Re: BUFFER BUSY WAITS

Robert-

Lots of people write books who don't really know what they are talking about. Given the amount of work that goes into any book, technical authors certainly don't write for the royalties. They write to gain recognition and to create a reputation to enhance their professional careers. They wanna be famous for something.

So, it is incumbant upon the authors to provide content commensurate with the reputation they wish to create for themselves. If you want to be known as an Oracle performance expert, you write about Oracle performance expertise. Good for the authors and good for the readers, but only if the authors know what the hell they are talking about. When authors are dead wrong, readers are misled. In this case, readers are Oracle users and administrators finding themselves with the frustration and confusion of the original poster, to wit:

"I tried to increase the initrans parameter as suggested by Rich Niemic in
his tuning book, but it didn't help."

The reason Niemic's suggestion did not help is because Niemic's approach to performance tuning is wrong-headed. He has been told this time and again by many authoritative voices, but still he propagates his nonsense. He refuses to listen to others and to revise his ideas to comply with reality. That is an idiotic thing to do, hence my assertion.

Yes, he wrote a book on the subject. Spent lots of time an energy putting his ideas on paper. Lots of people bought and read the book and believe the great orator from TUSC. They take his advice and then wonder why they don't get good results.

Just because you say it, doesn't make it so. On the other hand, if you say it long enough and loud enough, people will tend to believe it. This is where Niemic makes his impact and his money. He makes his money from those who don't know better. The tragic impact is on the Oracle user community.

I understand your willingness to defend Niemic, being an author yourself. I have not read your work, but I hope it provides good content. As an author, you probably understand how bad content does not make an author right. Nor does not having written a book make me or others wrong.

I have no intention of writing a book on Oracle performance tuning. Too many titles out there claim the same space, and I would rather devote my energies to the experience of actual performance analysis, design and tuning. To find a good book on the subject, look the the 9i Oracle Performance Method book. Or read Anjo Kolk's YAPP Wait Events paper. Or read the writing of Cary Millsap or Craig Shallahamer. They are right, Niemic is wrong.

So, I suggest the man is an idiot. Harsh words, but true enough and I stand by them.

• ricky

RFre465789 wrote:
>
> <<1. Take the Rich Niemic book and toss it in the trash. The man is a complete
> idiot.>>
>
> Harsh words. Have you ever actually written a book? What have you contributed
> to the Oracle community (obviously you contribute here)?
>
> The writing process is at best grueling... schedules are crazy... it's allot
> easier to judge others than to get off our own kiester and better the work.
>
> I challenge you to write a work the size of his for everyone to look at with a
> critical eye. Let's see how many errors and mistakes you make... let's see how
> you fare during the writing process.
>
> Robert
>
> (Who doesn't work for TUSC or Rich, but does count him among my friends)
>
> Robert G. Freeman
> Author
> Oracle Press's Oracle9i New Features
> Sybex's Mastering Oracle9i
> Coriolis' Oracle8 to 8i Upgrade Exam Cram
> Coriolis' Oracle 7.3 to 8 Upgrade Exam Cram
Received on Fri Mar 01 2002 - 12:22:08 CST