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Re: Oracle: Naked King in database land?

From: Hans Forbrich <forbrich_at_telusplanet.net>
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 19:31:54 GMT
Message-ID: <3E8B39B8.7E360786@telusplanet.net>


Trolling?

Anne wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I am getting quite frustrated about Oracle and would like to get an idea if
> I am just being stupid, doing everything wrong, accidently using Beta
> versions or using the wrong OS or just unlucky or what? I am getting the
> impression that Oracle is
> like the vi text-editor: for freaks only and even freaks are quite easy to
> beat using most more modern software solutions.

I take exception to that ... vi happens to be the world's best "character manipulator" and attempts to degrade it to the class of "editor" simply is wrong!

Based on your opening, I would suggest that you are extremely unlucky. Firstly in that you appear to have not been able to receive an adequate education.

> I am constantly having problems with Oracle server on three hardware
> platforms, AMD and Intel, 1+ Ghz, 1.5+ Gbyte, no Raid, Raid 0, 1, 1+0, 5,
> enough free disk and table space. All on MS Windows 2000 server (maybe that
> is the problem?) and win NT, Win2K and WinXP as client. Oracle 9.01 and
> 9.02. The problems below occur only when using tables larger than about 250
> 000 records, but on amounts below that I would really consider using
> MS-Access or something the like (don't start on transactions, multi-user,
> security etc., to me that's the vi freak - much used argument for little
> used features - point of view)

Common situation - don't understand a feature, call it dumb.

>
> Problems encountered in the last few weeks:
> * crashing the whole database running an insert query, having to reinstall
> and rebuild the whole thing (once)
> * spontaneous shutdown of the database running an insert query (twice)
> * constantly having ORA4030 (out of memory errors) when using Designer
> created insert-triggers
> * crashing oracle expert client when trying to view tuning recommendations
> * very time-consuming TAR handling, having to install patch on patch on
> patch and sending trace after trace after trace until you give up (I would
> prefer to send them script + data and get replies only when they solve the
> easily reproducible, common case, problem).
> * internal errors ORA00600 when using "order by" on indexed 1.5 million
> record tables
> * internal errors ORA00600 when creating indexes on large tables
> * does "end of communication channel" sound familiar?

Certainly serious problems here. Almost sounds like one customer I had "copied the software from the CD to the disk ... just can't understand why it's not working right."

Giving benefit of the doubt - I'd say you have a corrup environment, possibly at the OS level. Strongly suggest getting a (or another????) professional to review and maybe reinstall.

> error prone tnsnames workarounds only for "probably better but much less
> used" alternative network systems? Why install thousands of files and
> millions of bytes as smallest version oracle net client and not include an
> odbc driver by default on the 98% most used OS in the world?

Why would I want to saddle myself with brain-dead client-server stuff in the first place? Get an appropriate middle tier and get with the program.

>
> * so what is revolutionary about having multiple long/blob columns in a
> single table?

Nothing. That's why they're available.

>
> * queries crash when autoextending tablespaces start to autoextend even on
> lots of empty disk space
> * getting a "processor too fast" diagnose for (a previous version) oracle
> installer
> * query optimizer clearly less intelligent than MS-Access and MySQL on some
> cases. Never found to be more intelligent.(Oracle workaround: analyze tables
> compute statistics, forcing use of indexes by removing wrongly used ones,
> forcing change of query execution plan by using nested queries).
> * unable to first-time connect to oracle from a new process within 1 second
> (necessary for standard websever cgi implementations). As comparison:
> MS-Access and MySQL connect times are negligable.
> * etc.

> Then why, you may ask, am I still using Oracle?
> * my boss tells me to and our customers believe they will have a very robust
> and stable database solution

Actually, my question was more like "Then why, you may ask, am I still employed here?"

> * after spending a huge amount of time on building and tuning the database,
> I must admit, the lookup-queries are quite fast
> * Oracle being the largest and best known database software, I am probably
> too much of a newbee and after some more experience I hope to find the yet
> undiscovered but must-be-there goodies of the software

There are. First one is called 'training'.

> Are you, as an Oracle user, dba or developer constantly solving such
> problems as I mentioned above or are you, not like me, able to spend your
> time on creating new queries, views and reports, making easy backups and
> only very occasional but successfull restores, easily importing and
> exporting data to all kinds of sources, integrating the software in all
> sorts of environments and doing more such productive work as the sales
> department has promised when the database was sold to you? Or is Oracle, as
> I am starting to suspect, the Naked King in database land?

Ahhhh, I believe now I understand. You appear to be a pseudo-programmer who has been given the totally boring task of being a part time DBA.

I think we can help you out here. All you need to do is publish your boss' name and number .... Received on Wed Apr 02 2003 - 13:31:54 CST

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