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Steven Feuerstein

Oracle PL/SQL expert, evangelist, author and trainer

Areas of Expertise:

  • PL/SQL
  • Oracle
  • stored procedures
  • consulting
  • speaking
  • training
  • writing

Biography

Steven Feuerstein is considered to be one of the world's leading experts on the Oracle PL/SQL language, having written ten books on PL/SQL, including Oracle PL/SQL Programming and Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices (all published by O'Reilly Media). Steven has been developing software since 1980, spent five years with Oracle (1987-1992), and has served as PL/SQL Evangelist for Quest Software since January 2001. He is an Oracle ACE Director and writes regularly for Oracle Magazine, which named him the PL/SQL Developer of the Year in both 2002 and 2006. He is also the first recipient of ODTUG's Lifetime Achievement Award (2009). Since 2005 he has focused his attention on improving the testing of PL/SQL programs, primarily through the creation of Quest Code Tester for Oracle, which automates PL/SQL code testing. Steven's online technical cyberhome is located at www.ToadWorld.com/SF. You can also catch up on his latest, mostly non-PLSQL rants at http://feuerthoughts.blogspot.com.

Books

Oracle PL/SQL Programming Oracle PL/SQL Programming
by Steven Feuerstein , Bill Pribyl
Fifth Edition September 2009
Print: $69.99
Ebook: $55.99

Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference
by Steven Feuerstein , Bill Pribyl , Chip Dawes
Fourth Edition October 2007
Print: $14.99
Ebook: $11.99

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Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices
by Steven Feuerstein
Second Edition October 2007
Print: $29.99
Ebook: $23.99

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MySQL Stored Procedure Programming MySQL Stored Procedure Programming
by Guy Harrison , Steven Feuerstein
March 2006
Print: $44.99
Ebook: $35.99

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Oracle PL/SQL for DBAs Oracle PL/SQL for DBAs
by Arup Nanda , Steven Feuerstein
October 2005
Print: $39.95
Ebook: $31.99

Oracle PL/SQL Programming Oracle PL/SQL Programming
by Steven Feuerstein , Bill Pribyl
Fourth Edition August 2005
OUT OF PRINT
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Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference
by Steven Feuerstein , Bill Pribyl , Chip Dawes
Third Edition April 2004
OUT OF PRINT

Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference
by Steven Feuerstein , Bill Pribyl , Chip Dawes
Second Edition February 2003
OUT OF PRINT
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Oracle PL/SQL Programming Oracle PL/SQL Programming
by Steven Feuerstein
Third Edition September 2002
OUT OF PRINT
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Learning Oracle PL/SQL Learning Oracle PL/SQL
by Bill Pribyl
November 2001
Print: $49.99
Ebook: $39.99

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Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices
by Steven Feuerstein
April 2001
OUT OF PRINT
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Oracle PL/SQL Programming: A Developer's Workbook Oracle PL/SQL Programming: A Developer's Workbook
by Steven Feuerstein , Andrew Odewahn
May 2000
Print: $54.99
Ebook: $39.99

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Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Guide to Oracle8i Featu Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Guide to Oracle8i Featu
by Steven Feuerstein
October 1999
OUT OF PRINT
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Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference Oracle PL/SQL Language Pocket Reference
by Bill Pribyl , Steven Feuerstein , Chip Dawes
April 1999
OUT OF PRINT

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Oracle PL/SQL Built-ins Pocket Reference Oracle PL/SQL Built-ins Pocket Reference
by Steven Feuerstein , John Beresniewicz , Chip Dawes
October 1998
OUT OF PRINT
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Oracle Built-in Packages Oracle Built-in Packages
by Steven Feuerstein , Charles Dye , John Beresniewicz
May 1998
Print: $49.95
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Oracle PL/SQL Programming Oracle PL/SQL Programming
by Steven Feuerstein
Second Edition September 1997
OUT OF PRINT
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Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages
by Steven Feuerstein
October 1996
OUT OF PRINT
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Oracle PL/SQL Programming Oracle PL/SQL Programming
by Steven Feuerstein
September 1993
OUT OF PRINT

Articles

Blog

Steven's blog posts are hosted at:
http://feuerthoughts.blogspot.com
http://www.toadworld.com/sf

The Subtleties of Programming

November 16 2009

I recently published the following puzzle in the ToadWorld newsletter: Which of the following queries return the names of programs (without duplication) defined in the currently connected schema whose source contains a call to DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (assume that this program name does not appear inside comments)? A.   SELECT name FROM USER_DEPENDENCIES  … read more

De-cluttering Your Toad Desktop

November 11 2009

Quick, what’s the number one complaint about Toad for Oracle? “The User Interface is waaaaaaaaay too complicated!” Out of the box, Toad’s setup to pretty much have everything enabled. If we hid stuff, there’s a good chance users would assume the functionality just wasn’t there to be taken advantage of.  And, as… read more

Data Warehousing Tools

November 09 2009

Many people these days have to work on both traditional “online transactional processing” (i.e. OLTP) systems as well as data warehouses. But just what is a data warehouse? Generally speaking a data warehouse is nothing more than a specialized business reporting system used by mid to senior level management to… read more

Handling Complicated Tasks More Easily

November 09 2009

Did you know that in Code Tester 1.8.5 you can now perform in-line validation of your customization code? For more complex tests, this will save you lots of time and make it easier to build your regression tests.   The ultimate objective of Code Tester is easy to state: allow developers to… read more

Free TOAD Book Contest Results

November 02 2009

I want to start by thanking everyone who participated in the free TOAD book contest by submitting new feature ideas or enhancement requests. I received numerous good ideas. I also received about a third that were already in TOAD – and have been for a long time.  I actually can… read more

The Most Important Language to Learn

November 02 2009

I was recently in Germany, and did an interview with Erik Franz of database|pro. One of the questions he asked me was: "Which programming language would you recommend a college student learn to give them the strongest chance at a good job upon graduation?"   I would have loved to be able… read more

The Most Important Language to Learn

November 02 2009

I was recently in Germany, and did an interview with Erik Franz of database|pro. One of the questions he asked me was: "Which programming language would you recommend a college student learn to give them the strongest chance at a good job upon graduation?" I would have loved to be… read more

Sure hope Oracle keeps mySQL!

October 31 2009

I have decided that I really hope that Oracle gets to keep mySQL when it completes the acquisition of Sun (though I can certainly understand if the European Union draws the line and demands that it be spun off).Why would I like this?First, I am certain that Oracle will treat… read more

Toad for Oracle & XML

October 29 2009

Oracle introduced support for XML in the relational database going back at least to about the 8i release. Toad for Oracle introduced formal support for XML in the 8.0 release. XML and Toad v8.0 – v9.7 As you browse or query an object, if it contains an XML via XML data type… read more

Generate Schema Documentation in Toad for DB2

October 27 2009

 In one of my previous lives, I worked at a startup company testing software. Our application used Oracle as the back-end and the nature of my role had me working closely with our Oracle DBA. As part of our processes, our DBA had to build documentation describing the schemas our application needed. The… read more

More Toad Tips and Tricks

October 26 2009

So with Toad v10 being released, my Tips & Tricks guide became a bit out of date.  You can find an updated copy, as well as our v9 copy, here.  All of your favorite keyboard shortcuts and workflows remain largely unchanged, so this is more of an update for making… read more

An opossum in our tree

October 26 2009

We thought we had a squirrel nest in the English Oak in our backyard - we certainly saw squirrels running around in the tree, and we could see a big bunch of leaves collected in the heart of the tree.It also looked like the squirrels were actually able to bend… read more

An Amazing Visit to Mexico City

October 23 2009

As I write this, I am flying back to Chicago now, 9 PM Oct 21, from Mexico City, after a very nice two day visit.   Quest Mexico asked me to come down to help celebrate the release of Toad Version 10. I said "OK."   And, wow, they did a really fantastic job… read more

Good Database Design – It's Never an Accident

October 22 2009

When designing and constructing a successful (i.e. effective and efficient) relational database, there are two fundamental sets of rules or design principles that are universally accepted and generally practiced by database architects. read more

Resolving an LTRIM mystery

October 15 2009

Steven discusses how LTRIM works and an alternative solution for a user's problem. read more
Steven Feuerstein

"If you are responsible for PL/SQL coding, this book needs to be on your desk. Period. "
--Michael Wehrle, Amazon.com