Re: "We don't do triggers"

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> Stored procedures are not flexible at all, they are not
> object-oriented and they have very limited ability to talk to other
> systems (can pl/sql call a web-service to get information?). 

Yes, PL/SQL can call a web service to get information, see the built in 
UTL_HTTP package and the procedures
request and request_pieces. It can also call Java programs which are  
stored inside the database as well as calling anything at all  
externally, though you need to do a bit of set up to invoke this latter 
feature.

It is true that PL/SQL is not an object orierted language in the sense 
that Eiffel or Smalltalk are (is Java? Purists demure.) , but it does 
have data hiding, and polymorphism.  It doesnt have inheritance, you 
cant derive one "class" from another, but I think you will find that the 
pl/sql "package" concept provides for a great deal of flexibility while 
the language itself gives one an uparalleled  integration with the 
database. Compare writing a cursor ":For" loop in pl/sql then doing the 
same thing in Java with JDBC.  

Useful tools are, well, usefull tools, It makes no sense to disparage 
Java and it makes no sense to disparage pl/sql for doing what it does 
very well indeed, which is tricksy logic closely integrated with 
database manipulation.,