Official companion web site for:
Essential
Oracle8i Data Warehousing
by Gary
Dodge and Tim
Gorman
As anyone who works
with the Oracle RDBMS knows, new features are added at a frantic pace.
Some of these features, such 
as the Java virtual machine, are very exciting but not
specifically applicable to data warehousing at this time. Many others,
starting with Oracle7 release 7.3, have been added specifically to aid in the
design, administration and usage of large data warehouses.
This book had been
originally scheduled for release in the spring of 2000, following exactly two
years after the release of the original edition Oracle8 Data Warehousing in March 1998. However, as we approached the submission date, Oracle8i
release 2 (version 8.1.6) was delivered with several enhancements of particular
interest to data warehousing teams. So we returned to our keyboards
and added the new material to make this book as current as possible.
The book was finished, delivered, and published in September 2000. By then, Oracle8i release 3 (version 8.1.7) had already been introduced on some platforms. Further, announced in October 2000, Oracle9i is now looming for release in the first half of 2001. How can a printed book remain current in this rapidly changing world?
We obviously can't continue to delay publication by revising for every release and we can't release a new edition of the book with each Oracle upgrade. After all, we're just two people holding down busy day jobs and writing at night and on weekends. Instead, we hope to allow this book to provide the fundamental coverage of Oracle8i data warehousing capabilities and we will supplement the text with supplementary material via this companion website, coupled with the authors' personal websites.
At this site, we will provide static material that won't need to change often, such as downloadable copies of the scripts included in the book as well as corrections of any errors or typos missed during the copyediting process.
Other material that may be more dynamic will be made available through links to the authors' own websites. For instance, Tim Gorman has developed many scripts for monitoring and tuning Oracle databases that are not part of this book. They can be downloaded, however, from his site.
Because of space limitations in the printed book we found that we were able to only cover the Oracle8i component of the data warehouse. Many other related topics, such as data mining (using Oracle Darwin) or ETL (using Oracle Warehouse Builder) had to be mentioned without providing useful detail to the readers. Additional "chapters" covering topics such as these are available from the authors' websites. Please visit: Tim Gorman's Homepage and Gary Dodge's Homepage and while you're in the neighborhood, feel free to browse around the rest of our sites!
Finally, we welcome your email comments, suggestions and questions. The idea for providing downloadable scripts came directly from reader feedback on the first book. Just be aware that we are not attempting to be substitutes for Oracle's support function and that due to travel schedules (and occasional glimpses of personal lives!) we can't guarantee immediate response to emails, but we will respond to every one when time permits.
Thanks...for buying the book, for viewing this additional material, for providing comments and suggestions for improving the material. We especially appreciate readers who will leave their honest reviews (and glowing recommendations if appropriate!) at any of the online bookstores that host reader reviews. Here are links to specific pages for the ones that we use personally; please email us if you know of others…
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