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 PL/SQL Programming: A Developer's Workbook

Description : However excellent they are, most computer books are inherently passive--readers simply take in text without having any opportunity to react to it. The Oracle PL/SQL Developer's Workbook is a different kind of animal! It's designed to engage you actively, to get you solving programming problems immediately, and to help you apply what you've learned about PL/SQL--and in the process deepen your knowledge of the language. By tackling the exercises in this workbook, you'll find yourself moving more rapidly along the learning curve to join the growing ranks of PL/SQL experts. The Oracle PL/SQL Developer's Workbook is a companion to Steven Feuerstein's bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming and his other PL/SQL books from O'Reilly. It contains a carefully constructed set of problems and solutions that will test your language skills and help you become a better developer--both with PL/SQL and with other languages. Exercises are provided at three levels: beginner, intermediate, and expert. The workbook exercises cover all the major features of PL/SQL, including those new to Oracle8i (e.g., Java and web features, autonomous transactions, and bulk binds). You'll find chapters on:

• Basic language elements--variables, naming, loops, conditional and sequential control, exception handling, and records.
• Data structures--index-by tables, nested tables, variables arrays (VARRAYs), and object technology.
• Database interaction--cursors, DML and transaction management, cursor variables, and native dynamic SQL
• Program construction--procedures, functions, blocks, packages, database triggers, and calling PL/SQL functions in SQL.
• Built-in functionality--the character, date, conversion, numeric, and miscellaneous functions, and the DBMS_SQL, DBMS_PIPE, DBMS_OUTPUT, UTL_FILE, and DBMS_JOB built-in packages.
• Miscellaneous topics--using Java with PL/SQL, external programs, PL/SQL web development, tuning PL/SQL, and PL/SQL for DBAs.

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Steven Feuerstein, Andrew Odewahn
ISBN	1-56592-674-9
Release Date	May 2000
Page	592

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Learning Oracle PL/SQL

Description : PL/SQL, Oracle's programming language for stored procedures, delivers a world of possibilities for your database programs. PL/SQL supplements the standard relational database language, SQL, with a wide range of procedural features, including loops, IF-THEN statements, advanced data structures, and rich transactional control--all closely integrated with the Oracle database server. Knowing where to start with Oracle's procedural language is not always obvious to a newcomer, especially considering the language's feature set and the sheer size of the official documentation (not to mention Oracle's ever-increasing number of pre-built PL/SQL programs). But Learning Oracle PL/SQL offers the signposts and guidance you need to come up to speed on the language, delivered in a manageable number of pages while covering all the essentials. Topics include:

* PL/SQL--what is it, and why use it? Why use PL/SQL instead of Java?
* Syntax and examples of all core language constructs
* Creating, using, and reusing stored procedures, functions, and packages
* Building web-based applications using PL/SQL features available "out of the box" (such as PL/SQL Server Pages)
* Securing PL/SQL programs against attack
* Benefits of third-party developer tools and integrated development environments
* Connecting PL/SQL to email, Java, and the Internet

Meticulously crafted with all-new examples downloadable from examples.oreilly.com/learnoracle, the book addresses language features available in all versions of Oracle, from Oracle7 to Oracle8i to Oracle9i. Learning Oracle PL/SQL was written by PL/SQL experts Bill Pribyl and Steven Feuerstein, whose easy-to-read style and attention to detail has made other O'Reilly books (such as the bestselling Oracle PL/SQL Programming) very popular among Oracle developers worldwide. Learning Oracle PL/SQL is meant for a wide range of target audiences, including both beginning programmers and those already experienced with other programming languages. Whether you are a new developer, a crossover programmer from another database system, or a new database administrator who needs to learn PL/SQL, this book will get you well on your way. It is the perfect introduction to Oracle PL/SQL Programming, also by Pribyl and Feuerstein.

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Bill Pribyl
ISBN	0-596-00180-0
Release Date	November 2001
Page	424

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Oracle PL/SQL Programming, Fourth Edition

Description : For the past ten years, O'Reilly's Oracle PL/SQL Programming has been the bestselling book on PL/SQL, Oracle's powerful procedural language. Packed with examples and helpful recommendations, the book has helped everyone--from novices to experienced developers, and from Oracle Forms developers to database administrators--make the most of PL/SQL.

The fourth edition is a comprehensive update, adding significant new content and extending coverage to include the very latest Oracle version, Oracle Database 10g Release 2. It describes such new features as the PL/SQL optimizing compiler, conditional compilation, compile-time warnings, regular expressions, set operators for nested tables, nonsequential collections in FORALL, the programmer-defined quoting mechanism, the ability to backtrace an exception to a line number, a variety of new built-in packages, and support for IEEE 754 compliant floating-point numbers.

The new edition adds brand-new chapters on security (including encryption, row-level security, fine-grained auditing, and application contexts), file, email, and web I/O (including the built-in packages DBMS_OUTPUT, UTL_FILE, UTL_MAIL, UTL_SMTP, and UTL_HTTP) and globalization and localization.

Co-authored by the world's foremost PL/SQL authority, Steven Feuerstein, this classic reference provides language syntax, best practices, and extensive code, ranging from simple examples to complete applications--making it a must-have on your road to PL/SQL mastery. A companion web site contains many more examples and additional technical content for enhanced learning.

Publisher	O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Author(s)	Steven Feuerstein, Bill Pribyl
ISBN	0-596-00977-1
Release Date	August 2005
Page	1198

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SQL Server 2000 for Experienced DBAs

Description : This guide offers advanced advice on tuning the server, optimizing administration tasks through automation, and deploying SQL server in the Enterprise environment.

Publisher	McGraw-Hill/Osborne
Author(s)	Brian Knight
ISBN	0072227885
Page	520

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The Guru's Guide to SQL Server Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML

Description : Teaches that stored procedure development does not occur in a vacuum — it involves a wide variety of skills, subjects, and technologies — and helps the reader become a better software engineer, not just a stored procedure expert. The most complete coverage of SQL Server stored procedure programming available in one source.
The message of this book is that building stored procedures in Transact-SQL is very much like building programs in any other language. It requires the same type of skill, planning, attention to detail, and overall grasp of technology that successful development in other languages requires. To master Transact-SQL, one must first master the fundamental concepts of software development, and then build on this foundation by embracing and studying Transact-SQL as a programming language in its own right. This book teaches you how to do that and more. More than just a catalog of coding tricks and syntax subtleties, The Guru's Guide to SQL Server(TM) Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML explores the philosophy of Transact-SQL programming. It teaches readers how to apply this philosophy in order to develop their own coding techniques and discover their own solutions to real-world programming problems. A follow-up to the widely acclaimed The Guru's Guide to Transact-SQL, this book teaches that stored procedure development does not occur in a vacuum — it involves a wide variety of skills, subjects, and technologies — and helps the reader become a better software engineer, not just a stored procedure expert. Blending theoretical detail with practical application, this comprehensive reference begins with a foundational overview of SQL Server(TM) stored procedure programming. From there, the focus moves on to best practices and design considerations before progressing to advanced topics and a general philosophy of software craftsmanship. In all, this book provides the most complete coverage of SQL Server stored procedure programming available in one source. Topics such as user-defined functions, views, triggers, extended procedures, error handling, OLE Automation, database design, and XML are covered in detail. The book spotlights undocumented language features and brings the first application of design patterns to the SQL language. The preview of .NET and a groundbreaking approach to adding arrays to Transact-SQL make for the most thorough and engaging read published to date on SQL Server programming. The accompanying CD-ROM contains the book's source code. More than 700 SQL scripts, programming utilities, and extended procedures provide a veritable treasure trove of high-quality example code. Theoretically sound, yet immensely practical, The Guru's Guide to SQL Server(TM) Stored Procedures, XML, and HTML provides developers with the tools they need to become expert stored procedure programmers and better software engineers.

Publisher	Addison-Wesley
Author(s)	Ken Henderson
ISBN	0201700468
Release Date	28 December 2001
Page	800

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Microsoft SQL Server Black Book

Description : Teaches, with step-by-step guides, the most important SQL Server tasks. Troubleshoots common database and client-server problems. Improves performance with sophisticated SQL Server tuning techniques. Develops powerful database features that can easily be integrated into your current database system. Uses ready-to-run database examples and SQL code.

Publisher	Coriolis Group Books
Author(s)	Patrick Dalton
ISBN	1576101495
Release Date	30 November 1999

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Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Weekend Crash Course

Description : Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Weekend Crash Course includes 30 sessions on the key aspects of Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Each session is designed to take 30 minutes to complete, so the Crash Course is an intense 15-hour learning period. You can complete the Crash Course over a weekend -- but you can also easily adapt the Crash Course sessions to whatever schedule best suits your needs.

Publisher	Hungry Minds
Author(s)	Alex Kriegel
ISBN	0764548409
Release Date	01 October 2001
Page	509

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Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, Third Edition

Description : A reader's first book for learning SQL, the structured query language for most major database systems. Teaches SQL quickly and easily for those with little or no programming experience. The end user's path to proficiency in SQL. New code examples written to an open source database like MySQL; avoids complexity and teaches practical basics. Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, Third Edition presents the key features of SQL (Structured Query Language) in an easy to understand format with updated code examples, notes, diagrams, exercises and quizzes. New material covers more information on transactions, constructs, embedded databases, and object-oriented programming. In this edition, the authors include examples based on a database like MySQL, a very popular open source database.

Publisher	Sams
ISBN	0672330180
Release Date	09 June 2008

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Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (2nd Edition)

Description : A reader's first book for learning SQL, the structured query language for most major database systems. Teaches SQL quickly and easily for those with little or no programming experience. The end user's path to proficiency in SQL. New code examples written to an open source database like MySQL; avoids complexity and teaches practical basics. Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, Third Edition presents the key features of SQL (Structured Query Language) in an easy to understand format with updated code examples, notes, diagrams, exercises and quizzes. New material covers more information on transactions, constructs, embedded databases, and object-oriented programming.

Publisher	Sams
ISBN	0672318997
Release Date	23 May 2008

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Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes

Description : Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL in 10 Minutes

offers straightforward, practical answers when you need fast results. By working through 10-minute lessons, you’ll learn everything you need to know to take advantage of Microsoft SQL Server’s T-SQL language.

This handy pocket guide starts with simple data retrieval and moves on to more complex topics, including the use of joins, subqueries, full text-based searches, functions and stored procedures, cursors, triggers, table constraints, XML, and much more.

You’ll learn what you need to know methodically, systematically, and simply–in highly focused lessons designed to make you immediately and effortlessly productive.

Tips point out shortcuts and solutions

Cautions help you avoid common pitfalls

Notes explain additional concepts, and provide additional information

10 minutes is all you need to learn how to…

• Use T-SQL in the Microsoft SQL Server environment
• Construct complex T-SQL statements using multiple clauses and operators
• Filter data so you get the information you need quickly
• Retrieve, sort, and format database contents
• Join two or more related tables
• Make SQL Server work for you with globalization and localization
• Create subqueries to pinpoint your data
• Automate your workload with triggers
• Create and alter database tables
• Work with views, stored procedures, and more

Publisher	Sams
Author(s)	Ben Forta
ISBN	0672328674
Release Date	02 August 2007

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Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours (3rd Edition)

Description : Sams Teach Yourself SQL in 24 Hours, Third Edition presents the key features of SQL (Structured Query Language) in an easy to understand format with updated code examples, notes, diagrams, exercises, and quizzes. New material covers more information on transactions, constructs, embedded databases, and object-oriented programming. In this edition, the authors include examples based on a database like MySQL, a very popular open source database.

Publisher	Sams
Author(s)	Ron Plew
ISBN	0672324423
Release Date	10 October 2006

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Microsoft(R) Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server(TM) 2005 Express in 24 Hours

Description : Written with clarity and a down-to-earth approach, Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours covers the basics of Microsoft's latest version of SQL Server. Expert author Alison Balter takes you from basic concepts to an intermediate level in 24 one-hour lessons. You will learn all of the basic tasks necessary for the administration of SQL Server 2005.

You will also learn how to write and fully utilize:

• SQL Server stored procedures
  
  
• Functions
  
  
• Triggers using T-SQL, VB.NET, and C#
  

You will also learn how to output SQL Server data to reports and the Internet. Sams Teach Yourself SQL Server 2005 Express in 24 Hours is a well-organized, authoritative introduction that will quickly have you up and running with SQL Server 2005.

Publisher	Sams
Author(s)	Alison Balter
ISBN	0672327414
Release Date	16 June 2006

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Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, Second Edition

Description : A tutorial featuring step-by-step instructions, real-world examples, quizes, exercises, answers, and weekly reviews and previews. Coverage includes fundamental concepts and features of SQL, with chapters on functions, subqueries, manipulating data, database security, using views to retrieve useful information from the data dictionary, and using SQL to generate SQL statements. Includes a glossary, source code listings, and an ASCII table.

Publisher	Sams
Author(s)	Ryan K. Stephens, Ronald R. Plew, Bryan Morgan, Jeff Perkins
ISBN	0672311100
Release Date	01 July 1997
Page	624

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