Structure of this tutorial

This tutorial is separated into six parts as follows:

• Part I: Working With Packages
• This part introduces packages, the most important construct in PL/SQL for building reusable code and employing object-oriented design techniques. PL/SQL Packages describes how and when you should create packages and explains why PL/SQL developers should learn to center their entire development process around packages Best Practices for Packages presents my tried-and-true "best practices" for building packages. The PL/SQL Development Spiral puts packages in the context of overall PL/SQL development by providing a tutorial on solving a typical problem in PL/SQL.
• Part II: PL/Vision Overview
• Getting Started with PL/Vision gets you started with PL/Vision, a collection of PL/SQL packages and supporting SQL*Plus scripts that can radically change the way you develop applications with the PL/SQL language. PL/Vision Package Specifications provides a brief summary of all of the specifications for the PL/Vision packages, and is marked with a thumb-tab for quick reference.
• Part III: Building Block Packages
• Chapters 6 through 13 describe the building block packages of PL/Vision; these are low-level packages that you can use to enhance your development -- for example, string parsers, a list manager, and an interface to PL/SQL tables.
• Part IV: Developer Utility Packages
• Chapters 14 through 18 describe the developer utilities of PL/Vision; these are programs that improve your PL/SQL development environment -- for example, a code generator, a powerful substitute for SHOW ERORS, and an online help delivery mechanism.
• Part V: PL/Vision Plug-and-Play Packages
• Chapters 19 through 22 describe the plug-and-play components of PL/Vision; these are pieces of code that can be used as is in your own applications -- for example, a high-level exception handler mechanism and a generic, reusable logging mechanism.
• Part VI: Testing Your Knowledge
• The appendix provides a set of exercises (and their solutions) to test your knowledge of the PL/SQL language.