Objectives of This Book

The single, driving objective of this book is to help you squeeze every last possible ounce of productivity and usefulness out of SQL*Plus. If you read this book cover to cover, at the end you will have learned the following:

  • How to methodically perform common tasks such as generating a report and extracting data to a flat file

  • How to enter and edit commands in the SQL*Plus environment, with and without an external editor

  • How to write simple scripts using SQL*Plus

  • How to use the basic building blocks of SQL to write queries and other statements

  • How to prompt for user input and use that input in SQL statements, PL/SQL blocks, and SQL*Plus commands

  • How to stretch the limits of what you can do in a SQL*Plus script by implementing pseudo-IF statements and by using one script to generate another

  • How the Product User Profile, an Oracle security feature, works with SQL*Plus

  • How to customize your SQL*Plus environment

  • How you can use SQL*Plus to view the definitions for database objects such as views, tables, constraints, triggers, indexes, and synonyms

  • How to use SQL*Plus as a tuning aid to maximize the performance of your SQL queries

An additional objective of this book is to serve as a ready reference you can pull out when faced with a common task. If you need to generate a report, open to the chapter on reports and follow the steps. Need to extract data? Open to the chapter on data extraction, and again follow the steps. Every effort has been made to organize the information topically, so all the information you need to accomplish a specific task is in one chapter. Where feasible, step-by-step instructions are provided so you don't need to wade through a lot of theory to accomplish something.

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