Oracles function result cache (FRC) works, in simplified terms, by caching the result of a PL/SQL function. This can greatly improve performance, but it can also lead to performance problems.
Read More »Forall is still row-by-row
I came over some code that used the forall construct to update rows in a large table. Quite a few rows were updated and the batch took some time to complete. Usually, using forall is a good idea, but sometimes other constructs can perform better.
Read More »Which tables could need updated statistics?
Does your tables need updated statistics for the optimizer? Here’s a couple of views that could be useful in the gathering of information.
Read More »Statistics gathering parameters for partitioned tables
When partitioned tables get a bit large, these parameters may be suitable to set.
Read More »DataGrip cutting DDL short, case 2
My preferred tool for writing PL/SQL code has been DataGrip from JetBrains for the last few years. Working on a case with reference partitioned tables, I came over some strange errors. At first I thought Oracle had a lot of bugs in the partitioning syntax, but it turned out to be DataGrip messing with my DDL!
Read More »DataGrip cutting DDL short, case 1
My preferred tool for writing PL/SQL code has been DataGrip from JetBrains for the last few years. Working on a case with reference partitioned tables, I came over some strange errors. At first I thought Oracle had a lot of bugs in the partitioning syntax, but it turned out to be DataGrip messing with my DDL!
Read More »Proxy user logon #JoelKallmanDay
Are you using proxy logon when connecting to your Oracle database? Why not?
Read More »Generating data: union all vs insert all
To test out different physical table lay-outs, I had to repeatedly generate some test-data. After a few runs, I wanted to speed it up a bit. This is how I did it.

A small unexpected to_date oddity
I was about to do some date/time calculations as I got an unexpected result with the to_date-function.
Read More »
Yet another reason to unit test your (PL/SQL) code
The last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of using utPLSQL v3, a unit testing framework for PL/SQL, on a new project that I’m working on. Sure – writing tests takes a bit extra time, but it’s such a huge help when you’re constantly refactoring a system that grows from zero.