It was 7.3.4. I wound up doing a CREATE TABLE ... AS SELECT (field 1, field
2...). Note that CREATE TABLE...AS SELECT(*) would not work in this case- I
had to list out the field names.
"koert54" <koert54_at_nospam.com> wrote in message
news:4OY58.107824$rt4.9186_at_afrodite.telenet-ops.be...
> > 20. You try to do a select count on a table, but get an error that
there
> > is a bad data block, yet selecting data by specifying the field names
> > returns all of the data fine. How would you go about fixing the problem?
> > Archivelog is turned off.
>
> One could answer this very detailed
> - depending on the Oracle version (7, 8.0, 8i)
> - setting instance variable or use built in package to skip corrupted
blocks
> - export table or create tables as where rowid (exclude corrupted blocks)
> - extract corrupted data out of indexes
> - etc .......
>
> but did anyone have the guts to answer with :
> - yeah well - I would go ahead and use BBED (block editor) and edit the
> flippin' block
> or
> - heck - I would use my favorite hex editor and check the 2byte checksum
at
> offset 0x16, verify
> the row directory, length bytes in the row header, check the 4 byte block
> tail ...
>
> coz that would be really cool :-)
>
> "Alan" <alanshein_at_erols.com> wrote in message
> news:a39jih$16hsai$1_at_ID-114862.news.dfncis.de...
> > Here is a list of questions we came up with to ask interviewees. They go
> > from easy to hard, mostly. Note that for some of the answers, we
expected
> "I
> > don't know", which was an acceptable answer, so long as they could
> describe
> > where they would go to find the answer. Unacceptable answers to the
tough
> > ones were guesses based on thin air. And yes, some OCPs (with little or
no
> > experience) could NOT ANSWER question #1!!! I put the question in there
as
> > an easy one to start with to make the interviewees feel comfortable
(same
> > with #2). I was shocked when the first interviewee couldn't answer it
> (#1).
> > On #3, these OCPs would always answer with, "I would MONITOR...",
whereas
> > experienced interviewees answered with "I would DO thus and such..."
When
> > quizzed further about how they would actually go about SOLVING the
> problem,
> > the OCPs answered, "I would monitor..." again.
> >
> > Note that the questions are heavily based on skills and knowledge
> acquired
> > during experience, rather than from a book. BTW, can anyone here answer
> #20?
> > (It actually happened to me, but we never expected a real answer, just
an
> > "I'm not sure, but I would..."). Yes, there may be one or more trick
> > questions (with an answer like, "You can't do that")
> >
> > Also, only experienced interviewees even came close on #13. Book OCPs
had
> no
> > idea at all. So, for your enjoyment...
> >
> > 1. How would you go about obtaining the system date in a select
> > statement?
> >
> >
> >
> > 2. What is the difference between SYS and INTERNAL?
> >
> >
> >
> > 3. A query is taking a long time to execute. Describe what you
would
> > look at to determine the causes.
> >
> >
> >
> > 4. What kinds of things need to be considered when calculating the
> > sizes of the tablespaces for a new production system?
> >
> >
> >
> > 5. Describe an outer join, why it would be used, and how it would
be
> > implemented.
> >
> >
> >
> > 6. Describe a Cartesian product and what would cause this to
happen.
> >
> >
> >
> > 7. How would you go about ensuring that certain rollback segments
> are
> > on line at startup if the database instance needs to be shut down?
> >
> >
> >
> > 8. How would you ensure that very large update statements had
enough
> > rollback space?
> >
> >
> >
> > 9. Describe the SGA and what it is used for.
> >
> >
> >
> > 10. How many types of triggers are there? How many times can one type
of
> > trigger be used on any one table?
> >
> >
> >
> > 11. What are some of the inefficiencies of using views?
> >
> >
> >
> > 12. Tell me about a situation in which you had to deal with a difficult
> > user, and how you resolved it.
> >
> >
> >
> > 13. Two new applications are being developed that use different
> databases
> > (schemas). Some data sharing is needed, but mostly they are separate. A
> new
> > database server is being ordered to handle the two new systems. It will
> have
> > 5 hard drives. How would you configure the drives (mirror or not, etc).
> How
> > would you configure the tablespaces? What recommendations would you make
> to
> > improve the situation? What if you had 7 drives? What do you feel is the
> > minimum number of drives needed in this situation and why?
> >
> >
> >
> > 14. What does a control file do in SQL-LOADER?
> >
> >
> >
> > 15. What does this report tell you (show disk I/O report)?
> >
> >
> >
> > 16. How would you go about issuing a truncate statement from a stored
> > procedure?
> >
> >
> >
> > 17. What are some of the problems when migrating data from (dBase,
> FoxPro,
> > Access, etc.) to Oracle via ODBC?
> >
> >
> >
> > 18. What is a mutating table?
> >
> >
> >
> > 19. Describe a difficult technical problem that you have solved, and
the
> > solution you came up with.
> >
> >
> >
> > 20. You try to do a select count on a table, but get an error that
there
> > is a bad data block, yet selecting data by specifying the field names
> > returns all of the data fine. How would you go about fixing the problem?
> > Archivelog is turned off.
> >
> >
> >
> > 21. A user initiates an update. It is taking a lot longer than
expected.
> > Is there a way to determine if the update is in process or if a rollback
> is
> > occurring? What is involved?
> >
> >
> >
> > 22. How do you use a sequence in an update statement?
> >
> >
> >
> > 23. Considering that we are not a 7/24 shop, how would you implement a
> > backup strategy?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Keith Boulton" <kboulton_at_ntlworld.com> wrote in message
> > news:zFX58.2140$zB.607331_at_news2-win.server.ntlworld.com...
> > > Tom Dyess <tdyess_at_dyessindustries.com> wrote in message
> > > news:pfW58.167682$_w.25696938_at_typhoon.tampabay.rr.com...
> > > > Keith,
> > > >
> > > > You didn't get much out of your first year of DBA work, did you?
> You
> > > > remind me of the poeple who claim to know 'everything' there is to
> know
> > > > about computers. I ususally run away when I hear that.
> > >
> > > I didn't claim that you would know everything after a year, but I do
> claim
> > > you should know everything you need to know. By the end of a year, you
> > will
> > > have encountered almost all the problematic situations that are likely
> to
> > > arise in that environment, you should have a good understanding of how
> the
> > > database works and you should be able to resolve new problems. This is
> why
> > I
> > > said "in a single job."
> > >
> > > This is different from the level of knowledge that might be preferred
> > > (although rarely found) in a troubleshooting consultant who might be
> > > expected to have both a broader and more detailed knowledge than is
> > required
> > > for most permanent DBA jobs.
> > >
> > > In my opinion, it is not knowledge that is important to be good at a
job
> > in
> > > this industry, but rather the ability to adapt to new tools, software
> > > releases, development methods, hardware platforms and user
requirements.
> > >
> > > To take an example, I've never used advanced queueing. I know advanced
> > > queuing exists and I've read the manuals about it. I'm confident
> (possibly
> > > incorrectly) that it would take me a very short time to get up to
> speed -
> > > I've used other message queueing software. The most important thing
I've
> > > learnt from experience however is that you can never trust something
to
> > work
> > > as expected. You have to devise usage and load scenarios and test them
> > > before committing to a production architecture - even if you've used
the
> > > particular tool before it may have changed between releases or your
> > previous
> > > usage may have been been in a sufficiently different environment so as
> not
> > > to be comparable. If AQ didn't fit my particular needs, I'm quite
happy
> to
> > > use another queueing mechanism or write my own. I believe this
attitude
> to
> > > be more desirable than particular knowledge of AQ. I have often worked
> > with
> > > people who are knowledgeable but don't test their approaches before
> > > committing to a design. I've also often worked with people who force
the
> > > requirement to fit their knowledge - ie if all you have is a hammer,
> every
> > > problem looks like a nail. What I'm saying is that attitude and
aptitude
> > is
> > > mostly more important than detailed technical skill for recruitment to
a
> > > permanent (or even long-term contract). Obviously for a 2 day
> consultation
> > > contract, the criteria must be different.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
Received on Wed Jan 30 2002 - 15:10:04 CST
