Introduction 1 What Is This Book? 1 Who Is This Book For? 2 Companion Website 3 Conventions Used in This Book 3 Chapter 1: Understanding SQL 5 Database Basics 5 What Is SQL? 10 Try It Yourself 11 Summary 12 Chapter 2: Getting Started with Oracle and PL/SQL 13 What Is Oracle? 13 Getting Set Up 16 Summary 20 Chapter 3: Working with Oracle 21 Creating a Working Environment 21 Making the Connection 25 A Quick Introduction to Oracle SQL Developer 27 Creating and Populating the Example Tables 28 One More Look at Oracle SQL Developer 32 Summary 32 Chapter 4: Retrieving Data 33 The SELECT Statement 33 Retrieving Individual Columns 33 Retrieving Multiple Columns 36 Retrieving All Columns 37 Retrieving Distinct Rows 38 Using Fully Qualified Table Names 40 Using Comments 40 Summary 42 Chapter 5: Sorting Retrieved Data 43 Sorting Data 43 Sorting by Multiple Columns 45 Specifying Sort Direction 47 Summary 49 Chapter 6: Filtering Data 51 Using the WHERE Clause 51 The WHERE Clause Operators 53 Summary 59 Chapter 7: Advanced Data Filtering 61 Combining WHERE Clauses 61 Using the IN Operator 65 Using the NOT Operator 67 Summary 68 Chapter 8: Using Wildcard Filtering 69 Using the LIKE Operator 69 Tips for Using Wildcards 74 Summary 74 Chapter 9: Searching Using Regular Expressions 75 Understanding Regular Expressions 75 Using Oracle PL/SQL Regular Expressions 76 Summary 89 Chapter 10: Creating Calculated Fields 91 Understanding Calculated Fields 91 Concatenating Fields 92 Performing Mathematical Calculations 96 Summary 98 Chapter 11: Using Data Manipulation Functions 99 Understanding Functions 99 Using Functions 100 Summary 107 Chapter 12: Summarizing Data 109 Using Aggregate Functions 109 Aggregates on Distinct Values 117 Combining Aggregate Functions 118 Summary 119 Chapter 13: Grouping Data 121 Understanding Data Grouping 121 Creating Groups 122 Filtering Groups 123 Grouping and Sorting 126 SELECT Clause Ordering 129 Summary 129 Chapter 14: Working with Subqueries 131 Understanding Subqueries 131 Filtering by Subquery 131 Using Subqueries as Calculated Fields 136 Summary 140 Chapter 15: Joining Tables 141 Understanding Joins 141 Creating a Join 144 Summary 152 Chapter 16: Creating Advanced Joins 153 Using Table Aliases 153 Using Different Join Types 154 Using Joins with Aggregate Functions 160 Using Joins and Join Conditions 161 Summary 162 Chapter 17: Combining Queries 163 Understanding Combined Queries 163 Creating Combined Queries 164 Summary 169 Chapter 18: Inserting Data 171 Understanding Data Insertion 171 Inserting Complete Rows 172 Inserting Retrieved Data 176 Summary 178 Chapter 19: Updating and Deleting Data 179 Updating Data 179 Deleting Data 181 Guidelines for Updating and Deleting Data 183 Summary 184 Chapter 20: Creating and Manipulating Tables 185 Creating Tables 185 Updating Tables 190 Deleting Tables 193 Renaming Tables 193 Summary 194 Chapter 21: Using Views 195 Understanding Views 195 Using Views 197 Summary 204 Chapter 22: Working with Stored Procedures 205 Understanding Stored Procedures 205 Why Use Stored Procedures 206 Using Stored Procedures 207 Summary 214 Chapter 23: Using Cursors 215 Understanding Cursors 215 Working with Cursors 216 Summary 222 Chapter 24: Using Triggers 223 Understanding Triggers 223 Creating Triggers 224 Dropping Triggers 225 Using Triggers 225 Summary 232 Chapter 25: Managing Transaction Processing 233 Understanding Transaction Processing 233 Controlling Transactions 235 Summary 238 Chapter 26: Managing Security 239 Understanding Access Control 239 Managing Users 240 Summary 244 Appendix A: The Example Tables 245 Understanding the Sample Tables 245 Appendix B: Oracle PL/SQL Datatypes 251 String Datatypes 252 Numeric Datatypes 253 Appendix C: Oracle PL/SQL Reserved Words and Keywords 255 Index 259.