SECTION 1

LESSON 1

Introduction to the Oracle Academy

Objectives
This lesson covers the following objectives:
• Give examples of jobs, salaries, and opportunities that are possible by participating in the
Academy
• Explain how your participation in the Academy can help you take advantage of these opportunities

Purpose
A passage from a book may get you interested in reading the whole text. A movie trailer or preview
may make you curious enough to see the film. A food sampled at the supermarket may result in a
product purchase.

The Oracle Academy hopes to open your eyes to the opportunities that are possible and help you
develop the skills to make you successful in the professional workplace.

Questions to Consider
What kind of career in business or in the technology industry do you want to have?
What types of jobs are you interested in?
What options are you preparing yourself for?

Considerations
Labor statistics report a steady increase in employment opportunities for database and Internet-
trained personnel in many fields, including:
• Publishing
• Trade
• Business Services
• Membership Organizations

As their Web presence grows in importance, businesses are creating a greater demand for skilled
professionals to develop and support Web applications.

Statistics
Required Education for IT Positions
Today, most IT jobs require an associate’s degree or higher to start. In addition to the degree, many
require industry-recognized certifications. With the internet, employers can hire employees to work
from remote locations which broadens the pool of candidates. Your educational goals are important
in helping you get into a career that you enjoy.

The Oracle Academy

Teacher-led/project-driven
+ I.T. industry-recognized certification
+ Higher-Education options
= 21st-century economic viability

Oracle Academy Preparation for a Career

Possible Career Path 1
Title: Entry-Level Database Engineer
Maintain data integrity; run database queries
Requirements: 0 - 2 yrs. + bachelor's degree
Salary: $25,000 - $50,000 USD

Title: Database Administrator (DBA)

Conduct extensive database analysis and problem solving; maintain database configuration and
ensure data accuracy
Requirements: 2 - 5 yrs. + bachelor's degree
Salary: $65,000 - $90,000 USD

Title: Senior Database Administrator

Develop, implement, enhance, support, and maintain database
Requirements: 5+ yrs. + bachelor's degree
Salary: $100,000+ USD

Possible Career Path 2

Title: Junior Consultant Install and troubleshoot client systems
Requirements: 0 - 3 yrs. + bachelor's degree
Salary: $35,000 - $45,000 USD

Title: Sales Consultant

Assist sales representatives with system presentations and client needs assessments
Requirements: 2 - 3 yrs. + bachelor's degree
Salary: $50,000 – $90,000 USD

Title: Project Manager

Manage system design, engineering, implementation, and integration; initiate and maintain partner
relationships
Requirements: 4+ yrs. + bachelor's degree
Salary: $90,000+ USD

The Oracle Academy Database Design and Programming with SQL Course
This Oracle Academy course is the first of two courses available to you.
This course begins with topics covering:
• Entity relationship modeling: database design, development, and normalization
• History of the database, evolution of computing
• Business skills: presentations, case studies

The Oracle Academy Database Design and Programming with SQL Course
Additional topics covered include:
• SQL (structured query language) “The language of the database”
• Accessing data with SQL
• Data definition, manipulation, and control languages
• Transaction control
• Building applications
– Business skills: interviewing, creating a career portfolio

The Oracle Academy Database Programming with PL/SQL Course

This Oracle Academy course is the second of two courses available to you.
Topics covered in this course include:
• PL/SQL, a procedural language extension to SQL
• Procedural programming structures such as variables, constants, and parameters
• Conditional control statements including IF and CASE
• Iterative control statements including LOOP, WHILE, and FOR
• Handling exceptions
• Creating procedures, functions, packages, and triggers

Oracle Certifications
The Oracle Academy can prepare you for two certifications.
• Oracle Database SQL Certified Expert
1Z0-047: Oracle Database SQL Expert
• Oracle PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate (Completion of one SQL and one PLSQL Exam)
 SQL
1Z0-051 Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I
1Z0-007 Introduction to Oracle9iSQL
1Z0-047 Oracle Database SQL Expert
 PL/SQL
1Z0-147: Programming with PL/SQL
1Z0-144: Oracle Database 11g Program with PL/SQL

Summary
In this lesson, you should have learned how to:
• Give examples of jobs, salaries, and opportunities that are possible by participating in the Academy
• Explain how your participation in the Academy can help you take advantage of these opportunities
 SECTION 1 LESSON 2

Data vs. Information

Objectives
This lesson covers the following objectives:
• Distinguish between data and information, and provide examples of each
• Describe and give an example of how data becomes information

Purpose
All kinds of information (school records, mobile telephone records, ring tone downloads, grocery
purchases) are stored in databases. We interact with databases every day, consciously or
unconsciously.
It is important to understand what is stored in a database and what can be retrieved from it.

Data Compared to Information

If you work in the information-technology industry, it is essential to understand how data is modeled
and stored in a database.
If you work in any other industry, you will most likely have to work with data stored somewhere on a
computer and probably be required to use data in your job to create reports and/or make decisions.

Data vs. Information

The words "data" and "information" are often used as if they are synonyms. Nevertheless, they have
different meanings.
Data :
Raw material from which you can draw conclusions; facts from which you can deduce new facts.
Information :
Knowledge, intelligence, a particular piece of data with a special meaning or function. Information is
often the result of combining, comparing, and performing calculations on data.

Whenever a student, teacher, administrator (or any person using a computer) interacts with a
website, pieces of data are collected. The website application may be unique to that school or
company, but what happens in the background?
What is a Database?
A database is a centralized and structured set of data stored on a computer system.
• It provides facilities for retrieving, adding, modifying, and deleting the data when required.
• It also provides facilities for transforming retrieved data into useful information.

A database is usually managed by a Database Administrator (DBA).

Documents, Pictures, Video, and Sound

Question: What Does a Database Have to do with My Everyday Life?

Question: If You Had One of the Jobs Listed Below, How Might You Use a Database?

Question:
Have You Ever Returned an Item to a Store Without a Receipt?
What information did you have to provide?
Were you able to return the item?

Terminology
Key terms used in this lesson included:
• Data
• Database
• Information
Summary
In this lesson, you should have learned how to:
• Distinguish between data and information, and provide examples of each
• Describe and give an example of how data becomes information
 SECTION 1 LESSON 3

History of the Database

Objectives
This lesson covers the following objectives:
• Describe the evolution of the database and give an example of its role in the business world
• Name important historical contributions in database development and design
• List and explain the three major steps in the database development process

Purpose
History provides perspective for where we are today in information technology. The next time you
use your computer, your video gaming system, or your smart phone, you will realize how far we’ve
come to get to this point and what events brought us here.
Data Modeling is the first step in database development. This lesson includes an overview of the
content that is covered in the remainder of the course.

History of the Database Timeline

1960s : Computers become cost effective for private companies, and storage capacity
increases
1970-72 : E. F. Codd proposes the relational model for databases, disconnecting the logical
organization from the physical storage.
1976 : P. Chen proposes the entity relationship model (ERM) for database design.
Early 1980s : The first commercially-available relational database systems start to appear at
the beginning of the 1980s with Oracle Version 2.
Mid-1980s : SQL (structured query language) becomes "intergalactic standard.“
Early 1990s : An industry shakeout begins with fewer surviving companies. Oracle survives
Mid-1990s : Kaboom! The usable Internet/World Wide Web (WWW) appears. A mad
scramble ensues to allow remote access to computer systems with legacy data.
Late 1990s : The large investment in Internet companies helps create a tools-market boom
for Web/Internet/DB connectors.
Early 21st : Solid growth of DB applications continues. Examples: commercial websites
century (yahoo.com, amazon.com, google.com), government systems (Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services, Bureau of the Census), art museums,
hospitals, schools, etc.

Question: What Does Data Modeling Have to do with a Database?

Database Development Process
Data modeling begins by researching the information requirements of a business.
Example: Here is a set of information requirements.
I manage the Human Resources Department for a large company. We need to store data about each
of our company’s employees. We need to track each employee's first name, last name, job or
position, hire date and salary. For each employee on commission, we also need to track his potential
commission.
Each employee is assigned a unique employee number.
Our company is divided into departments. Each employee is assigned to a department -- for
example, accounting, sales, or development. We need to know the department responsible for each
employee and the department location. Each department has a unique number.
Some of the employees are managers. We need to know each employee's manager and all of the
employees that are managed by each manager.

Step two, the database design phase of the development process, translates the information
modeled on the entity relationship diagram to a table instance chart.
The table instance chart lists the design specifications of the information and has the following
components:
• Table name
• Column names
• Keys: a primary key (PK) is the unique identifier for each row of data;
a foreign key (FK) links data in one table to the data in a second table by referring to the PK column
in the second table
• Nulls: indicates if a column must contain a value (mandatory)
• Unique: indicates if the value contained in a column is unique within the table
• Datatype: identifies the definition and format of the data stored in each column
Terminology
Key terms used in this lesson included:
• Datatype
• Foreign key (FK)
• Nulls
• Primary key (PK)
• Table instance chart
• Unique

Summary
In this lesson, you should have learned how to:
• Describe the evolution of the database and give an example of its role in the business world
• Name important historical contributions in database development and design
• List and explain the three major steps in the database development process
 SECTION 1 LESSON 4

Major Transformations in Computing

Objectives
This lesson covers the following objectives:
• List the major transformations in computing that have occurred since the 1970’s.
• Define and give an example of these terms: hardware, operating system, software
 Identify examples of e-businesses that use database software and explain how it is essential to
their success
• Explain the overall mission of the Oracle Corporation

Purpose
History provides perspective for where we are today in information technology.
If we know where we have come from, it is easier to understand where we are today, and where we
are likely to go in the future.
Your first job upon graduation may not exist 20 years later!

Key Terms
 Hardware: the physical “bits and pieces” of a computer: keyboard, screen, mouse, disk drive,
memory, etc.
 Software: programs (sets of instructions) which tell the hardware what to do
 Operating system: a software program which directly controls and manages the hardware:
Microsoft Windows, Linux, etc.
• Application: a software program which carries out specific tasks on behalf of computer users
 Client: a workstation or desktop computer including a screen, keyboard, and mouse. Clients
interact directly with human computer users.
 Server: a more powerful computer that accepts work requests from clients, executes each request,
and sends the results back to the client.

Every time you request information from a Web page, your client computer sends the request to a
database on the server. The server retrieves the data from the database, converts it into useful
information, and sends the information back to the client.
If you pursue a career in IT, you will hear and use these terms nearly every day!

History of Computer Systems

The Problem of Isolated, Nonintegrated Systems
Grid Computing: A New Model
Business Terminology
• Finance: refers to businesses that deal primarily with money
 Logistics: can be defined as the planning, execution, and control of the movement and placement
of people and/or goods
 Commerce: involves transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying goods and
services
 Procurement: refers to all of the processes involved in requesting, ordering, auditing, and paying
for goods and services
 Distribution: commercial activity of storing and transporting goods from sellers to buyers

Terminology
Key terms used in this lesson included:
• Application
• Client
• Commerce
• Distribution
• Finance
• Grid computing
• Hardware
• Infrastructure
• Logistics
• Operating system
• Procurement
• Server
• Software

Summary
In this lesson, you should have learned how to:
• List the major transformations in computing that have occurred since the 1970’s.
• Define and give an example of these terms: hardware, operating system, software
 Identify examples of e-businesses that use database software and explain how it is essential to
their success
• Explain the overall mission of the Oracle Corporation