Oracle is an enormous system with myriad technologies, options, and releases. Most users--even experienced developers and database administrators--find it difficult to get a handle on the full scope of the Oracle system. And as each new version of the database is released, users find themselves under increasing pressure to learn about a whole range of new technologies.This book distills the enormous amount of information about what Oracle is, where it came from, and what the latest releases do--and packages it into a compact, easy-to-read volume filled with focused text, illustrations and helpful hints. It explains what's new and important about Oracle's revolutionary releases, Oracle8 (the "object-relational database") and Oracle8i (the "Internet database"). It covers:
- Oracle products, options, and overall architecture
- Installing and running Oracle (creating databases, configuring Net8, starting up and shutting down Oracle)
- Oracle data structures
- Managing Oracle (implementing security, using the Oracle Enterprise Manager, dealing with fragmentation and reorganization, and performing backup and recovery)
- Oracle networking
- Monitoring and tuning
- Multi-user concurrency and online transaction processing (OLTP)
- Special issues for high-availability systems
- Hardware architectures (e.g., SMP, MPP, NUMA) and their impact on Oracle
- Data warehousing
- Distributed databases
- Extensions for Oracle8 and Oracle8i, including the latest Java and web technologies
It also includes an appendix full of references to additional online and offline resources.For new Oracle users, DBAs, developers, and managers,
Oracle Essentials provides an invaluable, all-in-one introduction to the full range of Oracle features and technologies. But even if you already have a library full of Oracle documentation and books, you'll find that this compact book is the one you turn to, again and again, as your one-stop, truly essential reference.
O'Reilly's series of Oracle references rapidly build up into a complete reference library that will sit at the front of the shelves of any Oracle DBA. But first you've got to get started, and
Oracle Essentials is meant to be that jumping-off point.
Instead of throwing you in at the deep end with a dissertation on data mining, or some obscure section of the Oracle environment, the authors give you a concise and clear guide to the features of the latest Oracle databases--and how you're likely to want to use them. From an introduction to Oracle's family of tools and technologies to a look at Oracle on the Web, Oracle Essentials is full of useful information. It's not just a book that describes the features--you'll also find code samples and plenty of hands-on practical advice. If you're still unclear, the book's diagrams show just what the authors are describing.
Oracle Essentials is a distillation of the knowledge of a group of very experienced Oracle engineers, and it should be on the desk of anyone working with Oracle. --Simon Bisson, amazon.co.uk
