If you're doing database application development in the Oracle environment, you're going to have to know PL/SQL, the company's extended query and update language. If you want your programs to exploit the special capabilities of Oracle software, you'll need to know the language well. That's where the third edition of
Oracle PL/SQL Programming comes into play. It's an absolutely comprehensive reference (as well as a rather extensive tutorial) on PL/SQL, ideally suited to answering your questions about how to perform some programming tasks and reminding you of the characteristics of functions, triggers, and other elements of the database programmer's toolkit. The new edition covers calls to Java methods from within PL/SQL programs, autonomous transactions, object type inheritance, and the new Timestamp and XMLType data types. There's also more information about server internals--the way PL/SQL programs are run--than before, better enabling readers to optimize their code for fast and safe execution.
Steven Feuerstein takes care to explain, with prose and example code, the characteristics of PL/SQL elements. In explaining number conversions, for example, he explores Oracle's different ways of formatting numbers, then details the behavior of the to_number function under different conditions (with and without a specified format model, and with National Language Support information attached). It's a helpful approach that will have readers using the index to locate places in which Feuerstein mentions language elements of interest. --David Wall
Topics covered: How to use Oracle PL/SQL in all its manifestations through Oracle9i. Fundamentals of program structure (loops, cases, exceptions, etc.) and execution get attention, as do data types, transaction management, triggers, and the object-oriented aspects of the language. There's also coverage of calls to external Java and C programs.
User review
Next best thing to being in a class
If you need to learn about PL/SQL this book is the next best thing to actually being in a class. It answered so many questions and was a huge help to me.
User review
This is how it really works in the real world
There are always 2-3 books every developer has in their area of expertise and if you're using PL/SQL, the Feuerstein book is one of them.
I'm not sure how much someone can get out of it if they never did work coding before and you're trying to learn it but I can think of many many times I needed an example for a specific problem and the book had a great example of how to do it.
Also I warn people to be careful because especially for the later chapters, they evolve to the answer to the problem and the cognitive method for this book is to follow along to the end to see how it got there - I think to some of the reviewers this is verbose but this really sinks the PL/SQL concept into your brain effectively and in my experience it's clearly worthwhile. I'm amazed (as always) how clear the evolution is if you take the time to follow it.
I might also add if you're not doing PL/SQL for work but trying to learn it, the evolution might not make sense it's very obvious to me the author has hard core real experience to approach the topics the way he does it.
For people in the field, I'd even say if you're a brand new developer on a job or programmed in something else and are approaching PL/SQL for the first time, the examples are more than clear enough and the opening chapters cover relatively universal and simple concepts so I believe the book is extremely beneficial for beginners as well as very advanced PL/SQL developers.
User review
Oracle PL/SQL
Oracle PL/SQL Programming is another of the high quality books that O'Reilly publishes. It covers everything you need to know from the initial description of PL/SQL all the way up to complex conditionals, procedures, functions, packages and application security. A handy tool for the Oracle toolbox.
User review
O'Reilly Oracle books
I started learning Oracle over a week ago and started with Learning PL/SQL which started out good but it was hard to follow. I have the Oracle PL/SQL book out of the library and I also as finding it hard to follow; the material is disorganized,,.
In addition, you can download some examples from O'Reilly but they are not complete or incorrect (or even helpful). Some of the examples have not been touched in a long time but I do not believe anyone reviewed the code,,.
I would recommend the book, Oracle Database 11g SQL by Jason Price, as a much better alternative to this book. The book is methodical in its approach in teaching Oracle,,.
User review
#1 PL/SQL Book For A Reason
This is The Ultimate PL/SQL reference. Although the book isn't written as a reference, it serves as a more useful reference than the Oracle documentation. This book will show you 99% of PL/SQL functionality, and 110% of what you need to know. Steven Feuerstein always manages to write at a level which is not dry like 99% of all tech books out there. What a refreshing perspective he has for PL/SQL.
This book can be used for learning or refreshing on certain PL/SQL topics, but it isn't the best layout for someone new to PL/SQL, who needs that hand holding step by step approach. For now, novices might want to choose another book to learn the ropes, then get this book to serve as their #1 reference after they know the basics.
By the time I got through the first three chapters, I came across PL/SQL and SQL Plus functionality that I consider essential to the role of an Oracle developer, of which about half of my peers do not fully know. 95% of my peers, and their peers would learn multiple things they did not know before simply by reading through the first three chapters. Steven covers the majority of necessary `tribal knowledge` that an Oracle developer just needs to know here, before going into the more functional and applicable details in the rest of the text.
The rest of the book is ordered in a fashion so that you can easily go straight to the functionality that you need to learn, refresh, or learn more about. If I need to brush up on triggers, exception handling, collections, etc., I simply jump to the chapter aptly named for each piece.
The real brilliant part of Steven's writing for these individual sections is that after he covers all of the details of a certain topic, Exception Handling, for instance, he provides well written suggestions on how to really apply this topic in the most appropriate manner, where most books would just leave the topic alone, after covering the `how-to`! After Steven explains all of the ins and outs of exception handling (which he does in a much more thorough fashion than all other documentation), he then goes on to teach you how to actually USE the tool he has explained. The exception handling chapter has sections on `Building an Effective Error Management Architecture` and `Making the Most of PL/SQL Error Management`. Instead of just showing his readers `How do I do that?`, he shows them How, and then proceeds to pour his expertise into the What, When, and Why of the subject.
The sections explaining each `core` PL/SQL functionality are the most in depth explanations I have seen in any documentation, with code examples for literally every bullet point in the book. The code examples are all in anonymous blocks which can literally be copied and pasted into an IDE. There are also many more code examples not in the book that are available online in a zip file.
Extra kudos to Steven for including sections on xml types and http data manipulation which are highly sought after skills in software development.
My only complaint is that I wish there was a search-able PDF file of the book that came with it, like Oracle Press books have. If there was, I would use it for ALL PL/SQL questions that I usually `Google` for the answer. Even so, buying the book gives you a free 45 day access to safari online so you can search through this book there.
Use this book often as your first PL/SQL reference, along with Feuerstein's PL/SQL Best Practices book, and you will be better equipped than 95% of PL/SQL developers out there.
If you are responsible for PL/SQL coding, this book needs to be on your desk. Period.
