Designed from the outset to be both a reference book and a practical resource to help equip Oracle DBAs with the training they need to do the job, this book is divided into two distinct sections. The first nine chapters cover practical tasks such as installation, backups, optimisation, etc. while the remaining seven form a reference guide covering topics such as system privileges and initial roles, SQL syntax and tools and utilities.

The book is very readable and well organised. Despite a significant gaff in chapter three, where RAID-0 is described as mirroring rather than striping (corrected in recent editions), the book seems accurate. As is becoming customary, the book has no code disc, though the examples are available from the O'Reilly web site, along with the book's errata and even a sample chapter. (Note that the errata includes a significant section on CREATE / ALTER TABLE which is too big to include in a reprint).

If you want a good, solid, practical reference guide covering both Oracle 7 and 8, look no further.