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| Preface |

## 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

`|`

  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.

Structure of This Book |  | Comments and Questions

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