Oracle

Ulka Rodgers is a consultant specializing in database management systems. A widely-respected lecturer on the use of Oracle products, she is author of UNIX Database Management Systems (Prentice Hall PTR). Rodgers has extensive experience helping clients to plan information systems, develop business models, and implement Oracle-based applications. She is currently based in Annandale, NJ.

1. Introduction. The Productivity Challenge. Another Silver Bullet?! Successful Information Systems. Where Does Oracle Fit? Expectations and Infrastructure. I. MANAGING THE IMPLEMENTATION. 2. Management Strategies. The Preparation. Why Model Your Business? Roles and Responsibilities. Obtaining Budgets. Typical Benefit Items. Methods: Waterfall, RAD, or Object-oriented. Business Process Reengineering. A Case Study: Widgets, Inc. 3. Strategy Techniques. Strategic Business Analysis Phase. Information Gathering. Components of a Business Model. Organization Model. Business Objects. Business Process Flow. Modeling the Dynamics. Mapping Models into Oracle Designer. Formulating Your Strategy. Case Study: WI Strategy Study. 4. Analysis Techniques. Project Methodology. Entity relationship Models. Function Hierarchy Diagram. Process and Data Flow Models. Normalization. Analysis of Business Rules. Models for Flexibility. Convergent Modeling. Completeness Checks. Case Study: Widgets Sales System. 5. Application Architecture. The System Environment. Desktop and Roaming Requirements. Two- or Three-tier Architecture. Protocol Choices. Choosing the Tools. Infrastructure Design. Case Study: WI Sales Application Architecture. II. DESIGNING ORACLE APPLICATIONS. 6. Database Design for Performance. Real-time, Real Quick, or Human Time. Deriving a Design from Object Models. From Models to Database Design. When to Denormalize? Oracle7 Architecture. Oracle8 Architecture. Physical Design Considerations. The Database Transformer. Designing Security. Case Study: Widgets Sales Database. 7. Application Design for Performance. Performance Considerations. Designing Programs. Forms Specification. Report Specification. Procedural Program Specification. Reusable Tools Design. Project Controls. Case Study: Orders Module Design. 8. Database Administration. Data and Database Administration. Development versus Production DBA. Oracle Instance Architecture. Database Space Management. Database Monitoring. Disaster Recovery Planning. Performance Tuning. Planning for Rollout. Case Study: Widgets Database. III. DEVELOPING ORACLE APPLICATIONS. 9. Interactive Screen Programs. Oracle Tools. Oracle Forms Components. Global Objects. Generating a Module. Building a Common User Interface. The Upgrade Issue. Development Management Issues. Widgets Case Study: Orders Form. 10. Report Programs. Report Development Tools. Performance Considerations. Report Generator. Tabular Reports. Form Reports. Matrix Reports. Embedded Data Reports. Development Management Issues. 11. Interfaces for Server-side Code. Database Objects. Integrity Constraints. Database Triggers. Stored Procedures, Functions, and Packages. Using PL/SQL. Embedded SQL Interface. Development Management Issues. 12. Making Systems Perform. How Oracle Chooses Access Paths. Unearthing the Optimizers Plan. Dos and Donts of SQL. How Oracle Manages Database Access. Finding Bottlenecks. Finding and Reducing Multi-user Contention. Development Management Issues. IV. DATA WAREHOUSES, DISTRIBUTED DATABASES AND THE WORLD WIDE WEB. 13 Data Warehouse. Overview of a Data Warehouse. Analyzing Requirements. Meta data for a Warehouse. Data Warehouse Design. Data Warehouse Implementation. 14. Distributed Databases. Overview of Distributed Systems. Data Distribution Analysis. Formulating a Distribution Strategy. Distributed Database Design. Data Distribution. Development Management Issues. 15. The World Wide Web. The Internet, the Intranet and the Extranet. Formulating a WWW Strategy. Suitability Analysis. Running a Webserver Application. Web Application Concepts. Implementing Security. Webserver Generator. Development and Rollout Issues. Case Study: Order Status Inquiry. Appendix: Recommended Standards. Bibliography.