Re: PL/SQL and environmental variables

>> As a developer, should I have known something like this? I've only
>> been working with Oracle for about 1 1/4 years but I can't use that
>> for an excuse much longer
>You can't possibly know something you have not done before or have not
>come across..Right? Knowledge is acquired over time. There will still
>be stuff which you won't know even after 10 years. But what you should
>know after 10 years is where precisely to go and get the information
>you are looking for.

What makes the Oracle so frustrating for me is that in my previous job, I was working with a DB I had 12 years experience with. So I get frustrated when I run across what I consider to be easy things and end up having to do a lot of research to find the answer. And I still get tripped up by differences in terminology so searches are sometimes frustrating, sometimes leading down the wrong path.

>Add comp.databases.oracle and some other Oracle newsgroups in your
>favorites folder.

I've been more or less lurking in here for the last year. A lot of good information gets passed around in here.

>
>> Or is this something that my DBA's should have known about?
>A DBA should atleast know about data dictionary views...In my opinion
>-:)

They were the ones that told me to try the environmental variable route even though they knew the real problem was figuring out what instance I was in. Oh well, we all make mistakes and sometimes don't listen exactly to the question because we are already formulating our response.

>
>> If not, what resource(s) should I be using to learn this kind of
>> stuff. DBA manuals?
>You will only learn 10% of stuff from manuals what you can learn with
>hands on experience. My suggestion...Download a free 1 user license
>copy of Personal Oracle or Standard edition. Load it on your machine.
>Download PLSQL Developer or TOAD and start getting dangerous with it.
I've already got my linux server setup and have the CD's for Oracle. I just need to get some time to get it installed. Unfortunately, there are too many other demands on my time as well. I've been using Toad and PLSQL developer since I started in Oracle, but am trying to get away from Toad. It is a good tool, and is very helpful, but I am missing a lot of opportunities for learning as it hides too much from me. PLSQL Developer gets used only debugging. Received on Fri Jun 28 2002 - 08:49:44 CDT