Skip to main content

Best laid plans or why no new post on table functions this week

I was doing so well: 1 post in my series on table functions each week.

I planned to complete a description of the table function I used in the PL/SQL Challenge rankings report, which I began here.

But then, well, things got in the way. Things like:

  • Write my next article for Oracle Magazine, only one week past due
  • Write five daily tips on PL/SQL via @sfonplsql
  • Produce two new quizzes for the PL/SQL Challenge.
  • Record a video for ODTUG to promote the YesSQL! Day at Kscope15
  • Record a "train the trainer" video to pass on some tips on how to give excellent (or at least highly entertaining) presentations.
  • Donate a small bucket of white cells and plasma to LifeSource.
  • Waaay too many conference call/meetings and waaaaaay too much email.
  • Finish up work on a root canal. Fun!
  • Cut down a bunch of invasive buckthorn (I so love that the sun sets so late in the day now!).
  • Help design and test some exciting new features for Oracle Learning Library
So my apologies, dear readers. Next week. Next week I am certain, I pledge, I promise, I will share you with my amazing table function, filled with a really complicated dynamic SQL query.

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Comments

  1. iudithMay 1, 2015 at 10:34 AM

    Hello Steven,
    So great to hear that amidst the so many Oracle-related tasks, you still find
    the time for making good to others ... and, maybe, saving someone's life,
    either a human or another being ......
    Anyway, still much better to be in the position of making good to others,
    than, God forbid, fighting desperately to rescue your own life.
    Oracle is beautiful, but it can still "wait in the queue", behind other much more
    important things.
    I am sure that even the most fanatic Oracle-ists will agree with this order
    of priorities, and patiently wait for their turn :):)

    Have a great weekend & Best Regards,
    Iudith

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three tips for getting started right with Oracle Database development

By "Oracle Database development", I mean, more or less, writing SQL and PL/SQL. I assume in this post that you have access to Oracle Database (which you can get via Cloud services, Docker , GitHub and OTN ). A. Use a powerful IDE, designed with database programming in mind. There are lots of editors out there, and many IDEs that work with Oracle Database. Sure, you could use Notepad, but OMG the productivity loss. You could also use a popular editor like Sublime, and then it get it working with Oracle. I suggest, however, that you  download  and install Oracle's own own, free, powerful IDE: SQL Developer . If you like to complement your graphical IDE with a command line tool (or OMG if you actually prefer  a command line tool to a graphical interface), you should also check out the relatively new and generating-lots-of-excitement SQLcl . B. Enable compile-time warnings and PL/Scope. The database has tons of useful functionality burned right into it, ready for...
8 comments
Read more

Why DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE should not be in your application code

A database developer recently came across my  Bulletproof PL/SQL  presentation, which includes this slide. That first item in the list caught his attention: Never put calls to DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE in your application code. So he sent me an email asking why I would say that. Well, I suppose that is the problem with publishing slide decks. All the explanatory verbiage is missing. I suppose maybe I should do a video. :-) But in the meantime, allow me to explain. First, what does DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE do? It writes text out to a buffer, and when your current PL/SQL block terminates, the buffer is displayed on your screen. [Note: there can be more to it than that. For example, you could in your own code call DBMS_OUTPUT.GET_LINE(S) to get the contents of the buffer and do something with it, but I will keep things simple right now.] Second, if I am telling you not to use this built-in, how could text from your program be displayed on your screen? Not without a lot o...
4 comments
Read more

The future of Oracle PL/SQL: some thoughts on Sten Vesterli's thoughts

Sten Vesterli published a very thought-provoking post on his blog: Please stop reading this post, and read that one. When you are done, come on back here for my thoughts on Sten's thoughts. OK. You read it. Here we go. First, thanks, Sten, for being such an interesting, wise, sometimes provocative voice in our community. Next, Sten writes: Now, on the one hand, I certainly agree that the vast majority of young developers are currently caught up in the modern version of a Gold Rush, which is: "Build an app using JavaScript, pay no attention to that database behind the curtain." But I can assure you that I still do meet young PL/SQL programmers, regularly, when I am at conferences and doing onsite presentations at companies. So, young person who writes PL/SQL: do not be afraid! You are not alone! And you are super-smart to have made the choice you did. :-) Next, Sten offers this advice to managers: I agree that PL/SQL is a "spec...
46 comments
Read more