Why did this book cause a sensation? Consider this excerpt from Chapter 2:
Let's look at a simple example. Suppose you are responsible for building a database to keep track of war criminals for the International Court of Justice. You create a package called wcpkg to keep track of alleged war criminals. One of the programs in the package registers a new criminal. You want that register program to always save its changes, even if the calling program hasn't yet issued a COMMIT. These characters are, after all, fairly slippery and you don't want them to get away.The package specification holds no surprises; the transaction type is not evident here:
CREATE PACKAGE wcpkg AS
... PROCEDURE register (
culprit IN VARCHAR2, event IN VARCHAR2);
END wcpkg;
/The package body, however, contains that new and wonderful pragma:
CREATE PACKAGE BODY wcpkg AS
...
PROCEDURE register (
culprit IN VARCHAR2, event IN VARCHAR2)
IS
PRAGMA AUTONOMOUS_TRANSACTION;
BEGIN
INSERT INTO war_criminal (name, activity)
VALUES (culprit, event);
COMMIT;
END;
END wcpkg;
/And now when I call wcpkg.register, I am assured that my changes have been duly recorded:
BEGIN
wcpkg.register ('Kissinger', 'Secret Bombing of Cambodia');
Now, I expect it's not every day you pick up a technology text and read a charge that Henry Kissinger is a war criminal for the secret bombing of Cambodia. The examples I used in this book, in fact, were dramatically different from my earlier texts--and from just about any technology book you can buy. Here are some of the other topics I incorporated into my text:
"I've been writing intensively about PL/SQL since 1994, and I have a great time doing it. At the same time, I must admit that I have simultaneously grown a little bit bored with using the same set of examples again and again (yes, those infamous emp/employee and dept/department tables), and I'm also very concerned about the state of the world as we approach the end of the twentieth century. Sure, things could be worse, but things could be a whole lot better (with my examples and the world)."Given these twin preoccupations, I have decided to offer examples that are decidedly different from the usual. I'll be talking about topics ranging from the state of health care in the United States to the strength of the gun lobby, from wage structures to environmental issues. I believe that even if you don't agree with the positions I have on a particular issue, you will find that this "breath of fresh air" approach will help you engage with the technical material.
"I would also be very happy to hear from you--whether you agree or disagree!--and I encourage you to visit my Web site, at www.StevenFeuerstein.com, where you can read more about my life and viewpoints and can get in touch."
Dear Mr. Feuerstein,I have to admit, getting emails like these has not been fun. Here's another:I, thankfully before buying the book, was able to peruse a copy of your latest PL/SQL programming book. I think you have forgotten one basic principle when you planned the examples. This was supposed to be a book about PL/SQL, not blatant sociopolitical rantings. If I had bought the book, I would be returning it immediately for a complete refund. It doesn't matter whether I agreed or disagreed with your views (in some cases I agreed, in some cases I strongly disagreed). I found the examples so distracting that I was unable to get the information I needed out of the book. Please in the future, remember that we, the book buyers, are looking for information about using PL/SQL. I am as tired of the emp and dept tables as you are, but less distracting examples would have been more appropriate.
Personally, I am no longer buying your books nor am I recommending them to my clients as long as they contain the types of examples you used in your latest books. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend them as PL/SQL manuals because the examples removed the books from that category.
I have just been shown a copy of the Guide to Oracle 8i Features and to be quite honest am embarrassed on behalf of the O'Reilly publishing company. It is well-known throughout the industry that O'Reilly books are said to be the bibles for technical reference. I am appalled at the liberty that Feuerstein has taken in imposing his personal beliefs throughout the text and examples and am even more appalled that O'Reilly allowed this kind of content to be published. It is highly offensive regardless of freedom of speech and Mr. Feuerstein's belief system and to choose such an unwilling audience is absurd! I will not buy this book and will tell each and every person I know in the industry to do the same. I will as well be cautious when purchasing and or recommending any other O'Reilly technical reference books. This is not the forum for this kind of content!You get the idea. Now, I should also mention that:
It seems to me that one part of having a true and vibrant democracy is the free flow of ideas and active debate among neighbors on the crucial issues of our day. Does that go on around you? I sure don't experience it in my neck of the woods. On the contrary, I find that, in the United States, very few people are willing to talk "politics." It is, along with the topic of money and sex, generally veered away from in trepidation. Better to comment on the weather and sports.
Where would such an attitude come from? Much of any individual's behavior in society is patterned after what she or he perceives to be acceptable. Most of us do not want to stand out as different, and certainly not as "troublemakers." What determines acceptability in our society? To a large extent, the mass media.
Reflect on the television, radio, and print media reports you receive: How often do you see real political debate, crossing the entire spectrum, taking place? How often do you hear a member of the media truly challenge politicians and business "leaders" to justify their policies and actions? I believe that very little real debate ever takes place and our journalists, especially the high-profile ones, treat those in power with kid gloves. Sometimes it seems like there is a debate going on (within a T.V. program like "Crossfire," for example), but in fact that debate is missing/ignoring/silencing a large swath of viewpoints: pretty much anything to the left of Bill Clinton.
As a result, it is very difficult to talk politics in our society--especially if your politics are anywhere to the left of center. And it is almost impossible to present an informed, sophisticated critique of the role of global capitalism in the world today.
Now, you might well say to yourself, "Who cares?" You like global capitalism. You don't think it's all that bad, or at least you don't care if a few hundred million people are paid pennies for their labor. And, well, you don't want to talk politics. That's fine. That's your choice. But I also believe that almost every technology book we buy and read is full of politics.
After reviewing many books, I feel comfortable in summarizing the vast majority of texts as having these characteristics:
In 1999 Addison-Wesley published a truly marvelous book titled Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code, by Martin Fowler. In it, Martin offers a systematic method for improving the quality of our code without affecting the interface to and behavior of that code. To demonstrate his techniques, the author offers a refreshing example: video rentals. Yet it still comes down to commerce. We are what we buy, not what we think and do with our lives outside of the exchange of items for money.
There are exceptions. Scott Urman's latest book on PL/SQL, Oracle8i Advanced PL/SQL Programming, uses a college registration system as his example base. Although many American colleges are overly focused on preparing young people for a life of drudgery in one job or another (and corporations are commercializing higher education to an alarming degree), I congratulate Scott on taking a road less traveled.
Steven Feuerstein is considered one of the world's leading experts on the Oracle PL/SQL language.
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