I found out that this reason is VERY true in large, security conscious companies: - There's many environments where connections to the database via GUI-Tools are disallowed. You are forced to use sql*plus From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Stefan Knecht Sent: Thursday, December 23, 2010 2:08 AM To: gabriel.aragon@xxxxxx Cc: oracle-l-freelists Subject: Re: SQLPLUS training, why? In my opionion, with some random early-morning thoughts, - Because it's simply the fastest and most efficient tool to diagnose any Oracle problems the "SQL-way" - if you've got your set of scripts you'll get to the information you need a 100 times faster than anyone can click through toad or - particularly - GC. - There's many environments where connections to the database via GUI-Tools are disallowed. You are forced to use sql*plus - It doesn't need windows (that's my favourite reason!) and it's just plain sexy :-) - If you have a login file with the most commonly used columns pre-formatted (and things like linesize, pagesize et al) - it makes using the tool even more efficient. And most of all, - there's nothing more embarassing for a DBA that he's unable to do his job when toad breaks or grid control dies while you're having an issue, and you're not able to use sql*plus properly. Even if you're not using it all the time, it helps knowing the command syntax (that is hidden beyond fancy buttons in those tools) - as knowing and understanding that syntax implicitly brings knowledge about what's happening under the cover when you execute said command. Stefan ========================= Stefan P Knecht CEO & Founder s@xxxxxxxx 10046 Consulting GmbH Schwarzackerstrasse 29 CH-8304 Wallisellen Switzerland Phone +41-(0)8400-10046 Cell +41 (0) 79 571 36 27 info@xxxxxxxx http://www.10046.ch ========================= On Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 4:09 AM, Aragon, Gabriel (GE, Corporate, consultant) <gabriel.aragon@xxxxxx> wrote: Hi list, I have been asked to give a sqlplus training to some junior and junior+ DBA's, since Im expecting the first question to be: "I know how to run most common DML/DDL/etc commands so, why do I need to take a sqlplus training to format output or generate reports when there is a lot of tools which can help me to access database w/o using manual input?" and I have thought some answers like: 1. Im sure nobody is exploding all features available in SQLPLUS. 2. What would you do if you have to work in a company which is not able to pay for nice tools? 3. Knowledge on SQLPLUS would help you to get a better understanding of oracle database. and so on.. but I would like to hear some feedback from you guys, why a sqlplus training is important? TIA Gabriel