Oracle Database 11g introduced a new feature called PL/Scope. A while back, I wrote about Dan Morgan’s experience when he compiled the package STANDARD for PL/Scope. I also wrote about Oracle’s answer, in which they said “…the reason to compile STANDARD would be to make its identifiers available in the new DBA_Identifiers view family (see […]

The document below contains patterns of bad SQL and PL/SQL code that Gojko Adzic has repeatedly found in various applications and databases. Some of the bad practices include:

Use of WHEN OTHERS in exception handling. Embedding complex SQL inside PL/SQL code. Poor PL/SQL error handling. Hardcoding the size of PL/SQL variables. Not using bind variables. Storing ROWIDs for later reference. Storing […]

When invoking a PL/SQL procedure or function, you can specify the value of its parameters using either positional, named, or mixed notation. Let’s review what each notation means and then demonstrate the best way to add new parameters to an existing subprogram without breaking existing code.

Consider this simple package as an example:

CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE […]

As mentioned on OracleCommunity.net, Oracle SQL Developer 1.5 Early Adopter 1 (EA1) is now available for download. As with any new release, there are new features and bug fixes. But, they are not yet detailed in the release notes.

However, I know that the one feature that I have been eagerly waiting for is finally here, […]

Error management in Oracle PL/SQL should be part of your application design and should follow a standard process for handling and raising errors. The good news is that you do not have to design and code your error management system yourself because Steven Feuerstein has done all the work for you.

During the seminar that I […]

So, you are all excited about the new PL/SQL features in Oracle database 11g and you cannot wait until you upgrade your 10g database. Well, you do not have to wait. I will show you a simple way to put, and successfully compile, any new 11g PL/SQL feature inside your 10g PL/SQL code.

Let’s say you […]

Oracle PL/SQL evangelist Steven Feuerstein’s latest PL/SQL puzzler The Mysteries of CASE in PL/SQL is interesting. It touches on one “less-than-obvious aspect of PL/SQL’s CASE”. So, what is this “mysterious” thing about CASE?

I received the following invitation from NWOUG:

On behalf of Quest Software, NWOUG invites you to attend a free breakfast seminar that will be held in Portland, OR on Tuesday, July 24, 2007. Join Steven Feuerstein, PL/SQL Evangelist of Quest Software, to explore key best practices for PL/SQL development and learn […]

In his latest post titled Less is More, More or Less, John Russell, the man behind tahiti.oracle.com, reveals a very interesting fact about the space needed to store PL/SQL variables of varchar2 datatype. He writes:

If you don’t know exactly how much space is needed for a PL/SQL variable, the most space-efficient thing you can do […]

Links to interesting, educational, informational, or just plain fun websites…