Obsessed with Oracle PL/SQL

We are all out at Oracle Headquarters for meetings this week and yesterday at the BIWA Summit, I was fortunate enough to: Do a YesSQL presentation for the NoCOUG user group. Have Tom Kyte share his thoughts on NoSQL -> SQL -> Not Only SQL -> Maybe SQL -> NewSQL -> YesSQL! Enjoy 30 minutes of stories from Andy Mendelsohn, Executive Vice President, Server Technologies (most notably, Oracle Database). Introduce the evangelist team. We will publish a video of the session ASAP. Andy wowed the crowd with both thoughts on Oracle history and the current state of relational database technology.  Bryn Llewellyn, PL/SQL Product Manager, was in the audience and took a nice shot of my team as offered quick introductions. From right to left: Todd Trichler - Community Manager Natalka Roshak - SQL evangelist Chris Saxon - SQL evangelist Dan McGhan - Javascript/HTML5 evangelist Steven Feuerstein - I forget what he focuses on. Oh, right: PL/SQL Bryn also

The Oracle Database Evangelist team currently has two evangelists focused on SQL, one on PL/SQL, and another on Javascript/HTML5.  Overall, our mission is to show how powerful Oracle Database is as a foundation for application development. And with so much energy and application creation happening in open source communities, we are now looking to hire one more evangelist who has experience with Oracle Database, but is also active in two or more  open source developer environments.  You will find below the description of this position and our ideal candidate, who would not only evangelize Oracle Database into open source communities, but advocate for the  needs of those communities back to Oracle development.  You can apply for this position by following  this link . Oracle Database Evangelist for Open Source This Oracle Database Evangelist position is first and foremost dedicated to helping open source developers succeed with Oracle. Each Oracle Database Evangelist is r

Last year (well, last month to be more specific), I announced three new members of the Oracle Database Evangelist Team: Todd Trichler, Natalka Roshak and Dan McGhan. Today, I have the pleasure of announcing a fourth: Chris Saxon. Chris Saxon, SQL Evangelist Over the past ten years Chris has worked as an Oracle developer, DBA and architect. During this time he's built up a passion for interacting with data using SQL and helping others do the same.  Combining this with a love of games and quizzes, Chris started the design quiz on the PL/SQL Challenge in 2013.  He's looking forward to helping spread the word about SQL so that people get the most out of their data. Check out Chris's announcement on his SQLFail blog as well. As I said in my previous team-expansion announcement, I will make a more "formal" announcement of our team and our plans in Q1 2015, but for now, I did want to share the joyful feeling I feel. Welcome, Chris! I look forward to

A month ago, Miguel ordered a signed copy of my book from my website. So I wrote him a message, signed it, and shipped it off. I soon after received the following handwritten letter: Dear Steven, I spent last week on vacation, and right before leaving, I put in an order for the newest "Oracle PL/SQL Programming" book. I was happy to get back home and find the book package on the front porch. Yeah!!!!! When I opened the book I noticed your handwritten note on tyne first page and I felt very special. Not even my mother sends me handwritten messages anymore --- your message made me feel special, and I am still happy to this day when I think of it. Thanks for the message and for sharing your knowledge and experience with us. Your enthusiasm, views, attitude and energy makes me think about the most important mission every software developer has - do what is right, with responsibility, quality and respect to others. When I moved to the United States in February 1999, I

More than a few people think that I am pretty good at what I do, that I am  successful . I respect their judgement and thought about what contributed to my success. I came up with four that form a foundation for (my) success. Since it is possible that others will find them helpful, I have decided to share my Four Secrets of Success (book in the works, film rights sold to Branjolina Films). Follow these four recommendations, and you will be more successful in anything and everything you seek to accomplish. 1. Drink lots of water. if you are dehydrated, nothing about you is operating optimally. By the time you realize you are thirsty, you are depleted. You are tired and listless. You think about getting another cup of coffee but your stomach complains at the thought. No problem. Just get yourself a big glass of water, room termperature, no ice, and drink it down. You will feel the very substance of life trickle into your body and bring you back to life. Then drink anothe