Oracle Database 10g PL/SQL 101 (101)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, but title misleading
Review: With all the many Oracle Press books I have been able to review, I have not yet been disappointed by one of them. They have consistently been written clearly, been relevant, and valuable in real-world Oracle development. This book is of course no exception. It is written as a beginning guide to not only Oracle development but as an entry-level text to SQL syntax and concepts as well.

After a good introduction to what a database is, the author begins into a tutorial on basic SQL syntax. In this introductory section, the reader learns how to create tables, write INSERT statements, and then select the data back out via the SELECT statement. The author quickly moves to more advanced techniques, illustrating the use of the WHERE clause, and discusses use of the UPDATE statement.

Practical use of the techniques just discussed will likely be implemented in SQL*Plus, so the author begins a very thorough discussion of this tool. Many of the potential problems a user might experience with SQL*Plus are covered and solutions are provided. I was quite pleased with how extensive this chapter covers the topic of SQL*Plus. It is an excellent introduction to this tool.

The author then begins to discuss more advanced database techniques, including the use of indexes and constraints. Finally, the author begins a discussion of basic PL/SQL syntax. This is really my only problem with the book: the book is called PL/SQL 101, yet only the last chapter is dedicated to discussing the subject. Sure, the proceeding material is necessary to have the framework to discuss PL/SQL. I just think the title is a bit misleading.