I have so far avoided writing such pointer blog posts which only refer you to another article, but I have to do it with this one. Adrian Billington has written an excellent article on performance of Oracle 11g PL/SQL function result cache.

I read this post by Laurent Schneider yesterday. In the comment section Tom Kyte already explained what the issue was about, but I’ll expand this explanation a little. The question was why should the apparently invalid statement below work? I mean there is no such column nor number as “1.x”), yet the statement works ok: SQL> select [...]

That number in the title is not a joke or an attempt to drag out the pain. However, OraNA has been flooded with '8' posts this week, so I thought it worthwhile to post a quick list of some really nice technical posts I've noticed over the last couple of weeks. I was just waiting for a weekend opportunity to clean out my pockets, so to speak.

Oracle has evolved over time to much more than just a plain relational database. One option is to use Oracle as an expensive calculator. When researching or demoing Oracle, it’s quite convenient to do number calculations directly on sqlplus prompt, especially if dealing with internals where lots of stuff is about addresses and offsets shown in [...]

You will find below an excerpt from my latest publication: the 2^nd edition of Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices. This edition is a complete rewrite of the 1^st edition. I decided that since software is still, for the most part, written by humans, I would create a cast of characters who write the software I reference and critique in this book.

I was once asked a question, why does Oracle change its parameter count during session lifetime? The question arose from the following observation that v$parameter shows more parameters after you adjust some hidden parameter value: SQL> SQL> select count(*) from v$parameter;

Winter is descending on Chicago; we had our first snow (flurries, really) on Thanksgiving Day, and the sun is weak. For many, this is a depressing time – and I mean that the lack of that and cold actually does make people feel depressed. Perhaps that is why I found myself thinking negatively – that is, about exceptions in PL/SQL.

So I thought I would share with you some of the features and functions available in PL/SQL, especially those introduced in recent versions of Oracle, which will help you trap and log error information.

Winter is descending on Chicago; we had our first snow (flurries, really) on Thanksgiving Day, and the sun is weak. For many, this is a depressing time – and I mean that the lack of that and cold actually does make people feel depressed. Perhaps that is why I found myself thinking negatively – that is, about exceptions in PL/SQL.

So I thought I would share with you some of the features and functions available in PL/SQL, especially those introduced in recent versions of Oracle, which will help you trap and log error information.

Would you like to increase productivity, improve code quality, and ensure that standards are being followed? Of course you would! And one of the best ways to do that is to rely heavily on Toad's Code Templates (similar functionality exists in SQL Navigator as well).

Code Templates are chunks of code that you can assign a name and description. You then use the name to quickly copy the associated code into your editor. I showed in a previous blog (Don't start with a blank slate!) how you can create a template of your own inside Toad.

I listened intently to the new Oracle programmer as he described all the struggles he's been having on his first big project. As I've done many times already in his short career, I interrupt with some words of wisdom. "It's time to add Global Temporary Tables to your toolbelt." "What are those?" he asks, as he opens the directory with the Oracle documentation. I smile. He has already learned