Preface

This book contains supplemental information on various areas of Oracle functionality that have been updated in release 8.1.7.

This preface contains this topic:

Conventions

Conventions

This section describes the conventions used in the text and code examples of the Oracle8i documentation set. It describes:

Conventions in Text

We use various conventions in text to help you more quickly identify special terms. The following table describes those conventions and provides examples of their use.

Convention Meaning Example

Bold

Bold typeface indicates terms that are defined in the text or terms that appear in a glossary, or both.

The C datatypes such as ub4, sword, or OCINumber are valid.
When you specify this clause, you create an index-organized table.

Italics

Italic typeface indicates book titles, syntax clauses, or placeholders.

Oracle8i Concepts
You can specify the parallel_clause.
Run Uold_release.SQL where old_release refers to the release you installed prior to upgrading.

UPPERCASE monospace (fixed-width font)

Uppercase monospace typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. Such elements include executables, parameters, privileges, datatypes, SQL keywords, SQL*Plus or utility commands, packages and methods, as well as system-supplied column names, database objects and structures, user names, and roles.

You can specify this clause only for a NUMBER column.
You can change this value in an ALTER TABLE statement.
These are grouped by the DEPTNO column.
Specify the ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS parameter.
Use the DBMS_STATS.GENERATE_STATS procedure.

lowercase monospace (fixed-width font)

Lowercase monospace typeface indicates sample user-supplied elements. Such elements include computer and database names, net service names, and connect identifiers, as well as user-supplied database objects and structures, column names, packages and classes, user names and roles, program units, and parameter values.

The deptno, dname, and loc columns are in the scott.dept table.
Set the QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED initialization parameter to true.
Connect to the sales@sf.acme.com database.
Connect as oe user.

Convention	Meaning	Example
Bold	Bold typeface indicates terms that are defined in the text or terms that appear in a glossary, or both.	The C datatypes such as ub4, sword, or OCINumber are valid. When you specify this clause, you create an index-organized table.
Italics	Italic typeface indicates book titles, syntax clauses, or placeholders.	Oracle8i Concepts You can specify the parallel_clause. Run `U`old_release`.SQL` where old_release refers to the release you installed prior to upgrading.
UPPERCASE monospace (fixed-width font)	Uppercase monospace typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. Such elements include executables, parameters, privileges, datatypes, SQL keywords, SQL*Plus or utility commands, packages and methods, as well as system-supplied column names, database objects and structures, user names, and roles.	You can specify this clause only for a `NUMBER` column. You can change this value in an `ALTER` `TABLE` statement. These are grouped by the `DEPTNO` column. Specify the `ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS` parameter. Use the `DBMS_STATS`.`GENERATE_STATS` procedure.
lowercase monospace (fixed-width font)	Lowercase monospace typeface indicates sample user-supplied elements. Such elements include computer and database names, net service names, and connect identifiers, as well as user-supplied database objects and structures, column names, packages and classes, user names and roles, program units, and parameter values.	The `deptno`, `dname`, and `loc` columns are in the `scott.dept` table. Set the `QUERY_REWRITE_ENABLED` initialization parameter to `true.` Connect to the `sales@sf.acme.com` database. Connect as `oe` user.

Conventions in Code Examples

Code examples illustrate SQL, PL/SQL, SQL*Plus, or other command-line statements. They are displayed in a fixed-width font and separated from normal text as shown in this example:

SELECT username FROM dba_users WHERE username = 'MIGRATE';

The following table describes typographic conventions used in code examples and provides examples of their use.

Convention Meaning Example

[ ]

Brackets enclose one or more optional items. Do not enter the brackets.

DECIMAL (digits [ , precision ])

{ }

Braces enclose two or more items, one of which is required. Do not enter the braces.

{ENABLE | DISABLE}

|

A vertical bar represents a choice of two or more options within brackets or braces. Enter one of the options. Do not enter the vertical bar.

{ENABLE | DISABLE}
[COMPRESS | NOCOMPRESS]

...

Horizontal ellipsis points indicate either:

That we have omitted parts of the code that are not directly related to the example

That you can repeat a portion of the code

CREATE TABLE ... AS subquery;

SELECT col1, col2, ... , coln FROM emp;

.
.
.

Vertical ellipsis points indicate that we have omitted several lines of code not directly related to the example.

Other punctuation

You must enter punctuation other than brackets, braces, vertical bars, and ellipsis points as it is shown.

Italics

Italicized text indicates variables for which you must supply particular values.

STARTUP PFILE=initsid.ora
In this example, the entire string initsid.ora is a placeholder for a parameter file that must contain your particular instance ID or SID.

UPPERCASE

Uppercase typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. We show these terms in uppercase in order to distinguish them from terms you define. Unless terms appear in brackets, enter them in the order and with the spelling shown. However, because these terms are not case sensitive, you can enter them in lowercase.

SELECT ename, empno FROM emp;
SQLPLUS username/password
INTO TABLENAME 'table'

lowercase

Lowercase typeface indicates programmatic elements that you supply. For example, lowercase indicates names of tables, columns, or files.

SELECT ename, empno FROM emp;
SQLPLUS scott/tiger

Convention	Meaning	Example
[ ]	Brackets enclose one or more optional items. Do not enter the brackets.	`DECIMAL (digits [ , precision ])`
{ }	Braces enclose two or more items, one of which is required. Do not enter the braces.	`{ENABLE \| DISABLE}`
\|	A vertical bar represents a choice of two or more options within brackets or braces. Enter one of the options. Do not enter the vertical bar.	`{ENABLE \| DISABLE}` `[COMPRESS \| NOCOMPRESS]`
`...`	Horizontal ellipsis points indicate either: That we have omitted parts of the code that are not directly related to the example That you can repeat a portion of the code	`CREATE TABLE ... AS subquery;` `SELECT col1, col2, ... , col`n `FROM emp;`
. . .	Vertical ellipsis points indicate that we have omitted several lines of code not directly related to the example.
Other punctuation	You must enter punctuation other than brackets, braces, vertical bars, and ellipsis points as it is shown.
`Italics`	Italicized text indicates variables for which you must supply particular values.	`STARTUP PFILE=init``sid``.ora` In this example, the entire string `init``sid``.ora` is a placeholder for a parameter file that must contain your particular instance ID or SID.
`UPPERCASE`	Uppercase typeface indicates elements supplied by the system. We show these terms in uppercase in order to distinguish them from terms you define. Unless terms appear in brackets, enter them in the order and with the spelling shown. However, because these terms are not case sensitive, you can enter them in lowercase.	`SELECT ename, empno FROM emp;` `SQLPLUS username/password` `INTO TABLENAME 'table'`
`lowercase`	Lowercase typeface indicates programmatic elements that you supply. For example, lowercase indicates names of tables, columns, or files.	`SELECT ename, empno FROM emp;` `SQLPLUS scott/tiger`