Our experts at Quest continue to work hard to develop educational material for our end users to learn from, thus allowing them to become product experts themselves. Unfortunately, due to the hectic schedule of our end users, they are sometimes unable to put all the pieces together. In this blog, I piece together some steps for using the Toad Data Modeler and tying it back to Toad for Oracle by presenting a situation, steps,...

This is the 2nd of 3 blogs on Toad for Oracle DBA features

I sometimes worry that people are confused about how to use the Quest SQL Optimizer for Oracle to help them tune their SQL statements. The solution is extremely powerful and provides you with the options to control numerous aspects of the optimization process. In fact, I suggest you read Richard To’s articles on Toad World to get an in depth understanding of the optimization process and the various settings within the SQL...

We all come from different backgrounds... some of us are old Toadies, and some of us are used to different tools. Did you know that Toad for Data Analysts can be configured to act and look much like Toad for Oracle and many other tools? Even down to the keyboard shortcuts? I'll show you how.

Written by Finn Ellebaek Nielsen. Best practices for a test approach that implements the strategy and test policies for Oracle code laid out in a previous blog post.

When selecting the best performing SQL statement for your application, how should disk I/O be weighed in comparison to the run time when you are selecting the best SQL alternative to replace your original SQL statement?

This is the first of 3 blogs on DBA features in Toad for Oracle

I am very happy to announce that we went GA with Toad for DB2 V4.5 on 7/21. This is by far the biggest, best release of Toad for DB2 to date. With this version we have introduced a full featured database administrator’s tool capable of handling the largest DB2 environments.

 

Some of the highlights of the 4.5 release are:

 

General

Sync point restart in scripts for better management...

I spend way too much of my life on airplanes zipping around to different places, doing presentations and trainings on PL/SQL. In the process, I meet many PL/SQL developers – and I continue to be surprised and disappointed at how many developers do not know about or at least do not seem to take advantage of very powerful and useful features of PL/SQL. So I have to decided to list below all those elements of PL/SQL that I consider...

We got an interesting question into our sales support queue this week. A new Toad user was frustrated because they weren’t seeing the type of feedback they were used to seeing in SQL Navigator.

Last week, I was demonstrating some of our DBA-focused features of Toad for DB2 LUW (Linux, Unix, Windows). When we came to the topic of Extended Alters, the audience voiced some concerns about the efficiency of this feature. Specifically, they were concerned with how Toad for DB2’s generated script was handling the data stored in the table we were altering. The customer is dealing with very large data sets, so simple INSERT statements were not going to help. They wanted to know if Toad for DB2 could take advantage of some DB2 utilities that make this process more efficient. Let’s explore the scenario a little further.

Steven proposes a solution to a customer's question about using a 2 dimensional array in PL/SQL.

Sometimes information systems professionals can get “caught up” in our own worlds. For example, project managers and their developers might focus on latest and greatest application development methodologies such as Extreme Programming (XP) or Agile Development. Likewise enterprise architects might be adopting some new or updated modeling conventions. While database administrators (DBA’s) are often engaged and engrossed in the latest database versions and their new features. Now also include the new versions of the software we use to build systems, hardware’s exponential growth, new programming languages and everything else in a state of flux in our worlds – it’s easy to see why we’re often so overwhelmed that we forget some very basic facts.

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Have you ever had a need to recover data? Have you ever looked at data or maybe scripts and thought something is not correct? When working with databases there are times when we may have a loss of data or files. Has this ever happened and there is no backup information to rely on?

 

During my time as both a Developer and DBA I have worked with numerous Oracle export file (dmp files). Often I could be...

This blog recaps a few of the major highlights that Jeff covers in a typical two hour Toad for Oracle tips and tricks session.

A SQL statement with a variable that is provided at run time poses an extra challenge when trying to determine which alternative SQL statement is going to give the best overall performance. Each time the SQL statement is executed, a different variable could be supplied.

Dan Hotka and I wrote the TOAD Handbook back in 2003. Of course since then TOAD has changed quite a bit – both in terms of the graphical user interface and functionality. Thus we have updated the content and created the TOAD Handbook 2nd Edition,...

As many of you may be aware, Toad for Oracle is available in a number of different Editions and Suites. For those of you who have Toad Development Suite for Oracle or Toad DBA Suite for Oracle, there are a number of recent product updates which you can take advantage of now (GA Release Date July 8th) rather than waiting for the next full scheduled release of Toad (due in October).

The below listed products are, of...

You may already be familiar with the Toad World Exclusive Freeware area from where you can download and use really useful utilities such as the PL/Vision Code Library and the Freeware version of Quest Code Tester for Oracle.

 

Now there are two more which I’d like to introduce you to – one which has been around for many years and the other a relative newcomer.

 

The first one is called SQL Monitor....

You may already be familiar with the Toad World Exclusive Freeware area from where you can download and use really useful utilities such as the PL/Vision Code Library and the Freeware version of Quest Code Tester for Oracle.

 

Well here is another utility you’re going to find really interesting and it’s called the Toad Group Policy Manager.

 

As you probably figured out from its name, it has something...

Written by Olivier Gaudin

 

Toad for Oracle’s Code Xpert utility (part of the Toad Professional Edition) is one of the best PL/SQL code analyzers available on the market, embedding the know-how of leading PL/SQL experts such as Steven Feuerstein. However, although there is the option to store data in the Code Xpert repository for point-in-time reporting, it is still primarily a static reporting tool and therefore...

Written by Finn Ellebaek Nielsen. Best practices for establishing a test strategy, as well as test policies for Oracle code.

There are always those DBA’s who refuse to use GUI tools because they prefer scripts. And that’s OK – it’s a personal preference. But recently I’ve seen some stuff posted on the web and sent in email blasts suggesting that people who do use DBA GUI tools like TOAD and OEM are somehow suspect as to their skill levels. And yes, I am sure there are some people who might not know Oracle very well but get along just well enough...

Toad for Data Analysts v2.5 is just around the corner. In anticipation of the release, I want to highlight a few of the enhancements that we've made to the product. I'll be posting a new feature every few weeks, so stay tuned!

As I promised earlier, the focus of this blog entry will be using the Editor in Toad for Data Analysts. The Editor is where you can enter your own SQL code to query the database. Since you’re already familiar with Toad for Oracle’s Editor, you’ll notice some similarities in Toad for Data Analysts. Hopefully, these similarities will...

This blog covers testing the SQL alternatives in a development environment when it is not possible to do extensive testing in the production environment.

In Part III of this series of blogs, I’ll discuss the Query Builder in Toad for Data Analysts. In my previous entry, I said that I would talk about both the Editor and the Query Builder in Part III. Both features are so rich that I feel that separating the topics would be the best approach. So, we’ll focus on the Query Builder for this topic. 

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Sometimes people will have a problem getting a TOAD feature to work – such as the PL/SQL debugger or profiler. For example a user might run TOAD and not be able to select or highlight the debugger icon on the main toolbar. So when they’re in the editor they cannot seemingly invoke or use the debugger. The initial conclusion is that TOAD must have a bug. But 90% of the time, it’s actually a database setup issue. Your DBA’s must grant TOAD users certain Oracle rights for some TOAD features to function. For example in both Oracle 10g and 11g, a TOAD user must have been granted the privilege DEBUG CONNECT SESSION for the debugger to function. We even have this specific information on the ask toad wiki. Since this privilege is not part of any of the pre-canned roles for Oracle 7 backwards compatibility (i.e. CONNECT, RESOURCE, DBA), we get this very question all the time.

...

Written by Richard To

 

This blog is the third in a series about misconceptions surrounding SQL tuning that are quite common. It covers the misconception that there is always some SQL syntax that is the best across different databases and hardware environments.

 

A lot of so-called SQL experts on the internet give you advice on how to write a better SQL or how to tune your SQL statements. I agree...

Running Toad for Oracle in a 64 bit environment is really pretty easy and straight-forward, you just have to follow the installation instructions and verify your environment is setup properly. I have created a short Power Point that shows the steps you need to follow. These instructions come directly from the installation guide as well. I hope this helps you with your installation. Mark

In Quest SQL Optimizer when you generate alternative SQL statements for your original SQL statement you may be presented with hundreds of SQL alternatives. The only way to be completely sure that you have the fastest one is to run all the SQL alternatives. But unless the SQL statements run relatively quickly, this is not always practical. So then you are left to determine which SQL statements you should select to test.

I was on the phone with a Quest Code Tester user the other day and he asked me if I was working on the next edition of my original "magnum opus", Oracle PL/SQL Programming, which would include Oracle11g features.

 

I cannot describe to you how good it felt to say: "No, I'm not working on it. I'm finished working on it."

 

In fact, just...

So if you’re reading this blog, hopefully that means you’ve just finished watching my ‘Discover the Hidden Treasures of Toad for Oracle, Developers’ presentation at our 2009 Toad Virtual Expo. If not, then you can still watch this 45 minute presentation for the immediate 60 days after the conference.

What I wanted to do here is go into a little bit more detail than what I could deliver in a powerpoint presentation. I’ll try to add a little flavor to the ‘Hidden Treasures’ we exposed for developers and point you to some other resources on ToadWorld that might help you on your way.

...

Written by Steven Feuerstein. Version 1.8.3 of Quest Code Tester is now available.

In this blog, I hope to be able to help you understand how Unicode is handled on your Windows PC/notebook and how to configure your PC/notebook in order to be able to effectively use Unicode in Toad.

Previously, we discussed how to establish connections to the database. If you’re interested in a refresher, the entry can be found here: http://www.toadworld.com/Community/Blogs/tabid/67/EntryID/382/Default.aspx Now that we’ve connected to the database, we’ll examine how to work with the database objects. 

 

Where are my...

As some of you may already be aware, we are releasing our next version of Toad (version 10.0) later this year and it will have one or two “under the cover” differences. Unicode support is one of those differences and is probably one of the most significant technology upgrades in Toad’s history.

If there's one thing we hear people asking about it's "How can I use Toad for Data Analysts to automatically update my Excel report?" This blog entry is dedicated to just that. I'll show you how you can get your Excel reports to update from the database in just a few steps - and automate the process for next time!

When you are executing SQL statements to find which one is the best, you need to take into consideration the factors that can skew the accuracy of the results of the testing. This blog discusses eliminating the effect of network traffic when you are comparing SQL run times.

I am often asked about the naming conventions and coding standards that I use. My answer is usually a combination of muttering and vague statements and hand-waving.

 

That's because I have a confession: I don't have a single naming conventions and coding standards document that I use. Why not? Because I am a software developer! That is, I feel (well, I am) very busy, overwhelmed by deadlines. I don't feel like...

In this series of blog topics, I will attempt to translate certain features in Toad for Data Analysts for those of you who are more familiar with Toad for Oracle. As you may (or may not) know, Quest Software allows licensed owners of Toad for Oracle 9.7 to use Toad for Data Analysts free of charge! Toad for Data Analysts is Quest Software’s cross-database platform Query and Reporting tool. For Developers and DBAs who work predominately in Oracle, but have the need to query and/or report against other database platforms (SQL Server, DB2, and Sybase, just to name a few), then the pairing of Toad for Oracle and Toad for Data Analysts is for you. 

...

In humble tribute to the great southern comedian, Jeff Foxworthy, I thought I’d try a send up on this popular theme as it pertains to Toad. So here goes. If you have your own suggestions, just leave them as comments at the end of the blog!

The ‘ribbet’ sound announces to your cube-mates what time you’ve made it into work. Did you know you can disable the ‘ribbet’ and customize Toad to play any .WAV file you want?...

The last two posts have covered popular misconceptions or “urban myths” myths when measuring and performing benchmarks. That might seem like the “whole enchilada”, but there's yet one more critical aspect to successful benchmarking – preparation. I encounter numerous people who believe that they can simply assemble the necessary hardware, install the OS, install the database software, create the database, and then have at it. And usually they allocate just two to four weeks for all of this work. I'm reminded from my youth of the Boy Scout's motto – “Be prepared”. That's the single most important aspect to benchmarking – and yet often one of the most overlooked.

...

Written by Finn Ellebaek Nielsen. Reasons for testing Oracle code in the database.

When you are executing SQL statements to find which one is the best, you need to take into consideration the factors that can skew the accuracy of the results of the testing. This blog discusses minimizing the effect of other activities on the CPU when you are testing very fast running SQL statements.

I recently performed 3 separate Toad for Oracle web demonstrations for a large company in the payroll and human resources industry.  Rather than a general overview of all Toad features, these 3 demos were customized for 3 different types of Toad users: DBA's, Analysts, and Developers.

This group of DBA's had used Toad for years, but had not upgraded recently.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, there has been a substantial amount of functionality for DBA's added to Toad in recent releases - just download the latest version.  Johannes' Toadworld blog has an excellent 3 part series on the Toad DBA Suite.

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The title says it all – there is no such thing. This is the second benchmarking myth or “urban legend” that needs exposed. However this is the most prevalent frustration or exasperation that people attempting database benchmarks experience – and experience the hard way (i.e. their efforts majorly or totally fail to meet their initial expectations).

 

There are many reasons for this benchmarking failure – first...

When you ask Oracle for an execution plan with Toad, we insert the plan into a plan table (configurable by the user.) Wow, that’s 36 pieces of information that could be included in every single plan step. Now, when Toad shows you a plan for a query, it chooses to show only the most common pieces of information.

Written by Steven Feuerstein. Introduction to the "Real Automated Code Testing for Oracle" blog.

While we are still quite a few months away from officially releasing the next version of Toad for Oracle, there are a few exciting developments to share with you today. Of course, you can follow the development of the next version of Toad yourself via the beta program, but we realize not everyone has the bandwidth to do so. Most years will see at least 2 releases of Toad. However,...