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Book:   Mastering Oracle SQL
Subject:   Mastering Oracle SQL Review
Date:   2002-08-22 22:00:05
From:   K Vainstein
Rating:  StarStarStarStarStar

Excellent, excellent, excellent! For an experienced SQL programmer, a delight to read. Even a few ideas not easily found elsewhere, can make a difference. Emphasis on inline views alone worth the price of book.


Gently introduces terms like "anti-join" in a very practical context, making them uniquely understandable.


Lack of coverage of MERGE ("UPSERT") statement, new in 9i, deplorable; it is useful not just in data warehousing.


And here's a trick from me: to insert a record without error if it already exists,


INSERT ALL INTO tab


(


a ,


b


)


SELECT


'foo' ,


'bar'


FROM


dual


WHERE


( NOT EXISTS


(


SELECT


1


FROM


tab


WHERE


( a = 'foo' )


AND


( b = 'bar' )


)


)


;


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