About the author

April C. Sims, after many career changes, has finally found a field that inspires, frustrates, and enthralls her at the same time—administering Oracle Databases. A previous career as a teacher lead her to continue teaching others about Oracle, as she considers the first year as a DBA to be the most critical. April is an Oracle Certified Professional 8i, 9i, and 10g with an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is an active technical presenter at regional Oracle Events, IOUG COLLABORATE, and Oracle OpenWorld.

She is a lead DBA at Southern Utah University, a 4 year regional university based in Cedar City, UT. Also known as Festival City, USA, it is home to 17 major events, including the Utah Summer Games and the Utah Shakespearean Festival. It is a beautiful place surrounded by National Parks.

April is also a Contributing Editor for IOUG "SELECT" Journal, which is a quarterly technical magazine for the Independent Oracle Users Group. She is also a contributor to ORACLE SECURITY Step-by-Step A Survival Guide for Oracle Security Version 1.0 by SANS Press, 2003.

I want to thank the most inspiring person that I have ever met during my Oracle career—my boss Jeanette Ormond. A big thanks to John Kanagaraj and IOUG SELECT for getting me started on my publishing career. Thanks to my Mom, Dad, and the rest of the huge family as part of my upbringing. They were responsible for the competitive spirit and stick-to-it nature that allowed me to finish this book. Thanks to my husband Loyd for the nights spent in front of the computer instead of cooking dinner. Thanks to everyone at Packt Publishing and especially the team of technical reviewers who did their best to keep me from making a fool out of myself.