Oracle SQL: the Essential Reference

Versions of Oracle

This book was written using Oracle Version 8.1.6, and all information presented is accurate for that version. Most of the material applies to Oracle Versions 7.3 and 8.0 as well, but some new features were added to SQL in Version 8.1 (Oracle8i ).

Beginning with Oracle Version 8.0, a new option called the Object Option became available. Effective with Oracle Version 8.1.6 (Oracle8i Release 2), the Object Option is included in the base release of all Oracle server products. In my experience, this option is not yet widely used; it is, however, tremendously complex and it adds a significant amount of syntax to the SQL language. In fact, Oracle's Object Database would require an entire book to cover properly. Consequently, I decided to omit the Object features from the hardcopy version of this book. If you do use the Object Option, you will find the full syntax available on the O'Reilly web site at http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/orsqlter and in Oracle's SQL Reference Manual. If you, like most current Oracle users, don't use the Object features, I think you will find the hardcopy book much easier to use without the extra material. Once the option is in wider use, I'll include it in a later edition of this book. Let me know what you think about this decision!