Read and monitor Oracle related blogs and news sources, all in one place.
For the Oracle EBS Professionals, knowledge about SQL is necessary for ad hoc queries, data extraction for reporting, alerts and even setups for table validated value sets, approval management engine, workflow and many more. Skill set requirements for today are more for a techno-functional expert. SQL and PL/SQL are still an useful weapon to have in one's arsenal. Notwithstanding the onslaught of XML and BI Publisher, a foundation in SQL would go a long way in situations such as troubleshooting.
The following Oracle University courses can be taken for the exam: Oracle Database 10g: Introduction to SQL OR Oracle Database 11g: Introduction to SQL OR Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I and Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals II
The 1Z0-047 exam qualifies one for Oracle Database: SQL Certified Expert credentials or helps you in the quest for Oracle9i DBA OCA certification or Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate certification.
There are several exam study guides available for SQL exams. A exam preparation guide being released in May-June 2009 is the "Oracle Database SQL Expert Exam Guide" by the popular author April Wells.
In case you find it difficult to get access to a test database like Oracle EBS vision database or your organization's test database, may I recommended that you download Oracle Express Edition or Oracle XE from Oracle Technology Network (OTN). Oracle XE is one of the most popular downloads with its own mini database schema that you can practice on. Also one the other popular download on OTN is the SQL tool - Oracle SQL Developer.
Have you already taken the Oracle Database SQL Expert Exam? Please share your exam preparation and test taking experiences with our blog readers.
Everyone says that the best way to go to a conference is to be a speaker. For the last 2 years I’ve been trying to go to Hosos symposium, but I never got the time and budget for this.
So when Hotsos published a call for papers for the 2009 symposium, sending in an abstract or two with my ideas seemed to make sense. Nothing to lose, right?
I did not expect to have my abstract accepted. And now my name is up there in the speakers list, between Cary Millsap and Chris Date. Somehow, I don’t feel like I fit in. Its been few month since I heard the news and I can still barely believe it.
Of course, now management had no choice, and I’ll get to go to HotSos and listen to terrific technical sessions from very smart people. Yay!
My session is going to be about concurrency errors. Its a HUGE topic and it was discussed a lot in the past, so I’m working hard to find a unique and interesting angle on this, and to avoid reiterating topics that were discussed to death. My unique take on concurrency is taking classical concurrency problems from OS research, translating them to Oracle and show how they can be used to solve common issues in DB development. There will also be a fair bit of statistics and web servers thrown in because thats what I know, do and love.
I’m planning to talk a lot about testing because concurrency problems are notoriously difficult to test for. I’ll mention some statistical techniques to find concurrency problems, because this is something I didn’t see mentioned before, and I’m very happy whenever I can use my statistics education in real life.
I want to discuss lots of OS theory because so much of it applies directly to Oracle and I want everyone to benefit from the research that was done in a related field. This means talking about queuing and also about process management overheads.
I want to talk about the problems that many application servers inadvertly cause on the database side - such as allowing a user to click refresh on a large report again and again. I see these all the time.
I’ll also talk about starvation a bit, simply because I didn’t hear it discussed yet. And there is a very special case of deadlock that I’d love to talk about, if I could just get a good test case for it.
Thats quite a lot of stuff I want to talk about, and I’ll probably have to make some painfull cuts. This is after I already had to painfully cut a bunch of stuff that I decided not to talk about.
For example, deadlocks are the most well known and well researched concurrency mistake, so I’ll not spend lot of time on it. Why waste time when I can just point to Mark bobak’s presentation from HotSoS few years back (http://www.oaktable.net/userFiles.jsp)?
I’ll also have to skip talking about concurrency problems on RAC. Its a fascinating topic, but its a huge one on its own. Maybe next year? I’ll also have to skip talking about undo+redo overheads caused by many concurrent updates, and latch contentions, and hot blocks… these are all fascinating and relevant aspects that I just could not fit in.
I hope I’ll manage to pull all of these ideas into a good presentation. I hope lots of people will show up and enjoy it. I’m sure HotSoS will be an amazing conference. Its in two month, but I’m already very excited about it.
For the first time in almost two months we released a few minor changes to Oracle Mix tonight (all on the backend, nothing for you to see yet):
Merge accounts
It happens occasionally that users create two accounts on Mix (but only want to use one of them). This feature allows us to merge duplicate accounts in a clean fashion, keeping content and network information from both.
Human vs. system messages
Mix provides some light-weight messaging capability: There's an inbox, you can send private messages to one or more people in your network etc. Of course, the system also sends out a bunch of stuff (invitations, confirmations, notifications etc.). This feature allows us to track what portion of all direct messages sent across Mix are actually person-to-person (another metric we will monitor that will help us asses how Mix is doing overall).
Last login timestamp
It's essential for us to know how many people on Mix are actually active (for the time being, we've settled for a fairly low threshold and consider anyone an active user who has logged in at least once over the past 30 days). This new timestamp gives us precise data to work with (before, we had to rely on a slighly inaccurate work-around number).
* * *
Oh, and our staging environment is now running on new and improved hardware.
If you find any bugs, please let us know in the comments below or via the feedback form on Mix (requires login). Thanks!
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Do we need to fetch data using code to populate the grid in a secondary page? Or can it be done by mapping keys from parent page to secondary page? What is the difference between using domodal and using the Destination = Secondary page on button properties? Thanks, Thanks for posting your question!
We need not write code to fetch data into a secondary page we need to map the keys that’s it.
The difference between domodal and destination are almost the same except for, if you use domodal then you can hide the default ok, cancel buttons appearing in the secondary page online. This will be helpful if you want to have your own buttons instead of the ok and cancel buttons in the secondary page then you have to go thru the domodal only in destination secondary page the default buttons will only be seen and cannot be overridden.
As well in case of nested calls of secondary page the destination method will always follow the hierarchy in the call and even do modal will have the same functionality but you have the facility to override the hierarchy and make it return to any page as you like.
Thanks
Senthil Theagarajan
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We are offering two live online events in January:
Protecting Data Privacy in Production and Nonproduction Environments
Concerns over data breaches as well as regulatory compliance require every organization to consider encrypting sensitive information stored in their databases. With Oracle Advanced Security, customers can now transparently encrypt data at rest inside their production databases in a matter of hours without any changes to their existing applications. But if you regularly copy production databases for testing, development and other purposes, you may be exposing sensitive customer and employee information in the process. Oracle Data Masking complements the encryption capabilities in Oracle Advanced Security by substituting sensitive data with realistic values in order to maintain data privacy and regulatory compliance in non-production environments. During this presentation, you'll learn how you can use two of the options in Oracle???s comprehensive portfolio of database security solutions to cost-effectively address your data privacy and regulatory requirements.
Comprehensive Controls to Prevent and Detect Database Breaches
Databases are the most valuable assets in your IT infrastructure, and hence the most targeted by hackers and auditors alike. A comprehensive strategy for database security and compliance must include preventing unauthorized activities as well as auditing and monitoring to detect any failure of preventive controls or policies. With Oracle Database Vault, you can enforce security policies inside the Oracle Database, preventing any user - even a privileged user ??? from bypassing application security policies or performing unauthorized database operations. Oracle Audit Vault complements Oracle Database Vault by providing a reliable enterprise-wide solution for demonstrating the effectiveness of preventive controls as well as detecting and alerting on unauthorized or suspicious activities. In this session, learn how Oracle Database Vault and Oracle Audit Vault work together to provide a complete cost-effective solution for preventing and detecting security and regulatory breaches.
We will have ample time for Q&A at the end of each presentation so hope you make it to one of them.
Cloud computing, OBIEE, Oracle certifications, security, middleware or open source projects???.on what should you focus your Oracle-related efforts in 2009?
It???s a question that many Oracle customers are asking now, as a new year often means time for a new or revised Oracle strategy. SearchOracle.com recently talked to some Oracle industry analysts for tips on crafting such a plan, and the experts??? suggestions included putting security, automation and middleware decisions at the top of your New Year???s resolutions list.????????
These lists have already begun showing up in the blogosphere. So, what are some Oracle gurus resolving to do in 2009?
Database developer Chet Justice has four resolutions for the new year: Go the entire year without losing his job, become proficient in OBIEE, build a PL/SQL test harness and contribute something tangible to the Oracle community.
Dan McGhan, however, has different goals, which include becoming an Oracle 11g Database Administrator Certified Associate and completing a new open source project after a previously failed attempt.??
Michael Sheehan of XML journal thinks this is an important year to focus on cloud computing. He offers his own suggestions, including taking some time to both understand what it is and research different cloud computing providers.
Your Oracle New Year???s resolutions obviously depend on your own job and experiences. However, whether or not you accomplish your resolutions also depends on what Oracle accomplishes this year.
For example, Senior Analyst Chris Wolf came up with a New Year???s resolution not for himself, but for Oracle. Wolf thinks 2009 is the time for the software vendor to ???publicly define official support and offer virtual CPU-based licensing for all prominent x86 virtualization environments.???
We???ll be posting a story later this week on what some other users have outlined as their goals for 2009. What do you think Oracle should resolve to do in 2009? What are your own Oracle-related resolutions for the new year and how do you plan to accomplish them?
In a theme being attributed to Tony Bibbs, Andi tagged me. Also see http://in2it.be/whotaggedwho.php.
As this 7-Things meme winds down, I'll just tag Tony Dovgal, who has recently become a new father - congratulations!
Here are Tony Bibb's rules for the meme:
Ever wondered how to pass values out of one process flow activity into another? The use of variables and activity parameter bindings is the key. In the example below process flows are used as the activities, the same applies for any activity with parameters.
In the image below, the process flow named MASTER has 2 child flows; CHILD and CHILD_1, an output parameter of the sub-flow CHILD is passed into the input parameter of another sub-flow CHILD_1. To do this, the output parameter must be stored in a local variable DATASTORE of the MASTER flow and this variable is then passed into the next activity as an input parameter.
Another common query is how to actually add variables and parameters in the first place. This is done by selecting the Variables node or START1 node in the selected objects panel, and clicking on the green plus button, not exactly intuitive, but that's how its done;
After the variable or parameter has been added, you can select it in the tree and change its properties in the Object Details panel. A couple of bits of info that its not obvious how they operate.
Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.
~ Garrison Keillor
The New Year is a good time for reflection.?? In that spirit, I'm going to try something different here.?? One of our regular readers recently made a pointed remark about his clients' general desires to avoid reaching out to Oracle Support unless absolutely necessary.?? This isn't the first time I've heard this sentiment but it crystallized my thoughts on something I've been meaning to discuss here for a while.
We all know that the proper way to add a custom top directory to your E-Business Suite instance is through the ${APPL_TOP}/admin/topfile.txt (Note 216589.1). By adding an entry to that file, AutoConfig will:1) Create the environment variable for you
2) Put it into the context file
3) Update various commonly missed files (formservlet.ini, for example).
4) Create the empty directories (if they don’t already exist).
However, during a recent patch-current exercise I re-encountered a bug with this process in the latest TXK patchset (6372396 - TXK.S). After we applied TXK.S, our custom tops were removed from the environment (and from topfile.txt).
The issue happens to be Note: 604263.1, which recommends that you apply patch 7126196 prior to applying the TXK.S patch to avoid the problem.
If you’ve already found yourself “hit” by this problem, apply 7126196, re-add your custom tops and izu <appl top location> to ${APPL_TOP}/admin/topfile.txt, and run autoconfig. Everything will be back to normal.
At OpenWorld, Oracle Retail tried holding Birds-of-a-Feather breakfast meetings where customers could sit down with other customers to discuss specific topics (and get a free breakfast to boot) in an informal setting. A table-moderator handled the introductions and kept the conversations going. Based on the success of those breakfasts, we're doing something similar at NRF this year, although the program has been renamed to Affinity Group Discussions (I like BOFs better, but maybe that's because I'm a JavaOne Alumni).
If you're a retailer that doesn't already have plans for breakfast or lunch on Tuesday, you'll probably want to sign-up to attend these networking opportunities. The topics are:
--Hosted Deployment Models for Major Retail Projects
--Unleash the Value of Your Oracle Merchandising Applications
--Green Retailing in the Real World
--Where Phones and People Meet: Delivering the Perfect Retail Experience in Telecommunications
--Emerging Challenges within Retail Loss Prevention
--Why Settle for Tracking your Inventory When you Can Manage It?
--Bundle Store Applications, Hardware and Services to Decrease Cost and Optimize Store Operations
--Retail CRM
--Worst of Times, Best of Times: Retail Real Estate Management in 2009
--The People Factor: Managing Talent In Today???s Retail Market
Oracle is also sponsoring this year's Members-Only lunch on Monday. You'll want to arrive early because space is limited. Michael Gates Gill, author of the bestseller How Starbucks Saved My Life, will be speaking followed by a book-signing. Get your copy of his book signed before its turned into a movie (starring Tom Hanks, no less).
Happy New Year 2009!
I hope your holiday season was enjoyable with a chance to reunite with family and friends. I also hope your favorite team won its bowl game!
All the newspapers and magazines do year-end recaps and remind us of interesting events. That got me to think about the undeniable and persistent tide of good news that our Oracle Higher Education team, along with our customers and partners, experienced in 2008.
Analyst Acclaim
The community of analysts who track and study information system providers to Higher Education prominently rewarded the Oracle-PeopleSoft results with praise in 2008. Oracle was rated in the 2008 ???leaders??? quadrant in the Gartner Magic Quadrant ??? report. Late in the year, an exciting new analyst report was issued by Synergy3 that revealed quantified and verified new Student Information System (SIS) selection results: momentum in all U.S. segments has shifted to Oracle! If you have not followed this knowledgeable firm before, I recommend that you take a look at their recently introduced web site. I highly recommend that you join this higher education community. Membership is free, and it will give you access to information about your peers, peer institutions and the entire ecosystem participating in higher education.
Customer Success
In 2008, more early Oracle customers came Live on the new PeopleSoft version 9.0 software. University of Wisconsin ??? Madison has posted its announcement online ??? the Badger folks are always among our trailblazing customers! DePaul University???s upgrade to Campus Solutions 9.0 received congratulations in an Oracle Press Release. Indiana University went to 9.0 while featuring the 360-degree view via the Student Center and the Faculty Center facilities of Campus Solutions.
Scalable Solutions for Institutions of All Sizes
One of the most impressive change evolutions among our customer base has been the rapid growth, with successful implementation projects, of new small-to-medium sized institutions. Oracle calls this initiative ???Scalable solutions for institutions of all sizes???. The advice and mentorship from longtime existing customers has been much appreciated. You can read about successful upgrades by Gettysburg College and Maryland Institute College of Art at the online site???and hearty congratulations to MICA???s Ted Simpson, who was appointed to the HEUG Board to lead the communication efforts among the smaller institutions. Ted???s group has published its first guideline document and they remain open for more ideas. George Fox University in Oregon is among the newcomers with a fast implementation of PeopleSoft ERP and Campus Solutions. They are drawing a lot of attention with their iPhone innovation. Anderson University (Indiana) led the way earlier in 2008 with its Campus Solutions go-live, introducing self-service across its campus. Accomplishments in the ???scalable solutions??? space are important; the Synergy3 report discussed above found that institutions in the 2,500 student range have been the most active in modernizing their SIS.
Recruiting and Retention - CRM
Another significant area of progress for Oracle customers in 2008 was the evolution of Constituent Relationship Management (CRM for Higher Education) techniques. Campus Technology magazine has followed CRM adoption in Higher Education. In an October interview with Campus Technology, [excerpt] analyst Nicole Engelbert cited DePaul as an institution on the cutting edge in successfully using CRM. Of DePaul, Engelbert said, ???In a word, they get it. I was blown away by the types of things they are doing there.??? Engelbert, a lead analyst with research and analysis firm Datamonitor, cited DePaul for quantifying student satisfaction with regular surveys, then taking proactive steps based on the data, resulting in improved retention and better alumni relations, for example.
Audrey Bledsoe was quick to attribute part of DePaul's success to institution-wide buy-in--something that Engelbert cited as a critical success factor in implementing CRM. DePaul's approach illustrates the importance of that factor. In fact, the impetus behind the original rollout, Bledsoe said, came from a vice president of IT "who was passionate about CRM and saw a vision and need for implementing a strategy and philosophy [around CRM]...."
Campus Technology
DePaul Sets the Bar in Student Relationship Management
Nov. 20, 2008
By Linda L Briggs
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2008/11/depaul-sets-the-bar-in-student-relationship-management.aspx
Partners
The Oracle ecosystem of partners also enjoyed a robust 2008. CedarCrestone received great news when both public systems of higher education in Nebraska selected them for implementation consulting. Another aspect of the new Nebraska project involved Oracle???s partnership with the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC). I suggest that both public and private institutions familiarize themselves with the MHEC facility for advanced contract terms that helped serve as a model for Nebraska. In times of scarce funding, a streamlined contracting process saves time and money.
An unusually productive partnership developed during 2008, involving University of Maryland University College and Hershey Systems, Inc. Hershey is an Oracle Alliance member as an independent software vendor (ISV). UMUC and Hershey announced significant process improvement in admissions through high volume transcript articulation. Hershey???s ???Singularity Suite??? product features an advanced integration with the PeopleSoft Campus Solutions Academic Advising and Admissions modules. UMUC is working with other institutions to exchange information about this new ???best practice." The UMUC press release states:
With the implementation of the program, UMUC will be able to streamline all transfer student transcript and credit evaluation processes across the entire university within 48 hours. As a university with campuses on three different continents and dozens of alliances with institutions nationwide, this new system integrates the entire transfer and articulation process???from admissions to financial aid???taking 90,000 student records and uploading them digitally into a worldwide database.
So are you growing weary of reading glum predictions about our economy and life in general for 2009? As you can see from the recap above, there is great momentum in Oracle???s Higher Education practice, its customers, and partners. 2009 is our best opportunity yet to use innovative technology and business process improvement. Effectiveness is the universal goal of our community. Congratulations on our mutual progress in 2008 and now, how about a repeat for 2009? Best wishes for your success.
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