1. Introducing Perl for Oracle

   1. Chapter 1 Perl Meets Oracle

      1. What is Perl?
      2. The Perl/Oracle Architecture
      3. Perl for Oracle DBAs
      4. For Further Information

   2. Chapter 2 Installing Perl

      1. Installing Perl
      2. Installing Perl DBI
      3. Running Perl DBI
      4. Installing Cygwin

2. Extending Perl

   1. Chapter 3 Perl GUI Extensions

      1. Perl/Tk
      2. OraExplain
      3. StatsView
      4. Orac
      5. DDL::Oracle
      6. SchemaDiff
      7. Senora
      8. DBD::Chart
      9. SchemaView-Plus
      10. Open Source Perl IDEs
      11. Open Source Perl GUI Debuggers

   2. Chapter 4 Perl Web Extensions

      1. Apache
      2. Oracletool
      3. Karma

   3. Chapter 5 Embedding Perl into Apache with mod_perl

      1. mod_perl
      2. Apache::OWA

   4. Chapter 6 Embedded Perl Web Scripting

      1. Embperl
      2. Mason

   5. Chapter 7 Invoking the Oracle Call Interface with Oracle::OCI

      1. What is Oracle::OCI?
      2. What Is OCI?
      3. Installing Oracle::OCI
      4. Coding with Oracle::OCI
      5. The Future of Oracle::OCI

   6. Chapter 8 Embedding Perl into PL/SQL

      1. Communication Between Perl and PL/SQL
      2. Embedding Perl Within Oracle

3. The Perl DBA Toolkit

   1. Chapter 9 Installing the PDBA Toolkit

      1. Introducing the PDBA Toolkit
      2. Toolkit Modules
      3. Installing the PDBA Toolkit for Unix
      4. Installing the PDBA Toolkit for Win32
      5. Configuring the PDBA Toolkit

   2. Chapter 10 Performing Routine DBA Tasks with the PDBA Toolkit

      1. Managing User Accounts
      2. Maintaining Indexes
      3. Killing Sniped Sessions
      4. Managing Extent Usage
      5. Extracting DDL and Data

   3. Chapter 11 Monitoring the Database with the PDBA Toolkit

      1. Monitoring the Alert Log
      2. Monitoring the Databases

   4. Chapter 12 Building a Database Repository with the PDBA Toolkit

      1. Repository Table Structure
      2. Installing the Repository
      3. Loading the Repository with Data
      4. Reporting on Database Changes
      5. Reporting on SQL Execution Plans

   5. Chapter 13 Extending the PDBA Toolkit

      1. Modifying a Script in the Toolkit
      2. Modifying a Module in the Toolkit

4. Appendixes

   1. Appendix A The Essential Guide to Perl

      1. Obtaining Online Information
      2. Running Perl Scripts
      3. Perl Variable Types: Scalars, Arrays, and Hashes
      4. Perl Contexts: Void, Scalar, List, and Boolean
      5. Program and Subroutine Parameters
      6. Perl References
      7. Perl's Object Orientation

   2. Appendix B The Essential Guide to Perl DBI

      1. DBI Class Methods
      2. Database Handles — Preparation
      3. Statement Handle Methods
      4. Database Handles — SQL and Cleanup
      5. Metadata
      6. Oracle-Specific Methods

   3. Appendix C The Essential Guide to Regular Expressions

      1. The Origins of Regular Expressions
      2. Built-in String Handling Functions
      3. Regular Expression Concepts
      4. Metacharacters
      5. Match Suffixes

   4. Appendix D The Essential Guide to Perl Data Munging

      1. What Is Data Munging?
      2. Data-Munging Example: An Inter-Database Transfer
      3. Numeric Modules
      4. Date Modules
      5. Conversion Modules
      6. XML Modules

1. Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animals on the cover of Perl for Oracle DBAs are thread-winged lacewings. Lacewings can be found all over the world, primarily in warmer climates. They live mostly in sheltered, sandy areas such as wooded dunes, forest floors, and riverbanks, until they reach adult form, at which time their wings enable them to roam more freely.

In their larvae state, lacewings prey voraciously on such unsuspecting victims as aphids, mites, and scale insects. They hide under pieces of wood or debris, wait for insects to pass, then attack with their pincer-like mandibles.

Lacewings undergo full metamorphosis throughout their lives. The adult form is characterized by two sets of wings, a long, slender abdomen, and clubbed antennae. Lacewings are one type of many nerve-winged insects because of the intricate pattern of lines (nerves) running through their transparent wings. Darren Kelly was the production editor for Perl for Oracle DBAs. Nancy Crumpton provided production services and wrote the index. Jan Fehler was the copyeditor. Tatiana Apandi Diaz and Claire Cloutier provided quality control.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from The Riverside Natural History: Volume 2. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This book was converted to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by Erik Ray, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Linley Dolby.