As Published In May/June 2004

OTN Community Bulletin

Learn what's happening in Oracle's most dynamic online community.

Community News

From the Editor Without a doubt, the most exciting news on OTN in the last few months has been the availability of the entire Oracle 10g infrastructure software stack: Oracle Database 10g, Oracle Application Server 10g, and Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g. Free downloads of all three for OTN members can be found at otn.oracle.com/software. Downloads are only part of OTN's overall Oracle 10g offering, however. You can also find value-adds such as Arup Nanda's "Top 20 Oracle Database 10g Features for DBAs" series, Oracle 10g sample code, the new "2-Day DBA" curriculum, Oracle by Example hands-on tutorials, and a continually expanding body of technical information about the real-world application of Oracle 10g features. I believe you'll find that OTN should be your first stop for any technical information about Oracle 10g. Justin Kestelyn, OTN Editor in Chief justin.kestelyn@oracle.com

Learn Oracle in Two Days

Historically, information for DBAs and developers who are newcomers to Oracle technology—or for initiates into the DBA and developer disciplines— has not had high visibility on OTN. That changed with the debut of the New to Oracle (otn.oracle.com/new) page, which offers a 10-step path for learning the use of Oracle tools and the Oracle database.

For example, New to Oracle gives DBAs the opportunity to learn Oracle literally in two days via access to the Oracle Database 10g "2-Day DBA" curriculum. This curriculum, which is free, is designed for anyone wanting to learn common, day-to-day administrative tasks for Oracle databases of a modest size, with no prior database management expertise required. (Experienced and enterprise DBAs, take note: "2-Day DBA" contains valuable information about admin best practices as well as the use of Oracle Enterprise Manager as the primary administrative interface.)

Similarly, New to Oracle helps initiates get started with Oracle JDeveloper via demos, tutorials, and other information for "beginners"—whether they be new developers, experienced DBAs interested in learning new development skills, or simply Java enthusiasts who want to explore JDeveloper.

Oracle By Example: The 10g Edition

For more-experienced DBAs, check out the Oracle by Example hands-on tutorials—which were recently updated to include Oracle Database 10g content. This series of detailed tutorials takes you through installation and the configuration of manageability, availability, business intelligence, and information integration features step-by-step.

For example, the SQL Tuning Advisor module offers a hands-on explanation, including screenshots, of the proper use of Oracle Enterprise Manager to view diagnostic information about high-overhead SQL and proactively modify those statements via the SQL Tuning Advisor.

Oracle Database 10g modules are available free of charge at otn.oracle.com/obe/obe10gdb.

Behind the Scenes at OTN and Oracle's Own Web Operations

Most Popular* Content on OTN Sample Code 1. PL/SQL Sample Code 2. Oracle Forms 10g—Online Demonstrations and Sample Code 3. JDBC Samples 4. JDBC How-To Documents 5. ODP.NET Samples Tutorials 1. Understanding XML DB 2. Understanding the New Features of JSP 2.0 3. Oracle XML Parser Techniques 4. EJB 2.1 Techniques 5. J2EE Virtual Shopping Mall 1.3 Technical Articles 1. "Disciplined PL/SQL," by Steven Feuerstein 2. "Installing Oracle, PHP, and Apache on Linux," by Robert Clevenger 3. "Writing Better SQL Using Regular Expressions," by Alice Rischert 4. "The Top 20 Technical Articles of 2003" 5. "Servlets and JSP Step Up," by Budi Kurniawan *For the three-month period ending December 15, 2003

In late January, a new Middleware Architecture Series module rolled out that should hold particular interest for OTN members: a behind-the-scenes look at the recent OTN migration to Oracle Application Server Portal as well as Oracle Web operations overall.

In this module, Steve Comstock, manager of the eService Hosting Group in Oracle Corporation's Global IT division, describes the best practices behind deploying a new Oracle Web application and maintaining its availability through considerable stressors. Using the OTN migration as a case study, Comstock describes how performance bottlenecks are identified, the importance of redundancies across Web application architecture, and the use of Edge Side Includes (ESI) tagging with Oracle Application Server Web Cache.

The module includes a highly detailed diagram of OTN architecture as well as real Keynote Systems-derived performance and availability metrics. Read it online at otn.oracle.com/tech/java/architect/mwa_week5.html.

New Content & Code

AWK: The Linux Administrator's Wisdom Kit
Here's an invaluable introduction to the syntax, behavior, and idiosyncrasies of the Linux AWK utility, one of the most powerful data-processing engines.

Guide to Linux File Command Mastery
A crash course in Linux file commands for the newly initiated.

Technical Note: Upgrading to Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3
Learn more about the use of the Oracle VLM option to create a large database buffercache and the use of hugetlb in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.

Technical Articles for Developers

"Validating XML Documents"
This brief tutorial explains how to validate XML documents against XML Schema using a SAX parser, a DOM parser, and an XSD validator.

"Extending Oracle E-Business Suite with Jdeveloper"
This article provides an overview of how the metadata-driven Application Development Framework (ADF) in Oracle JDeveloper supports the modification or addition of objects and functionality without changing code.

Steven Feuerstein: "Building a Code Analysis Utility for PL/SQL, Part 8"
In this final installment to his series, Feuerstein explains the application of refactoring principles to his code.

"Performance Tips for Swing-based BC4J Applications"
This new technical case study provides tips for tuning your JClient/ BC4J Swing applications.

Sample Code

OTN Locator OTN home Software downloads Technology Centers Technical Articles Sample Code Discussion Forums

Tutorial: Understanding New JSP 2.0 Features
This new tutorial series is designed to help you understand some of the new and exciting features of JSP 2.0, including the Simple Expression Language, JSP Fragments, Tag Files, and Simple Tag Handlers.

Oracle 10g JDBC Samples
These samples demonstrate the use of various new JDBC features in Oracle 10g such as IEEE Datatypes, Named Parameters, and PL/SQL by Index Tables.

Oracle Application Server Web Cache Samples
These samples contain code snippets and relevant explanations about certain aspects of the Oracle Application Server Web Cache and ESI technology.

Oracle Application Server Process Connect Samples
These samples demonstrate how to model integrations using various technology adapters available with Oracle Application Server ProcessConnect.