Conventions Used in This Book

The following conventions are used in this book:

Italic

Used for script, file, and directory names

Constant width

Used for code examples, HTML tags and attributes, and XML tags and elements

Constant width italic

In code examples, indicates an element (e.g., a parameter) that you supply

UPPERCASE

Generally indicates Oracle keywords, including package names

lowercase

In code examples, generally indicates user-defined items such as variables and procedure names

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In code examples, a vertical bar indicates that you must choose only one from the list (e.g., IN | OUT | IN OUT)

TIP: The owl icon indicates a tip, suggestion, or general note. For example, we'll tell you if you need to use a particular Oracle version or if an operation requires certain privileges.

WARNING: The turkey icon indicates a warning or caution. For example, we'll tell you if Oracle does not behave as you'd expect or if a particular operation has a negative impact on performance.