jimmy@cs.UAlberta.CA (Jimmy the X-man) (04/12/91)
Hi folks, How long does it take to learn Oracle/SQL to become reasonably productive ? (As an example, it took me about a year to become proficient in X windows.) Any recommended methods for expediting the learning process for Oracle/SQL ? Thanks, Jimmy Internet: jimmy@cs.UAlberta.CA uucp: jimmy@alberta.uucp uunet: ...!uunet!alberta!jimmy Disclaimer: All of the above is fiction; no responsibility for the existence of planet earth is assumed (let alone any opinions expressed).
jean@beno.CSS.GOV (Jean Anderson) (04/17/91)
In <1991Apr11.174945.6524@cs.UAlberta.CA>, Jimmy the X-man writes: > How long does it take to learn Oracle/SQL to become reasonably > productive ? (As an example, it took me about a year to become > proficient in X windows.) Any recommended methods for expediting > the learning process for Oracle/SQL ? What do you mean by reasonably "proficient" and "productive"? 1. Are you talking about just SQL*Plus (the interactive query interface)? 2. Or do you mean Embedded SQL (C, FORTRAN)? 3. Or, being an X-man, do you intend to interface ORACLE to X? 4. How complex is the database and the querying task? If you know nothing about relational databases, that will add significant time to the learning curve. But seriously, if all you want to do is satisfy the first objective and do the types of queries available in ORACLE's scott/tiger tutorial, it doesn't take long (hours/days). I've seen some of our new scientists learn enough to be truly dangerous in a matter of mere hours. :-) But SQL*Plus also has a lot of advanced capabilities that take a while to catch onto (user defined variables, error handling for scripts, etc.). As for expediting the learning process, avoid reinventing the wheel: o Scope out all the available ORACLE resources. Besides the manuals, login into the Belmont bulletin board (I guess they call it OLS for "On Line System") and look at SQL*Plus articles on "Common Questions and Answers". They also have articles on advanced topics that I whip out occasionally when a user asks me a question that's over my head ("Hey, Jean, how do you calculate how long it took for 30/60/90% of the data to arrive?"). o Scope out the available IOUG (International ORACLE User's Group) resources. The IOUG is not part of ORACLE Corp (somebody correct me if I'm wrong). Their Journals and Conference Proceedings are packed with information. The Fall 1990 Journal lists an Alberta contact: Roberta Kowalishin Regional Chairperson IOUG Representative [1](403)258-5717 o Check out your local ORACLE User Group. Do they publish a newsletter? Do they collect other local User Group newsletters? The Calgary contact on my list is: Sandy Debolt Secretary, Calgary Oracle Users Group P.O. Box 6768, Station 'D' Alberta Canada T2P 2E6 o I think ORACLE also has something on CompuServe. +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Jean Anderson, DBA email: jean@seismo.css.gov | | SAIC Geophysics Division, Mailstop 12 or: jean@esosun.css.gov | | 10210 Campus Point Drive phone: (619)458-2727 | | San Diego, CA 92121 fax: (619)458-4993 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Any opinions are mine, not my employer's. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+