Oracle Publish OFA/OSA To EPB Migration Roadmap

Friday, April 30th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

It was actually published last August, but Oracle have made available an
document entitled "OFA/OSA
to EPB Migration Roadmap" which sets out the migration path for Oracle
Financial Analyzer and Oracle Sales Analyzer customers to the forthcoming
Enterprise Planning & Budgeting.
In additon, if you’re thinking about implementing EPB,
you’ll probably be interested in Marianne Slight’s presentation "Corporate
Performance Management and Enterprise […]

Coping With Data Warehouse Growing Pains

Thursday, April 29th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

"So you’ve deployed your first dimensional data mart. Fortunately, the
business loves it and is clamoring for more! They want to query and analyze
integrated data from additional enterprise data sources. For some of you, this
demand is a dream come true. For others, it may be the start of a slow-motion
nightmare." writes Joy Mundy in

"Coping With Growing […]

Don Burleson On Oracle Parallel Query

Wednesday, April 28th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

"One of the latest trends is for systems to have more and more CPUs inside
a single server. Using symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) servers, it is not
uncommon for an Oracle server to have 8, 16, or 32 CPUs, along with many
gigabytes of RAM for the Oracle SGA regions." writes Don Burleson in an
article entitled
"Take Advantage of […]

Steven Feuerstein On Self-Managing PL/SQL

Tuesday, April 27th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

"Oracle has introduced significant
management automation features in its flagship database product and has
described the new Oracle Database 10g release as "the self-managing database."
Given that achievement and direction, I thought it would make sense to talk
about how to write one’s PL/SQL application so that it is also self-managing."
writes Steven Feuerstein in an
article called

"Self-Managing PL/SQL" for Oracle […]

Using A Model-Driven Approach For BI Projects?

Tuesday, April 27th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

I’ve been working away on client sites over the last few weeks, and because
of this I’ve not really had any spare time for writing articles or answering
questions. Apologies if you’ve sent me a question and you’ve not heard back, and
hopefully I should be able to spend a bit more time on the site over the […]

Avoiding Junior DBA Mistakes

Monday, April 26th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

"When an Oracle database suddenly becomes unavailable, the immediate
reaction is to do something — right now! — to solve the problem, which
sometimes makes the problem worse. This article discusses some examples of when
it’s really best to stop and think before proceeding" writes
Jim Czuprynski in an
article entitled

"Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There! Avoiding Junior DBA Mistakes"

Joe Luedtke On BI Software Licensing

Monday, April 26th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

"Many companies make a concerted effort in selecting their appropriate BI
toolset for their organization. However, once they have selected a specific
vendor tool, they spend comparatively little time determining their appropriate
licensing approach. Hidden just beneath the surface of the seemingly obvious
licensing alternative are some key factors that have the potential to
significantly reduce the overall software cost […]

Bob Watkins’ Ten Outdated Beliefs About The Oracle Database

Sunday, April 25th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

"Versions 8i and 9i of Oracle have altered the facts behind several common
beliefs of DBAs. Find out why these five cherished beliefs about working with
the database may no longer be true and how the changes enhance your options."
writes Bob Watkins
in an article titled

"Rethink five outdated ideas about Oracle" for TechRepublic.com. And what
are these outdated beliefs?

Block […]

Appending The Date To An Export Filename

Sunday, April 25th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

Quick tip from Tom Kyte on appending the date to an Export filename.

How Do You Identify ‘Bad SQL’?

Saturday, April 24th, 2004 by Mark Rittman

“Before you can identify problem SQL in your database, you have to ask the question of what is bad SQL. What criteria do you use when you begin the hunt for problem SQL in your critical systems? Understand that even the seasoned experts disagree on what constitutes […]