Oracle SQL Tuning Pocket Reference--This book provides Oracle database administrators with solutions to common problems that occur when tuning SQL statements. DBAs will find tips for dealing with both the rule-based and cost-based optimizers, discussions on the use of the DBMS_STATS package to manage database statistics, and information on the use of outlines to specify execution plans for SQL statements in third-party applications that you can't otherwise modify--all in this concise reference. Sample Excerpt, The SQL Optimizers, is available online.

Python Pocket Reference, 2nd Edition is the quick reference companion to two best-selling O'Reilly books, Programming Python, 2nd Edition and Learning Python. This concise guide to the Python programming language and its most commonly used libraries and tools has been updated to cover Python release 2.2. This edition also includes new summary material for Python's GUI, Internet, and database programming tools. Sample Excerpt, Specific Statements, is available online.

Oracle RMAN Pocket Reference is a handy guide for database administrators who want to use Oracle's Recovery Manager (RMAN). After a brief introduction to the RMAN architecture, this book provides checklists that show how to perform common RMAN tasks such as taking a full database backup and recovering lost data files. The book also offers a concise syntax reference to every RMAN command.

Java RMI contains a wealth of design and implementation tips that will improve your remote method invocation (RMI) code. This book provides Java developers with strategies for working with the RMI registry, serialization, sockets and socket factories, HTTP tunneling, distributed garbage collection, JNDI, CORBA, and much more. Java RMI brings new developers up to speed on using RMI for distributed programming, while experienced programmers will find valuable RMI knowledge for constructing their own enterprise and distributed systems. Sample Chapter 10, Serialization, is available online.

Perl for Web Site Management is not a book about learning Perl; it is about learning to use Perl to write CGI scripts, incorporate search engines, convert multiple text files to HTML, monitor log files, and track visitors--all the daily Web chores that can be done much more easily and efficiently with Perl. This book shows Web developers and designers how to stop using clunky tools, editing files tediously by hand, or relying on programmers and system administrators to do the more difficult tasks. Sample Chapter 8, Parsing Web Access Logs, is available online.

Beginning Perl for Bioinformatics--With its highly developed capacity to detect patterns in data, Perl has become the language of choice for biological data analysis. This book shows the nonprogramming biologist how to use Perl and how to apply the language to bioinformatics. Each chapter focuses on solving a particular problem or class of problems, so biologists and programmers finish the book with a solid understanding of Perl basics, a collection of programs for tasks such as parsing BLAST and GenBank, and the skills to tackle more advanced bioinformatics programming. Sample Chapter 10, GenBank, is available online.

Learning the Unix Operating System, 5th Edition offers the most effective introduction to the basic operations of Unix, in a concise, nontechnical way. This edition adds bash shell coverage, a new chapter on using pine for mail and ftp, and tips on Internet and networking security. The book also includes an updated quick reference card to the command line's key functions. Whether you're a PC or a Mac user, if you've never worked on a Unix system this book will tell you just what you need to get started. Sample Chapter 2, Using Window Systems, is available online.

Palm OS Programming: The Developer's Guide, 2nd Edition covers version 4.0 and includes everything you need to write a Palm OS application. All the major development environments are discussed, with the focus on C and C++ programming with CodeWarrior and PRC-Tools. New to the second edition is a tutorial on creating handheld applications, a new chapter on memory, and expanded discussions of forms, form objects, and new APIs. Used as the basis of Palm's own training materials, this book is the best source of information you'll find on the Palm OS. Sample Chapter 5, Structure of an Application, is available online.

O'Reilly Research's 2001 P2P Networking Overview goes beyond all the peer-to-peer buzz by separating fact from fiction and taking a comprehensive look at peer-to-peer from both business and technical perspectives. O'Reilly's 2001 P2P Networking Overview includes P2P company profiles and evaluations as well as an in-depth explanation and assessment of the underlying technologies. And finally, the report describes the state of the industry with a data-based analysis of where it's going. Sample Chapter 1, All the Pieces of PIE, is available online.

COM & .NET Component Services provides both COM programmers and new .NET component developers with the information they need to begin developing applications that take full advantage of COM+. This book focuses on COM+ services such as support for transactions, queued components, events, concurrency management, and security. With COM & .NET Component Services, skilled COM developers can leverage their knowledge for the next generation of components to be built for Microsoft's new .NET Framework. Sample Chapter 10, .NET Serviced Components, is available online. Read this book now on Safari.

Time and Tide Wait for No Protocol--Richard Silverman examines the SSH keystroke timing attack and dispels some of the oft-repeated misconceptions in the public's reaction to this research. Richard is coauthor of SSH, The Secure Shell: The Definitive Guide.

2001 P2P Networking Overview--O'Reilly Research has recently released this comprehensive look at peer-to-peer from business and technical perspectives. If you missed the P2P conference in Washington, D.C., check out the Reports from O'Reilly's Peer-to-Peer and Web Services Conference.

An Interview with Tim O'Reilly--In this interview with La Fnac, France's largest book and music retailer, Tim O'Reilly talks about next-generation operating systems, Linux in embedded systems, how open source can play a kingmaker role in the battle between Java and .NET, and more.

High Hopes for the Universal Business Language--Jon Bosak discusses his efforts to develop UBL to standardize XML business documents in this XML.com interview. For a complete list of O'Reilly's XML books, visit xml.oreilly.com.

Coverage from O'Reilly's P2P and Web Services Conference--Everyone from file swappers to the military is looking at peer-to-peer technology these days. Get the latest conference news, Weblogs from the conference floor, daily photos, as well as articles by speakers--all from O'Reilly's P2P Conference coverage page.

O'Reilly's Bioinformatics Technology Conference, January 28-31, 2002, in Tucson, Arizona, will present rich technical training for biologists and computational scientists, with a practical emphasis on how to choose and use the right tools. Register by December 7 and save up to $545.

Five Steps to Adding Physics-Based Realism to Your Games--If you want to spice up your computer games, check out this overview of the major steps you must take to develop physics-based simulations, by David M. Bourg, author of O'Reilly's upcoming Physics for Game Developers.

Thoughts on the Microsoft Settlement--Microsoft's continued contention that they've done nothing wrong remains the biggest block in accepting any proposed settlement, says Tim O'Reilly.

Dreamweaver: A Visual Tool for Serious Web Coders--Real coders do use HTML editors, and here's one that passes muster, says Bruce Epstein, coauthor of Dreamweaver in a Nutshell.

O'Reilly's Upcoming Titles include Building Wireless Community Networks, C# in a Nutshell, Java Programming with Oracle JDBC, JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, 4th Edition, Mastering Perl/Tk, Physics for Game Developers, Practical PostgreSQL, Programming Jabber, Programming Web Services with SOAP, and Wireless Java.

Tim O'Reilly on Bioinformatics--Bioinformatics is shaping up to be the first technology revolution of the 21st century, Tim says. O'Reilly & Associates translates cutting-edge bioinformatics knowledge into useful skills, and we deliver these skills to you at O'Reilly's upcoming Bioinformatics Technology Conference.

An Evening with Jennifer Niederst--Join best-selling O'Reilly author Jennifer Niederst for a seminar on the history and future of Web design, November 13, at the Interactive Factory in Boston. For more information on Jennifer's books, Web Design in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition, Learning Web Design, and HTML Pocket Reference, visit design.oreilly.com.

Building XML-RPC Clients in C--In this XML.com article, Joe Johnston demonstrates how to build a simple, yet powerful debugging client using Eric Kidd's XML-RPC C library. Joe is coauthor of Programming Web Services with XML-RPC.

How Linux Saved Amazon Millions--CNET reports that Amazon.com has shaved approximately $17 million from its technology budget largely by switching to open source software. For a complete list of O'Reilly's Linux books, visit linux.oreilly.com.

Zorba Reviews Dreamweaver 4: The Missing Manual--Michael Pastore was a die-hard HTML hand coder until he used this Missing Manual's tutorial to create a Web page with Dreamweaver 4, and now he's never going back. Comprehensive in treatment, elegant in layout, and lucid in its explanations is how Pastore describes Dreamweaver 4: The Missing Manual.

Perl 6: Not Just for Damians--Most of what we've heard about Perl 6 so far has come from either Larry or Damian, but this perl.com article looks at what average Perl hackers think about the proposed changes. For more on Perl check out O'Reilly's Programming Perl, 3rd Edition.

An Introduction to Ruby--In this Linux DevCenter article, Colin Steele compares Ruby to Perl and Python and says why he prefers Ruby over the other two. For more on Ruby, look for O'Reilly's soon-to-be-released Ruby in a Nutshell.

Peer- to-Peer for Academia--O'Reilly editor Andy Oram spoke recently to the Virtual Internet2 Member Meeting, a consortium of universities working with industry and government to develop new Internet infrastructure and applications. Andy is the editor of O'Reilly's Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies.