O'Reilly Oracle Center -- News -- Where O'Reilly is Going with Oracle8i

The arrival of Oracle8i, with its Web and Java integration, is a dramatic development for Oracle customers. In some ways, Oracle8i is like any other Oracle release, packed with new products and features that customers need to learn about.

But in other ways, Oracle8i, the "Internet database," is something very different. Its capabilities range far beyond traditional database boundaries, and present Oracle users with new models for developing applications and doing business. Oracle developers and database administrators, or DBAs, who have been working effectively with SQL, PL/SQL, and various Oracle tools are now faced with the need to learn a whole variety of new and constantly changing technologies: the Web, Java, XML, and more.

As you navigate your way through unfamiliar waters, be assured that O'Reilly's been there before you. O'Reilly is a recognized leader in publishing for Web and Java technologies, and we're starting to publish the first of nearly a dozen XML books we have in the works.

How does all this relate to the Oracle books we're releasing and working on? Here are the high points:

New Books

We're working hard on Oracle8i books, but we're not going to rush them out before their time. We always want the O'Reilly book on a topic to be the best and most thorough book, not necessarily the first one. But at the same time, we take seriously our customers' need to learn as much as they can about Oracle8i and how it can dramatically change the way they use Oracle and develop applications for it.

In time for OpenWorld 1999, we released five new Oracle books. As always, they were written by experts, the kind of people you wish you had working beside you:

• In Oracle Web Applications, Andrew Odewahn gives you a jump start to building effective Oracle8i Web applications right now. And you won't need to be a Java expert. He'll tell how to leverage many of the tools you already know how to use.

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  Read our exclusive interview with Andrew Odewahn and Steven Feuerstein to hear what the two authors say about what's new in Oracle8i and what 8i represents for Oracle PL/SQL developers.

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• In his Guide to Oracle8i Features (a part of the Oracle PL/SQL Programming series), Steven Feuerstein tells you what you need to know about expanding your PL/SQL repertoire to encompass Java and the other PL/SQL features in Oracle8i. Readers who know Steven's writing style from his other books will know what to expect: clear, engaging text and example code that makes you think. (See more about Steven and his books under "The O'Reilly PL/SQL Series," below.)

• In Oracle Essentials, Rick Greenwald, Robert Stackowiak, and Jonathan Stern provide a concise, enormously useful one-stop reference to the Oracle8 and Oracle8i releases. Whether you're a novice or an expert, a DBA or a developer, you'll find this book very helpful.

• In Oracle8i Internal Services, Steve Adams tells you what you need to know about waits, latches, locks, and memory if you're going to do advanced performance tuning.

• In Oracle SAP Administration, Don Burleson describes the intersection of the Oracle RDBMS with the SAP business system, and how Oracle DBAs can use the combined system to best advantage.

Two earlier O'Reilly books are also current with Oracle8i:

• In Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, Jonathan Gennick gives a complete presentation of SQL*Plus, the venerable tool every Oracle customer uses. He also reveals how powerful SQL*Plus really is, providing examples of how you can write and execute script files, query the data dictionary tables, use the latest Oracle8i SQL*Plus administrative features, and do much more.

• The concise Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference, by Steven Feuerstein, Bill Pribyl, and Chip Dawes, contains a summary of PL/SQL syntax, including the latest Oracle8i Java features.

What's Coming?

The O'Reilly PL/SQL Series

• Oracle PL/SQL Programming: The classic reference to the language. Now in its second edition (covering Oracle8), the book will be updated for Oracle8i in 2000.

• Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Guide to Oracle8i Features: This economically priced guide brings you up to date right now with what's new for PL/SQL in Oracle8i. It comes with a disk containing a myriad of helpful examples.

• Oracle Built-in Packages: An enormously helpful reference to Oracle's built-in packages. Any PL/SQL developer who doesn't use these packages isn't getting the most out of the language.

• Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages: Packages are perhaps the most powerful PL/SQL feature. By writing and and reusing packages, you can realize major productivity gains. This book explains how.

• Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference: A compact guide to all of the language syntax, including the latest Oracle8i features.

• Oracle PL/SQL Built-ins Pocket Reference: A compact guide to the PL/SQL built-in packages and functions.

• And coming soon: Steven is putting the finishing touches on his Oracle PL/SQL Developer's Workbook, a wonderful collection of problems and solutions covering all of PL/SQL's features, from the most basic (datatypes and loops) to the newest and most complex (Java and the Web). Whatever your level of experience, you'll find this workbook helpful. Problems are presented at three distinct levels: novice, intermediate, and advanced.

O'Reilly's Java and Web Books

We also offer dozens of Web books in a number of core areas: Web programming (including our very popular Perl books), Web authoring and design, and Internet use. We also have developed a number of our own Web software products. Whether you're just starting to develop for the Web (see our HTML: The Definitive Guide), working as a webmaster (see Webmaster in a Nutshell), or doing advanced work (see our new books on ASP, Web graphics, and more), you'll find what you need. For a complete list of Web books, see web.oreilly.com.

In Closing

But we're continuing to focus on the toughest topics, the topics where your information pain is the greatest. Every book may not be a blockbuster. In some cases, we're appealing to a limited audience, a small subset of the Oracle developer or DBA population. But it's an audience that really needs the information we're providing. And satisfying that need with solid and complete technical advice that stands the test of time fulfills our definition of a successful book.

I hear from many readers and potential authors, and I very much appreciate your comments, questions, suggestions for needed books, and offers to write those books. Feel free to contact me directly.

I hope you'll come back to the O'Reilly site for more information on current and upcoming books in the Oracle series and other areas. Thanks for buying our books and for all your suggestions.

Deborah Russell, Editor, Oracle Series

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