Darl Kuhn

Now in its fourth edition and covering Oracle Database 21c, this best-selling book continues to bring you some of the best thinking on how to apply Oracle Database to produce scalable applications that perform well and deliver correct results. Tom Kyte and Darl Kuhn share a simple philosophy: "you can treat Oracle as a black box and just stick data into it, or you can understand how it works and exploit it as a powerful computing environment." If you choose the latter, then you’ll find that there are few information management problems that you cannot solve quickly and elegantly.This fully revised fourth edition covers the developments and new features up to Oracle Database 21c. Up-to-date features are covered for tables, indexes, data types, sequences, partitioning, data loading, temporary tables, and more. All the examples are demonstrated using modern techniques and are executed in container and pluggable databases. The book’s proof-by-example approach encourages you to let evidence be your guide. Try something. See the result. Understand why the result is what it is. Apply your newfound knowledge with confidence. The book covers features by explaining how each one works, how to implement software using it, and the common pitfalls associated with it. Don’t treat Oracle Database as a black box. Get this book. Dive deeply into Oracle Database’s most powerful features that many do not invest the time to learn about. Set yourself apart from your competition and turbo-charge your career.What You Will LearnIdentify and effectively resolve application performance issues and bottlenecksArchitect systems to leverage the full power and feature set of Oracle’s database engineConfigure a database to maximize the use of memory structures and background processesUnderstand internal locking and latching technology and how it impacts your systemProactively recommend best practices around performance for table and index structuresTake advantage of advanced features such as table partitioning and parallel executionWho This Book Is ForOracle developers and Oracle DBAs. If you’re a developer and want a stronger understanding of Oracle features and architecture that will enable your applications to scale regardless of the workload, this book is for you. If you’re a DBA and want to intelligently work with developers to design applications that effectively leverage Oracle technology, then look no further.

Access much-needed information for building scalable, high-concurrency applications and deploying them against the Oracle Database. This new edition is updated to be current with Oracle Database 19. It includes a new chapter with troubleshooting recipes to help you quickly diagnose and resolve locking problems that are urgent and block production.Good transaction design is an important facet of highly-concurrent applications that are run by hundreds, even thousands, of users who are executing transactions at the same time. Transaction design, in turn, relies on a good understanding of how the database engine manages the locking of resources to prevent access conflicts and data loss that might otherwise result from concurrent access to data in the database. This book provides a solid and accurate explanation of how locking and concurrency are dealt with by Oracle Database. You will learn how the Oracle Database architecture accommodates user transactions, and how you can write code to mesh with the way in which Oracle Database is designed to operate.Oracle Database Transactions and Locking Revealed covers in detail the various lock types, and also different locking schemes such as pessimistic and optimistic locking. Then you will learn about transaction isolation and multi-version concurrency, and how the various lock types support Oracle Database’s transactional features. You will learn tips for transaction design, as well as some bad practices and habits to avoid. Coverage is also given to redo and undo, and their role in concurrency. The book is loaded with insightful code examples that drive home each concept. This is an important book that anyone developing highly-concurrent applications will want to have handy on their shelf.What You Will LearnAvoid application lockups due to conflicts over accessing the same resourceUnderstand how Oracle prevents one application from overwriting another’s modificationsCreate transaction designs that mesh with how Oracle Database is designedBuild high-throughput applications supporting thousands of concurrent usersDesign applications to take full advantage of Oracle’s powerful database engineGain a fundamental knowledge of Oracle’s transaction and locking architectureDevelop techniques to quickly diagnose and resolve common locking issuesWho This Book Is ForOracle developers and database administrators faced with troubleshooting and solving deadlocks, locking contention, and similar problems that are encountered in high-concurrency environments; and application developers wanting to design their applications to excel at multi-user concurrency by taking full advantage of Oracle Database’s multi-versioning and concurrency support

Speed up the execution of important database queries by making good choices about which indexes to create. Choose correct index types for different scenarios. Avoid indexing pitfalls that can actually have indexes hurting performance rather than helping. Maintain indexes so as to provide consistent and predictable query response over the lifetime of an application.Expert Oracle Indexing and Access Paths is about the one database structure at the heart of almost all performance concerns: the index. Database system performance is one of the top concerns in information technology today. Administrators struggle to keep up with the explosion of access and activity driven by the proliferation of computing into everything from phones to tablets to PCs in our increasingly connected world. At the heart of any good-performing database lies a sound indexing strategy that makes appropriate use of indexing, and especially of the vendor-specific indexing features onoffer.Few databases fully exploit the wealth of data access mechanisms provided by Oracle. Expert Oracle Indexing and Access Paths helps by bringing together information on indexing and how to use it into one blissfully short volume that you can read quickly and have at your fingertips for reference. Learn the different types of indexes available and when each is best applied. Recognize when queries aren’t using indexes as you intend. Manage your indexing for maximum performance. Confidently use the In Memory column store feature as an alternate access path to improve performance. Let Expert Indexing in Oracle Database 12c be your guide to deep mastery of the most fundamental performance optimization structure in Oracle Database.Explains how indexes help performance, and sometimes hinder it tooDemystifies the various index choices so that you can chose rightlyDescribes the database administration chores associated with indexesDemonstrates the use of the In Memory column store as an alternate access path to the dataWhat You Will LearnCreate an overall indexing strategy to guide your decisionsChoose the correct indexing mechanisms for your applicationsManage and maintain indices to avoid degradation and preserve efficiencyTake better advantage of underused index types such as index-organized tablesChoose the appropriate columns to index, with confidenceBlend partitioning and materialized views into your indexing strategyWho This Book Is ForAll levels of database administrators and application developers who are struggling with the database performance and scalability challenge. Any database administrator involved with indexing, which is any database administrator period, will appreciate the wealth ofadvice packed into this gem of a book.

Linux and Solaris Recipes for Oracle DBAs, 2nd Edition is an example–based book on managing Oracle Database under Linux and Solaris. The book is written for database administrators who need to get work done and lack the luxury of curling up fireside with a stack of operating-system documentation. What this book provides instead is task-oriented coverage designed around the needs of the Oracle Database Administrator. Find the right chapter. Look up the task to perform. See the solution. Implement the solution straight away in your own environment. Get the job done. New in this edition is coverage of Oracle's own Solaris operating system. Oracle Corporation has been working diligently to bring commonality between Solaris and and Linux, and this book takes advantage of those efforts to provide task-oriented solutions that work on common distributions of Linux such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Oracle Enterprise Linux while also accommodating the growing numberof Oracle Solaris customers. Examples in the book match the tasks DBAs perform daily, even hourly. Solutions come first in the book, but alway are followed by close explanations of the details.Database administrators won't go wrong with Linux and Solaris Recipes for Oracle DBAs. It's the book to buy if you're after clear and reliable examples to help in getting the job done, and getting home to your family.Takes you directly from problem to solutionCovers the "right" mix of operating-system tasks for database administratorsRespects your time by being succinct and to–the–pointIncludes coverage of Solaris in addition to common Linux distributionsWhat You Will LearnExecute Linux and Solaris commands applicable to Oracle Database.Automate critical DBA tasks via operating-system shell scripts.Monitor, tune, and optimize Linux and Solaris servers for Oracle.Setup a VirtualBox environment for the Oracle database.Perform system administration tasks relevant to Oracle Database.Remotely (and securely!) manage Oracle on Linux and Solaris.Who This Book Is ForLinux and Solaris Recipes for Oracle DBAs is a book for Oracle database administrators who want to expertly operate Oracle databases on the Linux and Solaris operating systems. If you’re new to Linux and Solaris and can benefit from detailed examples showing how to perform tasks that Oracle DBAs perform on Linux and Solaris servers, then this book is what you need to help you get the job done, and get home on time.

RMAN is Oracle’s flagship backup and recovery tool, but did you know it’s also an effective database duplication tool? Oracle RMAN Database Duplication is a deep dive into RMAN’s duplication feature set, showing how RMAN can make it so much easier for you as a database administrator to satisfy the many requests from developers and testers for database copies and refreshes for use in their work. You’ll learn to make and refresh duplicate databases with a single command, and of course you can automate and schedule that command so that developers and testers are supplied with regular, known good databases without any manual intervention on your part.Fast and easy provisioning of databases for developers and testers is a driving force in the move to cloud computing and virtualization. RMAN’s robust database duplication feature set plays right into this growing need for ease of provisioning, enabling easy duplication of known-good databases on demand, across operating systems such as between Linux and Solaris, and even across storage environments such as when duplicating from a RAC/ASM environment to a single-node instance using regular file system storage. Oracle RMAN Database Duplication is your thorough guide to providing amazing business value to your organization by way of fast and easy provisioning of database duplicates in service of development and testing projects.

Oracle RMAN for Absolute Beginners is a gentle introduction to the use of Oracle's Recovery Manager software to make backups of an Oracle database, and to restore all or part of a database in the event that data loss occurs. It is often said that a database administrator's #1 job responsibility is to be able to recover from data loss. If you're new to the Oracle platform, or you're new to database administration in general, you can hardly go wrong by making it your first priority to learn to backup and recover the database that has been entrusted into your hands.This book is short and sweet at just 200 pages. Focus lies on the mainstream use cases. Recovery Manager, or RMAN as it is called, is a powerful and complex tool that can be intimidating at first. Author Darl Kuhn understands the need to focus on the core use cases, building your confidence in the tool, and in your ability to recover from lost database files, and even to recover your entire database should that become necessary. Oracle RMAN for Absolute Beginners shows how to backup your database. That's the first job. You'll learn to backup the entire database, and to create incremental backups that in turn can speed restore and recovery operations. Then you'll learn to recover from lost data files, lost redo log files, lost control files, and even to restore the entire database from scratch. You'll even learn how to clone a database for development and test purposes by backing the database up on one system and restoring it onto another.Author Darl Kuhn has a decade and a half of experience in writing about, and teaching Oracle Database backup and recovery. If you are newly responsible for an Oracle Database, you can hardly do better than to pick up a copy of Oracle RMAN for Absolute Beginners.

Performance problems are rarely "problems" per se. They are more often "crises" during which you’re pressured for results by a manager standing outside your cubicle while your phone rings with queries from the help desk. You won’t have the time for a leisurely perusal of the manuals, nor to lean back and read a book on theory. What you need in that situation is a book of solutions, and solutions are precisely what Oracle Database 12c Performance Tuning Recipes delivers. Oracle Database 12c Performance Tuning Recipes is a ready reference for database administrators in need of immediate help with performance issues relating to Oracle Database. The book takes an example-based approach, wherein each chapter covers a specific problem domain. Within each chapter are "recipes," showing by example how to perform common tasks in that chapter’s domain. Solutions in the recipes are backed by clear explanations of background and theory from the author team. Whatever the task, if it’s performance-related, you’ll probably find a recipe and a solution in this book. Provides proven solutions to real-life Oracle performance problems Offers relevant background and theory to support each solution Gets straight to the point for when you're under pressure for results

RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 12c is an example-driven approach to the Oracle database administrator's #1 job responsibility: Be able to recover the database. Of all the things you are responsible for as database administrator, nothing is more important than the data itself. Like it or not, the fearsome responsibility of protecting your organization's most critical data falls squarely upon your shoulders: Lose that data and your company could fail. Lose that data and you could be out of a job. Oracle's flagship database product fortunately implements a wide-ranging feature set to aid you in the all-important task of safeguarding against data loss. Recovery Manager, or RMAN, is at the heart of that feature set, and is the tool most-often used to initiate database backup and recovery operations. In this book, well-known authors and database experts Darl Kuhn, Sam Alapati, and Arup Nanda have created a set of examples encompassing the gamut of backup and recovery tasks that you might need to perform. Sometimes, especially when the heat is on, a good example is what you need to get started towards a solution. RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 12c delivers. It’ll be the book you reach for when that dreaded call comes in at 3:00am some dreary morning. It’ll be the book that lets you sleep at night knowing that no matter what transpires, that you've done your job well and can recover from any outage. RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 12c gets right to the point with quick and easy-to-read, step-by-step solutions that can help you backup and recover your data with confidence.

Performance problems are rarely "problems" per se. They are more often "crises" during which you’re pressured for results by a manager standing outside your cubicle while your phone rings with queries from the help desk. You won’t have the time for a leisurely perusal of the manuals, nor to lean back and read a book on theory. What you need in that situation is a book of solutions, and solutions are precisely what Oracle Database 11g Performance Tuning Recipes delivers. Oracle Database 11g Performance Tuning Recipes is a ready reference for database administrators in need of immediate help with performance issues relating to Oracle Database. The book takes an example-based approach, wherein each chapter covers a specific problem domain. Within each chapter are "recipes," showing by example how to perform common tasks in that chapter’s domain. Solutions in the recipes are backed by clear explanations of background and theory from the author team. Whatever the task, if it’s performance-related, you’ll probably find a recipe and a solution in this book.Provides proven solutions to real-life Oracle performance problems Offers relevant background and theory to support each solution Written by a team of experienced database administrators successful in their careers

Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration is a book focused on results. Author Darl Kuhn draws from a well of experience over a decade deep to lay out real-world techniques that lead to success as an Oracle Database administrator. He gives clear explanations on how to perform critical tasks. He weaves in theory where necessary without bogging you down in unneeded detail. He is not afraid to take a stand on how things should be done. He won’t leave you adrift in a sea of choices, showing you three ways to do something and then walking away. Database administration isn’t about passing a certified exam, or about pointing-and-clicking your way through a crisis. Database administration is about applying the right solution at the right time, about avoiding risk, about making robust choices that get you home each night in time for dinner with your family. If you have “buck stops here” responsibility for an Oracle database, then Pro Oracle Database 11g Administration is the book you need to help elevate yourself to the level of Professional Oracle Database Administrator. Condenses and organizes the core job of a database administrator into one volume. Takes a results-oriented approach to getting things done. Lays a foundation upon which to build a senior level of expertise

Have you ever been faced with a new type of query to write, or been asked to create an unfamiliar database object? In such situations, you have probably wanted a good, solid example upon which to build, and instead have been forced into the drudgery of parsing railroad-style syntax diagrams in Oracle's manual set. This book frees you from that drudgery by providing tested and working examples of SQL used to solve common problems faced by developers and database administrators on a daily basis. When you're under pressure to get results fast, Oracle SQL Recipes is there at your side. Example-based, providing quality solutions to everyday problems Respects your time by putting solutions first and keeping discussions short Solves the most commonly encountered SQL problems

Linux Recipes for Oracle DBAs is an example?based book on managing Oracle Database in a Linux environment. Covering commonly used distributions such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Oracle Enterprise Linux, the book is written for database administrators who need to get work done and lack the luxury of curling up fireside with a stack of Linux documentation. The book is task?oriented: Look up the task to perform. See the solution. Read up on the details. Get the job done. Takes you directly from problem to solution Covers the ?right? mix of Linux user and administration tasks for database administrators Respects your time by being succinct and to?the?point

It's sometimes said that the true job of an Oracle database administrator can be summed up in one, essential skill: to be able to recover your database. There's much wisdom in that statement. Of all the things you are responsible for as a database administrator, nothing is more important than the data itself. Like it or not, the fearsome responsibility of protecting your organization's most critical data falls squarely upon your shoulders: Lose that data and your company could fail. Lose that data and you could be out of a job. Scared? You should be. But there's help. You are not alone. Oracle experts Darl Kuhn, Sam Alapati, and Arup Nanda have come together in this book to show you the power of Recovery Manager, or RMAN, which is Oracle's backup and recovery tool of choice. RMAN Recipes for Oracle Database 11g helps you take advantage of all that RMAN has to offer by providing easy-to-understand solutions to business-critical backup and recovery operations. This handy guide: Demystifies the steps required to protect your business data Provides ready-made and step-by-step solutions to simple and complex backup, restore, and recovery operations Is task-oriented, making it easy for you to find the solution to pressing backup and recovery problems Respects your time by providing example-based solutions, not endless reading material When the pressure's on, you don't have time for long discussions of theory. This book gets right to the point with quick and easy-to-read, step-by-step solutions that can help you backup and recover your data with confidence.

Oracle RMAN Pocket Reference is a handy guide for DBAs who intend to use Oracle Recovery Manager for database backup and recovery. Because Recovery Manager (RMAN) is a relatively new tool, many DBAs are just becoming familiar with it. They will welcome a timely book that explains clearly and concisely how to use RMAN for common backup and recovery tasks that are infrequent, yet extremely vital. The first portion of the book is primarily task-oriented. After a short section on RMAN architecture, the book shows (in checklist style) how to perform common backup and recovery tasks such as: *Implementing a recovery catalog *Creating and running RMAN scripts *Configuring input/output channels *Taking a full database backup *Backing up tablespaces and datafiles *Taking incremental backups *Recovering lost datafiles The second portion of the book consists of a handy syntax reference to the many RMAN commands. Having a quick reference to RMAN commands is a great convenience to DBAs who otherwise, often under the pressure of a recovery situation, would have to wade through Oracle's online documentation.