Preface

Some people lead highly focused careers. I’m not one of those people. Instead, I have
tried a number of different jobs, appreciating a variety of assignments and learning
new things. This was how I got into Oracle. I was working as a system architect and
MIS planner when someone needed to have a database management system. I
ordered the system and, because I had worked with Oracle a little before for a test,
set up the system for them. Once I set it up, I wound up maintaining the system.
Then a strange thing happened. People saw Oracle DBA work on my résumé and
started to ask for my services. Even though I was qualified to perform a number of
other tasks and had actually spent more time working in those areas, I received
assignment after assignment as an Oracle DBA. Some of these assignments were
extremely challenging, working on extremely large databases and integrating a
wide variety of client-server products into the environments. Over time, I became
very comfortable as an Oracle DBA.
Then I saw a request on the Oracle Internet Newsgroup for authors to write books
on Oracle. I had always wanted to write a book, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Practical people want to write books to further their careers or get a publication on
their resumes. I just wanted to try something new and perhaps spread the
knowledge that I had been gaining through my consulting assignments. I had
discovered that most of the places where I started up Oracle databases had similar
questions and needs that were not addressed by the books provided with Oracle.
Don’t get me wrong. I use the books that come with Oracle (electronic and hard copy)
all the time. They are usually correct when you have a specific question on a specific
technical topic, but often lack an overall feeling for the job of the DBA. They do a good
job as an encyclopedia, but do not present the big picture. That is my goal for Oracle
DBA Survival Guide.
Writing this book was definitely a challenge. The folks at Sams (especially Rosemarie
Graham, the acquisitions editor) were very tolerant of my schedule demands and I
appreciate that.
One of the things that I found to be most interesting as an author is the large number
of people who work on a book like this. There are a large number of people who work
to acquire the books (in my case Rosemarie Graham), develop the book (Todd
Bumbalough), perform technical editing (Byron Pearce and Mark Gokman), pull
everything together (Nancy Albright), and perform all of the other services such as
preparing graphics, typesetting, and so forth. (I don’t know these people’s names,
but thank them anyway).
Finally, there are a large number of people who I would like to thank for contributions
that they have made to my development. My Mom brought me into this world
ORACLE xviii DBA SURVIVAL GUIDE
and spurred me along all the way (by the way, Mom, I finished my book before you
finished yours). I would like to thank all my bosses and co-workers at Booz Allen &
Hamilton for the professional development that they provided me—special thanks
to Ed Moore for teaching me to use graphics. Finally, I would like to thank my
friends, and especially my wife Vicki, for being understanding about my not being
around all those months while I was locked up in the study.
Oracle DBA Survival Guide does not replace the reference books. You still need to
look at the Installation and Configuration Guide specific to your operating system
and the version of Oracle when performing installations. There are a number of
things that change all of the time and you need these specific references. Oracle DBA
Survival Guide provides the overall concepts and some of the glue that enables you
to know which functions you should be performing and why. Remember, the SQL
Language Reference is always available to look up the exact syntax once you know
what you are trying to do. I trust this book helps you get your job done more
efficiently.