14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful intro to PL/SQL, 11 Feb 2002
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Learning Oracle PL/SQL (Paperback)
A book doesn't have to cover advanced material and tricks from gurus to be great. There are only a handful of really good Oracle books, and this is one. It takes the beginner through the important features of PL/SQL, and uses an example application that you build as you go along.
The organization is great and the writing is crystal clear. It doesn't just cover syntax. It also explains when and why you'd want to use various PL/SQL features.
If you're a radical C++ coding genius, maybe you want one of the other O'Reilly books on PL/SQL. On the other hand, if you've tried some other books that deal with PL/SQL and found they didn't provide the background, explanations and programming strategies you need, try this book. The authors are talented PL/SQL experts, and their presentation of the subject is great.
This book is not a slap-dash effort to write a quick book. It's a solid, quality book. If you have some exposure to Oracle but have never developed PL/SQL skills, you'll like this book.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best intros to PL/SQL, 13 Mar 2002
By ueberhund "ueberhund" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Learning Oracle PL/SQL (Paperback)
Learning Oracle PL/SQL is one of the best books I have read on learning this subject. This book has a little for everyone: you'll learn something if you know the basics of SQL, but have never really done anything with it. You'll also learn something if you've had a lot of experience with Microsoft SQLServer (and T-SQL), but are looking to transition you knowledge to Oracle PL/SQL.
You'll learn about coding anonymous blocks, stored procedures, functions, and packages. You will learn how to write and use cursors, how to organize code into packages, Oracle security basics, Oracle built in packages, and error handling. The book also covers some basics of using SQL*Plus, to make your life a little easier.
If you need a relatively small (less than 400 pages) introduction to Oracle PL/SQL, then this is definitely a book you will want to pick up. If you need more in-depth information after reading this book, pick up the authors' other book Oracle PL/SQL.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recommended, 27 Nov 2002
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Learning Oracle PL/SQL (Paperback)
I've been a self taught Oracle PL/SQL developer for two years, so I was sceptical on reading a "Learning" book. After reading the first few chapters I was able to make improvements to my PL/SQL programs. It was definitely worth the time and money. The examples are well written and simple enough to make sense, but not too simple that they are "duh" type examples. I also liked the fact that the book explains how to set up and use Oracle/Apache to make PSP pages (Stored Procedures that generate web content). The PSP section makes up a good portion of the book that I didn't know was in it before I got it. With plenty of real-world experience tips, a section on tools and security, it will be a while before I have this ingrained and used on a daily basis. I defiantly got more than I was looking for.