Defying Gravity

From the Broadway Wicked Musical

Firefly song

From the TV show Firefly
Ballad of Serenity
lyrics and music by Joss Whedon
sung by Sonny Rhodes

Pythian OOW09 Diaries: Talking to Steven Feuerstein

A maior flor do mundo

Hoje deram-me a conhecer o filme de animação galego "A maior flor do mundo" baseado numa história de Saramago.

A polémica desta vez (tem de haver uma!) é se ele consegue ou não escrever histórias para crianças.

YouTube monkeys / Macacos responsabilizados no Youtube

I got this message several times in youtube and today I want to share it :-)
Tendo obtido esta mensagem várias vezes no youtube, hoje apeteceu-me partilha-la :-)


"A team of highly trained monkeys has been dispatched to deal with this situation."
Uma equipa de macacos altamente treinados foi enviada para tratar desta situação.

Does that mean that "no one will be notified and no one will look to it?" and to where should I send the error report?
Será que isso significa "que ninguém foi avisado nem ninguém ira tentar resolver o problema"?

Well, this monkey will sleep now! good night!
Bem, este macaco vai dormir! Boa noite!

This post was wrote in English and in Portuguese, but it's not a literal translation!
Esta mensagem foi escrita em Inglês e Português, mas não foi efectuada uma tradução literal.

Saber esperar

Apresento hoje um video (em inglês) que é educativo para os pais.
É baseado numa experiência cientifica que seguiu depois do teste semelhante ao que vão ver a evolução de crianças até ao estado adulto.

O teste é apresentado a crianças pequenas, que são sentadas numa cadeira, no meio de uma sala, e à frente não têm mais do que um marshmallow num prato. (O marshamallow é uma guloseima que os miúdos americanos gostam muito de comer, uma goma grande daquelas tipo esponja.)

O doutor/investigador explica o teste à criança: "Olha, ficas aqui que eu vou lá fora falar com os teus pais e volto já. Se quiseres, podes comer essa goma, ou então podes esperar e eu dou-te outra. Comes essa, ou esperas e comes duas".
Depois sai e os miúdos ficam lá sozinhos, sem sequer imaginarem que há câmaras escondidas a filmá-los e os pais e o investigador estão a ver.
O objectivo é testar se a criança consegue esperar pelo prémio futuro. a investigação baseada no teste diz que a demonstração dessa capacidade tem implecações no crescimento da criança na sociedade.

"Se um pai de Não e passado 10 segundosvolta atrás, isso vai dizer à criança que Não não é "Não"! Simplesmente significa "que vais necessitar de fazer mais birra!"

How You Should Ask for Help

A video interview where Tom Kyte explains how many questions he receives equate to “my car won’t start”. There’s insufficient data to even begin to answer a question like that.” Kyte also explains how the internet has changed how questions are asked, and how he doesn’t reply with RTFM.

This doesn't apply only to IT questions but to all domains.

SQL Navigator 6.2.1 released

Some of the fixes included in 6.2.1 are:

# AV in table editor for object table
# Error "ORA-00900: invalid SQL statement: SQL Navigator could not parse/execute sql with open '(' after FROM.
# AV when editing and switching between script and results tab
# In data grid, Exporting large number of rows and when export finishes, SQL Nav closes.
# The focus is not on the currently running query
# Output doesn't get displayed if debug from the body tab
# Updateable mode doesn't work if column name is similar to a keyword (regression)
# Out of memory when query from table with large amount of columns (regression)
# Issue with Ldap using 11G client
# Debugger hang when input a decimal number in German Regional setting
# Invalid variant operation when open/extract ddl from external table (regression)
# Data corrupted when export from excel
# AV when editing a sql file (regression)
# Cannot access trigger in another schema in 9iDB (Regression)
# Dot lookup doesn't work for synonym of a table belong to a different schema (Regression)
# Reset Oracle password under Session main menu is broken in v6.2.

Vista's Snipping Tool

I was recently asked why I didn´t user the Windows Vista's Snipping Tool. My answer was "what is that? and then : why I do not have it installed?"

The Snipping Tool is installed with the Tablet PC Optional Components (Go to Control Panel -> programs and features -> turn windows features on and off -> check the Tablet PC Optional Components) but will not appear in Tablet PC folder in Accessories but directly in the Accessories :-(

The Snipping Tool allows to make a screen shot of portion of the screen (even works with several monitors :-)) to a file. It's like "Print screen" to a region but is not confined to the main monitor or to a program window.

Very useful tool!

PS: This tool is not available with Vista's Basic Version

Postura na escola: descubra as diferenças!

The problem with Hot-Patching and having Result-Cached Functions

Sometimes we bypass some of the documentation: sometimes that is due to time constraints, other times it's due to "I already know this" or cross-reading.
Or maybe we read but forgot :-).

I wanted to store here (so I will remember) the solution for a problem I got when updating a package that had result-cached functions and those functions where used by other result-cached functions in another package.

Result-Cached Function

Due to the Automatic Detection of Data Sources of Result-Cached Function in Oracle 11R2 this is the code I'm doing in my 10r2 environment to prepare it for a 11R2 (or future migration. I will not prepare it to 11R1 :-) )

Oracle 11R2 Editionable Objects

Only these objects can be Editionable:

• Non-Public SYNONYMS
  
• VIEWS
  
• All PL/SQL object (FUNCTIONS, LIBRARIES, PACKAGES (includes PACKAGE BODYs, of course), PROCEDURES, TRIGGERS, TYPES and TYPE BODYs)
  

For instance Table is a non-editionable object: you would use a view to maskarede as a table and add colunms to the table and not removing columns from it but from the view. And do not forget that the columns names of the table and the view can be diferent.

More post about Editionable Objects:

• User Enable Editions troubles and solutions
  
• Oracle Edition-Based Redefinition: Interview with Bryn Llewellyn