November 7 2002 saw the Australian launch of Mark Gurry's most recent book, a pocket reference "Oracle SQL Tuning". This is a great little guide to writing efficient SQL and covers Oracle9i. Read a review of 'Oracle SQL Tuning pocket reference' from 'Select' - the magazine of the Australian Oracle Users Group.

Rated on BookPool.

Publisher summary from BookPool website:

One of the most important challenges faced by Oracle database administrators and Oracle developers is the need to tune SQL statements so that they execute efficiently. Poorly tuned SQL statements are one of the leading causes of substandard database performance and poor response time. SQL statements that perform poorly result in frustration for users, and can even prevent a company from serving its customers in a timely manner.

In this book, Mark Gurry shares his in-depth knowledge of Oracle's SQL statement optimizers. Mark's knowledge is the result of many hard-fought tuning battles during his many years of providing Oracle tuning services to clients. Mark provides insights into the workings of the rule-based optimizer that go well beyond what the rules tell you. Mark also provides solutions to many common problems that occur with both the rule-based and cost-based optimizers.

In addition to the specific problem/solution scenarios for the optimizers, Mark provides a number of handy SQL tuning tips. He discusses the various optimizer hints, telling you when they can be used to good effect. Finally, Mark discusses the use of the DBMS_STATS package to manage database statistics, and the use of outlines to specify execution plans for SQL statements in third-party applications that you can't otherwise modify.

BookPool Customer Reviews:

A Real Oracle Tuning Book Condensed to 102 Pages
Apr 17, 2003
P. DeAngelis from Pennsylvania
Includes the critical descriptions of what Oracle does (to you) rather than just a restatement of Oracle documentation. Explains common tuning problems and offers solutions!

I'll dip into the book at random: Page 13: Reminds you how to back up existing ANALYZE data, just in case further table analysis upsets existing tuning. Page 52: Author gives clear rules of thumb: "...if a query returns less than XX% of the rows...you should be using nested loops." Page 73: Clearly explains why Oracle is ignoring your hints.

The only thing "pocket" about this book is it's physical size. It's a real book, condensed for readability and usefulness. An absolute delight.

Excellent
Dec 9, 2002
Pierre from Brussels, Belgium
Clear and Straightforward. Better than a lot of confusing so-called optimization courses of books.

Awesome Book for Quick Reference !!!
Nov 15, 2002
Rama Shankar from Charlotte, NC, USA
Great tuning book with all tips and suggestions for great running queries. You will surprised by the authors ability to give good explanation within this small book.

Excellent book, affordable price, and convenient to carry!!!
Aug 29, 2002
A review from MA, USA
If you are looking for a Oracle SQL tuning book, this is the book you needed.
1. Very easy to read, and to follow.
2. Very clear and covers a lot.
3. A lot of SQL samples, cases.
4. The book is designed in a easy cary format.
5. Light only 101 pages (But it covers a lot).
6. A reasonable price. This is the book writing for US. (Some big think book tells nothing, but for $50)

Excellent SQL Tuning Reference!
Aug 15, 2002
John B from Baltimore, MD
Finally, a book that explains how the Oracle Rule and Cost based optimizers work! Mark explains how to tune SQL using real world problems and mistakes, and shows how to turn those problem around. This book is worth ten times its price!

Very Helpful
Mar 7, 2002
Susan from Schenectady, NY, USA
This is one of the most useful books I've ever purchased (and I've got a lot of 'em, mostly rather pricey I might add!). The author gets right to the point, not spending a lot of time on the obvious or going into overwhelming detail. He provides clear and practical examples based on situations he has actually encountered. I was able to put the information to work immediately and resolve some serious performance issues that had recently arisen on our Oracle database. Using the fundamental concepts from this book, I also feel better equipped to do more in-depth research.

Hard-driving the dollar further

Local businesses demand more from their CPUs, writes Stan Beer.

"US corporations, in modern times at least, have usually set the benchmarks for Australian businesses in operational standards. However, one area in which there has been a marked divergence between the two corporate worlds has been in maximising the performance of enterprise IT systems. When performance falls short, US corporations typically reach into their long pockets and spend money on more hardware grunt.

Cash-conscious Australian businesses, on the other hand, typically do everything they can to avoid buying more heavy iron. Instead, they look for ways to maximise their return on IT investment by squeezing more blood from their existing systems.

It is, therefore, perhaps not surprising that some of the world's leading specialists in getting the biggest computing bang for your limited bucks are in Australia.

Mark Gurry, managing director of Australian IT consultancy Mark Gurry & Associates (MGA), and Peter Corrigan, managing director of ASX-listed IT consultancy CPTGlobal, wrote the book on getting the most from Oracle database systems." ...

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Cost-Based Optimizer Problems and Solutions

by Mark Gurry

"This article has been written to assist sites with applications having performance problems due to the existing SQL statements which may not be able to be changed. Typical examples of this type of site are those running ERP solutions such as PeopleSoft, Oracle Applications, SAP, Keystone, Siebel and others. The information in this article will also assist application developers who require a more detailed understanding of the cost-based optimizer to ensure that they are producing tuned code." ...

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A review of our MGA EagleEye product published in Hebrew.

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Oracle SQL Tuning Pocket Reference by Mark Gurry

Hot off the Press - Jan 2002

"For most Oracle developers, Mark Gurry requires no introduction. For those who are new to Oracle, Mark Gurry and Peter Corrigan wrote one of, if not the first, books on Oracle Performance Tuning. He is a renowned Oracle performance expert and is CEO of Mark Gurry & Associates"...

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