08 August 2003

There's a good article over at Oraclebase about putting together efficient SQL statements. It's easy these days to forget about the basics like these; the way in which you list tables, use aliases, and use comparisons like EXISTS rather than IN, can have a dramatic effect on query performance and it's these sort of basics that I try to look for when tuning SQL statements. Whilst much of the advice about driving tables is (I believe) redundant now with the Cost Based Optimiser, it's areas like this, and the use of Explain Plans and Hints, that can really make a difference on large datawarehouse tables. 7:14:35 PM

I've had two papers accepted for the forthcoming UK Oracle User Group Conference & Exhibition, at the ICC in Birmingham in December. The first paper is entitled "Oracle 9i OLAP Uncovered" and the presentation is at 10.45 on December 10th. The presentation abstract is as follows; "Ever since the first release of Oracle 9i with the OLAP option, there has been considerable talk about the process of upgrading an Express Server application to 9i OLAP, and how to use the new BI features for application development. This presentation covers the basics of creating an Analytical Workspace within an existing Oracle database, to show how OLAP can be seamlessly integrated into any application, and demonstrates some of the quick-win benefits for doing so. For organisations looking to migrate existing Express databases to Oracle 9i OLAP, the presentation explains how existing Express database objects are imported, the steps required to make the data and OLAP DML code available to BI and the other Oracle applications, the compulsory and optional code changes, and how the analytic workspace is integrated into the Oracle database environment. Finally, one the most significant new feature of 9i OLAP over Express Server is the ability to directly access any data held in the Analytical Workspace using standard SQL statements. This allows OLAP data to be available to any SQL based application without significant redevelopment, and any users familiar with SQL can access this data themselves. The presentation explains how to achieve this using the new OLAP_TABLE command and demonstrates the power and ease of use of this new feature." The second paper is entitled "Upgrading Business Intelligence Software To 9iAS" and has the following abstract: "With Oracle 9i Application Server, Oracle have upgraded Oracle Discoverer and Reports to version 9i, and bundled it together with Oracle Portal to provide a powerful, integrated platform for Business Intelligence. This presentation explores the new features of Discoverer, Reports and Portal 9i and discusses the opportunities and advantages presented by 9iAS. Migration techniques and best practice will be discussed, together with a live demonstration of the new features of 9iAS together with details of future product directions, including the impact Web Services will have on Oracle's Business Intelligence products. Web services for business intelligence integrates reporting, query, and analysis functions into almost any kind of application, portal, or extranet, both inside and outside an enterprise. We look at one possible approach and examine some real world examples using Oracle Portal and Oracle Reports 9iAS." I'll upload the papers and powerpoint slides nearer to the time. Last years presentations, "Express Evolution - What Oracle 9i OLAP Offers The Express Customer" and "The Value Is In There! : Oracle 9i Data Mining Unleashed!"are available for download from the Plus Consultancy website, who are also Platinum Sponsors of the event this year. 4:38:45 PM

Brian Duff, another one of the Oracle JDeveloper team, has started up a weblog on JDeveloper, SCM and user interfaces. Brian works with Steve Muench and looks like he's from the UK, so it'll be interesting if we get a perspective on working for Oracle over here. He's put a good article together on observing user interaction with user interfaces; it's well written and worth a read. 1:12:35 PM