Oracle8i: The Complete Reference (Book/CD-ROM Package)

As documentation of a product that incorporates a highly reliable database server, a set of utilities, and a development environment, Oracle8i: The Complete Reference essentially sets out to do the impossible. The great thing is that it succeeds. For all but the most obscure and situation-specific Oracle8i questions that database administrators (DBAs) and developers might have, this book is almost certain to have the information they need. It explains all the essentials with a straightforward combination of prose, conceptual diagrams, and code listings, so even new Oracle DBAs will derive a lot of use from the authors' work. The key concepts--including relational database design, and queries that use SQL and PL/SQL--get lots of attention. Many details seem to come up at least twice, so readers get a couple of angles on a given subject.

This book isn't a rehash of earlier editions, any more than Oracle8i itself is a rehash of its predecessors. The authors pay special attention to the new aspects of the Oracle environment, particularly to those having to do with stored procedures and Oracle's deepening relationship with the Java programming language. Don't expect to learn Java from the ground up in these pages, but look forward to a comprehensive statement of how Java code (and SQLJ queries) can make your Oracle applications more capable and platform-independent. Every Oracle DBA (and probably every Oracle developer, too) should keep this volume on hand; it's a definitive reference. Although the book isn't designed specifically as a study aid, you certainly could use it as a guide while preparing for Oracle certification. --David Wall

Topics covered: Administration of Oracle databases, and development of applications based upon them. Administrators of Oracle7.x, 8.0.x, and 8i systems will appreciate the sections on performance tuning, optimization, backup, recovery, and general relational database design. Readers with more of a development bent will like the coverage of SQL, PL/SQL, stored procedures, and Oracle's Java features. Sample code appears on a companion CD-ROM, as well as in print.