Advanced Oracle PL/SQL Programming with Packages

Structure of This Book

This book is separated into six parts as follows:

Part I: Working With Packages

This part introduces packages, the most important construct in PL/SQL for building reusable code and employing object-oriented design techniques. Chapter 1 describes how and when you should create packages and explains why PL/SQL developers should learn to center their entire development process around packages Chapter 2 presents my tried-and-true "best practices" for building packages. Chapter 3 puts packages in the context of overall PL/SQL development by providing a tutorial on solving a typical problem in PL/SQL.

Part II: PL/Vision Overview

Chapter 4 gets you started with PL/Vision, a collection of PL/SQL packages and supporting SQL*Plus scripts that can radically change the way you develop applications with the PL/SQL language. Chapter 5 provides a brief summary of all of the specifications for the PL/Vision packages, and is marked with a thumb-tab for quick reference.

Part III: Building Block Packages

Chapter 6 through Chapter 13 describe the building block packages of PL/Vision; these are low-level packages that you can use to enhance your development—for example, string parsers, a list manager, and an interface to PL/SQL tables.

Part IV: Developer Utility Packages

Chapter 14 through Chapter 18 describe the developer utilities of PL/Vision; these are programs that improve your PL/SQL development environment—for example, a code generator, a powerful substitute for SHOW ...