External tables so much more than SQL Loader by Connor McDonald

When external tables were first introduced, some DBAs and Developers responded with little fanfare because it seemed to only replicate functionality that had already available for decades with SQL*Loader. Moreover, the syntax seemed overly stringent on getting the keywords and their sequencing correct otherwise you were met with a generic "Nope, that isn't right" error message. But external tables are definitely not just your everyday data loader. Each release of the Oracle Database adds to their functionality, and nowadays, the list of tasks you can do with external tables is mind-blowing. In this session, we'll see how they have evolved through the various release of the Oracle Database, and then we'll take external table usage to another level, for example, using them to load XLSX spreadsheets, monitor your database instance, run OS utilities from within the database, or even update the Oracle software on the fly!