Oracle PL/SQL Developer's Workbook

by Steven Feuerstein, Andrew Odewahn

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781565926745
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/11/2000
Pages:	592
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.19(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

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.

Andrew Odewahn is a writer and software entrepreneur. With an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business, he has an exceptional ability to find creative yet practical solutions to real-life business problems. The author of Oracle Web Applications (O'Reilly, 1999) and co-author of Oracle PL/SQL Workbook (O'Reilly, 2000), Andrew specializes in database technology. While not writing or designing software, he and his wife travel whenever they can. Their adventures include riding Lipizzaner stallions at a Slovenian casino, speeding down an alpine slide deep in the jungles of Vietnam, hiking (and riding the occasional ski lift!) across the Swiss Alps, hosteling in a Soviet-era sanitarium, and circumnavigating New Zealand's "Mount Doom." They currently live in Maine.

Table of Contents

Preface; Structure of the Developer’s Workbook; About the Oracle PL/SQL Series; About the Examples; Conventions Used in This Book; Comments and Questions; Acknowledgments; Part I: Problems; Chapter 1: Declaring Variables and Naming Elements; 1.1 Beginner; 1.2 Intermediate; 1.3 Expert; Chapter 2: Loops; 2.1 Beginner; 2.2 Intermediate; 2.3 Expert; Chapter 3: Conditional and Sequential Logic; 3.1 Beginner; 3.2 Intermediate; 3.3 Expert; Chapter 4: Exception Handling; 4.1 Beginner; 4.2 Intermediate; 4.3 Expert; Chapter 5: Records; 5.1 Beginner; 5.2 Intermediate; 5.3 Expert; Chapter 6: Index-by Tables; 6.1 Beginner; 6.2 Intermediate; 6.3 Expert; Chapter 7: Nested Tables; 7.1 Beginner; 7.2 Intermediate; 7.3 Expert; Chapter 8: Variable Arrays; 8.1 Beginner; 8.2 Intermediate; 8.3 Expert; Chapter 9: Object Technology; 9.1 Beginner; 9.2 Intermediate; 9.3 Expert; Chapter 10: Cursors; 10.1 Beginner; 10.2 Intermediate; 10.3 Expert; Chapter 11: DML and Transaction Management; 11.1 Beginner; 11.2 Intermediate; 11.3 Expert; Chapter 12: Cursor Variables; 12.1 Beginner; 12.2 Intermediate; 12.3 Expert; Chapter 13: Native Dynamic SQL; 13.1 Beginner; 13.2 Intermediate; 13.3 Expert; Chapter 14: Procedures, Functions, and Blocks; 14.1 Beginner; 14.2 Intermediate; 14.3 Expert; Chapter 15: Packages; 15.1 Beginner; 15.2 Intermediate; 15.3 Expert; Chapter 16: Triggers; 16.1 Beginner; 16.2 Intermediate; 16.3 Expert; Chapter 17: Calling Functions in SQL; 17.1 Beginner; 17.2 Intermediate; 17.3 Expert; Chapter 18: Character Functions; 18.1 Beginner; 18.2 Intermediate; 18.3 Expert; Chapter 19: Date Functions; 19.1 Beginner; 19.2 Intermediate; 19.3 Expert; Chapter 20: Conversion, Numeric, and Miscellaneous Functions; 20.1 Beginner; 20.2 Intermediate; 20.3 Expert; Chapter 21: DBMS_SQL Built-in Package; 21.1 Beginner; 21.2 Intermediate; 21.3 Expert; Chapter 22: DBMS_PIPE Built-in Package; 22.1 Beginner; 22.2 Intermediate; 22.3 Expert; Chapter 23: DBMS_OUTPUT Built-in Package; 23.1 Beginner; 23.2 Intermediate; 23.3 Expert; Chapter 24: UTL_FILE Built-in Package; 24.1 Beginner; 24.2 Intermediate; 24.3 Expert; Chapter 25: DBMS_JOB Built-in Package; 25.1 Beginner; 25.2 Intermediate; 25.3 Expert; Chapter 26: Using Java with PL/SQL; 26.1 Beginner; 26.2 Intermediate; 26.3 Expert; Chapter 27: External Procedures; 27.1 Beginner; 27.2 Intermediate; 27.3 Expert; Chapter 28: PL/SQL Web Development; 28.1 Beginner; 28.2 Intermediate; 28.3 Expert; Chapter 29: Tuning PL/SQL; 29.1 Beginner; 29.2 Intermediate; 29.3 Expert; Chapter 30: PL/SQL for DBAs; 30.1 Beginner; 30.2 Intermediate; 30.3 Expert; Part II: Solutions; Chapter 1: Declaring Variables and Naming Elements; 31.1 Beginner; 31.2 Intermediate; 31.3 Expert; Chapter 2: Loops; 32.1 Beginner; 32.2 Intermediate; 32.3 Expert; Chapter 3: Conditional and Sequential Logic; 33.1 Beginner; 33.2 Intermediate; 33.3 Expert; Chapter 4: Exception Handling; 34.1 Beginner; 34.2 Intermediate; 34.3 Expert; Chapter 5: Records; 35.1 Beginner; 35.2 Intermediate; 35.3 Expert; Chapter 6: Index-by Tables; 36.1 Beginner; 36.2 Intermediate; 36.3 Expert; Chapter 7: Nested Tables; 37.1 Beginner; 37.2 Intermediate; 37.3 Expert; Chapter 8: Variable Arrays; 38.1 Beginner; 38.2 Intermediate; 38.3 Expert; Chapter 9: Object Technology; 39.1 Beginner; 39.2 Intermediate; 39.3 Expert; Chapter 10: Cursors; 40.1 Beginner; 40.2 Intermediate; 40.3 Expert; Chapter 11: DML and Transaction Management; 41.1 Beginner; 41.2 Intermediate; 41.3 Expert; Chapter 12: Cursor Variables; 42.1 Beginner; 42.2 Intermediate; 42.3 Expert; Chapter 13: Native Dynamic SQL; 43.1 Beginner; 43.2 Intermediate; 43.3 Expert; Chapter 14: Procedures, Functions, and Blocks; 44.1 Beginner; 44.2 Intermediate; 44.3 Expert; Chapter 15: Packages; 45.1 Beginner; 45.2 Intermediate; 45.3 Expert; Chapter 16: Triggers; 46.1 Beginner; 46.2 Intermediate; 46.3 Expert; Chapter 17: Calling Functions in SQL; 47.1 Beginner; 47.2 Intermediate; 47.3 Expert; Chapter 18: Character Functions; 48.1 Beginner; 48.2 Intermediate; 48.3 Expert; Chapter 19: Date Functions; 49.1 Beginner; 49.2 Intermediate; 49.3 Expert; Chapter 20: Conversion, Numeric, and Miscellaneous Functions; 50.1 Beginner; 50.2 Intermediate; 50.3 Expert; Chapter 21: DBMS_SQL Built-in Package; 51.1 Beginner; 51.2 Intermediate; 51.3 Expert; Chapter 22: DBMS_PIPE Built-in Package; 52.1 Beginner; 52.2 Intermediate; 52.3 Expert; Chapter 23: DBMS_OUTPUT Built-in Package; 53.1 Beginner; 53.2 Intermediate; 53.3 Expert; Chapter 24: UTL_FILE Built-in Package; 54.1 Beginner; 54.2 Intermediate; 54.3 Expert; Chapter 25: DBMS_JOB Built-in Package; 55.1 Beginner; 55.2 Intermediate; 55.3 Expert; Chapter 26: Using Java with PL/SQL; 56.1 Beginner; 56.2 Intermediate; 56.3 Expert; Chapter 27: External Procedures; 57.1 Beginner; 57.2 Intermediate; 57.3 Expert; Chapter 28: PL/SQL Web Development; 58.1 Beginner; 58.2 Intermediate; 58.3 Expert; Chapter 29: Tuning PL/SQL; 59.1 Beginner; 59.2 Intermediate; 59.3 Expert; Chapter 30: PL/SQL for DBAs; 60.1 Beginner; 60.2 Intermediate; 60.3 Expert; Colophon;

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Know some Oracle PL/SQL? Want to become far more fluent with the language, quick — confident that you can take on any project that comes at you? Check out Oracle PL/SQL Programming Developer's Workbook. Steven Feuerstein wrote this book with the goal of actively engaging you, provoking a response, and getting you to solve problems you might not otherwise have dared to try. He succeeds.

The organization of the book is excellent. Problems in the first half, solutions in the second half — so you don't "stumble across" Feuerstein's answers before you've had a chance to come up with your own. Within each chapter, exercises are organized by level of experience, so you can go straight to "beginner," "intermediate," or "expert" problems — and also get an objective idea of where you really stand.

Feuerstein opens with language fundamentals: declaring variables and naming elements; loops; conditional and sequential control; and records. Next, he presents challenges associated with data structures: index-by tables, nested tables, variable arrays, and object technology. In Part III, Feuerstein helps you deepen your understanding of database interaction: cursors, DML, transaction management, cursor variables, and native dynamic SQL.

The book includes extensive coverage of program construction, Oracle PL/SQL's built-in functionality; and more — including a chapter on Java stored procedures, one on tuning and one on web development.

Whatever other PL/SQL book youmayalready own, this one will help you deepen your understanding as never before. With this book, you can really make PL/SQL yours.

—bncom editor