Toad Pocket Reference for Oracle: Toad Tips and Tricks

Toad is an enormously popular interactive environment tool for Oracle development and administration. It allows developers to build, test, debug, and format their code via an easy-to-use graphical user interface, available in both freeware and commercial versions. Toad makes developers far more productive; using Toad, you'll find that program changes that once took hours can now be completed in minutes. Toad allows developers to browse their database tables, procedures, and object types; use code templates; and show errors. It also simplifies database administration by providing a way for DBAs to graphically browse and change database characteristics.

Updated for Toad Versions 8.0 and 8.5, this pocket book is packed with quick-reference material: Toad feature and menu summaries, shortcut keys, suggested changes to Toad defaults, productivity tips and tricks, and more. The book includes concise discussions of all the basic Toad components: the SQL Editor, Procedure Editor, SQL Modeler, Schema Browser, Project Manager, and Debugger. The second edition includes coverage of new SQL Editor features, improvements in usability, and new tools such as CodeXpert (a robust code analyzer and advisor) and Script Debugger (the only tool available that provides real-time debugging of SQL*Plus scripts). It also provides helpful hints on using Toad to perform database administration and SQL tuning and optimization.

Whether you're a new or experienced Toad user, you'll find this quick reference an indispensable companion to the product and its online help files.

Jeff Smith is a Solutions Architect at Quest Software. What does that mean exactly? He gets paid to talk about Toad and the other database products at Quest. He has been with Quest since 2001, working on the Toad R&D, Product Management, and Sales organizations. Jeff is the primary author of the Toad Handbook, 2nd Edition, published by O'Reilly and is currently working with Bert and Patrick on the next edition! He holds a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from West Virginia University. Jeff is a regular speaker at Toad User Groups and Oracle User Groups worldwide. While not travelling to exotic locales like Melbourne, Australia or Peoria, Illinois, Jeff attempts to keep up with the Toad developers mountain-biking around Raleigh, NC.

Patrick McGrath is a technical marketing representative at Quest Software.

Bert Scalzo is a Quest software developer and well-known author in the Oracle/SQL world.