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Comment by thorin | Hacker News Reader

Most of my programming has been done in pl/sql. It's still the best language for interacting with a relational db I've seen. I've just started using c# and when I pick up some more linq I think I might like it. I also program in javascript, java and c is just that plsql has been the best way to get stuff done for me working with enterprise db apps since the late 90s.

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For the past year I have been working in PL/SQL it's like being on a different planet. The language is clunky and difficult to work with. The culture is weird (everyone uses TFS for version control, for example, if they use a VCS at all). The tooling is awful. No parser is available, meaning linters are only included in bulky GUI apps (TOAD is the worst, most unusable piece of software that I still use on a daily basis). I have resorted to Emacs and SQL*Plus but even Emacs has poor support for PL/SQL. No one wants to write open source tools for a proprietary language.

PL/SQL is definitely not sexy, but it's undoubtedly the best way to interact with an Oracle DB and the raw power is amazing. I have accomplished some incredible things with it, but I can't help but feel like everything I do is already out of date and needs to be replaced with something better. Any tips for making my experience a little more pleasant?

I used to use Emacs and SQL&*Plus, but after trying SQL Developer have stuck with that.

There's nothing stopping you from using version control and having an automated build and unit tests. We always have everywhere I've worked before.

Check out steve fuerenstein's books and websites for more modern ways of working with pl/sql http://www.stevenfeuerstein.com/

I've normally worked with pl/sql developer which has some great tools-lint, beautifier,templates,import export data generation etc. There are a few good open source libraries eg pl/json but you have to look around.

You can always easily call out to java or c if you want to work with other libraries.

c# is the most under-appreciated language today. It has a lot to love, including async/await, typed generics, good interop with C/C++, type inference, and a strong tendency toward functional style. I think of it a bit like the CLR's version of Scala.

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