An all-in-one study guide prepares you for the updated Oracle Certified Associate certification
It's been nearly six years since Oracle updated its cornerstone database software, making the demand for a comprehensive study guide for the OCA 12c certification a top priority. This resource answers that demand. Packed with invaluable insight, chapter review questions, bonus practice exams, hundreds of electronic flashcards, and a searchable glossary of terms, this study guide prepares you for the challenging Oracle certification exams.
- Provides you with a solid understanding of restricting and sorting data
- Walks you through using conversion functions and conditional expressions
- Addresses displaying data from multiple tables, manipulating data, database maintenance, and database backups and recovery
- Explores the Oracle database architecture and discusses preparing the database environment, creating an Oracle database, and managing the Oracle instance
- Focuses on administering and implementing user security
This must-have study guide thoroughly prepares you to take the dramatically updated Oracle 12c OCA exams.
Table of Contents:
Introduction xx
Assessment Test xxxv
Part I Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals 1
Chapter 1 Introducing Oracle Database 12c RDBMS 3
Relational Database Management Systems 4
Characteristics of a Relational Database 5
Oracle’s Implementation of RDBMS and ORDBMS 8
The Oracle Database 12c 9
Oracle Database 12c Implementations 9
Connecting to Oracle Database 13
Database Management Tools 14
Oracle Database 12c in the Cloud 19
Familiarizing SQL*Plus 19
Summary 30
Exam Essentials 31
Review Questions 32
Chapter 2 Introducing SQL 35
SQL Fundamentals 36
Oracle Datatypes 38
Operators and Literals 42
Writing Simple Queries 46
Using the SELECT Statement 46
Filtering Rows 51
Sorting Rows 62
Sorting NULLs 64
Limiting Rows 67
Using Expressions 68
Accepting Values at Runtime 72
Using Ampersand Substitution Variables 73
Saving a Variable for a Session 75
Using Positional Notation for Variables 77
Summary 78
Exam Essentials 78
Review Questions 80
Chapter 3 Using Single-Row Functions 89
Single-Row Function Fundamentals 90
Functions for NULL Handling 91
Using Single-Row Character Functions 95
Character Function Overview 95
Character Function Descriptions 96
Using Single-Row Numeric Functions 108
Numeric Function Overview 108
Numeric Function Descriptions 109
Using Single-Row Date Functions 119
Date Format Conversion 119
Date Function Overview 120
Date Function Descriptions 121
Using Single-Row Conversion Functions 131
Conversion Function Overview 131
Conversion Function Descriptions 133
Using Other Single-Row Functions 154
Miscellaneous Function Overview 154
Miscellaneous Function Descriptions 155
Summary 167
Exam Essentials 168
Review Questions 169
Chapter 4 Using Group Functions 175
Group Function Fundamentals 176
Utilizing Aggregate Functions 177
Grouping Data with GROUP BY 178
Group Function Overview 182
Group Function Descriptions: Part 1 184
Group Function Descriptions: Part 2 194
Limiting Grouped Data with HAVING 207
Creating Superaggregates with CUBE and ROLLUP 208
Nesting Functions 215
Summary 218
Exam Essentials 218
Review Questions 219
Chapter 5 Using Joins and Subqueries 227
Writing Multiple-Table Queries 228
Inner Joins 229
Cartesian Joins 239
Outer Joins 240
Other Multiple-Table Queries 245
Using Set Operators 247
The UNION Operator 248
The UNION ALL Operator 249
The INTERSECT Operator 250
The MINUS Operator 250
Putting It All Together 250
Using Subqueries 252
Single-Row Subqueries 253
Multiple-Row Subqueries 254
Subquery Returns No Rows 256
Correlated Subqueries 258
Scalar Subqueries 259
Multiple-Column Subqueries 267
Subqueries in Other DML Statements 268
Summary 269
Exam Essentials 270
Review Questions 271
Chapter 6 Manipulating Data 281
Using DML Statements 282
Inserting Rows into a Table 283
Updating Rows in a Table 289
Deleting Rows from a Table 294
Merging Rows 297
Understanding Transaction Control 299
Savepoints and Partial Rollbacks 302
Data Visibility 304
Summary 306
Exam Essentials 307
Review Questions 308
Chapter 7 Creating Tables and Constraints 319
Database Objects Overview 320
Schema Objects 322
Using Sequences 324
Built-in Datatypes 325
Character Datatypes 325
Numeric Datatypes 329
Date and Time Datatypes 330
Date Arithmetic 334
Binary Datatypes 336
Row ID Datatypes 337
Creating Tables 338
Naming Tables and Columns 339
Specifying Default Values for Columns 341
Adding Comments 348
Creating a Table from Another Table 348
Modifying Tables 350
Adding Columns 350
Modifying Columns 353
Renaming Columns 354
Dropping Columns 354
Hiding Columns from Table 356
Dropping Tables 357
Renaming Tables 357
Making Tables Read-Only 358
Managing Constraints 361
Creating Constraints 362
Dropping Constraints 367
Enabling and Disabling Constraints 367
Deferring Constraint Checks 369
Summary 373
Exam Essentials 374
Review Questions 375
Part II Oracle Database 12c: Installation and Administration 381
Chapter 8 Introducing Oracle Database 12c Components and Architecture 383
Oracle Database Fundamentals 385
Relational Databases 385
Oracle Database 12c Objects 386
Interacting with Oracle Database 12c 388
Oracle Database 12c Architecture 391
User and Server Processes 394
The Oracle Instance 396
Oracle Storage Structures 410
Summary 424
Exam Essentials 425
Review Questions 426
Chapter 9 Creating and Operating Oracle Database 12c 431
Oracle Database 12c Software Installation 432
Planning the Oracle Database 12c Software Install 433
Using the Oracle Universal Installer 440
Using DBCA to Create an Oracle 12c Database 447
Invoking the Database Configuration Assistant 447
Configuring an Oracle Database Using the DBCA 472
Deleting an Oracle Database Using the DBCA 472
Managing Database Templates Using the DBCA 473
Working with Oracle Database Metadata 475
Data Dictionary Views 476
Dynamic Performance Views 477
Managing Initialization-Parameter Files 479
Locating the Default Parameter File 484
Modifying Initialization-Parameter Values 485
Starting Up and Shutting Down an Oracle Instance 490
Starting Up an Oracle Database 12c Instance 491
Shutting Down an Oracle Database 12c Instance 495
Monitoring the Database Alert Log 497
Summary 503
Exam Essentials 504
Review Questions 506
Chapter 10 Understanding Storage and Space Management 511
Understanding the Physical and Logical Storage 512
Contents of a Data Block 514
Managing Tablespaces 516
Identifying Default Tablespaces 516
Creating and Maintaining Tablespaces 516
Obtaining Tablespace Information 531
Managing Data Files 534
Performing Operations on Data Files 535
Using the Oracle Managed Files Feature 539
Querying Data File Information 544
Managing Space 547
Automatic Space Management Features 547
Monitoring Tablespace Free Space 551
Using Segment Advisor 554
Avoiding Out-of-Space Errors 559
Summary 562
Exam Essentials 563
Review Questions 565
Chapter 11 Managing Data Concurrency and Undo 569
Managing Data Changes Using DML 570
Understanding “Change” 571
Differentiating Undo and Redo 572
Configuring and Monitoring Undo 576
Managing Data Concurrency 584
Understanding Locks and Transactions 585
Maximizing Data Concurrency 587
Detecting and Resolving Lock Conflicts 590
Summary 595
Exam Essentials 595
Review Questions 597
Chapter 12 Understanding Oracle Network Architecture 603
Introducing Network Configurations 604
Single-Tier Architecture 605
Two-Tier Architecture 605
n-Tier Architecture 606
An Overview of Oracle Net Features 607
Connectivity 608
Manageability 608
Scalability 609
Security 611
Accessibility 613
Configuring Oracle Net on the Server 613
Understanding the Oracle Listener 614
Managing Oracle Listeners 618
Dynamically Registering Services 634
Oracle Net Logging and Tracing on the Server 635
Configuring Oracle Net for the Client 637
Client-Side Names Resolution Options 637
The Host Naming Method 638
The Oracle Easy Connect Method 639
The Local Naming Method 641
Troubleshooting Client-Side Connection Problems 646
An Overview of Oracle Shared Server 648
Dedicated Server vs. Shared Server 648
Advantages and Disadvantages of Shared Server 650
Oracle Shared Server Infrastructure 651
Configuring the Oracle Shared Server 653
Managing a Shared Server 658
Understanding Database Resident Connection Pooling 661
Configuring DRCP 662
Comparing Connection Architectures 663
Communicating Between Databases 666
Introduction to Database Links 666
Creating Database Links 667
Summary 669
Exam Essentials 670
Review Questions 672
Chapter 13 Implementing Security and Auditing 677
Creating and Managing User Accounts 678
Configuring Authentication 679
Assigning Tablespaces and Quotas 681
Assigning a Profile and Account Settings 684
Removing a User from the Database 686
Managing Default User Accounts 687
Granting and Revoking Privileges 687
Granting Object Privileges 688
Granting System Privileges 692
Role Privileges 701
Applying the Principle of Least Privilege 705
Controlling Resource Usage by Users 711
Implementing Password Security Features 714
Auditing Database Activity 718
Managing Statement Auditing 720
Managing Privilege Auditing 724
Managing Object Auditing 725
Using SQL Developer for Audit Management 727
Purging the Audit Trail 729
Managing Fine-Grained Auditing 732
Implementing Unified Auditing 735
Summary 745
Exam Essentials 746
Review Questions 747
Chapter 14 Maintaining the Database and Managing Performance 753
Proactive Database Maintenance 754
Managing Optimizer Statistics 755
Gathering Performance Statistics 775
Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitoring 782
The Advisory Framework 793
Monitoring Server-Generated Alerts 798
Understanding Automatic Diagnostic Repository 801
Managing Performance 806
Sources of Tuning Information 807
Tuning Memory 812
Automatic Shared Memory Management 813
Automatic SQL Execution Memory Management 815
Managing Memory Using EM Cloud Control 817
Summary 819
Exam Essentials 820
Review Questions 821
Chapter 15 Using Backup and Recovery 825
Understanding and Configuring Recovery Components 827
Understanding Control Files 827
Understanding Checkpoints 831
Understanding Redo Log Files 832
Understanding Archived Redo Log (ARCHIVELOG) Files 839
Understanding the Fast Recovery Area 844
Performing Backups 848
Understanding Backup Terminology 848
Backing Up the Control File 850
Backing Up the Database 851
Using RMAN to Perform Backups 852
Managing Backups 861
Understanding Types of Database Failures 864
Statement Failures 865
User-Process Failures 865
Network Failures 866
User-Error Failures 866
Instance Failures 867
Media Failures 868
Performing Recovery Operations 868
Understanding Instance Startup 868
Keeping an Instance from Failing 870
Recovering from Instance Failure 870
Tuning Instance Recovery 871
Recovering from User Errors 873
Recovering from the Loss of a Control File 881
Using the Data Recovery Advisor 883
Recovering from the Loss of a Redo Log File 884
Recovering from the Loss of a Non-System-Critical Data File 886
Recovering from the Loss of a System-Critical Data File 892
Table Recovery Using RMAN 893
Summary 894
Exam Essentials 895
Review Questions 897
Chapter 16 Controlling Resources and Jobs 903
Resource Management with the Resource Manager 904
Functions of the Resource Manager 904
Understanding Resource Manager Components 905
Configuring the Database Resource Manager 911
Accessing and Creating Resource Plans 916
Updating and Deleting Resources 924
Monitoring the Resource Manager 927
Task Automation with Oracle Scheduler 930
Scheduler Architecture 930
Using Oracle Scheduler 934
Relating Tasks with Job Chains 943
Scheduling Jobs on Remote Systems 947
Prioritizing Jobs with Oracle Scheduler 948
Summary 951
Exam Essentials 951
Review Questions 952
Chapter 17 Upgrading to Oracle Database 12c 957
Determining the Database Upgrade Method 958
Using Direct Upgrade 959
Migrating to Oracle Database 12c 961
Preparing for a Database Upgrade 963
Running the Pre-Upgrade Information Tool 964
Preparing the Oracle Home 974
Reducing Upgrade Downtime 975
Upgrading the Database 976
Using Database Upgrade Assistant 976
Performing a Manual Upgrade 987
Completing the Post-Upgrade Tasks 991
Migrating to Unified Auditing 994
Downgrading to an Earlier Release 995
Summary 997
Exam Essentials 997
Review Questions 999
Chapter 18 Using Grid Infrastructure and Data Movement Tools 1005
Tools for Moving Data 1006
Migrating Data Using Data Pump 1008
Data Pump Architecture 1009
Using Data Pump Clients 1012
Using the Data Pump Wizard 1033
Upgrading an 11g R2 Database to 12c
Using Full Transportable Export 1037
Loading Data with SQL*Loader 1039
Specifying SQL*Loader Command-Line Parameters 1040
Specifying Control File Options 1042
Populating External Tables 1046
Loading External Tables Using Data Pump 1046
Loading External Tables Using Loader 1048
Introducing Grid Infrastructure 1050
Installing Oracle Grid Infrastructure 1051
Managing Oracle ASM Storage 1061
Using Oracle Restart 1068
Summary 1076
Exam Essentials 1077
Review Questions 1078
Appendix A Answers to Review Questions 1083
Chapter 1: Introducing Oracle Database 12c RDBMS 1084
Chapter 2: Introducing SQL 1085
Chapter 3: Using Single-Row Functions 1087
Chapter 4: Using Group Functions 1089
Chapter 5: Using Joins and Subqueries 1090
Chapter 6: Manipulating Data 1092
Chapter 7: Creating Tables and Constraints 1094
Chapter 8: Introducing Oracle Database 12c Components and Architecture 1096
Chapter 9: Creating and Operating Oracle Database 12c 1098
Chapter 10: Understanding Storage and Space Management 1100
Chapter 11: Managing Data Concurrency and Undo 1102
Chapter 12: Understanding Oracle Network Architecture 1104
Chapter 13: Implementing Security and Auditing 1106
Chapter 14: Maintaining the Database and Managing Performance 1108
Chapter 15: Using Backup and Recovery 1110
Chapter 16: Controlling Resources and Jobs 1112
Chapter 17: Upgrading to Oracle Database 12c 1114
Chapter 18: Using Grid Infrastructure and Data Movement Tools 1116
Appendix B About the Additional Study Tools 1119
Additional Study Tools 1120
Sybex Test Engine 1120
Electronic Flashcards 1120
Bonus Author Materials 1120
PDF of Glossary of Terms 1120
Adobe Reader 1121
System Requirements 1121
Using the Study Tools 1121
Troubleshooting 1121
Customer Care 1122
Index 1123
About the Author :
Biju Thomas OCA, OCP, is a Senior Oracle Solutions Architect with more than 20 years of Oracle development and database management experience. He has strong skills in database design and administration, performance tuning, and solution architecture. He has coauthored six Oracle Sybex certification books.
