Continuing from Part 1.

So now we have our transactional model and a basic user story:

Our first request from the business for our data mart is that they want to be able to query all of the orders by date, by customer and/or by region (state, city or country). They want to be able to aggregate (sum and average) across those items.

The first thing we need to do is talk to the business and find out exactly what that request means. Do the users want to see information about daily orders in general?

From the Database Geek.

I recently had a requirement to populate the day dimension of a data mart (I won’t put all of the code here as it’s pretty large). That’s not that big deal but part of the requirement was to set several columns: BUSINESS_DAY_FLAG, BUSINESS_DAY_NO and BUSINESS_DAYS_REMAINING_NO.

• The BUSINESS_DAY_FLAG is Y is the date is MON-FRI and N is the date is SAT or SUN.
• BUSINESS_DAY_NO is the business day of the month. There are 5 business days per week so if the month started on a monday, the second monday would be business day 6.
• BUSINESS_DAYS_REMAINING_NO is the number of business days remaining in the month.

What is Replication?

According to Webster’s Online, the definition we mean is: 3 a : COPY, REPRODUCTION b : the action or process of reproducing

Replication is simply copying data from one database to another. This could be a subset of the data or a complete copy.

I’m going to use insert for my examples but any DML can be replicated.

If you create an insert trigger on a table and push data across a database link every time a record gets inserted, you’ve performed replication. Call that the poor man’s SYNCHRONOUS replication.

From the Database-Geek.

In addition to frequently being asked to recommend books for newbies to Oracle, I am also asked for guidance on certification. Basically, what materials are available and worth purchasing. I used Self Test software and the Sybex books when I was working on my certification. That was back in the 9i days. If you are working on 9i certification, I strongly recommend them.

However, I figure you are probably working on an 11g certification; 10g at least. In that case, I would guess that Sybex and Self Test are still good options, I just haven’t personally worked with the latest versions (software or books).

Thank you. Comments like that are exactly why I do this.

LewisC

!***! Entry Link: 10 Tips For Complete Database Newbies!***!

Wow. I’ve been toying around the idea of learning Oracle. Have read few manuals and tried my hands on 9i. But then later I moved on to .Net and now I’m back to Oracle and am looking to improve my hands on 10g. And after going thtrough your blog, it’s kinda motivating and guiding. Nice posts. Thanks a lot Lewis.

!***! Entry Link: <a href=”http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/oracle-guide/10-tips-for-complete-database-newbies-24

Cathy,

Thanks for the comment.

I think 4 is the hardest for many people. It was the hardest for me. 6 is hard for many people too.

Good luck in 2009!

LewisC

!***! Entry Link: What Should I Learn? 6 Things That Will Make You better!!***!

THANK YOU Lewis C. This is a nice listing of how to start the 2009 work year tomorrow. I have copied this listing of 6 and following through. Full stop.

Each of these steps are actions that I have either done half-heartedly and I need to complete what I have started, OR some are of a newer realm that might be a little uncomfortable for me. But I wrote in a blog recently, get out there and make yourself uncomfortable because that is when you learn the most and push yourself (and those a

LewisC’s An Expert’s Guide to Oracle Technology
I want to be a DBA, what should I learn?
I want to be an Oracle developer, what should I learn?
I want to get into IT, what should I learn?
I want to get promoted, what should I learn?
I get questions …

LewisC’s An Expert’s Guide to Oracle Technology
My SQL book is now available for print. You can see it on my CreateSpace e-store. The book is SQL DML – SQL Starter Series Book 1. This is a book for beginners. It takes someone step by step through TC…

LewisC’s An Expert’s Guide To Oracle Technology

Today I will be writing about triggers. One of the questions I get fairly often is “what is the difference between a function, a procedure and a trigger?” I already wrote about functions and procedures in Learn Oracle: Procedures and Functions. You should probably read that one before you read this post.

What is a trigger?

A trigger is a special case of stored procedure that is fired during an event rather than being explicitly executed. A function or a procedure can be called from a command line or from within a different calling program.

A poster on the PostgreSQL pgsql-general mail list asked some good questions that might be important to anyone. The general mail is a:

General discussion area for users. Apart from compile, acceptance test, and bug problems, most new users will probably only be interested in this mailing list (unless they want to contribute to development or documentation). All non-bug related questions regarding PostgreSQL’s version of SQL, and all installation related questions that do not involve bugs or failed compiles, should be restricted to this area. Please note that many of the developers monitor this area.

The poster says he is a long time MySQL user and was switching to PostgreSQL.

Probably the most popular question I am asked is something along the lines of, “I just graduated college and want to learn Oracle. How can I do that?” Sometimes, it may be, “I have worked as a functional on an Oracle Applications implementation and want to learn technical.” The question that some times frightens me is, “I heard I can make a lot of money with Oracle. I want to be a DBA or developer, which ever makes more money.”

Ok. So I am going to make the assumption since you are reading this that you want to learn Oracle.

So you’ve decided to learn/evaluate/use EnterpriseDB. That’s great. The first thing you need to do is get it and install it.

Download

To get EnterpriseDB, you need to navigate over to the EnterpriseDB download page. If you haven’t already signed up for an account, you will need to get one. It’s free and, by signing up, you will also have access to the support forums.

When you sign up, you will get an EnterpriseDB Network Account ID. This ID will be emailed to the account you sign up with. SAVE THIS EMAIL!

Here is an entry from a Project Manager blog called: Eight Steps on the Collaborative Way. I found it to be a very interesting article and very true. I haven’t seen this list before but it’s contain items that I try to include in my development projects, whether I’m working in a project manager role or not. Definately worth a read.

Lewis

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Mother’s Dictionary

APPLE: Nutritious lunchtime dessert which children will trade for cupcakes.

BABY: 1. Dad, when he gets a cold. 2. Mom’s youngest child, even if he’s 42.

BATHROOM: a room used by the entire family, believed by all except Mom to be self-cleaning.

DUST RAGS: See “DAD’S UNDERWEAR.”

EAR: A place where kids store dirt.

EYE: The highly susceptible optic nerve which, according to Mom, can be “put out” by anything from a suction-arrow to a carelessly handled butter knife.

HANDI-WIPES: Pants, shirt-sleeves, drapes, etc.

HEARSAY: What toddlers do when anyone mutters a dirty word.

See Mother’s Dictionary for more definitions.