Sebastopol, CA--"Oracle DBAs need enormous intelligence, infinite patience, considerable courage," state Andy Duncan and Jared Still, authors of Perl for Oracle DBAs (O'Reilly, US $44.95), adding, "We think they also need Perl." According to the authors, Perl is the world's number one solution for transforming and gluing data together, and Oracle is the world's number one solution for storing that data. As Oracle DBAs themselves, Duncan and Still understand the frustrations inherent in Oracle database administration. They have found Perl to be an enormous help in performing administrative tasks, from the routine, like adding new users to the database, to the more complex, like monitoring database connectivity in real time and tracking down database performance problems by comparing SQL execution plans.
Fortunately, Oracle DBAs don't need to be Perl experts to use the applications and scripts detailed in their book. "Perl for Oracle DBAs" includes everything they'll need to get started using this popular open source language to manage their databases, from an introduction to Perl to a wealth of ready-to-use DBA scripts. Duncan and Still explore the interface connecting the Perl and Oracle worlds, with particular emphasis on Oracle database administration. The book covers:
The Perl language: an introduction to Perl, its history and culture, and its extensive text processing and data transformation capabilities.
The Perl/Oracle architecture: detailed information about Perl DBI, DBD::Oracle, the Oracle Call Interface (OCI), Oracle::OCI, extproc_perl, and mod_perl, the modules that allow Perl programs to communicate with Oracle databases.
The Perl Database Administration (PDBA) Toolkit: a comprehensive suite of specialized scripts designed to help Oracle DBAs perform both routine and special purpose tasks, including monitoring the Oracle alert log and databases, creating and managing Oracle user accounts, maintaining indexes and extents, extracting DDL and data, troubleshooting and tuning database problems, and much more. The book also explains how DBAs can extend the toolkit to solve their own database administration problems using Perl.
"Perl for Oracle DBAs" was written especially for the Oracle DBA who is trying desperately to keep up with the daily demands of administering, monitoring, and tuning an Oracle database. Even if readers have had no prior experience with Perl, "Perl for Oracle DBAs" will get them started and show them how Perl can make their work easier, less stressful, and more enjoyable.
Additional resources:
"Perl for Oracle DBAs" is also available on Safari Books Online
Chapter 1, Perl Meets Oracle is available free online
More information about the book, including Table of Contents, index, author bio, and samples
Perl for Oracle DBAs
By Andy Duncan and Jared Still
ISBN 0-596-00210-6, 602 pages, $44.95 (US), $69.95 (CAN)
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938; 1-707-827-7000
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