Modern Oracle Database Programming: Level Up Your Skill Set to Oracle's Latest and Most Powerful Features in SQL, PL/SQL, and JSON

Level up your skill set to the latest that Oracle Database can  offer. This book introduces features that are not well known that can  transform your development efforts. You’ll discover built-in  functionality that can save you massive amounts of time that otherwise  would be spent reinventing the wheel. You’ll find that what used to take  a lot of programming some years ago can be done with less code in a  more reliable way today. Anyone using Oracle Database without the  knowledge in this book is leaving valuable functionality–that their  company has paid for–on the table, and this book opens the door to that  functionality so that you can deliver reliable and performant solutions  faster and more easily than ever.

Part I looks at features in SQL and  PL/SQL that are underused and not well known. You’ll learn about new  join types, pattern matching across rows, Top N pagination (useful in  reporting!), qualified expressions, and enhancements to iterators that  reduce code complexity and make your logic easier to understand.

Part  II covers how and when to invoke PL/SQL from SQL while maintaining  performance. You'll learn about SQL macro functions for creating  reusable SQL fragments, polymorphic table functions with return types  determined by incoming argument types, and constructing and parsing JSON  documents for data interchange with other systems.

Part III  introduces a vast array of built-in functionality that Oracle provides  that is just waiting to be used. Edition-based redefinition enables  zero-downtime application and schema upgrades. Data redaction enables  easier compliance with privacy laws and similar regulations by  protecting sensitive data from those who have no need to see it. Virtual  private databases provide the appearance of giving each user their own  database, again helping to secure sensitive data. These features are  just a taste of what the book provides. Soon you’ll be improving your  skills and wondering why you ever worked so hard to solve problems that  Oracle Database already solves for you.

What You Will Learn

• Write more powerful code by incorporating underused features in SQL and PL/SQL
• Optimize your integration between SQL and PL/SQL for best performance
• Take advantage of enhanced set operators, lateral joins, row-based pattern matching, and other advanced features in SQL
• Make  your code easier to understand through your use of newer PL/SQL  features, such as qualified expressions and iterator enhancements
• Integrate with web services and external data sources directly from the database
• Create and parse JSON documents for easy data exchange and flexible schema design

Who This Book Is For

Any  developer who is writing SQL or PL/SQL, PL/SQL experts who want to  level up their knowledge and skills to the latest features that Oracle  Database provides, and developers who don’t want to write their own  solutions only to find out later that they’ve wasted their time by  building something that Oracle Database provides out of the box