SQL Pocket Guide by Jonathan Gennick Second Edition April 2006 $14.99 USD	Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide by Jonathan Gennick Second Edition November 2004 $39.95 USD
Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference by Jonathan Gennick Third Edition November 2004 $9.95 USD	SQL Pocket Guide by Jonathan Gennick March 2004 OUT OF PRINT
Oracle Regular Expressions Pocket Reference by Jonathan Gennick, Peter Linsley September 2003 $9.95 USD	Oracle SQL Plus Pocket Reference by Jonathan Gennick Second Edition October 2002 OUT OF PRINT
Transact-SQL Cookbook by Ales Spetic, Jonathan Gennick March 2002 $34.95 USD	Oracle SQL*Loader: The Definitive Guide by Jonathan Gennick, Sanjay Mishra April 2001 $34.95 USD
Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting by Hugo Toledo, Jonathan Gennick December 2000 $39.95 USD	Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide by Jonathan Gennick March 1999 OUT OF PRINT
Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference by Jonathan Gennick OUT OF PRINT

Oracle on Windows
Publish Date: Nov. 21, 2003

Why doesn't O'Reilly have an Oracle on Windows title? Editor Jonathan Gennick writes, "Every time we consider a platform-specific book on Oracle, we struggle with the fact that once you get past the initial installation and configuration, Oracle is pretty much the same across all platforms."

The Master Key to Oracle's Data Dictionary
Publish Date: Oct. 28, 2002

Have you ever wondered how to find out what tables you have? How about the users and their permissions? Jonathan Gennick explains how Oracle's data dictionary, a wealth of database metadata, can answer all of these questions and more.

What's in a Condition?
Publish Date: Oct. 1, 2002

The Oracle9i database recently introduced support for SQL92 join syntax. Jonathan Gennick, author of Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition, explains why it's important to have the choice to make a condition a join condition.

Which Table, Which Column?
Publish Date: Aug. 22, 2002

Jonathan Gennick, O'Reilly editor and coauthor of Transact-SQL Cookbook, writes about why you should always use table aliases in SQL.

An Interview with Joshua Drake: Coauthor of Practical PostgreSQL
Publish Date: Jul. 25, 2002

Joshua Drake, coauthor of Practical PostgreSQL, talks about a Mac OS X distribution of PostgreSQL, XML support, LXP, and much more in this in-depth interview with O'Reilly editor, Jonathan Gennick.

Using Oracle Global Database Links
Publish Date: Dec. 13, 2000

O'Reilly coauthor discusses global database links and benefits of central management via Oracle Names server. By Jonathan Gennick, coauthor of O'Reilly's Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting (December 2000).

LDAP and the Oracle Internet Directory
Publish Date: Sep. 21, 2000

LDAP and the Oracle Internet Directory-- O'Reilly Oracle author Jonathan Gennick defines LDPA and the Oracle Internet Directory, explains who is using LDAP and why, and tells why the Oracle Internet Directory holds some interesting possibilities for use in an Oracle environment.

View all articles by Jonathan Gennick.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide

Customer Reviews

great guide
2005-01-14 15:14:57 Doroszlai Attila
I have found this book to be a really great guide that is easy to follow. The author provides a gentle, but thorough introduction to topics like creating reports, writing scripts, customization etc. He offers methodologies and alternatives beyond the syntax that you can find in the manual. For example, he presents and evaluates six ways you can achieve some kind of if-then-else flow control in SQL*Plus.

SQL Pocket Guide

Customer Reviews

Small is beautiful
2006-11-21 03:48:22 Anonymous Reader
good review.

Small is beautiful
2006-11-21 03:47:36 Peter B.
Its rare to find some good value in such a small book. Packed with all the key information, written concisely and at the right level of competence it provides a useful reminder of the power of SQL. Direct and to the point examples reinforce knowledge and encourage the user to explore the finer points of syntax to increase their own productivity.

I just wish that the mainstream DB suppliers take up the challenge to demistify some of their own flavours of SQL.

Peter B.

Transact-SQL Cookbook

Media Reviews

"This is the first 'book review' on my site and it happens to be the most practical Transact-SQL (T-SQL) book I've ever read. I read this book cover to cover and picked up a lot of tips and tricks. Before I start with the 'chapter by chapter' review, let me walk you through the key characteristics of this book. It is a concise (Hardly 300 pages), practical, no-nonsense book...Overall, this is a valuable book for beginning-to-intermediate SQL Server programmers and a great reference for experienced database professionals."
--Narayana Vyas Kondreddi, SQL Server website, August 2002

"The 'Transact-SQL Cookbook' is the best book I have read for learning how to get T-SQL to do a lot of things you never knew it could. Did you know you can perform matrix multiplication in SQL? How do you create a calendar in SQL? How do you find non-recurring events? What about using T-SQL to calculate statistical autocorrelation? Yes, all of these things are possible to do in T-SQL, in fact, they're discussed in detail in this book...During development, if a particularly hairy T-SQL task comes your way, chances are, the solution is covered in some form or another in this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who regularly works with or writes T-SQL. A must have for any library."
--Salt Lake City ColdFusion User Group, July 2002

"A well-presented text that should have something of interest for any SQL user."
--Major Keary, Book News 2002 No 10

Oracle SQL*Loader: The Definitive Guide

Media Reviews

"I started using this book about 1 month ago and knew nothing about SQL*Loader. This book has helped me be creative in the different ways that this utility can be used...The language and examples are clear, concise and easy to understand. It is a good book to refer to, for beginners as well as for experienced professionals. I've learned a lot from this book and so can others."
--Karen Gillingham, Williamsburg Macromedia User Group, August 2002

"5 birdies. Wow the title hits it bulls-eye--The Definitive Guide--A humongous effort went into the book and the examples. It’s another one for the desk, always to hand...Bravo Well Done."
--plomax@oriole.com, Oct 2001

"This is a must have for beginners and advanced users alike. Finally there is something out there that provides the information you need at your fingertips. If you find reading Oracle's White Pages confusing this book will help you understand, and how to most effectively use SQL Loader. I highly recommend this book." --Kevin Ware, Juno Beach User group, August 2001

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide

Customer Reviews

Great overview
2006-05-13 18:48:43 Sam
Very well organized, good examples, good writing. I was able to get out of it what I needed in a weekend. Nice job.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
2001-03-15 15:14:14 Sharon Close
Thank you for a superb introduction to SQLPLUS. I can definitely be described as a novice - I attended an Oracle sql for end users course two years ago, but found it a difficult subject to grasp as I had no experience of using sql (and sharing a pc with another trainee did not help!). I thought I was doomed never to use it again.

I went into a shop two days ago looking for SQL for Dummies, but discovered your far more useful book and have suddenly discovered I can do it after all! I have impressed myself with my new found ability to write scripts (with lots of joins) and correctly format reports - a major breakthrough for a new consultant in the marketplace.

Thank you once again - this is the best value for money in the marketplace.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
2000-08-09 15:48:54 K Vainstein
Just like the cover says - Definitive. My one complaint is that command-line arguments aren't in the book's index, although they're used in a few of the example scripts. (Call them &&1, &&2, etc. Here's a good approach - at start of script, have something like

PRO Inputs:
PRO 1: schema name
PRO 2: column name

, and then user will get an explanation of what args were expected. If the command-line args weren't entered, SQL*Plus will give another opportunity to enter them, as in

Enter value for 1:

, so forth. Looks nice.)

The Ukrainian names are literary, not historical (off-the-wall correction of an earlier reader comment).

Truly superior technical text.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
2000-02-16 00:00:00 Robin


I've been coding PL/SQL and SQL for years, and when I saw this book, I thought "why on earth would they write a *whole* book about SQL Plus?". I was very impressed -- I discovered tips and code examples for many things that I had never tried, and I found myself picking up this book over and over again. It is a good general reference, and definitely a good book for a beginner.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
2000-01-13 00:00:00 Bill H


An excellent book. The combination of the clear text and downloaded examples make this book enjoyable to read.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
1999-12-06 00:00:00 Andrew Smith


Again, another fantastic Oracle publication from O'Reilly. It is both user-friendly and well-written. Thoroughly recommended.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
1999-10-27 00:00:00 Alex Campbell


This book is so good that whenever I look at another of my SQL books I unconsciously compare it to The Definitive Guide. They have all fallen short. I like both the readable style and density of information in one book. It also covers SQL Loader better than most other books.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
1999-09-10 00:00:00 Christopher Gait


Great book. I'm learning all kinds of things that turn SQL*Plus from a dinosaur into a useful tool for day-to-day work. I also enjoy the data being a mixture of Ukrainian historical figures, Dickens character(s) and author's family.

My only addition so far would be to tell people how to set your default editor if it isn't already set. This won't be an issue for most people, since Windows systems have this configured as part of their install. But Unix users will have to set this manually or put it into login.sql:

DEFINE _editor='vi'

There is a mention of this in the description of DEFINE, but nothing in the introduction to using the editor, which would leave beginning users of SQL*Plus in UNIX staring at a '?' wondering what to do (you can get rid of the ? with CTRL-D, which I found out by poking around the keyboard on 'all the usual suspects'). There is also no entry in the index which I could find about this.

I expect this book to join the rest of my O'Reilly books on the 'front line' of my computer library, usually open on or next to my desk.

Chris Gait

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
1999-07-25 00:00:00 Ron Joffe


Great book, one of those that's always left open on my desk.

Thanks for making the sample code available,
running things through, really make the ideas sink in better

A few comments / corrections:

Page 186
Table 6-4 Columns in the ALL_CONSTRAINTS View

For the CONSTRAINT_TYPE, the contents is missing:
U = UNIQUE KEY

Page 200
Table Constraints

Sorry to be picky about this one, but :)

You State that :
ALL_CONSTRAINTS return one row for each constraint
, and is the only view you need to look at for the
definition of a check constraint.

Technically this is correct, becuase even if you
define a check constraint for a particular column
it can be coded as either a column constraint or
a table constraint, but without parsing the
search_condition column you can not obtain which
columns are affected.

Thanks for a great resource.

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
1999-04-15 00:00:00 Michael Thomas


Hi,

This is a great book, and saves lots of time
if want to be a SQL*Plus power user. I'd like
to add one suggestion to p145, the DEFINE
command. Jonathan showed us how to define
CHAR substitution/user variables. Its also
possible to create NUMBER type variables.

-- define rolled_in total, but as number
col RT new_val r_tot format 999999 noprint
select sum(max(rollin_district)) RT
from log_activity
where trunc(first_login_date) = trunc(sysdate-&1)
group by name_district
/

Or, a simple DEFINE to NUMBER with 0 value.

-- define rollin = 0, but as number
col val99 new_val rollin noprint
select to_number(0) val99
from DUAL
/

SQL> define
DEFINE _O_VERSION = "Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Release 8.0.5.1.1 - Production
PL/SQL Release 8.0.5.1.0 - Production" (CHAR)
DEFINE _O_RELEASE = "800050101" (CHAR)
DEFINE R_DATE = "15-Apr-99" (CHAR)
DEFINE R_TOT = 2511 (NUMBER)
DEFINE ROLLIN = 0 (NUMBER)
SQL>

Then you can use these substitution/user
NUMBER variables in SQL statements in your scripts:

select to_char((sum(decode(
to_char(first_login_date,'hh24'),
0,1,1,1,2,1,3,1,4,1,5,1,6,1,0)) +
sum(decode(to_char(first_login_date,'hh24'),
7,1,0)) +
sum(decode(to_char(first_login_date,'hh24'),
8,1,0)))*100/&r;_tot,'999.0')||'%' m
from log_activity a

Great job with this book.

Regards,

Mike Thomas

Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide Review
1999-04-06 00:00:00 Jim Muldoon


Review of Oracle SQL*Plus, The Definitive Guide, by Jonathan Gennick; O’Reilly, 1999

I definitely recommend this book for anyone who uses Oracle SQL*Plus. This book is organized along two main lines: the body of the book containing various examples of SQL commands, and the Appendices which are good command references. The book also has a reference to the O’Reilly web site, which has the source for most of examples in the book. Even though the examples were set up for the Windows 95 version of Oracle 8.0, I was able to run most of them on a UNIX (AIX), Oracle 7.3.3 version. Most of the changes where due to case sensitivity. Since I am not a database administrator, I couldn’t run any scripts requiring administrator privileges.

Further subdividing the main text of the book, the first part is for all users. The author starts out with background information about SQL*Plus, and its relation to some of the other Oracle components, such as PL/SQL and the Oracle database. The author then walks you through some basics of the SQL*Plus environment, such as editing, and gets you started by working with sample database included in the examples. The author also starts out early on getting you familiar with PL/SQL. Later chapters cover scripting, reporting, and extracting and loading data. The examples shown are very helpful.

The next section is for the more advanced user. This includes exploring the database, which shows how to find out the table structure, constraints, indexes, triggers, etc. You are shown how to access the tables of the data dictionary to give you these details, and how to produce a readable report from these. This section also includes advanced scripting which covers bind variables, how to simulate branching in the scripts, writing dynamic SQL scripts, and parsing and checking user input. Finally, tuning and timing queries is included in this section.

The next section deals with database administration issues. This includes giving users the privileges they need, but not letting them change things that would impact other users. Shutdown, startup, backup, and restore are also covered.

The final section is on customizing the environment, which contains hints and advice which I think are useful to all users. This covers settings which the user can control, plus global settings for all users.

Overall, I am very impressed with the book and find it to be a good reference for all user levels. If I were only allowed to have one book as a SQL*Plus reference, this would be it.

Media Reviews

"One puzzling aspect of the O'Reilly series is how the publishers have managed to find competent authors when other companies seem unable to get anyone who can string a sentence together. You really get the feeling that the authors want to tell you how to solve a problem rather than demonstrate how clever they are...information you'd otherwise have to check in four of the Oracle manuals, and there's a human voice helping you." --Kay Ewbank, Computer Shopper , July 2000

Oracle SQL Plus Pocket Reference

Media Reviews

"'Oracle SQL*Plus' is a fantastic 'quick reference' for those little things that you tend to use then loose, such as altering tables using SQL or deleting duplicate rows. There is plenty of sample code or sample SQL as this case may be. It is written with big bold headers for the sections and the type is also big enough to use in a hurry! It also is chucked full of notes and warnings in areas where you can do some damage or bring the database to it's knees if you're not careful...This is a fantastic little book for web programmers as well as those who use SQL*Plus routinely. You can quickly find what you need and you'll most likely have a good example of the SQL you need to write. Anyone who writes queries against an Oracle database can get much good from this little jewel. I highly recommend it for web programmers who use Oracle."
--David Hannum, SEOMUG, Feb 2003

"A small but complete reference to SQL*Plus...contains concise yet helpful overviews of SQL actions, making the book a worthwhile tool for beginners and experts alike...Gennick points out the differences between Oracel8i/SQL syntax and Oracel9i/SQL syntax. This information alone makes the book a must-have reference for any Oracle user."
--Oracle Magazine, Feb 2003

Reviews From Previous Edition

"A very helpful reference to Oracle's spartan-at-first-glance command-line interface. If you're an occasional SQL*Plus user, this book will introduce you to a host of capabilities that you never knew were available from SQL*Plus. If you're a seasoned DBA and a command-line junkie like myself, the 'SQL*Plus Pocket Reference' will likely become that little book that you always reach for when trying to remember just how to get that query result looking like you want it...In summary, if you're planning on regular use of SQL*Plus, this book is essential. If you're new to SQL*Plus, a browse through the book will very likely open up to you a new world of just what you can do with SQL*Plus. My rating: 9.5/10."--hanksdc, Provo Linux Users Group, May 2002

SQL Pocket Guide

Customer Reviews

Like any pocket guide, you can't go wrong.
2006-11-19 17:33:28 Scott Hiser
I love the O'Reilly pocket guides. They're like a check list reminder of things you know how to do but sometimes need to take a quick look to jog your memory.

I write a lot of programs and do a lot of consulting. Sometimes I don't touch anything beyond basic SQL statements for months on end. Being like most people in the IT field, we're very busy learning and keeping up with new technologies. Having this as a quick reference is great for leveraging your time and knowledge adaption.

For experienced IT people, a Pocket Guide may eliminate the need for buying any books (For those who don't read the online manuals or subscribe to knowledge services). Hand an experienced script writing a C++ pocket reference and in no time that person will be writing C++ programs.

These are great for beginners to experts.

The little book you keep on your desk
2004-06-25 19:21:40 Douglas Rowe from the Columbia Java Users Group
Most people that work in SQL daily, don't need reminders of how to write join, correlate or update queries. But the other 10% of the work you do is where you run into trouble. You know you can do something, you just need to know the syntax. This little gem fills that bill nicely. Concise, clear and with a good index, SQL Pocket Guide gives you what you need. Complex functions are explained and it covers DB2, Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL with good depth. Indispensible.

The little book you keep on your desk
2004-06-25 19:21:34 Douglas Rowe from the Columbia Java Users Group
Most people that work in SQL daily, don't need reminders of how to write join, correlate or update queries. But the other 10% of the work you do is where you run into trouble. You know you can do something, you just need to know the syntax. This little gem fills that bill nicely. Concise, clear and with a good index, SQL Pocket Guide gives you what you need. Complex functions are explained and it covers DB2, Oracle, SQL Server and MySQL with good depth. Indispensible.

Media Reviews

"If you want just the facts, this is a valuabe portable reference. It is designed for those who have a library of SQL resources, but who need an aide-memoire to keep at hand."
--Major Keary, Book News, 2004 No. 11

Oracle Regular Expressions Pocket Reference

Customer Reviews

Oracle Regular Expressions Pocket Reference Review
2003-09-29 06:06:11 Srinivas
Oracle Regular Expressions

This book covers one of the most exciting features of Oralce 10G, i.e Regular Expressions. Till Oracle 10G, Oracle was supporting only LIKE predicate for pattern matching. This Book covers all 4 functions (REGEXP_INSTR, REGEXP_LIKE, REGEXP_REPLACE, REGEXP_SUBSTR) of Regular expression supported by Oracle. It is for both novice users who didn't use Regular expressions till now and for the users who used other languages like Perl, UNIX grep command etc.,

We can use this book as quick reference or regular expression tutorial also. It not only explains what oracle supports as far as Regular Expressions is concerned, it also covers the difference between Perl and Oracle.

Finally it covers a list of error messages you may encounter and explanation and how to resolve them. This book is almost like a complete reference for Regular expression (hope I should write this sentence after getting experience on Oracle 10G).

Srinivas.

Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting

Customer Reviews

Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting Review
2001-06-17 10:17:05 Brian O'Neill
This book is very well written; explaining Oracle networking technologies in a clear and concise manner. In my opinion, Oracle's Net8 documentation is very poor when compared to some of the other Oracle documentation. Reading this book filled in the gaps where the Net8 manual was vague and unclear. I highly recommend it.

Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting Review
2001-04-24 08:03:49 John Peterson
I give this book a very good rating, pretty easy to read after spending hours reading the technical documents from Oracle NET8 cd. There is a good deal of excellent information about NET8 in the book. Some great examples in every chapter. Net8 seems to be growing and enhancing with every release, books on the subject are somewhat rare, keeping up with this technology is becoming very challenging, these guys have done a good job.

My hopes for the next edition would be the addition of yet more examples, case studies and explanations of those oracle errors, especially for MTS and OID.

Addressing Oracle Networking with some of the industry applications such as Oracle's eBusiness Suite, Peoplesoft, SAP for large scale networks would be a fantastic plus.

John E. Peterson

Oracle Net8 Configuration and Troubleshooting Review
2001-04-12 07:57:30 Jed S. Baer
The Official Blurb:

<blockquote>

Describes everything DBAs need to know to install configure, tune, and troubleshoot Net8, Oracle's networking technology. It covers the Oracle Internet Directory (OID)

</blockquote>

This book fails at providing everything a DBA needs to know about OID. I am sorry to have to say that this is the first O'Reilly book which, after reading the appropriate chapters, leaves me almost as mystified as before reading it. No information is supplied for server-side installation and startup for OID, that I could find.

In chapter 6, p. 164 and following, it would be helpful if the figures appeared in the book in the same order they appear when running the Directory Manager. Transposing 6-7 and 6-6 would resolve a discontinuous flow which is currently the case.

Most troubling is that the book tells me to use a domain "orclContext" which doesn't appear in the SuperClass Selector window. Maybe that's a version problem.

The review option of "Wasn't for Me" isn't really appropriate. A more appropriate review option would be "Not up to O'Reilly Standards". Yes, there is much good information in various places in the book, but with the "Covers LDAP" banner on the cover, I expected a better treatment, and OID is why I bought the book.

Media Reviews

"a practical and focused guide." --Mary Hopkins, Freelance Informer, May 4, 2001

Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference

Customer Reviews

Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference Review
2000-11-06 13:14:33 John Wilson
This book has an good structure for quick reference and has the correct degree

of substance in it sharp explainations.

Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference Review
2000-05-09 00:00:00 mtbee


What a handy little reference! I'd purchased j.gennick's other wonderful book on SQL * Plus -- howeber, this little gem has become my new best friend. I like it's short synopsis / distallations of most things needed - report, format spec, dba functions. All right there!

Media Reviews

"Often what is needed, once one learns SQL, is a more concise guide to the more common aspects of the language. To that end there exists Oracle SQL*Plus Pocket Reference. Even if you find you need the more substantive information and/or examples from a more complete reference, this book will help in quickly locating the command(s) you need. That, coupled with its price, should make this a reasonable addition to your shelf." --E. V. Bell, II, Ed's Internet Books, May 2001