Oracle PL / SQL For Dummies

Easily one of the best programming books I've ever bought, in my life. I can't tell you how many strange programming assignments I have been able to pull off because of this book. From cursors to clobs and whatnot. Everyone in the office thinks I'm a wizard because of this book. It is also a very good reference book with great examples anyone can pick up easily. I agree, with one of the reviewers, not really really a beginners book, but if you write PL/SQL for about 3 months this should be an indispensable resource.

I am very pleased w/ the purchase of the book. If your goal is to learn PL/SQL quickly and comprehensively, this is the book to buy. It covers all the fundamentals you need to know about PL/SQL and it is excellently written. I have been a developer for 20 years in many languages. Learning new languages from overly technical books and writters, I find, often times make your learning process slow and ineffective. I took this class at Oracle, but there were topics that the training manual and the instructor did not do a good job presenting. This book clarified many of the topics I that were presented in class in a simpler, clearer, and more effective manner. I highly recommend it.

As I began reading, the attribute which came foremost to my mind was "readable". It covers all of the basics in a fashion readily comprehensible to those with even modest exposure to programming. We can always do better, but for most of us, if we go only as far as this text takes us, we will do far better than many of our contemporaries in the industry today. It certainly is also "A Reference for the Rest of Us". Those of us who have used PL/SQL for many years may not have noticed various handy new features as they have come along, and for those features we know of but use less frequently, this book is a handy reference. Interspersed with the fundamentals of the language and all of the tips and examples, the authors continually (and gently) remind us that we have to keep checking the bigger picture - in short how to avoid project failure. Good advice in any language.

This book is an excellent introduction to both PL/SQL and general coding principles. It is a good book for beginners and old dogs alike. It provides simple, clear and useful introductions to advanced topics such a INSTEAD OF TRIGGERS, BULK COLLECTS etc. My team is now using it a our "best practice" document for PL/SQL coding. Well done Misha and Paul. ----- FOLLOW UP (September, 2009): My team has been using several copies of this book for over three years now. Our copies are dog-eared from much use. This book has more than paid for itself many, many times over. Both our senior and junior developers use the book routinely. I still think that it is a five star book.

This is just wonderful. Clearly written, easy to read, loads of basic tips. This is the perfect book for someone trying to get into the industry. This book should be required reading for every new Oracle developer. Many experienced developers would do well to read this as well. Everything in this book should be industry standard, but much of it is not done by "experienced" developers. Every company should have a few copies around to give to every new hire.