Synopses & Reviews
This book is the definitive guide to SQLPlus. If you want to take best advantage of the power and flexibility of this popular Oracle tool, you need this book.SQLPlus is an interactive query tool that is ubiquitous in the Oracle world. It is present in every Oracle installation and is available to almost every Oracle developer and database administrator. SQLPlus has been shipped with Oracle since at least version 6. It continues to be supported and enhanced with each new version of Oracle, including Oracle8 and Oracle8i. It is still the only widely available tool for writing SQL scripts. Despite this wide availability and usage, few developers and DBAs know how powerful SQLPlus really is.This book introduces SQLPlus, includes a quick reference to all of its syntax options, and, most important, provides chapters that describe, in step-by-step fashion, how to perform all of the tasks that Oracle developers and DBAs want to perform with SQLPlus -- and maybe some they didn't realize they COULD perform with SQLPlus. You will learn how to write and execute script files, generate ad hoc reports, extract data from the database, query the data dictionary tables, customize your SQLPlus environment, and use the SQLPlus administrative features (new in Oracle8i).This book is an indispensable resource for readers who are new to SQLPlus, a task-oriented learning tool for those who are already using it, and a quick reference for every user.A table of contents follows:
- Preface
- Introduction to SQLPlus
- Interacting with SQLPlus
- Generating Reports with SQLPlus
- Writing SQLPlus Scripts
- Extracting Data with SQLPlus
- Exploring Your Database with SQLPlus
- Advanced Scripting
- Tuning and Timing
- The Product User Profile
- Administration with SQLPlus
- Customizing Your SQLPlus Environment
Appendices
- A. SQLPlus Command Reference
- B. Connect Strings and the SQLPlus Command
Synopsis
This definitive guide to SQL*Plus, Oracle's interactive querytool, shows Oracle developers and database administrators how totake full advantage of the power and flexibility of this populartool. Despite the wide availability and usage of SQL*Plus, fewdevelopers and DBAs know how powerful it really is. This book introduces SQL*Plus, includes a quick reference to itssyntax options, and provides chapters that describe, step-by-step, how to perform all the tasks Oracle developers and DBAs want toperform with SQL*Plus -- and maybe some they didn't realize theyCOULD perform. You will learn how to write and execute script files, generate ad hoc reports, extract data from the database, query the data dictionary tables, customize your SQL*Plus environment, and use the SQL*Plus administrative features (new in Oracle8i)."Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide is an indispensableresource for readers who are new to SQL*Plus, a task-orientedlearning tool for those who are already using it, and a quickreference for every user.
Synopsis
This book is the denitive guide to SQL*Plus, Oracle's interactive query
About the Author
Jonathan Gennick is an O'Reilly & Associates editor specializing in database and programming titles. Prior to joining O'Reilly, Jonathan amassed some 17 years of programming and database management experience. During the latter part of his career he specialized in relational database programming, and more recently in database management. Jonathan got his start with relational database systems in 1990, first working with Ingres, and later with Digital's Rdb software. During that period he developed a fondness for SQL, and for the challenge of applying SQL creatively in ways that leveraged it's set-oriented capabilities. In 1994 Jonathan made the leap to Oracle, and is now often found writing about it. Recent projects include Oracle SQLLoader (O'Reilly & Associates, 2001); Oracle SQLPlus Pocket Reference (O'Reilly & Associates, 2000); Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly & Associates, 1999); More recently, Jonathan has made forays into other database products, coauthoring Transact-SQL Cookbook (O'Reilly & Associates, 2002) and editing Practical PostgreSQL (O'Reilly & Associates, 2002). Jonathan is certified as an Oracle DBA and is a member of MENSA and the Oracle Technology Network. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information and Computer Science, with a Business Administration minor, from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Jonathan currently resides in Munising, Michigan with his wife Donna and their two children: Jenny and Jeff. Jonathan may be contacted by email at [email protected], and you can learn more about him personally by visiting his website at http://gennick.com.
Table of Contents
Preface; Why I Wrote This Book; Objectives of This Book; Structure of This Book; Audience; Obtaining the Scripts and Sample Data; Conventions Used in This Book; Which Platform and Version?; How to Contact Us; Acknowledgments; Chapter 1: Introduction to SQL*Plus; 1.1 What Is SQL*Plus?; 1.2 History of SQL*Plus; 1.3 Why Master SQL*Plus?; 1.4 Creating and Loading the Sample Tables; Chapter 2: Interacting with SQL*Plus; 2.1 Starting SQL*Plus; 2.2 Some Basic SQL*Plus Commands; 2.3 Running SQL Queries; 2.4 Working with PL/SQL; 2.5 The SQL Buffer; 2.6 Line Editing; 2.7 Executing the Statement in the Buffer; 2.8 Saving and Retrieving the Buffer; 2.9 The EDIT Command; 2.10 Executing a Script; 2.11 The Working Directory; Chapter 3: Generating Reports with SQL*Plus; 3.1 Following a Methodology; 3.2 Saving Your Work; 3.3 Designing a Simple Report; 3.4 Advanced Report Formatting; 3.5 Totals and Subtotals; 3.6 Other Reporting Topics; Chapter 4: Writing SQL*Plus Scripts; 4.1 Why Write Scripts?; 4.2 Using Substitution Variables; 4.3 Prompting for Values; 4.4 Cleaning Up the Display; 4.5 Packaging Your Script; 4.6 The DEFINE and UNDEFINE Commands; 4.7 Controlling Variable Substitution; 4.8 Commenting Your Scripts; Chapter 5: Extracting and Loading Data; 5.1 Types of Output Files; 5.2 Limitations of SQL*Plus; 5.3 Extracting the Data; 5.4 Reloading the Data; Chapter 6: Exploring Your Database; 6.1 The DESCRIBE Command; 6.2 Oracle's Data Dictionary Views; 6.3 Tables; 6.4 Table Constraints; 6.5 Indexes; 6.6 Triggers; 6.7 Synonyms; 6.8 Table Security; 6.9 Finding More Information; Chapter 7: Advanced Scripting; 7.1 Bind Variables; 7.2 Branching in SQL*Plus; 7.3 Looping in SQL*Plus; 7.4 Validating and Parsing User Input; 7.5 Error Handling; Chapter 8: Tuning and Timing; 8.1 Using SQL*Plus Timers; 8.2 Using EXPLAIN PLAN; 8.3 Using AUTOTRACE; 8.4 Improving on EXPLAIN PLAN Results; 8.5 Where to Find More Tuning Information; Chapter 9: The Product User Profile; 9.1 What Is the Product User Profile?; 9.2 Using the Product User Profile; Chapter 10: Administration with SQL*Plus; 10.1 Connecting for Administrative Purposes; 10.2 Starting and Stopping a Database; 10.3 Looking at Your Database; 10.4 Database Backup and Recovery; Chapter 11: Customizing Your SQL*Plus Environment; 11.1 SQL*Plus Settings You Can Control; 11.2 The Site and User Profiles; 11.3 Environment Variable Settings; 11.4 The SET Command; 11.5 The SHOW Command; SQL*Plus Command Reference; SQLPLUS; Comment Delimiters (/*...*/); Double Hyphen (- -); At Sign (@); Double At Sign (@@); Forward Slash (/); ACCEPT; APPEND; ARCHIVE LOG; ATTRIBUTE; BREAK; BTITLE; CHANGE; CLEAR; COPY; COLUMN; COMPUTE; CONNECT; DEFINE; DEL; DESCRIBE; DISCONNECT; EDIT; EXECUTE; EXIT; GET; HELP; HOST; INPUT; LIST; PASSWORD; PAUSE; PRINT; PROMPT; QUIT; RECOVER; REMARK; REPFOOTER; REPHEADER; RUN; SAVE; SET; SHOW; SHUTDOWN; SPOOL; START; STARTUP; STORE; TIMING; TTITLE; UNDEFINE; VARIABLE; WHENEVER; SQL*Plus Format Elements; Formatting Numbers; Formatting Character Strings; Formatting Dates; Colophon;