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. |