Pro Oracle SQL 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 three-pronged approach: learn the language features, learn the supporting features that Oracle provides to help use the language effectively, and learn to think and work in sets.

Karen Morton and her team help you master powerful aspects of Oracle SQL not found in competing databases. 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 also helps you minimize parsing overhead, read execution plans, test for correct results, 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 Profiles to optimize SQL in packaged applications, 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.

What’s the bottom-line? Pro Oracle SQL helps you work at a truly professional level in 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. Pro Oracle SQL helps you rise above the crowd to provide stellar service in your chosen profession.

• 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.

What you’ll learn

• Master powerful SQL features implemented only in Oracle Database
• 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 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 subquery refactoring that are designed to help developers and database administrators exert control over their SQL environment and its execution.

Table of Contents

1. Core SQL
2. SQL Execution
3. Access and Join Methods
4. SQL is About Sets
5. It’s About the Question
6. SQL Execution Plans
7. Advanced Grouping
8. Analytic Functions
9. The Model Clause
10. Subquery Factoring
11. Semi-joins and Anti-joins
12. Indexes
13. Beyond the SELECT
14. Transaction Processing
15. Testing and Quality Assurance
16. Plan Stability and Control