Community Update - March 29, 2026

This week, we’re diving deep into modern Oracle database development and administration. We’ll explore powerful new SQL enhancements that simplify your code, look at a best practice for managing jobs on Autonomous Database, and get a practical perspective on how AI is changing the game for developers.

David Kurtz is killing it this week!

Simplify Your Code with the New MERGE…RETURNING Clause

Tired of writing extra queries just to get data back after a MERGE operation? Oracle 23ai/26ai finally brings the RETURNING clause to the MERGE statement, the last DML statement to receive this feature. This small but powerful enhancement streamlines your code by letting you retrieve values from affected rows in a single, efficient operation.

https://blog.go-faster.co.uk/2026/03/oracle26merge.html

Choosing the Right Way to Handle JSON in Oracle

Struggling with how to best handle JSON data in your Oracle database? There isn’t just one way to do it. David Kurtz breaks down three different methods, from using Duality Views for simple document-to-table mapping to more flexible approaches for when data transformation is needed on the fly. This is a great guide for choosing the right tool for your specific JSON task.

https://blog.go-faster.co.uk/2026/03/oracle26loadingjson.html

Gain Finer Control Over Autonomous Database Jobs

If you need more granular control over your scheduler jobs in Oracle’s Autonomous Database, the default, unchangeable job classes can feel limiting. The recommended best practice is to simply clone them. This allows you to create your own custom, modifiable classes tied to resource consumer groups, giving you the fine-grained control you need to manage scheduled tasks effectively.

https://blog.go-faster.co.uk/2026/03/autonomousjobclasses.html

A Practical Look at Using AI for Oracle Development

Can AI really make a difference in your day-to-day Oracle development? David Kurtz shares a firsthand account of using ChatGPT on a project, reporting a massive productivity boost. The key takeaway is that while AI is a powerful assistant that can generate designs and complex code, the developer must remain in control, carefully testing and validating everything the AI produces.

https://blog.go-faster.co.uk/2026/03/oracle26chatgpt.html