Performance Tools

Many relational databases have built-in tools that assist in SQL statement and database performance tuning. For example, Oracle has a tool called EXPLAIN PLAN that shows the user the execution plan of an SQL statement. There is another tool in Oracle that measures the actual elapsed time of a SQL statement—TKPROF. In SQL Server, there are numerous SET commands that can be used to measure the performance of the database and SQL statements. Check with your DBA and implementation documentation for more information on tools that may be available to you.