Re: recent drivel posted by Tony Rogerson on his blog

From: DA Morgan <damorgan_at_psoug.org>
Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 08:53:38 -0700
Message-ID: <1191340407.697216@bubbleator.drizzle.com>

Brian Peasland wrote:

>> Search is only useful if you know the correct terminolgy to search on.

>
> Agreed, which is why your example really isn't good because the game can
> be played both ways....
>

>> Take an example, in SQL Server we have what's called 'Common Table 
>> Expression'; searching for that on the oracle help does not yeild 
>> anything similar in oracle yet I know there is something, so, what I 
>> need is a full scrollable index of topics so I can find what I'm 
>> looking for.

>
> Now look for Shared Pool or System Global Area in Books Online...can't
> find it. SQL Server has memory structures which perform somewhat similar
> actions, but you won't find these in BOL.
>
> Or look for "blocks" in BOL. You'll come up with "Understanding and
> Avoiding Blocking", "Using BEGIN...END", "Customizing the Lock
> Time-out", deadlocking, and "Troubleshooting Locking" (at least this is
> what I found in BOL for SQL 2000). Nowhere in here is that "blocks" in
> Oracle-speak is "pages" in SQL Server-speak. A fully scrollable index of
> topics is not going to help me make that terminology transition any easier.
>
> I just don't think that this is a very good argument you have made here
> because the coin can easily be flipped.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Brian

In both cases ... whether going from SQL Server to Oracle or from Oracle to SQL Server the onus is upon the person doing so to read the concept and architecture docs so that they understand the tool.

Anyone that bypasses this step and just goes straight to looking up syntax is their own worst enemy.

Your examples point out one folly where the names do not translate but try it with names that are easily found in both products. Search for LOG FILES in both the Oracle and SQL Server docs.

Reading the syntax portions only can you determine that the two structures are completely different and perform similar but not identical functions?

Tony is making the same mistake made by so many others. He thinks he can take his "expertise" in one product and move it into another and it will never work. Anyone trying to use Oracle that doesn't understand rollback/undo segments is doomed. And you won't find them by looking up things you already know because they do not exist in any product derived from Ingres.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
University of Washington
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu (replace x with u to respond)
Puget Sound Oracle Users Group
www.psoug.org

Received on Tue Oct 02 2007 - 10:53:38 CDT