FAQ - etiquette - and how to get an answer.

There are several FAQs about the Oracle database scattered around the Internet, and many ways of finding answers to the simpler questions about Oracle very quickly.

The following list is a suggestion of where you might find answers to questions that you feel should have an easy answer.

The Co-operative Oracle Users' FAQ
http://www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk/faq/ind_faq.html

The archive for this news group
http://www.google.com

    select the GROUPS tab
    then work through the list to

        comp -> databases -> oracle

A search engine for searching the Oracle manuals for Oracle 8.1.7 and 9.0.1 exists at
http://tahiti.oracle.com

Oracle technology Network (free registration) which includes documentation and sample code fragments http://technet.oracle.com

Oracle Metalink (requires a support licence) contains a number of forums, a searchable knowledge base, and a searchable bug database.
http://www.oracle.com/support/metalink/index.html

If you want to help the newsgroup help you then:

1. Check the at least the first two resources above before posting your message. They may contain a discussion document that helps you more than getting the answer to the question you asked.
2. Quote the Oracle version number, and operating system that you are running on. Answers that are good for version 7 may be 2nd-rate for version 8 and completely stupid for version 9.
3. If something "doesn't work", that doesn't give anyone a clue about the problem. Always quote any error messages you get, and tell us a bit about the environment (e.g. SQL*Plus, VB, pl/sql called from Pro*C).
4. Feedback is important - if you find a good answer to the question you asked, post it to the newsgroup. (If it is an article on a website, email me below with the question, site, comment, and the URL and I can add it as a reference to the FAQ).

--
Jonathan Lewis
http://www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk

Host to The Co-Operative Oracle Users' FAQ
http://www.jlcomp.demon.co.uk/faq/ind_faq.html

Author of:
Practical Oracle 8i: Building Efficient Databases

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