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Oracle

Oracle Discoverer 10g Handbook (Oracle)

Format: Paperback
Author: Darlene Armstrong-Smith
ReleaseDate: March, 2006
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media
Rating:

Loved it
What more can I say, it's well written, clear with good examples. This is THE book to get for Oracle Discoverer.

Complete, comprehensive coverage


Armstrong-Smith has achieved this goal in a pragmatic book that not only shows the "how" but the "why", with simple illustrative examples from real-world systems. Oracle Discoverer is a complex tool and much more than a single understanding of the functionality is required to use it effectively for business intelligence.

Outstanding Resource!


I think the true measure of this type of book is how well it takes someone who has little knowledge and walks them through the process of learning. I am a neophyte to Discoverer, having just accepted a position where the primary assignment is to learn discoverer and develop a library. Often times, this type of book slides into language or discourse that seems aimed at higher-end users or impressing people with the depth of knowledge, jargon and acronymns.

In particular, because Discoverer is a tool aimed at the end-user, who may or may not have a great deal of background with Oracle databases themselves (mine is limited), this book faces the challenge of addressing the needs of both the end-user without high-end technical savvy as well as the administrator who knows Oracle backward and forward.

I'm happy to say that I am rapidly gaining knowledge working through this book, as if I were sitting in a training class.

The progression of this book is as follows:

A. Getting Started with Discoverer

1. An Overview of Discoverer.
2. Users and Databases.
3. Getting Started in Discoverer.
4. The Workbook Wizard: The Essential Steps
5. The Workbook Wizard: The Optional Steps

B. Editing the Query

6. Formatting the Output in Discoverer Desktop and Plus
7. Using Graphs to Present Data
8. Turning a Discoverer Query into a Report
9. Using Discoverer to Analyze Data
10. Business Intelligence Discoverer Viewer 10g Release 2 (10. 1. 2)

C. Advanced Discoverer Techniques

11. Refining Items, Drilling, and Hyper-Drilling
12. Building Effective Conditions
13. Refining Parameters, Calculations, Sorting, and Percentages
14. Query Management
15. User Preferences, the Toolbar, and the Discoverer Administrator
16. Introducing Discoverer OLAP

D. Using the Discoverer Administration Edition

17. Getting Started in the Administration Edition
18. Editing the Business Area
19. Interacting with the End User
20. Configuring Discoverer
21. Setting Up Portal for Use with Discoverer
22. Summary Management

The appendicies are targetted and helpful.

All in all, I can't say enough good about this book. It filled the need exactly and efficiently.