Obsessed with Oracle PL/SQL

Back in April 2010, I started (with the help of many others!) the PL/SQL Challenge , which offered daily quizzes on PL/SQL, along with weekly quizzes on other technologies. In 2014, Oracle acquired the website and I suspended the daily quiz. Writing five new quizzes each week is a lot of work, and I had a big stack of new responsibilities! But the weekly quizzes continue(d): SQL, PL/SQL, Database Design, Logic and most recently a re-started weekly quiz on Oracle Application Express, made possible by Insum . And Oracle Database technologists kept on using the site to hone their skills. We are rapidly approaching 1,000,000 answers on the site. That all sounds good, right? So why is the title of this post "Check out the Oracle Dev Gym!"? Because the PL/SQL Challenge has, for a while, been in dire need or a "reboot"; not just a redesign built around the massively improved APEX5 , but also a rethinking of how this quiz platform could best serve the needs of the co...

I've published several posts on table functions . Here's another one! Why? A few days ago I tweeted the following: Two of my followers immediately asked to hear the story: "those are the fun ones, but pics or it didnt happen ;-)" and "may be interesting to view the step you do to find solutions more then result." Very good points; I especially agree with the latter. As I was going through the revisions to my code, I was thinking (as I have often done before): "It might be helpful to show the process I go through, because it sure feels like a powerful, positive way to build and improve code." The problems I run into when actually sitting down to tell the story are: 1. Time: yes, I know, we are all busy. Plus, isn't it my job to share thoughts on PL/SQL programming?  Yes it is! Well, part of my job, anyway. And I have  been neglecting my blog. But right now, at this moment, I am very focused on finishing the "early adap...