Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Oracle for producing the great database software that this book is about, as well as the Sybex team who did all the behind-the-scenes work on the book. We, the authors, get our names on the cover of the book, but the following people helped significantly in creating this Study Guide, and we want to thank and acknowledge their efforts: acquisitions and developmental editor Jeff Kellum; production editor Mae Lum; copyeditor Pat Coleman; technical editors Chris Guillaume and Bob Wahl; compositor Craig Woods of Happenstance Type-O-Rama; illustrator Jeffrey Wilson of Happenstance Type-O-Rama; proofreaders James Brook, Sunah Cherwin, Amy Rasmussen, and Nancy Riddiough; indexer Jack Lewis; and all the other unnamed individuals who had a hand in bringing this book to fruition.

I'd like to thank the good software engineers at Oracle for developing and continuing to improve a great software product. I've spent many good years learning about and teaching others to use Oracle databases, and I still have so much more to learn.

Lastly and most importantly, I'd like to thank my family for the unceasing support I get from them.

—Chip Dawes

I'd like to thank all the contributors to this book for their time and efforts. I'd also like to thank the entire Sybex team for their input and assistance in the production of this work. The third time has been a charm.

—Matthew Weishan

Many thanks to all those who helped me during the development of this book, in particular: Tony Gastel, Gerry Bustamente, Stephen Deutsch, Brook Swenson, Tami Van Dreese, Jamie Mudrick, Brenda, and Emily. Thanks too to my co-authors Chip, Bob, and Matt.

—Joseph C. Johnson

This book wouldn't be possible without the love and support from my family throughout the long nights and weekends when I still managed to find time to help the kids with their homework before bedtime. I loved every minute of it.

Thanks also to my professional colleagues, both past and present, who provided me with inspiration, support, and guidance and who pushed me a little further to take a risk now and then, starting with that math teacher in high school, whose name eludes me at the moment, who introduced me to computers on a DEC PDP-8 with a teletype and a paper tape reader.

—Bob Bryla