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AI is real and it is here. Its implications for knowledge workers will be enormous, including you.

There is no escaping AI in our line of work. Therefore, while building the new version of Gitora PL/SQL Editor, I’ve fully embraced it.

The last few months have been the most interesting, rewarding and productive period of my professional life. I’ve practically stopped using Google search and StackOverflow, two websites I’d consider essential to my work just a few months ago.

I’ve coded the Gitora PL/SQL debugger virtually without reading a single line of documentation about how to build debuggers in Java or the specifics of how to build a Java debugger for PL/SQL. I am not even sure if there is any documentation available about building a PL/SQL debugger on the Internet.

I just talked about these topics with ChatGPT and analyzed, used the code snippets it produced.

All CSS and almost all of the run-of-the-mill code I needed to write for the debugger and the Gitora AI Assistant for SQL and PL/SQL (oh the irony!) is either written by ChatGPT or GitHub CoPilot. Heck, I even had the the previous sentenced grammatically verified with ChatGPT. I got it right in my first attempt and ChatGPT congratulated me.

After using an AI Assistant for a few months, I cannot imagine coding without it.  I view it an amazing junior pair programmer I am working with.

Although useful, ChatGPT and GitHub CoPilot are not as great as they can be while I am working with the Oracle database because they don't know the objects in the schema I am working in.

A context aware AI Assistant which knows about the tables, their relationships and other objects in the database would be immensely helpful. So I decided to build one. Gitora Editor 2.0 is my second iteration of a schema-aware AI Assistant.

If you think this is interesting and useful, you can download the Gitora Editor from this link. I'd appreciate any feedback. This whole thing is pretty new and I am interested in knowing how you are using the Gitora AI Assistant and how you think I can make it better.

Introducing the Gitora AI Assistant: Write, debug and explain SQL and PL/SQL with the help of AI.

Gitora AI Assistant knows about your tables, their structure and their relationships so that it can give relevant answers.

To learn more and download click at this link.

Introducing Gitora PL/SQL AI Assistant. It suggests PL/SQL code in real-time right from the Gitora Editor.

This was one of the MOST INTERESTING features I've ever worked on. The first iteration is a small step in the right direction. But the possibilities are ENDLESS.

I'd truly appreciate it if you could try it out and provide feedback so that I can improve it. Ideas to where to apply AI next are most welcome.

You can download the editor from this link: https://www.gitora.com/plsql_editor.html

We are excited to announce the launch of Gitora 7, which includes a groundbreaking addition to our suite of tools:

The Gitora PL/SQL Editor represents a fresh approach to writing PL/SQL code, drawing on the latest advances in code editors to deliver an unparalleled experience to the PL/SQL community. Packed with modern features that are intuitive and easy to use, this editor represents a significant leap forward in coding in PL/SQL.

Let’s take a quick look at some of the features that make the Gitora PL/SQL Editor so remarkable:

• Beautiful Design
  The Gitora PL/SQL Editor boasts a beautiful, modern design that makes it easy on the eyes and intuitive to use. With Bootstrap 5 components and Font Awesome icons, you can rest assured that the editor will be both stylish and functional.
  
  
• Dark Mode
  When you’re working long hours on code, the last thing you want is to strain your eyes. That’s why the Gitora PL/SQL Editor comes with a gorgeous dark mode that is easy on the eyes and perfect for long coding sessions.
  
  
• Single Page Web Application
  Designed from the ground up for a multi-monitor, multi-tab world, the Gitora PL/SQL Editor is a single-page web application that allows you to open multiple editors in many browser tabs across multiple monitors. This means that you can work on complicated tasks without losing your place.
  
  
• Auto Complete Suggestions
  The editor’s smart auto-complete suggestions make it easy to find what you’re looking for. Whether you’re typing package, procedure or function names, the editor will suggest relevant options to help speed up your workflow.
  
  
• Package (and Object Type) Content Navigator
  Navigating between package procedures, and functions is a breeze with the package content navigator. With just a single click, you can easily move between different parts of your code.
  
  
• Split Editor
  The split editor lets you work on two sections of your code simultaneously, making it easy to compare code or write related sections side by side.
  
  
• Go Back/Forward in the Editor
  The editor remembers the locations of your cursor, allowing you to easily navigate back and forth between different parts of your code with just a click, much like a browser’s back/forward buttons.
  
  
• Go to Definition
  With the CTRL+click command, you can quickly go to the definition of any database object in the code, allowing you to move between different parts of your project with ease.
  
  
• Code Folding
  Code folding lets you get a better view of the code structure by folding code blocks, making it easier to read and understand large chunks of code.
  
  
• Integrated with the Gitora Version Control
  Finally, the editor is fully integrated with the Gitora Version Control, allowing you to use it independently or from within the Gitora Version Control application. This makes it easy to manage your code changes and keep track of your work as you go.
  

We hope you’re as excited about the Gitora PL/SQL Editor as we are! With its many powerful features and intuitive design, we’re confident that it will be a game-changer for Oracle database developers everywhere.

Download Gitora 7 today to see what it can do for you!

With Gitora 6, developers can work on the same code base (i.e. a package, procedure etc…) in the same database without blocking each other.

Many development teams use a single database for development. Many of them use the same database for testing, as well. They achieve this by using different schemas for different purposes. Gitora 6 enables these teams to create Git repos for these schemas and pull updates between them.

With Gitora 6, you can even create a different schema for every developer and have them merge their code using Git.

Gitora 6 enables you to implement any modern development workflow in a single database.

Gitora 6 introduces a new repo type called Single Schema Repo (SSR). As its name suggests an SSR manages database objects from a single schema. The DDL scripts in SSR’s don’t contain the schema prefixes so that Gitora can execute them in other schemas in the same database.

This enables developers to work on the same package, procedure, function, view etc… (i.e. anything that can be created with the CREATE OR REPLACE command) at the same time, in the same database in different schemas.

Let’s go through an example: Let’s assume that the team is working on a logistics software and have a schema named LOGISTICS that stores all their database objects. The team can create a schema (or already have one) called LOGISTICS_TEST in the same database. Here are the steps the team needs to follow so that they can pull their changes to LOGISTICS_TEST.

1. Create a single schema Gitora repo that manages the LOGISTICS schema. Let’s call it the REPO_LOGISTICS.
   
2. Add all relevant database objects in the LOGISTICS schema to the LOGISTICS_REPO.
   
3. Create another single schema Gitora repo that manages the LOGISTICS_TEST schema. Let’s call it the REPO_LOGISTICS_TEST
   
4. Pull from the REPO_LOGISTICS to REPO_LOGISTICS_TEST

That’s it. That’s all there is to it. From this point on, any change you make to the code in the LOGISTICS schema can be pulled to the LOGISTICS_TEST schema using Gitora (and vice versa).

Single Schema Repos can also be used to create separate development environments in the same database for every developer in the team.

Assuming we already have the LOGISTICS schema and the REPO_LOGISTICS repo from the previous example, here is how that would work:

1. Create a schema for each developer: LOGISTICS_JOE, LOGISTICS_MARY, LOGISTICS_PAUL.
   
2. Create a single schema Gitora repo for each schema. Let’s call them REPO_LOGISTICS_JOE, REPO_LOGISTICS_MARY, REPO_LOGISTICS_PAUL respectively.
   
3. Pull from the REPO_LOGISTICS to REPO_LOGISTICS_JOE, REPO_LOGISTICS_MARY and REPO_LOGISTICS_PAUL.

From this point on, all three developers can work in their own schema and edit any package, procedure, view etc… freely, without overwriting each other’s changes or being affected by them. Using Gitora, they can create new branches in their own repo, for features or bugs they work on without affecting anyone else.

When the time comes to put it all together, they can use Gitora to merge their changes.

We wrote a few articles to get you started:

Creating Single Schema Repos.

How to implement agile development in a single database

How to manage changes to tables with Single Schema Repos

Before Gitora 6, agile database development with Gitora required multiple databases to implement. With Gitora 6 you can achieve it in a single database.

We are incredibly excited to release Gitora 6. We believe it will bring a massive productivity boost to Oracle database development teams worldwide. We can’t wait for you to try it.

Gitora 6 is available now. You can download it from this link.

You use a version control system to solve certain problems, to accomplish certain tasks. These are:

• Keep track of who changes what, when and why.
  
• If necessary, use previous versions of the code base for testing, development etc…
  
• Move changes between environments faster, with fewer errors during deployment.
  
• Improve productivity of the team (i.e. less time coordinating manually and more time developing. For example different developers working on the same parts of the code base simultaneously and merging their changes at a later time, hopefully mostly automatically.).

If you are using a version control system but not accomplishing any of the things above, are you really using a version control system?

Here is a perfectly reasonable scenario that I’ve seen in the real world. I’ve seen this scenario with teams using Git with SQL Developer, SVN/Git with another Oracle PL/SQL IDE. Invariably, they all end up here:

1. In the DEV database, you make changes to the package PKG_HIRING in the HR schema and then commit the package under /HR/PKG_HIRING.sql file in Git.
   
2. Next, another developer makes changes to the same package. He commits his changes under /HR/next_version/PKG_HIRING.sql, because… why not? It’s not like there is any enforcement.
   
3. A third developer commits his changes to /HR/PKG_HIRING.pkb because for some reason, the tool he uses for editing uses the .pkb suffix for packages.
   
4. The fourth developer named John, decides to copy PKG_HIRING to a file and work on it. He thinks he can move his changes to the database later. So he creates /HR/JOHN_DO_NOT_TOUCH/PKG_HIRING.sql
   
5. A fifth developer, makes changes to the HR.PKG_HIRING package but forgets to commit the package to Git. Hey it happens…
   
6. A sixth developer makes even more changes. He commits the package to Git under HR/PKG_HIRING.sql thereby committing not only his changes but also the fifth developers changes.

Three months later, you are tasked with deploying the latest version of the HR application to the TEST database. Which PKG_HIRING package are you going to deploy to TEST?

I actually know the answer to this question. You will deploy the one in the HR schema. It’s the safest option. I cannot help but wonder tough.. in these past three months, did John save his changes to the database? If so, how did he do it? Did he simply overwrite the package? What if some changes were lost?

At this point, I have to ask… Why do you even have a version control system? Why does that Git/SVN repo even exist? Is it useful at all or are you just doing all this just to tick a box and to be able to say that you are using a version control system?

Gitora solves all these problems above. It creates a version control system around Git and enforces it at the database level.

Let’s repeat the same steps for the six developers but this time let them use Gitora:

1. In DEV, you make changes to the PKG_HIRING package in the HR schema. When you are done, you open the Gitora web app, you see the list of database objects you changed, you select the ones you want to commit (in this case PKG_HIRING) you add a comment to the commit (such as the ticket number) and click the commit button.
   
2. The second developer follows the same process as you. He cannot make any changes to the package until you are done with it. Once you are done, he can make his changes. He opens the Gitora App, commit his changes to Git and is done. Note that, he doesn’t get to choose which folder he saves the PKG_HIRING.sql file to. Gitora creates a well structured working directory with reasonable folder and file names for database objects. The locations of these files are also standard. When there is human decision involved with naming and putting files in the file system, a lot of errors can occur. Gitora prevents these errors.
   
3. The third developer’s IDE used the .pkb extension for his file. Since developers don’t get to name the files or choose the folders they save database object scripts to, the third developer also has no choice but to follow the same process as the first two developers. By the way, Gitora works with any IDE. You can use SQL Developer, SQL Navigator, TOAD or PL/SQL Developer. It doesn’t matter. Everyone in your team can use a different editor if they choose to do so. Gitora still works.
   
4. The fourth developer was impatient. He created a new file under JOHN_DO_NOT_TOUCH and saved his changes to that file. With Gitora, he has no direct access to Git and the Git working folder. (Gitora is a server side solution. You don’t install Git to developer’s computers.) So he cannot do that. However, if he wants to do mischief, he still can copy the PKG_HIRING package to a new file in his computer and make changes there. Then, he can simply overwrite everything in the PKG_HIRING package with his version at a later time. This will cause some changes to be lost in the package depending on when he does it. He can even go ahead and commit his changes to Gitora. But hold on a second. At some point, either during development or testing, the mistake he made will be detected. In the first scenario, there is no way to know for certain who erased all the functioning code and exactly what code should be put back to the package. It will be trivial to use Git to figure out who deleted the perfectly functioning code from PKG_HIRING because Gitora always keeps track of who changed what, when and why. Since we can know when the mistake happened, we will know the correct version of the package to put back to. John will take the heat for his egregious mistake and merge his changes to the correct version of the package. No one wants that kind of heat. It is easy to see that Gitora incentivizes the right kind of behavior among teammates by keeping everyone accountable for their actions as well as making it possible to recover from critical mistakes.
   
5. The fifth developer simply forgot to commit his changes to Git. With Gitora there are two ways this can be caught. First, the sixth developer who wants to edit the package will contact the fifth developer to ask when the package will be available. Second, Gitora web app always shows which objects are locked by whom. So before preparing a deployment, you can always check if there are any database objects that are locked.
   
6. In the first scenario, the sixth developer committed fifth developers changes along with his. With Gitora, the sixth developer will always commit only his changes because there is no way he can gain access to the PKG_HIRING without the fifth developer releasing the package first. Gitora enforces that if an object is being edited by someone, no one else can edit it. With Gitora, version control is not something you do on the side but it is tightly integrated into your workflow and enforced.

And finally, three months later, you are tasked with preparing the deployment to TEST. How are you going to move the changes to the TEST database? With Gitora, all you need to do is to open the Gitora app, connect to the TEST database and pull the HR repo from DEV to TEST and you are done.

Going back to the beginning of the article; Gitora makes Git a useful version control system for the Oracle Database.

As shown in the second scenario with Gitora you can:

• Keep track of who changes what, when and why.
  We caught John misbehaving.
  
• If necessary, use previous versions of the code base for testing, development etc…
  We recovered an old version of PKG_HIRING and have John merge his changes to it.
  
• Move changes between environments faster, with fewer errors during deployment.
  Done via point and click Gitora Web Application.
  
• Improve productivity of the team (i.e. less time coordinating manually and more time developing. For example different developers working on the same parts of the code base simultaneously and merging their changes at a later time, hopefully mostly automatically.).
  The second scenario reduced manual coordination significantly. Gitora can do a lot more. You can have different teams work on the same code base at the same time and merge their changes just like Java, JavaScript developers. However that’s beyond the scope of this article. Please read this article and this article to learn more about how you can implement parallel development with Gitora.

Gitora 6, the latest version of the source control tool for the Oracle Database, enables PL/SQL developers implement agile development practices in a single database.

With Gitora 6, developers can work on the same code base (packages, procedures etc...) at the same time, in the same database.

Learn more at http://blog.gitora.com/introducing-gitora-6/

Gitora is a version control tool for the Oracle Database. It helps DBA's, developers to manage their database code and objects using Git and enables them to use modern software development workflows.

Attend the webinar by Plexxis to learn how they are using Gitora to improve their software development process.

Click here to register.

On February 16th, we hosted a webinar about Gitora 5. Many thanks to everyone who attended. The recording of the webinar is below.

There were a few questions we received several times during the webinar. We'd like to reiterate our answers below:

How does Gitora work with GitLab, GitHub or similar services...?
Gitora repos work with these services just like any other local Git repo does. From the point of GitLab, GitHub or similar services, Gitora repos are just local repos that you can push to these services.

How can I create a merge/pull request with Gitora?
Merge/Pull request is not a Git feature. It is a GitHub/GitLab feature. You can continue creating merge/pull requests on these services using the same workflow you use for any other local repo. To create a merge/pull request for a Gitora repo, first push your repo to GitHub/GitLab using the Gitora web app (or use Git directly). Next, go to your GitHub/GitLab account and create your merge/pull request.

How can I work on two different projects with different deadlines in the same development database and send only code related to one project to the test database?
You can't. Gitora cannot do magic. :-) There will never be a tool that will help you to do this because it is impossible. What Gitora empowers you to do is to have multiple databases per project. Then you can work on the same logical objects in different databases and use Gitora to merge code bases.
You can watch a full workflow and detailed explanation of this process at this link.

Managing the source code of objects in the Oracle database and moving them between databases has been a problem for many years.

DBA's and database developers did not enjoy the benefits of prominent source control software such as Git and have been largely left behind.

Gitora is a unique tool that bridges the Oracle database and Git and enables DBA's and database developers to benefit from Git's capabilities in managing database objects.

On February 16th we are hosting a webinar to show you how you can use Gitora to manage your database objects.

In this webinar we'll cover the following topics:

- How to use Git for database object DDL statements
- How to use Gitora to move code between databases
- How to implement modern development workflows using Gitora
- How to use Pluggable Databases for a more productive development environment

You can sign up at this link.

We are very excited to announce that Gitora 5 is now available for download.

• - Proof points, best practices, and guidelines for achieving peak performance for Oracle workloads with NVMe and Storage Class Memory.
• - Maintaining high availability through disasters with Oracle Extended RAC (demo)
• - Achieving amazing data reduction and storage efficiency for Oracle databases.

• Tree Calculations with Recursion (Recursive subquery factoring)
• Functions Defined Within SQL (Functions in the WITH clause)
• Answering Top-N Questions (Analytic ranking functions)
• Rolling Sums to Forecast Reaching Minimums (Analytic window clause, recursive subquery factoring, model clause)
• Merging Date Ranges (Row pattern matching MATCH_RECOGNIZE)
  

• - The EDB Postgres Platform supports Oracle’s PL/SQL and comes with enterprise-level management and diagnostic tools;
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• - EDB’s Oracle migration expertise and technology coupled with Destiny’s application migration expertise helps organizations migrate to Postgres;
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• - The EDB Postgres Platform significantly reduces an organizations TCO costs while still providing enterprise-level capabilities for business needs and applications.
•