The vast majority of Oracle SQL books discuss some syntax, provide the
barest rudiments of using Oracle SQL, and perhaps include a few simple
examples. It might be enough to pass a survey course, or give you some
buzz words to drop in conversation with real Oracle DBAs. But if you use
Oracle SQL on a regular basis, you want much more. You want to access
the full power of SQL to write queries in an Oracle environment. You
want a solid understanding of what's possible with Oracle SQL, creative
techniques for writing effective and accurate queries, and the
practical, hands-on information that leads to true mastery of the
language. Simply put, you want useful, expert best practices that can be
put to work immediately, not just non-vendor specific overview or
theory.Updated to cover the latest version of Oracle, Oracle 10g, this
edition of the highly regarded Mastering Oracle SQL has a stronger
focus on technique and on Oracle's implementation of SQL than any other
book on the market. It covers Oracle s vast library of built-in
functions, the full range of Oracle SQL query-writing features, regular
expression support, new aggregate and analytic functions, subqueries in
the SELECT and WITH clauses, multiset union operators, enhanced support
for hierarchical queries: leaf and loop detection, and the
CONNECT_BY_ROOT operator, new partitioning methods (some introduced in
Oracle9i Release 2), and the native XML datatype, XMLType.Mastering
Oracle SQL, 2nd Edition fills the gap between the sometimes spotty
vendor documentation, and other books on SQL that just don't explore the
full depth of what is possible with Oracle-specific SQL. For those who
want to harness the untapped (and often overlooked) power of Oracle SQL,
this essential guide for putting Oracle SQL to work will prove
invaluable.