New database releases - training dev staff

Good morning!

I'd be interested to know how DBA groups elsewhere do knowledge transfer of new database features (from an application development perspective) to the staff who ultimately build applications against the databases you administer. Granted, these people may be pure developers, analysts or architects, app DBAs or something else from shop to shop, but eventually someone needs to decide whether to use dbms_crypto, utl_mail or whatnaught and that person needs to train others. What's worked, what hasn't?

In the past, we've done some "brown bag" lunchtime sessions in a conference room, primarily DBAs giving brief (30min) sessions on new features, or cool tips/tricks with SQL or PL/SQL, the 10g recyclebin, and so forth, usually with senior development staff and dev team technical managers. (It's fallen off a bit lately.) These have worked well although they've been a bit scattershot--unstructured and more of a volunteer effort.

Thoughts?

Bob

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