4 Best Oracle Books and Courses to Learn PL/SQL Programming for Beginners
These are my favorite and best books to learn Oracle database and PL/SQL programming from scratch. I have also shared online courses along with these books for better learning.
Hello guys, if you want to learn Oracle database and PL/SQL programming and looking for the best learning resources like books and online courses then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared the best PL/SQL online courses and in this article, I am going to share my favorite books to learn about Oracle database and PL/SQL from scratch.
In last summer, I had to work on a Java project which was using the Oracle database at their backend. The project was a mix of Java code with Oracle PL/SQL stored procedures, where Stored procedures were quite big and complex to read. I had not worked on Oracle for a couple of years and almost forget whatever I knew before.
So, to revise, update and re-learn and I looked over some of the books and online courses like The Complete Oracle SQL Certification Course which helped me a lot.
In my quest to revise and re-learn Oracle SQL, I also find lots of their used books on Oracle PL/SQL which are both interesting to read as well as provides a great wealth of information to any programmer.
Today, I am going to share those books with you. As a Java developer, I had worked on a project with no active DBA for the team and you as a programmer have a responsibility to create, update and understand existing PL/SQL stored procedures.
What this means is, you need to know the PL/SQL, if not at an expert level but up to an intermediate level to deal with your day-to-day task while working on a Java project involving Oracle database at the backend.
Btw, let me tell you that these books are from an application developer’s perspective and not for DBAs. So, if you are a DBA or want to become an Oracle DBA, you better check out courses like Oracle DBA 11g/12c — Database Administration for Junior DBA, which is more DBA focused.
5 Best Oracle Books to Learn PL/SQL Programming
Without wasting any more time, here is my list of some of the great books to learn about Oracle database and PL/SQL programming. I have read most of them, not completely but have referred them every now and then. These are great resources to learn Oracle 10g, Oracle 11g, and even the Oracle 12c version of the Oracle database.
1. Oracle PL/SQL Programming 6th Edition
This book is written by Steven Feuerstein, one of the most famous names in the world of Oracle PL/SQL programmers and highly regarded as an expert. This book is your complete guide or reference book about Oracle PL/SQL programming.
If you are not understanding a particular code, syntax, or keyword, this is the book you should refer to. The full title of the book is “Oracle PL/SQL Programming: Covers Versions Through Oracle Database 12c 6th Edition”, which also means that it covers the latest version of Oracle database like Oracle 12c.
If you want, you can also combine this book with the Learning PL/SQL — Beginner to Advanced The Example way course on Udemy, it’s one of the highest-rated courses to learn PL/SQL and provides comprehensive coverage of all important PL/SQL concepts.
2. Murach’s Oracle SQL and PL/SQL for Developers, 2nd Edition
I love the Murach series, having been previously read their Servlet and JSP book, I know what to expect from Murach’s Oracle book and it didn’t disappoint me either.
The Murach’s Oracle SQL and PL/SQL for Developers by Joel Murach. If you use Toad to interact Oracle database then you would find this book a little bit different because it uses SQL developer, a free Java-based tool, but since I have used both of them in a different project, it wasn’t a problem for me.
I highly recommend this book to any new programmer who is starting with SQL but with Oracle databases like Oracle 10g or Oracle 11g. It is filled with non-trivial examples and quite readable in every sense.
If you need a course to join along with this book then I recommend checking out Oracle PL/SQL Fundamentals vol. I & II course on Udemy. This is one of the most comprehensive Oracle courses on Udemy.
3. Oracle Database 12c PL/SQL Programming 1st Edition
Another good book to learn is Oracle database and PL/SQL programming by Michael McLaughlin. It’s also one of the most up-to-date books on Oracle PL/SQL programming covering the Oracle 12c database.
Like others, it is also filled with concepts and examples but what I like more about this book is additional information given in the appendix section, which is truly awesome. You can use this book as a textbook to learn Oracle PL/SQL programming.
If you need a course to go along with this book, I suggest you join Oracle Database 12c Fundamentals By Tim Warner course on Pluralsight. It nicely complements this book because it covers Oracle 12c version which is more latest.
4. Oracle PL/SQL Best Practices 2nd Edition
This is another gem by Steven Feuerstein, one of the best, must-read books for any experienced or intermediate programmer, who knows how to use Oracle PL/SQL programming language.
This book is filled with lots of advice on how to make most of PL/SQL, how to use things in the right way, and best practices acquired by Steven from his years of experience with Oracle PL/SQL programming.
I have a copy of this book and I often look back into it whenever I get some time or whenever I need to know the right way to use any feature of the Oracle database.
You can also combine this book with the Learning PL/SQL — Beginner to Advanced The Example way for better learning.
That’s all about some of the best books to learn Oracle PL/SQL Programming from scratch. As a Java developer, you need to learn a lot of different technologies to become a full-stack developer or to perform your day-to-day tasks. I had worked on a Java project which uses Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Sybase, PostgreSQL, and IBM databases in the backend.
In fact, every new project comes with a new database and a set of new technologies, so don’t think that just learning Java would be enough. If you come across any other Oracle’s PL/SQL programming book then don’t forget to leave a note, I just love good books.
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Thanks for reading this article, If you like these Oracle books and courses then please share them with your friends and colleagues, it makes a lot of difference. If you have any good Oracle books to suggest, please leave a comment.
P.S. — If you are interested in learning Database and SQL and looking for some free resources to start your journey, then you can also take a look at this list of Free SQL Courses for Beginners to kick-start your learning.
