common problems that occur with both the rule-based and cost-based optimizers. Mark provides a number of handy SQL tuning tips, discusses the use of the DBMS_STATS package to manage database statistics, and shows you how to use outlines to specify execution plans for SQL statements in third-party applications that you can't otherwise modify.

The "Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference" is a must-have for anyone working with Oracle databases, especially those looking to maximize the effectiveness of SQL*Plus. As Oracle's long-standing interactive query tool, SQL*Plus is available at every Oracle site, from the largest data warehouse to the smallest single-user system. Despite its wide use, however, SQL*Plus is still often not completely understood or fully utilized.

Database administrators and developers alike will therefore find the "Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference" to be extremely beneficial. In addition to summarizing all of the SQL*Plus syntax and format options, including new Oracle Database 10"g" features, this handy, on-the-job guide specifically shows readers how to:

Differentiate between SQL and SQL*Plus

Interact with SQL*Plus from both the command line and the web browser

Select, insert, update, and delete data

Format both text and HTML reports with SQL*Plus

Specify SQL*Plus commands and format elements

Tune SQL queries

The new third edition of this book has been updated for Oracle Database 10"g" to include information on both SQL*Plus and SQL. New SQL information includes the SELECT statement's new MODEL clause, flashback queries, partition outer joins, and DBMS_XPLAN.

With its quick-reference format and compact size, the "Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference" follows in the long line of successful "pocket references" offered by O'Reilly. It also serves as the ideal companion to O'Reilly's larger, more comprehensive book on SQL*Plus, the bestselling "Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide,"

Author Jonathan Gennick is an editor for O'Reilly specializing in database and programming titles, having amassed some 17 years of programming and database management experience.

This is the first book to tie together the commercial world of Oracle and the free-wheeling world of open source software. It describes nearly 100 open source tools, from the widely applied (like Linux, Perl, and Apache) to the Oracle-specific (like Orasoft, Orac, OracleTool, and OraSnap). You'll learn where to find them, what their advantages are, and how to create and release new open source Oracle tools yourself.

A companion to Feuerstein's other bestselling Oracle PL/SQL books, this workbook presents a carefully constructed set of problems and solutions that will test your language skills and help you become a better developer. Three levels of exercises--beginner, intermediate, and expert--cover the full set of language features. These include variables, loops, exception handling, data structures, object technology, cursors, built-in functions and packages, PL/SQL tuning, and the new Oracle8i features (including Java and the Web).

Designed for both new programmers and those experienced in other languages, this book presents the core features of Oracle's PL/SQL language in an easy-to-read format. Learning Oracle PL/SQL will bring programmers up to speed on the most important aspects of PL/SQL, including web and Internet programming. Updated through Oracle9i, includes sample programs downloadable from examples.oreilly.com/learnoracle.

Despite the wide availability and use of SQL*Loader, few Oracle DBAs and developers know how powerful it really is. This book describes all of SQL*Loader's functions, including how to construct the necessary control files, load different types of data, and get the best performance. It covers the newest SQL*Loader features--the loading of large object (LOB) columns and the new object types (nested tables, varying arrays, and object tables).

The Oracle database is one of the most popular in the world, and for good reason. It's compatible, scalable, portable, and capable of performing incredibly fast. The advantages Oracle holds over its competition come with a price, however--it's a highly complex database that's becoming more complex with every release. And this level of detail, of course, can begin to weigh on database administrators (DBAs).

Fortunately, the "Oracle DBA Pocket Guide" from O'Reilly is on the case. This handy reference is designed to help administrators make more effective use of their time by presenting a compact summary of DBA tasks in an easy-to-use form. With this book by your side, you'll have instant access to the most important concepts, best practices, tips, and checklists. Key topics include architecture, installation, configuration, tuning, and backup/recovery. Everything that you absolutely must know to do your job well is right there at your fingertips.

Moreover, the "Oracle DBA Pocket Guide" covers Oracle Database 9i, as well as its latest release, Oracle Database 10g. The first database designed for enterprising grid computing, Oracle Database 10g significantly reduces the cost of managing the IT environment with a simplified install, reduced configuration and management requirements, and automatic performance diagnosis and SQL tuning.

The latest in O'Reilly's line of bestselling Oracle titles, this book is an invaluable companion for any database administrator--new or experienced--interested in reviewing core Oracle concepts at a glance.

The "Oracle Utilities Pocket Reference" is a handy, quick-reference guide to the multitude of Oracle utilities that database administrators (DBAs) use every hour of every day.

As the undisputed leader among database products, Oracle is grasped conceptually by most DBAs. However, they understandably may not recall the specific utility to use for a given task, and, more commonly, won't in many cases remember the syntax to use. And that's exactly what the "Oracle Utilities Pocket Reference" supplies--the syntax and options for whatever utility a DBA needs to perform a given task.

Some of the utilities documented in this guide include:

SQL*Loader, for loading data

expdp and exp for exporting data to another database

oradebug for use in troubleshooting

loadjava and dropjava for loading and unloading Java programs

Packed with information in an easy-to-read format, this valuable resource is ideal for any experienced DBA. Even database programmers who deal with Oracle will truly appreciate having the "Oracle Utilities Pocket Reference" close at hand.

Authored by Sanjay Mishra, a foremost authority on Oracle systems, this convenient and compact guide is focused and to-the-point, eliminating any potential guesswork or difficult memorization. The "Oracle Utilities Pocket Reference" is part of the strong-selling collection of O'Reilly "pocket reference" books.

Oracle DBAs and developers are all too familiar with the outlay of time and resources, blown budgets, missed deadlines, and marginally effective performance fiddling that is commonplace with traditional methods of Oracle performance tuning. In Optimizing Oracle Performance, Cary Millsap, former VP of Oracle's System Performance Group, clearly and concisely explains how to use Oracle's response time statistics to diagnose and repair performance problems. Cary also shows how "queueing theory" can be applied to response time statistics to predict the impact of upgrades and other system changes. The price of this essential book will be paid back in hours saved the first time its methods are used.