The Spoken Nerd

Back to Basics: Understanding Database Locking

If you are the only person using a PC, then the concept of having to lock information is totally foreign, because all of the data is yours and yours alone. But databases were built for the multi-user world, where concurrent access to the data is the norm. To handle this, we sometimes need to lock the data to ensure it is controlled and updated in a way that guarantees integrity and correctness. In this episode, we discuss the "Optimistic" and "Pessimistic" locking strategies, how they are used to handle the "Lost Update" problem, and what role the internet played in changing our view of database locking. If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

Blog post referred to in the episode: https://stewashton.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/avoiding-lost-updates-with-ora_rowscn/

 

Catching up with Maria Colgan - part4

Known for many years as "the optimizer lady", there are very few people that can throw down with tech ubergeeks in the Oracle community whilst at the same time nonchalantly stroll into a meeting with Larry Ellision, but Maria Colgan is one of the select people that can do so.

Maria has nearly 3 decades of experience with the Oracle Database, covering SQL, performance, and the optimizer and even OS/2. In this episode, Maria and I talk about the rise of DevOps, the recent popularity of AI engines, her presentation style both in-person and on YouTube, plus some of personal passions such as going on safari and the Oscar movie cycle.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

Catching up with Maria Colgan - part3

Known for many years as "the optimizer lady", there are very few people that can throw down with tech ubergeeks in the Oracle community whilst at the same time nonchalantly stroll into a meeting with Larry Ellision, but Maria Colgan is one of the select people that can do so.

Maria has nearly 3 decades of experience with the Oracle Database, covering SQL, performance, and the optimizer and even OS/2. In this episode, Maria and I talk about what a face to face meeting with Larry Ellison is like; the cool features coming in 23c; JSON as the new data exchange standard and of course, her beloved Tesla :-)

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

 

Catching up with Maria Colgan - part 2

Known for many years as "the optimizer lady", there are very few people that can throw down with tech ubergeeks in the Oracle community whilst at the same time nonchalantly stroll into a meeting with Larry Ellision, but Maria Colgan is one of the select people that can do so.

Maria has nearly 3 decades of experience with Oracle, covering performance, the optimizer and even OS/2. In this episode, Maria and I talk about how she landed the role of Optimizer Product Manager, whether hints should be documented, and the obsolescence of the rule optimizer. We also chat about the role of social media for the modern IT practitioner.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

 

Catching up with Maria Colgan - part 1

Known for many years as "the optimizer lady", there are very few people that can throw down with tech ubergeeks in the Oracle community whilst at the same time nonchalantly stroll into a meeting with Larry Ellision, but Maria Colgan is one of the select people that can do so.

Maria has nearly 3 decades of experience with Oracle, covering performance, the optimizer and even OS/2. In this episode, Maria and I talk about the beginnings of her Oracle career and how it led to Product Management, plus reminisce on our shared Irish heritage.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

 

The Dom Giles Sessions - part 3

In the high energy world of modern IT, it has become commonplace to float between companies on a regular cadence, which can result in diluting your skillset across an ever broadening landscape. But occasionally you'll have the good fortune to encounter someone who has expanded their breadth of skills almost entirely within a single organisation, giving them a incredibly in-depth knowledge of the product, a strong mentoring focus, and a unique perspective on how Oracle has evolved over the years.

Dominic Giles has 30+ years of experience with Oracle, and that makes him the perfect guest to talk about the Oracle Database. In this episode, Dom and I talk about CloudWorld, the role of the DBA in modern IT, and whether microservices is a good thing or just a giant mistake we'll never recover from.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

The Dom Giles Sessions - part 2

In the high energy world of modern IT, it has become commonplace to float between companies on a regular cadence, which can result in diluting your skillset across an ever broadening landscape. But occasionally you'll have the good fortune to encounter someone who has expanded their breadth of skills almost entirely within a single organisation, giving them a incredibly in-depth knowledge of the product, a strong mentoring focus, and a unique perspective on how Oracle has evolved over the years.

Dominic Giles has 30+ years of experience with Oracle, and that makes him the perfect guest to talk about the Oracle Database. In this episode, Dom and I talk about our favorite releases, how features get chosen for new releases, and how to best tackle patching your systems to keep them secure and up to date.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

The Dom Giles Sessions - part 1

In the high energy world of modern IT, it has become commonplace to float between companies on a regular cadence, which can result in diluting your skillset across an ever broadening landscape. But occasionally you'll have the good fortune to encounter someone who has expanded their breadth of skills almost entirely within a single organisation, giving them a incredibly in-depth knowledge of the product, a strong mentoring focus, and a unique perspective on how Oracle has evolved over the years.

Dominic Giles has 30+ years of experience with Oracle, and that makes him the perfect guest to talk about the Oracle Database. In this episode, I catch up with Dom to talk about the his origin story with Oracle, and what he's seen change over the years of his time there.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

Back to Basics: The highs and lows of the High Water Mark

Databases are incredibly sophisticated pieces of software, and hence as they mature, the algorithms and logic behind what at first glance would seem to be trivial functionality are often amazing in their cleverness and cunning. In this episode we'll explore the complexity and sophistication around what would seem to be the simplest of questions: When I want to insert a row into a table, where should the database store that row? For a database to answer that question, it needs to know which table blocks are empty, which ones are full and how to manage multiple sessions all asking for which blocks to use all at the same time. Time for some insight into the High Water Mark for a database table, and its impact on your applications.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.

The next generation of Oracle Developers - part3

It is easy to be "too close" to things that you are familiar with, and thus become jaded and disenchanted with all of the minor frustrations one encounters over a long period of time. Frequent travellers revel in grumbling about the delayed take-off, the size of the plane seat, the annoying passenger, the slow arrival of baggage etc, at the same time losing sight of the wonder of flight. In the information technology industry, we can become similarly jaded, reduced to the cliche of "grumpy old IT folk".

Thus in this series, in my attempt to recapture the enthusiasm of youth :-), I catch up with a young woman at the very start of her IT career. Layla Massey is studying software engineering at college, and has just completed a summer internship at Oracle. To finish off this 3-part series, we discuss the challenges facing women in IT even at the college level, the role of exercise for work/life balance, how to exploit a social media presence to get ahead in the IT industry, and how to build a personal brand.

If you like this episode, be sure you hit the Like button and share it with your colleagues. Catch me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/connor_mc_d  if you have comments or questions.