Download part of the new book

If you are interested in seeing the table of contents, description of each chapter, the most amazing foreword (I could not have paid someone for a nicer, better one) by Ken Jacobs (also known as "Dr. DBA") and other bits about the new book, I've made the pdf of it available here.

I would like to point out a comment to this blog by one of the technical reviewers of the book - Gabe Romanescu.  While reviewing, I could not help but notice that Gabe seemed to have had the old book next to the new based on his comments. If anyone is able to give a fairly unbiased “how different is it” overview, I think it would be him. I fell myself the new material was a rewrite more than an “improved, now mentions 9i and 10g!” book. But I am very biased (obviously). And now you might be able to figure out who thought one of the chapters was “weak” :)

Each of the four reviewers had distinctly different personalities, I would be hard pressed to stack rank them as each had their time to put it back on the correct path. I take their input very seriously. Gabe was outstanding, I hope he stays on for the next one.

768 pages. And that was just the first third of the old book (which was 1,265 all together). I’m afraid but at the same time looking sort of forward to doing the second half. The goal will be to make it 1,000 or less pages (in my mind) but to fit in as much as I can. Lots of new ideas – instrumentation will definitely be a new chapter, the new tools available with 9i and 10g that didn’t really exist before as well.

We just sent it off to be turned into paper tonight. No more changes, no more updates, no more reviews.

I am going to reproduce a bit of the content you can download from the above link here:

First, I would like to thank Tony Davis for his work making my work read well. If you enjoy
the flow of the sections, the number of section breaks, and the clarity, then that is probably in
some part due to him. I have worked with Tony writing technical material since the year 2000
and have watched his knowledge of Oracle grow over that time. He now has the ability to not
only “edit” the material, but in many cases “tech edit” it as well. Many of the examples in this
book are there because of him (pointing out that the casual reader was not going to “get it”
without them). This book would not be what it is without him.

I consider Tony not only the editor of this book and the original Expert One on One Oracle, but a good friend as well. It is good to work with people you like. So, to Dr. Tony Davis – thanks much (what a Dr. is doing editing books I still have yet to figure out but hey, it works for me).  I owe him a martini or two at Oracle Open World.

But first, two weeks, no writing. I’m excited to go to Prague next weekend.  I have Saturday and Sunday to be “tourist”, something I don’t get the chance to do often. There will be pictures of that I am sure. (I am less excited to be having to speak all day for 7 days in the next two weeks but…)