Oracle PL/SQL Programming by Bill
Pribyl
The Pl/Sql Standard
If youre doing database application development in the Oracle
environment, youre going to have to know PL/SQL, the companys
extended query and update language. If you want your programs to exploit
the special capabilities of Oracle software, youll need to know the
language well. Thats where the third edition of Oracle PL/SQL
Programming comes into play. Its 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 programmers 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. Theres 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 Oracles 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). Its 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. Theres also coverage of calls to external Java
and C programs.
Personal Review: Oracle PL/SQL Programming by Bill Pribyl
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.
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