January 2016

It’s amazing how easy it is to interpret a number incorrectly until the point comes where you have to look at it closely – and then you realise that there was a lot more to the number than your initial casual assumption, and you would have realised it all along if you’d ever needed to think about it before.

Here’s a little case in point. I have a simple (i.e. non-partitioned) heap table t1 which is basically a clone of the view dba_segments, and I’ve just connected to Oracle through an SQL*Plus session then run a couple of SQL statements. The following is a continuous log of my activity:

When I wrote about rehearsals in my public speaking tips series, I mentioned talking through small sections of the presentations as a means for rehearsals. I do this a lot! I live on my own, so this is not an internal dialogue. I say this stuff out loud.

This morning I was talking through some ideas as I left the house and cleared the ice off the car. I continued during the journey to work, including when I got out of the car to get a coffee from the Costa Express at the garage. Even as I was unlocking the office door.

I thought I had written this note a few years ago, on OTN or Oracle-L if not on my blog, but I can’t find any sign of it so I’ve decided it’s time to write it (again) – starting as a question about the following code: