All about ODTUG

The Oracle Development Tools User Group (ODTUG) is having its annual conference next month in Daytona Beach, Florida. If you have never been, perhaps this might change your mind:

If you haven’t already heard about the ODTUG Kaleidoscope Conference, June 18 through 21 in Daytona Beach Florida, I recommend that you check it out. I will be presenting at it and am looking forward to mingling with other Oracle technologists in an atmosphere that is both conducive to learning and relaxing. Long-heralded as the Oracle user group for developers and by developers, the Oracle Development Tools User Group (ODTUG) established Kaleidoscope as its flagship event with sessions covering all the practical technical information you need to excel in your job.

Why attend ODTUG Kaleidoscope? Because it's the only conference of its kind to give attendees the opportunity to get hands-on training with the tools, learn smart techniques, and talk with the experts that make Oracle tick. Kaleidoscope features:

• More than 125 Technical Sessions with handouts—real topics, with real information, for real developers. No hired presenters. No fancy footwork. Just genuine colleagues sharing practical information.


• Two full days of preconference Hands-on Training.


• Oracle product updates.


• A full-day Oracle Fusion Symposium.


• An Oracle PL/SQL Test-A-Thon, developed by Steven Feuerstein and packed with great prizes. The Test-A-Thon is sponsored by Quest Software and O’Reilly Books.


• A one-of-a-kind Install Fest, where you will learn from the "gurus" how to install and configure Linux to run Oracle 10g software.


• APEXposed, an ODTUG exclusive "Seriously Practical" training event on Application Express.


• Unprecedented opportunity for networking with colleagues and experts at organized functions, on-site SIG Meetings, and more.

It's affordable. It's technical. It's in Daytona Beach. And it's what you need to survive in today's fast-paced Oracle environment. When it comes to supporting Oracle developers in the trenches, the most targeted conference available is ODTUG Kaleidoscope,

For more information about ODTUG Kaleidoscope activities, location, exhibitors, or sessions, please visit http://www.odtugkaleidoscope.com/ or call 910-452-7444.

Hope to see you there.

P.S. Click here for information about the papers I am presenting.

My sessions at ODTUG

For everyone who has been asking, here are the dates and times for the two presentations that I am giving at next month's ODTUG conference in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Securing Private Confidential Information is scheduled for Wednesday, June 20, 2007 from 4:00-5:00 in Coquina B

Automated Scheduling and E-mailing from Within Discoverer—and More is scheduled for Thursday, June 21, 2007 from 11:00-12:00 in Coquina G

Are you going to ODTUG? If so, look me up.

By the way, here's the low down on the two papers:

Automated Scheduling and E-mailing from Within Discoverer:

Ever wanted to know how to schedule a Discoverer workbook and automatically e-mail it? Perhaps you are one of the hundreds of people who have asked this very question on the OTN forums. If so, your search is over. You'll be amazed at the simplicity of the approach and be ready to take it back to your office and try it for yourself. You will also learn how to set up Discoverer lists of values that comprise both an ID and a Description at the same time. This live demonstration of both Discoverer Administrator and Plus will show you how to create parameters that will accept an ID or a Description, yet still return the description to the user.

Securing Private Confidential Information:

Recent high-profile cases have highlighted the need for data such as social security numbers, dates of birth, and ethnicity to be protected. Have you considered securing your private and confidential information but decided it was too difficult? Using profiles and a VPD, you will see how to set up both row-based and column-based security. Using Discoverer, you will learn how to set up a mechanism to allow your support staff to connect to the database using the same profile as an end user, without the need to know the end user's password. Thus, you can set up a secure environment yet at the same time enable your support staff to help your users without the security breach of a disclosed password.

Thoughts on OBI EE for Discoverer Users

There's a very interesting article of Mark Rittman's blog entitled Thoughts on OBI EE for Discoverer Users. I won't bore you with the ins and outs but, and to quote from Mark:

if we’re looking at a potential upgrade for Discoverer users, it would be useful to take a moment to think about what’s good, and what’s not so good, about Oracle Discoverer

Mark does a very good job of discussing the pros and cons of Discoverer and at first glance the article can look a little anti-Discoverer. However, read on and you will see that Mark has been equally tough on the new OBI EE. Thus, in my opinion, I think the article is well worth reading.