With the power of Oracle8i comes considerable complexity. "Mastering Oracle8i" guides you through this complexity so you can take full advantage of the product's power and newest features. You'll find everything you need to know to make your work as an Oracle DBA as headache-free as possible -- including step-by-step coverage of common and not so common administrative tasks, plus expert advice on avoiding most problems and solving others as quickly as they arise.

Reviews:

"Massive in size, comprehensive in scope and, unfortunately, quite dry in tone, "Mastering Oracle8i has the answers you need if you're working with the Oracle8i database management system. The authors, one of whom holds an Oracle certification, go into considerable detail on the procedures to be followed for administrative tasks, like backing up data, rolling back transactions and configuring monitoring schemes. They usually share their thoughts on when and why you'd want to put the procedures to use, as well. Better yet, they go beyond everyday administrative work to cover subjects like materialized views, advanced user management and performance tuning techniques. There's some discussion of hooks for software developers, as well. The authors' approach is to take a feature of the Oracle8i environment -- locks, say -- and explain what purpose it serves, then break it down into component types with more detailed explanations. From there, the authors provide the commands and codes for viewing and manipulation of the feature, often with extensive tables. The really useful information comes next in the form of sections on how to deal with related problems. The section on locks, for example, shows how to zero in on blocking locks. Other excellent coverage deals with how to dimension hardware, with a commendable section that explains the object-oriented features of Oracle8i."
-- Oracle User

"This is another one of Robert's (and others) great works! This book is written well and is geared toward providing the DBA early in his/her career the information needed to master the Oracle Database and take the next step to becoming a senior DBA, and then on to being an expert. Each section provides detailed explanations on how each piece of the system works, why it's there, how to monitor/tune/administer it and special things to look out for. The book goes beyond the 'basic' architecture and gives outstanding explanations for many of the advanced features, such as replication and data warehousing, and explains them in plain language that is easy to digest. An excellent reference for any DBA!"
-- Amazon Reader Review

Table of Contents