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Dedication;Preface; Why Best Practices?; The Cast of Characters; Structure of This Book; How to Use This Book; Conventions Used in This Book; About the Code; Comments and Questions; Safari Books Online; Acknowledgments;
Chapter 1: The Big Picture;
1.1 Successful Applications Are Never an Accident;
1.2 Best Practices for Successful Applications;
1.3 Software is like ballet: choreograph the moves or end up with a mess.;
1.4 Deferred satisfaction is a required emotion for best practices.;
1.5 Contracts work for the real world; why not software, too?;
1.6 Don''t act like a bird: admit weakness and ignorance.;
1.7 Five heads are better than one.;
1.8 Don''t write code that a machine could write for you instead.;
1.9 We need more than brains to write software.;
Chapter 2: Real Developers Follow Standards;
2.1 Best Practices for Developing and Using Standards;
2.2 It''s a free country; I don''t have to use carriage returns in my code.;
2.3 Too much freedom is a very bad thing.;
2.4 Good names lead to good code.;
2.5 Put your checklists into your code.;
2.6 Who needs comments? My code is self-documenting!;
Chapter 3: Life After Compilation;
3.1 Testing, Tracing, and Debugging;
3.2 Best Practices for Testing, Tracing, and Debugging;
3.3 Thanks, but no thanks, to DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE!;
3.4 Assume the worst, and you will never be disappointed.;
3.5 Users really don''t want to be programmers.;
3.6 Do you take road trips without a destination in mind?;
3.7 For every test you can think of, there are 10 tests waiting to be performed.;
3.8 Sherlock Holmes never had it so good.;
Chapter 4: What''s Code Without Variables?;
4.1 Best Practices for Declaring Variables and Data Structures;
4.2 That column''s never going to change!;
4.3 There''s more to data than columns in a table.;
4.4 I take exception to your declaration section.;
4.5 Best Practices for Using Variables and Data Structures;
4.6 This logic is driving me crazy!;
4.7 Go ahead and splurge: declare distinct variables for different usages.;
4.8 Didn''t your parents teach you to clean up after yourself?;
4.9 Programmers are (or should be) control freaks.;
4.10 Best Practices for Declaring and Using Package Variables;
4.11 Danger, Will Robinson! Globals in use!;
4.12 Packages should have a strong sense of personal space.;
Chapter 5: Developer As Traffic Cop;
5.1 Best Practices for Conditional and Boolean Logic;
5.2 Reading your code should not require mental gymnastics.;
5.3 KISS (Keep it Simple, Steven).;
5.4 Beware the hidden costs of NULL.;
5.5 Best Practices for Loop Processing;
5.6 There''s a right way and a wrong way to say goodbye.;
5.7 Don''t take out "programmers'' insurance"
.
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. and don''t worry about SkyNet.;
5.8 There is more than one way to scan a collection.;
5.9 Best Practices for Branching Logic;
5.10 Maze-like programs are never a good thing.;
Chapter 6: Doing the Right Thing When Stuff Goes Wrong;
6.1 Best Practices for Understanding Error Handling;
6.2 Ignorance is bad exception management.;
6.3 All exceptions are not created equal.;
6.4 One error management approach for all.;
6.5 Best Practices for Nitty-Gritty, Everyday Exception Programming;
6.6 Your code makes me feel dumb.;
6.7 Avoid programmer apathy.;
6.8 Best Practices for Coding Defensively;
6.9 You weren''t supposed to do that with my program!;
Chapter 7: Break Your Addiction to SQL;
7.1 SQL Is Bad!;
7.2 General SQL Best Practices;
7.3 The best way to avoid problematic code is to not write it.;
7.4 You may write PL/SQL code, but SQL always takes precedence.;
7.5 When one transaction is not enough.;
7.6 I don''t always want to save my changes.;
7.7 Best Practices for Querying Data from PL/SQL;
7.8 It''s always better to fetch items into a single basket.;
7.9 Answer the question being asked; that is, be a good listener.;
7.10 Your code makes my head spin.;
7.11 Best Practices for Changing Data from PL/SQL;
7.12 Assume the worst!;
7.13 Things only get more complicated over time.;
7.14 Timing is everything in the world of cursors.;
7.15 Best Practices for Dynamic SQL;
7.16 Make it easy to untangle and debug your dynamic SQL statements.;
7.17 Give the RDBMS a break.;
7.18 So you think you know what users might do with your code?;
7.19 It''s rude to drop someone else''s objects.;
Chapter 8: Playing with Blocks (of Code);
8.1 Best Practices for Parameters;
8.2 Once a program is in use, you can''t change it willy-nilly.;
8.3 What the heck do those parameter values mean?;
8.4 Where''d that data come from?;
8.5 Best Practices for Procedures and Functions;
8.6 Write tiny chunks of code.;
8.7 Every program should be an island (of purpose).;
8.8 Gifts should always come tightly wrapped.;
8.9 One way in, one way out: multiple exits confuse me.;
8.10 Black or white programs don''t know from NULL.;
8.11 Best Practices for Packages;
8.12 Where there is one program, there will soon be two.;
8.13 "Easy to use code" is code that is used--and reused.;
8.14 Best Practices for Triggers;
8.15 Uncertainty in trigger execution is a most unsettling emotion.;
8.16 "One-stop triggering" is so much easier to understand and maintain.;
8.17 Your application should not be able to perform a "Houdini" with business rules.;
Chapter 9: My Code Runs Faster Than Your Code;
9.1 Best Practices for Finding Slow Code;
9.2 Take the guesswork out of optimization.;
9.3 There are so many ways to implement an algorithm; which is best?;
9.4 Best Practices for High-Impact Tuning;
9.5 Let Oracle do most of the tuning for you.;
9.6 Who has time for querying (or inserting or deleting or updating) one row at a time?;
9.7 If the SGA is so wonderful, why not emulate it?;
9.8 When waiting is not an option...;
9.9 Best Practices for Other Tuning;
9.10 Sometimes "safe programming" is a little too slow.;
9.11 PL/SQL loops should not resemble hamsters running in circles.;
9.12 Tailor-made datatypes are the best fit for your programs.;Best Practices Quick Reference;Resources for PL/SQL Developers; Book Example Files; Books and Other Content; Free Software;Colophon;