About this Book

Using
Special Edition
Using

Oracle8 ^™

Using
Special Edition
Using

Oracle8 ^™

Special Edition Using Oracle8 ^™

Copyright^© 1998 by Que^® Corporation.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Making copies of any part of this book for any purpose other than your own personal use is a violation of United States copyright laws. For information, address Que Corporation, 201 W. 103rd Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46290. You may reach Que's direct sales line by calling 1-800-428-5331 or by faxing 1-800-882-8583.

Library of Congress Catalog No.: 97-80936

ISBN: 0-7897-1345-4

This book is sold as is, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, respecting the contents of this book, including but not limited to implied warranties for the book's quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Neither Que Corporation nor its dealers or distributors shall be liable to the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book.

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Interpretation of the printing code: the rightmost double-digit number is the year of the book's printing; the rightmost single-digit number, the number of the book's printing. For example, a printing code of 98-1 shows that the first printing of the book occurred in 1998.

All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Que cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark.

Screen reproductions in this book were created using Collage Plus from Inner Media, Inc., Hollis, NH.

Credits

Publisher
Joseph B. Wikert

Executive Editor
Bryan Gambrel

Managing Editor
Patrick Kanouse

Acquisitions Editor
Tracy Dunkelberger

Development Editor
Nancy Warner

Technical Editor
Sakhr Youness

Project Editor
Rebecca M. Mounts

Copy Editors
Nancy Albright
Michael Brumitt
Patricia Kinyon
Sean Medlock

Team Coordinator
Michelle Newcomb

Cover Designer
Dan Armstrong

Book Designer
Ruth Harvey

Production Team
Carol Bowers
Mona Brown
Ayanna Lacey
Gene Redding

Indexers
Erika Millen
Christine Nelsen

Composed in Century Old Style and ITC Franklin Gothic by Que Corporation.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the various people at Mitretek who supported me in this effort, and, of course, special thanks to my piglets.

—William G. Page, Jr.

I give no small amount of credit for my current success and happiness to three very special and important people I met while working for the University of Michigan: Russell Hughes, Richard Roehl, and William Romej. I count them among my closest and most respected friends, and would not be where I am today without their support and advice over the years. I'd like to thank the folks at Oracle Education for their fine classes and materials, as well as the professionals at Oracle Corp., who have put up with my badgering, pestering, and even complaining. I'd also like to acknowledge the expertise of the folks on oracle-l and comp.databases.oracle.*, who have provided me much valuable knowledge and even a few laughs. And finally, thanks to the wonderful folks at Que, and especially Tracy Dunkelberger, for their understanding and patience with this first-time author. It's been a great trip.

—Nathan Hughes

—William G. Page, Jr.

This book is dedicated to the amazing women who have made such a lasting impact on my life. To my beautiful wife Janet, who fills all my days with joy and makes my life complete. To my Mom, who showed me the way but made me make the choices—and welcomed me with open arms even when I strayed. And to my Grandma, who taught me (through example!) that since life is what you make of it, you might as well make it something good.

—Nathan Hughes