Re: Question

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:29:43 -0700, Liberty Valance wrote:

> Can someone suggest the fastest method or way I can learn Oracle.
>

Relevant here is the popular sig "pick 2 of 'good', 'fast' and 'cheap'" ... but note that good has a 5:1 weighting against the others. (iow, good is generally exclusive to fast and/or cheap)

> In the past I've simply bought the software and learned that way but
> I'm under the impression that oracle is very expensive and that I

Your impression is the result of popular mythology caused by marketing (... the same hype that causes people to believe that MacDonald's burgers are good food.) It's time to stop believing the FUD that competing vendors put out.

> need a large server to run it. Can I run oracle on a PC? Can anyone

Yes, it can run on a PC.

> point me in the right direction as to how to start acquiring more
> knowledge for maybe apply for this job in the future if it comes open

1. Get a copy of Express Edition. It'll give you a slimmed version of Oracle that will allow you to use your existing skills. (http://otn.oracle.com > Downloads)
2. Go through the tutorials at http://www.oracle.com/pls/xe102/homepage and http://st-curriculum.oracle.com/tutorial/DBXETutorial/index.htm
3. Once you've finished the 2-Day tutorials and are comfortable, move up one step to the 'for fee' edition (same download place). Install the Enterprise Edition (it'll run on the PC as well, just needs more resources).
4. Go through any tutorials around the 'Oracle Enterprise Manager'. This will give the introduction to DBA skills you want. Again, http://otn.oracle.com and look for the Tutorials link.
5. Pick up the following books and read them:

O'Reilly pub: Oracle Essentials
O'Reilly pub: Mastering Oracle SQL
APress pub: Expert Oracle Database Architecture: 9i and 10g Programming Techniques and Solutions
(http://oracle.oreilly.com, http://www.apress.com)

6) Learn about Oracle's documentation at http://tahiti.oracle.com

Becoming familiar with Oracle should take no more than 12-18 months. Proficiency usually increases that 4-fold.

-- 
Hans Forbrich   (mailto: Fuzzy.GreyBeard_at_gmail.com)   
*** Feel free to correct me when I'm wrong!
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