If you are in some way responsible for improving and maintaining any Oracle system, then you will benefit from the information in this book. This means those of you who fit one of these descriptions:

This book is organized into three basic parts. We'll start by delving into a series of field-proven methods that give us a dependable and structured approach-which also naturally leads to being able to explain our complex analysis in a way that even managers can understand! Second, I'll infuse you with spot-on diagnosis techniques so you can listen to Oracle as it tells you where it hurts; that is, where the pain-the contention and the performance-limiting issues-reside. I'll then venture deep into relevant Oracle internals, so you have the knowledge you need to arrive at correct and appropriate solutions to remove Oracle's pain. And finally, I'll teach you how to anticipate the impact of your proposed solutions.

* Chapter 1, Methods and Madness: This chapter is about how to approach firefighting from a methodical and holistic perspective. It builds the framework upon which this entire book is based, setting the stage for a massive infusion of diagnostic details and Oracle internals.