MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Got an interview in a couple of weeks, not sure what it is going to involve. but part of the process is to use the applications they use?
I know they use Oracle, my experience is SQL Server. it did say this on my CV..
I am guessing SQL is to a point SQL, but, i know it is never that simple.
Can anyone advise what the key differences are, or where to read up on differences
There are shed loads of Oracle applications, they don't just do "databases". What's the role your interviewing for ?
Information analyst, i know part of the job is interogating Oracle databases, or at least that is what the spec said, it also said knowledge of SQL.
Basics of SQL are the same, but Oracle is a vast area beyond that. Besides the standard SQL anyway, if you're used to some complex T-SQL specifics then Oracle's PL/SQL is another beast in itself and takes some learning.
Where the real knowledge and money is with Oracle databases though is as a DBA. If you know how to install & configure on one or all of the many platforms it runs out in an optimal manner and you can optimise the database backend beyond just optimising queries, scale to large enterprise systems, clusters and beyond, then you're in high demand. Most Oracle problems come from regular developers installing on a server without really knowing much about Oracle DBA. I've been there myself. Needed a DBA consultant to sort the system out for enterprise use.
That said, if they just want SQL but you know they use Oracle, you should be fine. The differences you can pick up as you go.
I'm trying to hire a junior support developer for my team - will be working on Oracle databases. We're looking at anyone with SQL which typically means mySQL, SQL Server or, in some instances Oracle.
The DBA side is, as explained ^^, a v.different kettle of fish. Not wholly sure I agree with DBA=££, as a good PL/SQL developer arguably (in the city at least) you're likely to earn more at the top end though there's not much in it...
joe
(Oracle OCP developer & DBA)
Strong demand in Microsoft SQL server jobs too (and pretty good wages too)
PL/SQL is much nicer than T-SQL - will be easy to pick up if you need to - some of the Oreilly books used to be decent - although not sure how up to date they are currently.
Thanks for that.
PL/SQL is much nicer than T-SQL
not if you learn T-SQL first its not!
Hate trying to use Oracle and Toad compared to MS (but am also fully aware that this is because i use and have only ever been trained in MS stuff!)
not if you learn T-SQL first its not!
I did, it is...
It more like a proper programming language, albeit a pretty old one (PL/1).
Maybe it is because I knew Rexx before, which is also looks like PL/1.
if you're near Reading/Basingrad/Swindon I'm about to lob quite a few Oracle 7 (*now quite old version) courses/manuals that I no longer need
It's a transition I and most of the people I work with have made, to be honest the understanding of data structures and writing SQL that performs is likely far more important.
PL/SQL just has a variety of nice features you can use that are not in SQL (to the best of my knowledge which may be out of date) Analytic functions for example.
Oh and forget the keyword TOP 🙂
Yeah toby analytic funstions are in now (2008/2012)
lol just read around a little, Oracle treats empty stings as nulls, that strikes me as a fantastically bad idea!
Thanks titus - I am very out of date with SQL Server!