Someone suggested I document where, who, and what I use to get things done in my day-to-day dealings with all things Oracle RDBMS. Since I am very open to suggestion, here it is:
Official Stuff
Unofficial Stuff
Twitter Folks
Quest Peeps



So my play on the programming technique GOTO introduces my #1 Oracle resource -Oracle’s official documentation.

Oracle Docs Official Link

Oracle’s official online documentation. I generally just ‘Google’ the term I’m interested in alongside the keyword ‘Oracle.’ Nine times out of 10 (unscientific gut feeling), the Oracle Docs link will show up near the top.
PL/SQL GOTO Syntax Documentation Example

Trivia: Oracle launched their project Tahiti to make searching and accessing their documentation easier. This used to be my #1 resource, but Google and their wicked indexing has made that resource a thing of the past for me. If you are having problems finding what you want, then definitely check out Tahiti.

OTN – Oracle Technology Network Official Link

Oracle’s sponsored community framework. Blogs, message boards, white papers, all the non-sales stuff a technical user would want access to. I don’t actively post too much on the message boards, but I do read them quite frequently. I would post more, but I’m afraid my Quest/Toad persona might be a bit distracting.

AskTom Official Link
Want to know how to do something, how to solve a complex PL/SQL or even SQL puzzle? Odds are that Tom Kyte has answered the question several times over. If you use this site, please search the existing library before you ask how to only see the ‘top X results from my query.’ Tom doesn’t mind having a little fun at your expense, but he has a true passion for helping folks. It’s hard to imagine many VPs out there that devote this much time to helping us ‘little folks.’

Tom also had a dedicated column in the official Oracle Magazine.

Trivia: This site was recently re-launched and runs on Oracle’s Application Express (APEX) platform. Think that PL/SQL is a dead language? Think again!

Blog: Inside the Oracle Optimizer Official Link
Many people think of SQL tuning and reading execution plans to be a mix of magic and math. The magic comes into play because of our unfamiliarity with Oracle’s internal query optimizer. It’s all really just math though. If you really want to understand how your simple request for data gets transformed into a elegant relational algebra mathematic series of steps, then you should read this stuff.

Honorable Mention, Oracle Magazine
This used to be a must-read for me. But I have too many print magazine to keep up with, and this seems to be increasingly targeted to Fusion/Apps folks. The AskTom and Steven Feuerstein columns still remain very valuable for the ‘beginner’ type users. I enjoy reading the professional spotlight biographies as well.

Unofficial or non-Oracle Sanctioned Sites

Steven’s O’Reilly Book Series on PL/SQL The Complete List
OK, so maybe I’m name dropping a little bit. If you do not know Steven Feuerstein by name, you probably own or have at least seen his books. Steven started as a PreSales engineer at Oracle back when SQL*Plus was the big game in town. He moved into PL/SQL and started writing, presenting, and inventing. A lot of his code/technology and advice is available for free on-line. Steven is the closest thing to a celebrity in the Oracle world, and he doesn’t own a yacht.

OraFAQ Official Link
It’s a FAQ. It’s a Wiki. It’s a message board forum. I tend to shy away from the forums, lots of bullying and unhelpful answers. BUT, the site has been around for a LONG time and has a lot of good information on it. When you’re doing your Google searching and you see this pop up on the result page, you can treat it as a ‘trusted’ source. Just be sure to test anything you pull off of course.

People I follow on Twitter

I follow around 240 folks on Twitter. Not all of those are of the Oracle persuasion. Here are some that I consider ‘must-follows’ if you spend any time with the Oracle database:

  • Eddie Awad @eddieawad, there’s a really good reason he as 1200 followers.
  • Dan Norris @dannorris, frequent poster, doing cools things with Exadata
  • Fuad Arshad @fuadar, DBA at Walgreens, seems to know a lot about everything, really nice guy
  • Tanel Poder @TanelPoder, performance freak, and I mean that in a good way
  • Chris Muir @chriscmuir, an Oracle ACE Director, lives in one of my favorite places to visit, Perth, Australia.
  • @oraclebase, UK-based developer. Loves to help people, nuff said.
  • @jpiwowar, Blogger and @oraclenerd’s right-hand-man?
  • Kris Rice @krisrice, developer at Oracle, responsible for SQL Developer – neat little toy ;)
  • Mark Rittman @markrittman, another Brit, prolithic writer, presenter
  • Alex Gorbachev @alexgorbachev, runs Pythian, doesn’t make fun of me when I ask stupid questions.
  • Gary Myers @syd_oracle, developer out of Sydney.
  • Lewis Cunningham @TheRealLewisC, Presenter-Extraordinaire
  • Cary Millsap @CaryMillsap, Method-R, tracing, tuning, all around performance guru.
  • Richard Brooker @thelongsilence, NZ RAC DBA, learn shell scripting, ASM, Oracle by osmosis.
  • Chet Justice @oraclenerd, OBIEE & Exadata are his current interests. Runs a great blog and helps with Suncoast OUG.

    • Quest Stuff

    OraDBPedia Official Link
    I am collecting bloggers and interesting people in the Oracle domain and we are syndicating their content on this new Wiki. The success of SQLServerPedia has us asking why we haven’t already done something for Oracle. So here we are. If you are intersted in having your content reach more consumers and driving traffic to your personal blog, you can learn more here.

    ToadWorld Stuff that’s not just about Toad

  • Guy Harrison, Guy helped ‘write the book‘ on Oracle performance tuning, and is a great communicator.
  • Richard To, Richard is the brains behind our SQL Optimization products at Quest, but loves to debunk a lot of Oracle tuning myths, and backs his claims up with math and examples.