1. Chapter 1 Introduction to SQL*Plus

   1. What Is SQL*Plus?

   2. History of SQL*Plus

   3. Why Master SQL*Plus?

   4. Creating and Loading the Sample Tables

2. Chapter 2 Command-Line SQL*Plus

   1. Starting Command-Line SQL*Plus

   2. Starting Windows SQL*Plus

   3. Some Basic SQL*Plus Commands

   4. Running SQL Queries

   5. Working with PL/SQL

   6. The SQL Buffer

   7. Line Editing

   8. Executing the Statement in the Buffer

   9. Saving and Retrieving the Buffer

   10. The EDIT Command

   11. Executing a Script

   12. The Working Directory

3. Chapter 3 Browser-Based SQL*Plus

   1. Starting iSQL*Plus

   2. Executing SQL*Plus Commands

   3. Running SQL Queries

   4. Working with PL/SQL

   5. Executing Scripts

   6. iSQL*Plus Command History

4. Chapter 4 A Lightning SQL Tutorial

   1. Data Manipulation Statements

   2. Transactions

   3. The Concept of Null

   4. Table Joins

   5. Sorting Query Results

   6. Grouping and Summarizing

   7. Subqueries

   8. Unions

   9. To Learn More

5. Chapter 5 Generating Reports with SQL*Plus

   1. Following a Methodology

   2. Saving Your Work

   3. Designing a Simple Report

   4. Master/Detail Reports

6. Chapter 6 Creating HTML Reports

   1. Getting the Data into an HTML Table

   2. Generating the Entire Page

   3. Another Approach to Headers

   4. Master/Detail Reports in HTML

7. Chapter 7 Advanced Reports

   1. Totals and Subtotals

   2. Getting the Current Date into a Header

   3. Report Headers and Footers

   4. Formatting Object Columns

   5. Summary Reports

   6. Taking Advantage of Unions

8. Chapter 8 Writing SQL*Plus Scripts

   1. Why Write Scripts?

   2. Using Substitution Variables

   3. Prompting for Values

   4. Cleaning Up the Display

   5. Executing a Script

   6. Controlling Variable Substitution

   7. Commenting Your Scripts

   8. Resetting Your SQL*Plus Environment

   9. Scripting Issues with iSQL*Plus

9. Chapter 9 Extracting and Loading Data

   1. Types of Output Files

   2. Limitations of SQL*Plus

   3. Extracting the Data

   4. An Excel-Specific HTML Hack

   5. Reloading the Data

10. Chapter 10 Exploring Your Database

    1. The DESCRIBE Command

    2. Oracle's Data Dictionary Views

    3. Tables

    4. Table Constraints

    5. Indexes

    6. Triggers

    7. Synonyms

    8. Table Security

    9. Scripting the Data Dictionary

    10. Using SQL to Write SQL

    11. The Master Key

11. Chapter 11 Advanced Scripting

    1. Bind Variables

    2. Branching in SQL*Plus

    3. Looping in SQL*Plus

    4. Validating and Parsing User Input

    5. Error Handling

    6. Returning Values to Unix

12. Chapter 12 Tuning and Timing

    1. Using SQL*Plus Timers

    2. Using EXPLAIN PLAN

    3. Using AUTOTRACE

    4. Improving on EXPLAIN PLAN Results

    5. Where to Find More Tuning Information

13. Chapter 13 The Product User Profile

    1. What Is the Product User Profile?

    2. Using the Product User Profile

14. Chapter 14 Customizing Your SQL*Plus Environment

    1. SQL*Plus Settings You Can Control

    2. The Site and User Profiles

    3. Environment Variables That Affect SQL*Plus

    4. Windows GUI SQL*Plus

    5. iSQL*Plus User Preferences

1. Appendix A SQL*Plus Command Reference

   1. The Command to Invoke SQL*Plus

   2. Commands You Can Issue Within SQL*Plus

2. Appendix B SQL*Plus Format Elements

   1. Formatting Numbers

   2. Formatting Character Strings

   3. Formatting Dates

3. 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 animal on the cover of Oracle SQLPlus: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition is a moving leaf (Phyllium giganteum), a large (about 10 cm in length) Malaysian leaf insect related to stickinsects; together these constitute the order Phasmatida, derived from the Greekword for "ghost." These stunning insects imitate local foliage with intricate detail, down to the leaf-like veins on their legs and tattered brown edges to mimic dead leaves. Moving leaf insects feed on bramble and other plant material. Kept by many entymologists as exotic pets, they require high temperature and humidity. Matt Hutchinson was the production editor for Oracle SQLPlus: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition. GEX, Inc. provided production services. Darren Kelly and Marlowe Shaeffer provided quality control.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Clay Fernald produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato designed the interior layout. This bookwas converted by Julie Hawks 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 MX and Adobe Photoshop CS (except for Figure 4-1, which was provided by Matt Williams). The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Nancy Kotary.