Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition

Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition unlocks the power of SQL in the Oracle database—one of the most potent SQL implementations on the market today. To master it requires a multi-pronged approach: learn the language features, learn how and why the language features work, learn the supporting features that Oracle provides to help use the language effectively, and learn to think and work in sets.

Karen Morton has updated the content for Oracle version 12c and helps you master powerful aspects of Oracle SQL from the inside-out. You’ll learn analytic functions, the MODEL clause, and advanced grouping syntax—features that will help in creating good queries for reporting and business intelligence applications. Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition also helps you minimize parsing overhead, read execution plans, test for correct results, understand performance management, and exert control over SQL execution in your database. You’ll learn when to create indexes, how to verify that they make a difference, how to use SQL Baselines and Profiles to optimize and stabilize SQL execution plans, and much more. You’ll also understand how SQL is optimized for working in sets, and that the key to getting accurate results lies in making sure that queries ask clear and precise questions.

Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition helps you work at a truly professional level in the Oracle dialect of SQL. You’ll master the language, the tools to work effectively with the language, and the right way to think about a problem in SQL.

• Endorsed by the OakTable Network, a group of Oracle technologists well-known for their rigorous and scientific approach to Oracle Database performance
• Comprehensive—goes beyond the language with a focus on what you need to know to write successful queries and data manipulation statements.
• Performance focused—teaches you how to measure the performance of your SQL statements and not just the syntax.

What you’ll learn

• Master powerful SQL features implemented in the Oracle Database
• Understand how the Oracle Optimizer develops execution plans
• Read and interpret SQL execution plans
• Quickly diagnose and fix badly performing SQL
• Control execution plans through hints, profiles, and plan baselines
• Optimize queries within packaged applications without touching the code
• Recognize when not to waste time on SQL that is performing optimally

Who this book is for

Pro Oracle SQL, Second Edition is aimed at developers and database administrators who submit SQL for execution by an Oracle database. Readers should already know the basic four SQL statements, and be ready to learn deeply about Oracle’s specific implementation of the language, including Oracle-specific features and syntax. Readers should also want to learn about Oracle Database features such as analytic queries, the MODEL clause, and the WITH clause (subquery factoring) that are designed to help developers and database administrators exert control over their SQL environment and its execution.

About the Authors

Karen Morton is a consultant and educator specializing in application optimization in both shoulder-to-shoulder consulting engagements and classroom settings. She is a Senior Technical Consultant for Enkitec.

For more than 20 years, Karen has worked in information technology. Starting as a mainframe programmer and developer, she has been a database administrator, a data architect and now is a researcher, educator and consultant. Having used Oracle since the early 90s, she began teaching others how to use Oracle over a decade ago.

Karen is a frequent speaker at conferences and user groups, an Oracle ACE, and a member of the OakTable network (an informal association of "Oracle scientists" that are well known throughout the Oracle community).

Kerry Osborne began working with Oracle (version 2) in 1982. He has worked as both a developer and a DBA. For the past several years he has been focused on understanding Oracle internals and solving performance problems. He is an OakTable member and an Oracle Ace Director. Kerry is a frequent speaker at Oracle conferences. He is also a co-founder of Enkitec, an Oracle-focused consulting company headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Robyn Sands is a software engineer for Cisco Systems, where she designs and develops embedded Oracle database products for Cisco customers. She has been working with Oracle since 1996, and has extensive experience in application development, large system implementations, and performance measurement. Robyn began her career in industrial and quality engineering, and has combined her prior education and experience with her love of data by searching for new ways to build database systems with consistent performance and minimal maintenance requirements. She is a member of the OakTable Network and co-author of two books on Oracle: Expert Oracle Practices and Pro Oracle SQL.

Riyaj Shamsudeen is an industry-recognized RAC expert, database internals specialist, and performance tuning specialist with 20 years of experience in implementing, using, and tuning RAC and Oracle products. He is an Oracle ACE Director and proud member of the OakTable network. Riyaj has co-authored four books about Oracle Database and performance. He is an active blogger, President of OraInternals, and a frequent international speaker in major conferences such as UKOUG, HOTSOS, OpenWorld, and RMOUG.

Jared Still is a senior database administrator at Pythian. Jared has been working with databases since 1988, and with Oracle in particular since 1994, beginning with Oracle version 7.0.13. During that time, he participated in a wide range of database administration tasks, as is the norm at smaller companies. Data modeling, database design, and overcoming Compulsive Tuning Disorder (CTD) have all been part of the job. As part of the CTD recovery process, he began learning how databases—and Oracle in particular—actually work.

The revelation was that well-performing databases and applications do not happen by accident, but by design. And "by design" means that you must understand how databases work, and how to make efficient use of the SQL language to create scalable applications and databases. Jared's goal for this book is to make it easier for developers and database administrators to understand and use advanced SQL syntax. There are many features that have been introduced since Oracle 8i, and yet they seem to be seldom used. This book should help rectify that.