• Lynn Pettis (8/31/2010)


    Guess what, Oracle actually has CTE's, they just don't call it that in the reference manual.

    True enough. And search for WITH won't do it either. They call it "Subquery ReFactoring".

    Having access to the reference manual is showing me that I can actually use some of the things I have learned here on SSC.

    There will be so much more that you won't be able to apply. Try overwriting a variable using a pseudo-cursor. Try writing a set based trigger. And wait until you discover the joys of the UPDATE statement in Oracle... you need to get really, really good at using correlated subqueries to do any joined UPDATEs in Oracle. If you have a late enough version, forget all about using UPDATE and just jump straight to MERGE for doing updates even if you don't need to do an "upsert".

    Still looking forward to seeing if I can push for moving toward SQL Server, but we'll have to wait and see.

    Heh... ask their Oracle DBA's about that. Of course, that's if you can get their attention on the subject. Most of the Oracle DBA's I've run across still think SQL Server is a toy to be ignored especially for "enterprise class applications". There are, of course, exceptions...

    Now, if they would just get me access to an instance of Oracle.

    If you want to get good at it, you have to do the same thing that we've all done with SQL Server... get a DEV copy. However, when you install Oracle on a desktop, I'd make it a dedicated desktop. Besure to save all the original build disks you get with the computer, as well. You'll eventually need them to do a rebuild of the system (according to my small bit of experience in that area).

    I have to ask... with as good as you were in SQL Server, why on Earth did you take an Oracle-centric position?

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)