Get started with PL/SQL, the built-in language that every Oracle developer and database administrator must know, in Beginning PL/SQL, a fast-paced and example-filled tutorial. Learn from author Don Bales' extensive experience to discover the most commonly used aspects of PL/SQL without wasting time with obscure and obsolete features.

Author Don Bales takes his 20+ years of experience and a wealth of statistics he's gathered on PL/SQL usage over those years and applies the 80/20 rule -- cover what's most needed and used by PL/SQL professionals and avoid what's not necessary! The result is a book that covers all the key features of PL/SQL without wasting your time discussing esoteric and obsolete parts of the language. Learn what really matters, so that you can get to work feeling confident with what you know about PL/SQL.

* Discover the 20% of PL/SQL that gives you 80% of the bang--key topics covered include variables and datatypes, executing statements, working with cursors, real-world objects, debugging, testing, and more.
* Learn how to write production-level, object-oriented PL/SQL--you'll explore relational PL/SQL, but unlike most other books on the subject, Don Bales emphasizes the use of PL/SQL's object-oriented features as well.
* Work through real examples of using of PL/SQL--you'll learn PL/SQL by applying it to real-world business problems, not by heavy theory.

What you'll learn

* How important SQL is in PL/SQL
* How to use PL/SQL in both a relational and object-relational setting
* How to create maintainable, modular, and reusable PL/SQL program units
* The importance of testing as you go, and of building a permanent test plan for each module
* The importance of building debugging capabilities into your code and building a permanent debug facility for each module
* The importance of documenting as you go, and in the process building a permanent documentation set for your reusable modules
* How to apply modular PL/SQL to solve real-world problems

Who is this book for?

Anyone who wants to learn how to create stored procedures against an Oracle database using PL/SQL. Programmers developing applications to be deployed against an Oracle database will need PL/SQL to take full advantage of the power Oracle has to offer. Database administrators who wish to implement functionality exposed only via PL/SQL package interfaces will also find this book useful.