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AT ORACLE: Resources
OTN Community Bulletin
Oracle's free software lineup; Oracle OpenWorld 2005's "most wanted"
Oracle SQL Developer Unleashed
The release of Oracle SQL Developer, Oracle's free graphical tool for performing basic database development tasks, has left an indelible imprint not only on OTN itself but also on the Oracle community at large.
First, the numbers. From its initial availability as an Early Adopter release in late December 2005 through the end of January 2006, Oracle SQL Developer was downloaded nearly 45,000 times—a number second only to that of Oracle Database 10g itself. Over this same time period, the Oracle SQL Developer discussion forum on OTN added nearly 2,700 threads and was viewed more than 50,000 times—numbers dwarfing those of more-established forums. Clearly, Oracle SQL Developer fulfills a need.
Essentially a graphical version of SQL*Plus, Oracle SQL Developer will connect to any Oracle database schema (version 9.2.0.1 and later) to browse, edit, create, drop, and otherwise manipulate database objects. It will also allow you to run SQL and scripts; load, edit, execute, and debug PL/SQL; manipulate and export data; and view, create, and customize reports. The download consists of a simple .zip file; no installer or Oracle Home is required. As Tom Kyte succinctly describes it, Oracle SQL Developer "has the power of the command line, with all the benefits of a graphical interface. No compromises."
Oracle SQL Developer runs on Windows and Linux, and although Mac OS X support is planned for a future release, certain enterprising members have posted apparently valid OS X install instructions for the Early Adopter release (not tested by Oracle, mind you) in the Oracle SQL Developer discussion forum.
Perhaps most important, however, are the facts that Oracle SQL Developer is free to download and that the production release will be formally supported for any customers using it against a database for which they have a valid support contract. Oracle SQL Developer will be certified to run against Oracle Database 10g Express Edition (Oracle Database XE), Oracle's free starter database, but OTN Discussion Forums will be the only form of support available when running against that release.
Interestingly, Oracle SQL Developer and Oracle JDeveloper share the same code base; some bloggers have characterized the former as a stripped-down version of the latter. Although the two will remain separate products, Oracle JDeveloper will pick up Oracle SQL Developer features in a post-10.1.3 release. So whether you are doing lightweight database development or hard-core Java coding, a free tool from Oracle will be at your disposal.
You can download Oracle SQL Developer, access "getting started" content and documentation, and view screenshots and demos at oracle.com/technology/products/database/sql_developer.
Oracle Blogs!
Oracle community-watchers have a favorite new bookmark: Blogs.oracle.com is here.
For the first time, the Oracle blogging community takes on a coherent form with the debut of Oracle's own dedicated blogging Web site. Blogs.oracle.com offers a bird's-eye view of the extensive Oracle blogging community via an RSS aggregator and hard links to popular blogs such as the Tom Kyte Blog, Steve Muench's Dive into ADF, and Oracle's OTN TechBlog. (It also offers Oracle employees the use of an enterprise-class blogging engine, UserLand Manila, for their Oracle-related blogs.)
Want to know what the Oracle community is abuzz about today? Look no further than blogs.oracle.com.
Experience Release 3 of Oracle's Service-Oriented Architecture Stack
No "developer" edition of this column would be complete without a reminder that Oracle JDeveloper 10g and Oracle Application Server 10g (Releases 10.1.3) are available for download in production versions from OTN.
Certified J2EE 1.4-compatible, Oracle Application Server 10g (Release 10.1.3) includes Oracle Business Rules, Oracle JDeveloper, Oracle TopLink, Oracle Containers for J2EE (OC4J), and support for advanced standards-based technologies such as Ajax, EJB 3.0, JavaServer Faces (JSF), and Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) Faces.
Needless to say, these releases contain far too many new features and enhancements to describe here. As usual, your best bet is to download and test-drive them yourself—both are available at oracle.com/technology/software.
Justin Kestelyn, OTN Editor in Chief
justin.kestelyn@oracle.com
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Most Popular* Content on OTN
For DBAs/Sysadmins:
1. "Oracle Database 10g: The Top 20 Features
for DBAs" (series), by Arup Nanda
2. "An Introduction to Linux Shell Scripting for DBAs," by Casimir Saternos
3. "Installing Oracle Database 10g on Linux x86," by John Smiley
4. "Build Your Own Oracle RAC Cluster on Linux and FireWire," by Jeffrey Hunter
5. " Oracle Database 10g Release 2: Top Features for DBAs" (series), by Arup Nanda
For Developers:
1. "Best Practice PL/SQL" (Q&A), with Steven Feuerstein
2. "SOA Best Practices: The BPEL Cookbook" (series), by various authors
3. "The Oracle+PHP Cookbook," by various authors
4. "Add Some Spring to Your Oracle JDBC Access," by Dustin Marx
5. "Installing PHP and the Oracle 10g Instant Client for Linux and Windows," by Christopher Jones
*For the two-month period ending January 31, 2006
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New Tech Articles, Columns, & Notes
For Developers
"Developing Smart Web UIs with Ajax, JSF, and ADF Faces"
by Andrei Cioroianu
Learn how to reuse Web content and Java code using JSP Tag Files, JSF, and Oracle ADF Faces.
"Converting an EJB 2.0 Entity Bean to EJB 3.0"
by Deepak Vohra
Learn how to convert an EJB 2.0 entity bean to an EJB 3.0 entity bean in this new tutorial, step by step.
"Develop and Test Regular Expressions with a Unit Testing Package"
by Casimir Saternos
Learn basic techniques for constructing useful regular expressions in SQL, and then develop and test them using a supplied PL/SQL package.
"Flash Remoting with Oracle and PHPObject"
by Nick Bollweg
Learn how to use PHPObject to integrate Macromedia Flash seamlessly with your Oracle data. From the Oracle+PHP Cookbook.
(Full cookbook at oracle.com/technology/pub/articles/oracle_php_cookbook.)
"Managing a BPEL Production Environment"
by Stany Blanvalet
Learn how to automate common admin tasks in a BPEL production environment using Oracle BPEL Process Manager's API and Dehydration Store. From the BPEL Cookbook.
"Building PHP Applications Using the ATK Framework"
by Ivo Jansch
Build a database-driven Web application using the open source Achievo ATK PHP application framework.
For DBAs/Sysadmins
"Upgrade Guide: Oracle9i Release 2 RAC to Oracle RAC 10g Release 2 on Linux"
by Murali Vallath
Take advantage of the extensive list of new features and functionality in Oracle Database 10g and Oracle Real Application Clusters 10g configured on Oracle Automatic Storage Management.
"Introduction to Linux Security Guidelines"
by Dawar Naqvi
Get tips for securing workstations and servers against local and remote intrusion, exploitation, and malicious activity.
New OTN TechCasts (Podcasts)
All OTN TechCasts (podcasts) are available at oracle.com/techcasts
"Inside Oracle's Linux Projects, Part 2" (19 min.)
Senior Director of Linux Engineering (and Oracle ACE) Wim Coekaerts offers updates on the integration of Oracle Cluster File System Release 2 with the mainline Linux kernel; Oracle Database XE on Linux; using Oracle Database XE on Debian; and more.
"Oracle JDeveloper 10g Release 3 in a Nutshell" (17 min.)
Oracle JDeveloper product managers Brian Fry and Shay Shmeltzer (Oracle ACE) explain why developers will be happy about the new release, the influence of new standards such as EJB 3.0 and JSF, and the impact of Oracle's Eclipse projects on Oracle JDeveloper.
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