James Koopmann

Don’t wait for your shop to get an Oracle 10g database up and running. Download the client software and start using these great new features that will make a few of your everyday tasks a bit more bearable. Unless you have some whiz-bang 3rd-party utility that you are using, you will on a daily basis […]

The creation and use of temporary tablespaces has just taken another leap in performance and manageability, which should make us all re-think how we have created and assigned our users to temporary tablespaces. The TEMPORARY Tablespace When a users executes a SQL statement that requires sorting or does some sort of database maintenance that requires […]

As new versions of Oracle are released, we are less likely to access the operating system. The ability to move data files from within Oracle is just one more great hook to the operating system that aids DBAs in their daily tasks. Within Oracle 10g we are given the opportunity to move operating system files […]

It has been my observation that a lot of us lack the basic skills required to model the simplest of database objects. This article will explore some of the common mistakes and fixes to the breaking of 1NF. 1NF Rule First normal form has two very distinct rules: There must not be duplicate columns within […]

This article is the third and last in the three part series, that has explored the use of VARRAYs in Oracle. This part will look at the performance implications if you should choose to use VARRAYS. In Part I&II of this series, we learned how to create the abstract data types and use them to […]

This article is the second in a three part series that will take you past the process of creating VARRAYs and will show you how to abstract the details and complexity from your end users. In Part I of this series, we saw how to create an abstract data type and define an array within […]

This article is the first in a three part series that will take you through the process of creating VARRAYs and dealing with them in Oracle tables. If you were a strict normalization geek, you would definitely venture down the track we are going to take. However, if you adhere to object technology you will […]

Have you ever been asked to help with the evaluation of a database that is not performing optimally? Here is a quick guide to help you if you just do not know where to start. Thrown Into the Fire In my early days of being a database administrator, I was thrown straight into the fire […]

Have you ever wondered about storing documents into your Oracle database and just didn’t know where to start? Here is a quick introduction to the basics you need to know. Manipulating Oracle Files with UTL_FILE showed you how to read the alert log and do some manipulation on the file while it was external to […]

Take hold of your alert log with the use of a few new subprograms in the UTL_FILE package. Maintenance of the Oracle alert log file has and continually will be a pain to work with until the day that Oracle realizes they need to hook in a few more operating system utilities to manage their […]

This article looks at some ways you might want to plan your New Year resolutions around your current DBA roles and responsibilities. It is that time of year again where everyone feels the need to get their house in order and make a few plans to change their way of life for the New Year. […]

This is the second part of the two part series on helping you answer those tough questions that you might experience in your quest for an Oracle DBA position. The Oracle Technical Interview can be quite daunting. You never quite know what to study for and how to prepare. I am fully aware of this, […]