Reddit mentions: The best oracle databases books

In my previous job I was an Oracle DBA for about 5 years, and recentlry transitioned to a developer role at a different company. I've also had the pleasure of taking both Oracle's OCP and SQL exams as well. In my honest opinion I wouldn't jump right into trying to find material to study for the exams. I would build your knowledge base up first and work on the exams after. The exams aren't really that difficult and they don't prepare for the actual DBA role.

There are a lot of key characteristics to becoming a good DBA. You need to be able to work with people and translate your technical expertise into something that can often be consumed by non-technical folks. Another trait of a DBA is having a good understanding of the entire stack. You need to be comfortable in network, application, virtualization and other technologies. Approaching problems in the DBA capacity also requires a scientific approach. Before you make adjustments you need to gather the "facts" (statistics) and compare the data before and after to see if the problem is resolved. In the Oracle space there is a large tendency to just "tweak" a parameter and hope it works. There is no FAST = TRUE setting.

With that said you can find the root of all Oracle database documentation here: Tahiti. I recommend you start with the Oracle Concepts Guide. Luckily the version I linked you to was re-written for this version of the database. It is by far the best resource for understanding the Oracle database. I think it is far better than nearly all books out there. The only book I would use to supplement the Concepts Guide is: Expert Oracle Database Architecture: Oracle Database 9i, 10g, and 11g Programming Techniques and Solutions. I should note that this book was written by the same person, Tom Kyte, that wrote the Concepts Guide.

Once you've read the Concepts Guide you'll need to move into the specific database documentation, which there is a lot. The nice thing about the Concepts Guide is that it provides a documentation road map for DBAs. I've also found that if you can understand the material covered in the 2 Day DBA guide you should be well on your way to passing the exams.

Oracle also allows you to download and install the database for personal use and education. You can find that here. If you are more comfortable with Microsoft I recommend you work with the Windows version until you feel like venturing into an OS like Linux, Unix or Solaris. I was primarily an Oracle DBA on MS Windows, but a lot of shops run on some sort of Unix variant so you should be comfortable there. Download and install the software and start working through the 2 Day DBA guide.

Here are a few other resources:

• Oracle Technology Network Forums -- These are probably the most active Oracle forums and some of the best Oracle minds visit this on a daily basis. I happen to have the same user handle there as well. As long as you put together a well thought out question you'll get an answer in no time.
  
  
• AskTom -- This is a question and answer site by Tom Kyte. This is arguably the best non-documentation source of Oracle information. Learn to use this site, and I recommend reading it on a daily basis.
  
  I hope I've helped point you in the right direction. Just remember that being a DBA means you'll sometimes work a lot, but you'll be learning day in and day out. Try and enjoy the job and put any egos aside.
  
  Just remember the most important job a DBA has is to be able to restore a database :)

>How many of you guys have had or are working towards a successful career with SQL?

I would generalize and say the majority of this sub are people who work with SQL or want to work with SQL. You may have a few hobbyists or folk who are doing their own thing and need to utilize SQL occasionally as well.

>Is it an rewarding career?

This is going to be a little broad of a question. I would expect most folk who have a career in SQL to enjoy it or at least find aspects of it rewarding. It's not a skill you accidentally build a career out of that you hate, you tend to gravitate to it or it accidentally finds you. Anyone who doesn't enjoy SQL typically gets out of it relatively quickly. (Either on purpose or accident.)

Data is important and valuable. The way many people lose their jobs in data is when they lose data and it is not recoverable. Likewise, if you develop something and it performs poorly and it affects those systems that holds data or perhaps damages the data, you likely won't keep your job.

As a result, you'll find people will either learn just enough to float by and drift or they will continually sharpen their skill-set and move up.

>What other software/tools would you recommend besides learning SQL to have a fun and a exhilarated career for a beginner?

To be honest, I feel like you could spend an entire career learning SQL. There is much more to it than how to write a simple query that returns data. Learning the technology and ideology of the database engine is a massive project and will take a very long time to master. I wouldn't recommend broadening your skill-set too far until you have the pieces down that you need. Once you can complete tasks or work on projects, then I would look at branching out skills.

Software that would compliment your learning in SQL would be business intelligence / reporting software (Crystal reports, SSRS, Power BI, Information Builders, etc.), programming languages (R and Python are very popular with SQL), additional scripting or computer languages like bash / powershell, documentation tools like snagit or Redgate's documentation toolset, quality assurance software, or network and administration software. It all depends on where you want to go, but I'd look at SQL to start if that is your interest and get heavily involved with it until you have a competency that can help you achieve value.

To add some more, here's part of a reply I sent to someone who was asking about getting a career in SQL:



>I would check out the twitter hash code #SQLCareer. A lot of the active SQL Server community (and some folks just active in SQL) blogged about what their day to day is like. This can give you a real world look into what it's like.
>
>There are two books I can recommend as well, the DBA Survivor by Tom Larock and also Data Professionals at work by Malathi Mahadevan.

​

You know SQL? That's a great start. Now you have to pick your RDBMS product and platform, and start a deep dive, because being a DBA requires knowledge and experience with:

• Backups
  
  
• File system storage
  
  
• Transaction Logging
  
  
• Memory allocation
  
  
• cores vs sessions vs connections vs threads vs processes
  
  
• clustering (?)
  
  
• networking
  
  
• etc
  
  
  Knowing the areas that you need to acquire knowledge and experience in is the first part of becoming a competent DBA. The details, unfortunately, tend to be product-specific.
  
  For Oracle DB, I can't recommend this book highly enough.
  
  If anyone here knows of a comparable book for MS SQL Server, please let me know, I'd love to get it.

Judging from the reviews, I wouldn't get that book if you've never interacted with a database before. Usually certification books will give you a broad overview of things, but they won't give you enough to actually learn the material.

I haven't read it, but Feuerstein's Oracle PL/SQL Programming gets a lot of good reviews. Get the 5th edition since you won't need the 12c features and it'll save you some money. I would also install a copy of Oracle XE on your computer.

http://www.amazon.com/Oracle-PL-SQL-Programming-Versions/dp/0596514468/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463191484&sr=8-1&keywords=oracle+pl+sql+programming+5th+edition

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/express-edition/overview/index.html

Remember, the only way you'll learn is by doing it. But don't rush yourself either.

This might be good. You can also read some of the documentation/white papers/marketing materials on otn.oracle.com for Exalytics and/or TimesTen

I really like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0596514468/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

I recommend this book

http://www.amazon.com/Oracle8-Warehousing-Oracle-Press-Series/dp/0078825113

PL/SQL is an extension of the SQL Language by Oracle. The extension consists mainly of Procedural stuff (hence, PL).

With PL/SQL you can write procedures the perform database updates, selects, write files, etc. Just as you could with a generic programming language. The benefit of PL/SQL is that the SQL part is integrated. In regular .NET you'd have to create a SQLCommand with the sql string, connect to the DB, execute the command, and finally process the data. With PL/SQL you simply splatter sql statements all over the place and they are executed.

I personally found Beginning PL/SQL: From Novice to Professional pretty helpfull in getting my feet wet when I started working with Oracle E-Business.

That said, I hate PL/SQL just as much as E-Business. Avoid it if possible.

LF:

https://www.amazon.com/Concepts-Database-Management-Joy-Starks/dp/1337093424

https://www.amazon.ca/Physics-Life-Sciences-Martin-Zinke-Allmang/dp/0176558691/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Research-Planning-Design-12th/dp/0134775651

Start with "Concepts" and Tom Kyte Expert Oracle Database Architecture