Oracle PL/SQL Built-ins Pocket Reference

Description : This pocket reference provides quick-reference information that will help you use Oracle Corporation's extensive set of built-in functions and packages, including those new to Oracle8. Oracle's PL/SQL language is a programming language providing procedural extensions to the SQL relational database language and to an ever-growing number of Oracle development tools. Among the most useful constructs in the PL/SQL language are the built-in functions and packages. Built-in functions are constructs that operate on certain types of data (e.g., numeric, character) to return a result. By using functions, you can minimize the coding you need to do in your programs. Functions are described in detail in Steven Feuerstein's Oracle PL/SQL Programming; this comprehensive guide to building applications with PL/SQL has become the bible for PL/SQL developers who have raved about its completeness, readability, and practicality. Built-in functions fall into several major categories:

• Character functions: Operate on character data. Examples include CONCAT (concatenates two strings into one), LENGTH (returns the length of a string), and REPLACE (replaces a character sequence in a string with a different set of characters).
• Date functions: Operate on dates and supplement the DATE datatype. Examples include SYSDATE (returns the current date and time in the Oracle Server) and LAST_DAY (returns the last day in the month of the specified date).
• Numeric functions: Operate on numeric data. Examples include CEIL (returns the smallest integer greater than or equal to the specified number) and POWER (returns a number raised to a particular power).
• LOB functions: Operate on large object data. Examples include EMPTY_BLOB (returns an empty locator of the binary large object type) and EMPTY_CLOB (returns an empty locator of the character large object type).
• Conversion functions: Perform explicit conversions of different types of data. Examples include TO_CHAR (converts a number or date to a string) and TO_NUMBER (converts a string to a number).
• Miscellaneous functions. Examples include GREATEST (returns the greatest of the specified list of values) and UID (returns the user ID of the current Oracle session).

Built-in packages (collections of PL/SQL objects, such as functions, procedures, and data structures) greatly expand the scope of the PL/SQL language. These packages are described in detail in Feuerstein's and Beresniewicz's book, Oracle Built-in Packages. Built-in packages are built by Oracle Corporation and stored directly in the Oracle database. The functionality of the built-ins is available from any programming environment that can call PL/SQL stored procedures, including Visual Basic, Oracle Developer/2000, Oracle Application Server (for Web-based development), and, of course, the Oracle database itself. Built-in packages extend the capabilities and power of PL/SQL in many significant ways. For example:

• DBMS_SQL executes dynamically constructed SQL statements and PL/SQL blocks of code.
• DBMS_PIPE communicates between different Oracle sessions through a pipe in the RDBMS shared memory.
• DBMS_JOB submits and manages regularly scheduled jobs for execution inside the database.
• DBMS_LOB accesses and manipulates Oracle8's large objects (LOBs) from within PL/SQL programs.

The book shows how to call all of the commonly used built-in functions and packages. For packages, it also shows the RESTRICT REFERENCES pragmas (needed if you call packages from a SQL statement), as well as the exceptions, constants, and data structures defined in the packages.

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Steven Feuerstein, John Beresniewicz, Chip Dawes
ISBN	1-56592-456-8
Release Date	October 1998
Page	76

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Oracle Web Applications: PL/SQL Developer's Introduction

Description : This compact guide provides the jump-start Oracle developers need to make the transition from traditional programming to the development of useful Web applications for Oracle8i. Even readers who start out knowing nothing about HTML, PL/SQL, or Oracle's other tools will learn how to create simple Web applications in a matter of days. The book focuses on Oracle8i, but also covers Web development for earlier Oracle versions (Oracle8 and Oracle7). Background: The explosion in the use of the Internet and the Web has resulted in a whole new way of doing business. Developers who only yesterday were using COBOL to write accounts payable systems are now being asked to create a broad range of new Internet-based applications ranging from electronic commerce (e-commerce) Web sites to internal data warehouses to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Unfortunately, the filesystem architectures of most Web systems aren't up to the task. The new breed of Web applications -- which are quickly becoming critical resources that companies need to survive -- demand a platform that provides production-quality tools for content management, application development, and application integration. And current Web techniques are inadequate in many ways. Oracle8i, Oracle's "Internet database," gives Web developers a way to build Web technology on top of a relational database, rather than on a traditional filesystem. With Oracle8i, companies can apply well understood, reliable, production-quality database methodologies to Web content management. Oracle8i also supports a wide variety of application development platforms and tools that are tightly integrated to the core database. Finally, Oracle8i supports technologies that help companies tie their Web-based applications into legacy applications. There is a lot to learn in Oracle8i. Not only does it enhance basic database features, it introduces Java and a variety of Web development tools. Oracle8i provides a soup-to-nuts platform for Web site and Web application development that extends traditional database concepts to Web content. It replaces the traditional filesystem used by most Web servers with a database management system. Many users are intimidated by the vast array of new technologies in Oracle8i. And yet, they are under pressure to use these technologies to build complex Web applications right now. This book gives such users a way to start using Oracle8i immediately to create useful Web applications. It is a concise, easy-to-read guide to the basic technologies developers need to understand in order to build Web applications. Contains: The book describes the following Web development tools:

• PL/SQL-- a structured programming language that combines procedural constructs and standard SQL. It offers such features as cursors, loops, conditional and sequential control statements, exception handlers, records, tables, and constructs for developing modular code (functions, procedures, and packages).
• PL/SQL Toolkit -- a set of PL/SQL packages supplied by Oracle for use in developing Web applications.
• HTML -- an ASCII-based markup language used to create Web pages.
• WebDB -- A software system for building, monitoring, and creating content-driven Web sites; it allows users to use a Web browser to access and store information in the Oracle8i database.
• Oracle Application Server (OAS) -- an extensible Web server that uses plug-in programs called cartridges to allow database-integrated Web systems to be developed in a variety of languages (e.g., PL/SQL, Java, Perl).
• XML -- An emerging standard for creating self-describing documents. It is similar to HTML but allows you to create your own markup tags. XML is expected to be a key technology in electronic commerce systems.
• The book also presents several fully realized sample Web applications that will teach you how to build such applications of your own.

NOTE: Although this book touches on the Java features of Oracle8i, it doesn't cover Java development per se. Switching to Java represents an enormous change for most Oracle developers. This book provides an evolutionary path for readers who want to do useful Oracle8i Web development now, using mostly familiar tools. Additional books will provide Java training for those who have mastered these Web tools and want to take the next step.

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Andrew Odewahn
ISBN	1-56592-687-0
Release Date	September 1999
Page	256

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Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages

Description : Steven Feuerstein's first book, Oracle PL/SQL Programming, has become the classic reference to PL/SQL, Oracle's procedural extension to its SQL language. His new book looks thoroughly at one especially advanced and powerful part of the PL/SQL language -- the package. The use of packages can dramatically improve your programming productivity and code quality, while preparing you for object-oriented development in Oracle technology. In this book, Feuerstein explains how to construct packages -- and how to build them the right way. His "best practices" for building packages will transform the way you write packages and help you get the most out of the powerful, but often poorly understood, PL/SQL language. Much more than a book, Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages comes with a PC diskette containing a full-use software companion. Developed by Feuerstein, RevealNet's PL/Vision Lite is the first of its kind for PL/SQL developers: a library of thirty-plus PL/SQL packages. The packages solve a myriad of common programming problems and vastly accelerate the development of modular and maintainable applications. The packages provided in PL/Vision Lite fall into three categories:

• Building block packages: low-level development enhancers, including string parsers, a list manager, and an interface to PL/SQL tables.
• Developer utilities: programs that improve your PL/SQL development environment, including a code generator, a powerful substitute for SHOW ERRORS, and an online help delivery mechanism.
• Plug-and-play components: pieces of code that can be used as is in your own applications, including a high-level exception handler mechanism and a generic, reusable logging mechanism.

In addition to describing the details of these packages, this book explores why and how they were built the way they were. You'll come away with an increased appreciation of the PL/SQL language and the power of packages. Most importantly, you'll be ready and eager to put that power to use immediately in your own applications.

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Steven Feuerstein
ISBN	1-56592-238-7
Release Date	October 1996
Page	687

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Oracle Built-in Packages

Description : 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 is a programming language providing procedural extensions to the SQL relational database language and to an ever-growing number of oracle development tools. 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. Steven Feuerstein's Oracle PL/SQL Programming is a comprehensive guide to building applications with PL/SQL. That book has become the bible for PL/SQL developers who have raved about its completeness, readability, and practicality. Built-in packages are collections of PL/SQL objects built by Oracle Corporation and stored directly in the Oracle database. The functionality of these packages is available from any programming environment that can call PL/SQL stored procedures, including Visual Basic, Oracle Developer/2000, Oracle Application Server (for web-based development), and, of course, the Oracle database itself. Built-in packages extend the capabilities and power of PL/SQL in many significant ways. for example:

• DBMS_SQL executes dynamically constructed SQL statements and PL/SQL blocks of code.
• DBMS_PIPE communicates between different Oracle sessions through a pipe in the RDBMS shared memory.
• DBMS_JOB submits and manages regularly scheduled jobs for execution inside the database.
• DBMS_LOB accesses and manipulates Oracle8's large objects (LOBs) from within PL/SQL programs.

The first edition of Oracle PL/SQL Programming contained a chapter on Oracle's built-in packages. but there is much more to say about the basic PL/SQL packages than Feuerstein could fit in his first book. In addition, now that Oracle8 has been released, there are many new Oracle8 built-in packages not described in the PL/SQL book. There are also packages extensions for specific oracle environments such as distributed database. hence this book. Oracle Built-in Packages pulls together information about how to use the calling interface (API) to Oracle's Built-in Packages, and provides extensive examples on using the built-in packages effectively. The windows diskette included with the book contains the companion guide, an online tool developed by RevealNet, Inc., that provides point-and-click access to the many files of source code and online documentation developed by the authors. The table of contents follows: Preface Part I: Overview

• 1. Introduction

Part II: Application Development Packages

• Executing Dynamic SQL and PL/SQL
• Intersession Communication
• User Lock and Transaction Management
• Oracle Advanced Queuing
• Generating Output from PL/SQL Programs
• Defining an Application Profile
• Managing Large Objects
• Datatype Packages
• Miscellaneous Packages

Part III: Server Management Packages

• Managing Session Information
• Managing Server Resources
• Job Scheduling in the Database

Part IV: Distributed Database Packages

• Snapshots
• Advanced Replication
• Conflict Resolution
• Deferred Transactions and Remote Procedure Calls

Appendix. What's on the companion disk?

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Steven Feuerstein, Charles Dye, John Beresniewicz
ISBN	1-56592-375-8
Release Date	May 1998
Page	952

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Teach Yourself Oracle8 in 21 Days (Sams Teach Yourself)

Description : Teach Yourself Oracle8 in 21 Days is a tutorial that will teach the reader the basics of using and administrating an Oracle database. This book focuses on using concrete examples to explain why things should be done in a certain way. The key topics are broken out by week below:Week One Overview of the Oracle8 Architecture; Network Computing Architecture (NCA); Installing Oracle; Planning the Database; How to Administer Users, and How to Manage Processes.Week Two Administering Logs, Control Files, Datafiles, and Tablespaces; Controlling Rolback Segments; Building Tables and Views; Using Indexes and Clusters; and Security.Week Three Effective Backup Techniques; Recovering the Database; Administering Oracle Replication; Tuning and Optimizing the Database; Administering the Oracle Web Server; and Advanced Oracle Options.

This hands-on tutorial teaches the basics of Oracle8 in a short period of time

The book provides a step-by-step walk through of the Oracle8 architecture, managing database storage and database schema, security, backup and recovery and tuning and optimization.

Oracle8 is Oracle's new object-oriented RDBMS to be released during the Summer of 1997.

Publisher	Sams
Author(s)	Steve Adrien Deluca
ISBN	0672311593
Release Date	14 December 1997

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