Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

What About Those Names?

To add interest to the book and because I'm half Ukrainian, I've used the names of notable Ukrainian literary and historical figures for the employee names in my example data. Thanks to Professor Myron Hlynka, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada for his kindness in providing the following, very brief biographical sketches of the people whose names I used:

Marusia Bohuslavka

A legendary Ukrainian heroine of the 16th or 17th century. Like Roxolana Lisovsky (see later in this section), Marusia was captured by the Turks and added to the harem of a Turkish lord. A famous Kozak duma (epic poem) of the period tells the story of how Marusia rises to such a level that her Turkish master leaves her with the keys to his castle (and dungeon). She uses the opportunity to free a group of Ukrainian kozaks who had been in captivity there for 30 years. Strangely, she does not flee with them but remains with her harem, as this has become the only life she is now comfortable with. Marusia symbolizes those who leave Ukraine but still have a strong connection to the land of their ancestry.

Pavlo Chubynsky (1839-1884)

Born in Boryspil, Ukraine. He was a geographer and ethnographer who collected information on folk customs and folk music in Ukraine. He wrote a book of poetry entitled Sopilka ("Ukrainian wooden flute"). He is best known for writing the lyrics to the current Ukrainian national anthem, "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine is Not Yet Dead"). This strange negative title ...