Tag: database

Scheduler (DBMS_SCHEDULER) Enhancements in Oracle Database 12.2

Since its release in 10gR1, Oracle have consistently added neat functionality to the “new” scheduler with every database release. Yes, I still call it the new scheduler and you would be surprised how many people still insist on using DBMS_JOB rather than switching to DBMS_SCHEDULER.

Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) is no exception to this pattern, as once again we have some new stuff to play with.

In website housekeeping news, each scheduler article on the site was getting loaded down with links to other scheduler articles, so I’ve collected them all together into a section on one of my links pages, along with a feature list breakdown, so you don’t have to trawl through all the articles to get to the bit you need. You can see that section here.

For many people the simple example in the first article I wrote on the scheduler will be all they ever use, but it’s good to know what it’s capable of doing, especially when you see what some people get up to with CRON. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Update: For the person that just contacted me about the non-transactional nature of DBMS_SCHEDULER, I wrote about this here and finally raised an SR about it some time ago. That was converted to a bug, which was then altered to an enhancement request.

Bug 21247177 : DBMS_SCHEDULER JOB NOT DELETED WITH ROLLBACK, WHEREAS DBMS_JOB JOB DOES

This issue is still present in 12cR2, with a workaround of using DBMS_JOB. 🙂

Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2): Installation Articles

If you follow me on social media, you will know I’ve put out a few 12cR2 installation articles recently. It’s good motivation for me to read through the installation guides and see what’s changed, if anything, between versions. I quite like doing some of this nuts & bolts stuff. 🙂

If you’re interested, this is what I’ve done so far.

I always feel like I should stress a few things in relation to my install guides, or anyone else’s for that matter.

  • You should always read the installation manuals. I know it can be boring, but there is a bunch of stuff you should understand that I don’t include, because my intention isn’t to regurgitate the manual. Maybe you have a situation where something is relevant that other’s don’t care about.
  • The RAC articles are intentionally really basic. I avoid some of the job separation (users and groups) that you may want in your organisation. I keep the storage very simple. I avoid a lot of the possible topology variations. I would always consider these as a starting point for playing with RAC on a VM, rather than something you would consider a RAC “best practice”. Once you’ve got one of these running you can try variations. Don’t expect me to write a separate guide for all variations. Try it yourself.
  • I will make choices over my approach to make stuff suit the wider audience. For example I’ve tended to steer clear of ASMLib and the new “ASM Filter Driver” because a big chunk of my audience are sceptical of them and prefer to use UDEV. I’m happy to use either and if you are using Oracle Linux and UEK it really doesn’t make a great deal of difference. I think you should play with both and decide for yourself which you like. Remember, I’m not going to write multiple variations of the article.
  • The installation guides are all using interactive installations, but I rarely do these nowadays, preferring to use silent installations and silent database creations. I’m not sure how many people would be happy with a bunch of response files as their introduction to a new version. I think the GUI screens aid with understanding when you are new. You should definitely graduate to the silent stuff though! I’ve included the response files generated during each interactive installation.
  • I modify the installation guides over time as I learn more about the stuff. That’s true of all my articles, but don’t assume because I installed it this way today, that’s definitely the way to do it!

I guess what I’m saying is I’ve only done a handful of 12.2 installations, so I’m no guru. Keep that in mind and learn to think for yourself! 🙂

Happy installing!

Cheers

Tim…

Multitenant Enhancements in Oracle Database 12.2 (Some More Articles)

The Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) learning process continues. I’m determined to get to the bottom of all this new multitenant stuff. 🙂

Here’s the latest batch of articles.

So the last one is actually for 12.1, but I hadn’t written about it already, so I added it.

I also updated this article to include the “CONTAINERS Hint” feature functionality.

There is a new feature listed in the docs as as “Support for PDBs with Different Character Sets, Time Zone File Versions, and Database Time Zones in a CDB”. I’ve already written about the PDB character set stuff and it is also listed separately as a new feature. The time zone stuff works in 12.1, so it doesn’t appear to be a 12.2 new feature. The different Time Zone File Versions functionality, as far as I can see, relates to OCI client connections to the server and was introduced in 11.2. With all that in mind, I’m really not sure what this listed new feature specifically relates to. If someone can clear that up for me I would be really grateful, as I’m wondering if I’ve just missed the point somewhere. 🙂

I’ve added these to the list of all my multitenant articles here.

Cheers

Tim…

UKOUG Database SIG : January 2017

I left work after an hour yesterday and spent the day cycling between sleeping in bed and sleeping in the bath. In the evening I had a Machu Picchu incident and started to puke every few minutes until I eventually fell asleep. At about 05:00 I woke up, got in the bath and slept for another 2 hours. It was then time to leave for UKOUG Database SIG! 🙂

I was originally down to do a single session. I agreed to do a second session when someone pulled out sick. 🙂 The agenda had me up first and third. I asked Jonathan if I could do a swap and he agreed, so I was up first and second. That gave the opportunity to leave if I felt bad…

My two talks were:

They seemed to go OK and there were some nice comments on Twitter. 🙂

As I expected, the Lemsip and adrenalin was wearing off by the time I finished my second talk and I had started to sweat like crazy. I had a quick chat with some folks during the break, then I got in my car and came home.

Sorry for doing a hit and run! Next time I’ll hang around for the day. I hope everyone else’s sessions wen well!

I’m off to bed now!

Cheers

Tim…

PS. I amended my Secure External Password Store article to address Jonathan’s question. 🙂

PPS. With the todays update (27/01/2017) of the extended support waiver extension (Doc ID 742060.1), your timescales for upgrades may now differ somewhat. Added a new slide. 🙂

UKOUG Database SIG : See you on the 25th Jan 2017

In about 4 days (Wednesday 25th Jan 2017) I’ll be one of the presenters at the UKOUG Database SIG in Solihull.

I was originally doing a single session, but someone pulled out so Patrick asked if I could fill in.

I’ve spent this morning bringing my slides and some related articles up to date, so I think I’m ready to go! 🙂

I did a talk at work last week, which was my first presentation of the year, so hopefully this event won’t be too much of a shock for the system. 🙂

If you can make it, it would be great to see you there!

Cheers

Tim…

 

How to get started with Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) today?

If you follow my website or the blog, you will know I’ve been putting out some articles about Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2) recently. They are often followed by a question asking when it will be available for download. The answer is…

I DON’T KNOW!

Even though we don’t currently have a downloadable version of 12cR2, that doesn’t stop you learning it. You can start today! There are two easy ways.

  1. Get a free trial on Oracle Database Cloud Service. Click the “Try It” button and fill out the details using a corporate email address. I don’t think it likes your typical free email addresses (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo), but maybe that has changed recently. Since my 1 year free trial ended I’ve used a couple of 30 day free trials. It’s a bit of a pain to lose it after 30 days, but I keep all my stuff scripted, so it’s easy for me to rebuild stuff. You can test a lot of stuff using this if you are creative.
  2. Try out livesql.oracle.com. It’s free and it’s running on 12.2 now. You can only do basic development type stuff, but it means you can start trying SQL and PL/SQL new features today.

It would be really nice if apex.oracle.com, which is still on 12.1.0.2, got upgraded. 🙂

Don’t let the lack of a downloadable version of 12cR2 stop you learning this stuff. There is a load of stuff you can try out just using these two services.

Even if you don’t want to start playing yet, you should probably check out the New Features Manual. It’s always good to know what is coming as it might make you approach existing work slightly differently.

Cheers

Tim…

Multitenant Enhancements in Oracle Database 12.2

I’ve started playing with some of the new multitenant functionality in Oracle Database 12c Release 2 (12.2). There’s a lot of really cool stuff in there, which makes the multitenant architecture even more interesting. You can get a free trial of the Oracle Database Cloud Service and check it out if you like. 🙂

Here’s what I’ve been doing over the holidays.

There’s a lot more to cover yet though. I think it could be another 22 articles just on the multitenant stuff. This is just the beginning. 🙂

As always with the new stuff, it’s getting revised constantly as I learn more. I’m also having to go back and edit some stuff from 12.1, just to make reference to the changes in 12.2.

I’m maintaining a list of all my multitenant articles here.

Cheers

Tim…

Video : Indexing JSON Data in Oracle Database 12c

Following on from last week’s post, today’s video is about indexing JSON data in Oracle Database 12c.

If videos aren’t your thing, you might want to read these articles, which the videos are based on.

The cameo in this video comes courtesy of Bertrand Drouvot, who was a silent extra in the previous video too. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

Video : JSON Support in Oracle Database 12c

Today’s video is a sprint through some of the JSON support in Oracle Database 12c.

If videos aren’t your thing, you might want to read these instead.

The cameo in this video comes courtesy of Yves Colin, who I’ll see again in a couple of weeks at the Paris Province Oracle Meetup. A couple of extras (Bertrand Drouvot and Osama Mustafa) wanted to get in on the act too. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

TABLE Operator with Locally Defined Types

postit-missed-itIn my OUG Ireland 2016 – Summary post I mentioned the Oren Nakdimon session called “Write Less (Code) with More (Oracle 12c New Features)”. One of the things he mentioned was the removal of restrictions associated with the use of the TABLE operator on local table types. If I had read about this or seen it before, it had certainly slipped my mind, so I made a note to write something about it and add a link to it from my PL/SQL new features article. So here it is.

It’s a neat little feature.

Cheers

Tim…