Oracle (database)

History

Software Development Laboratories was created in 1977. Into 1979, SDL changes name into becoming Relational Software, Inc. (RSI) and introduced its product Oracle V2 like relational Database. Version 2 did not support the Transaction S but implemented the functionalities basic SQL of Requête and Jointure. It there forever have version 1, for reasons of Marketing, the first version was version 2. This one functioned only on the systems DIGITAL VAX/VMS.

In 1983, RSI becomes Oracle Corporation to be more representative of its leading product. The version 3d' Oracle, entirely rewritten in computer programming language C, is published. This one supported the Transaction S thanks to the functionalities of Commit and Rollback . It is as starting from this version as the platform Unix is supported.

In 1984, version 4 of Oracle appears, supporting the Cohérence in reading ( read consistency ).

Beginning 1985, Oracle starts to integrate the model Client-serveur, with the arrival of the networks in the middle of the Eighties. Version 5 of Oracle thus supports the distributed requests.

In 1988, Oracle puts on the market its ERP - Oracle Financials based on the relational database Oracle. Oracle version 6 supports PL/SQL, the locking of lines ( row-level locking ) and the safeguards hot ( hot backups , when the database is open).

In 1992, version 7 of Oracle supports the forced integrity, the stored procedures and the Déclencheur S ( triggers ).

In 1995, acquisition of a powerful multidimensional engine, marketed under the name of Oracle Express train.

In 1997, version 8 introduced the development directed object and the applications Multi-media.

In 1999, the version 8i is published with an aim of refining its applications with Internet. The database comprises nativement a virtual Machine Java.

In 2001, Oracle 9i adds 400 new functionalities and makes it possible to read and write documents XML.

Starting from the version 9i, integration of the engine OLAP within Oracle: the engine Oracle express train is henceforth referred within the option Oracle OLAP. The multidimensional data are accessible starting from language SQL.

In 2003, the version 10g is published. The G means “ grid ”; one of the assets marketing of the 10g is indeed that it supports the “Grid computing”.

In 2005, towards the end of November, a completely free version is published, “Oracle Database 10g Express Edition”.

In 2007, repurchase of Hyperion Solutions and left the version 11g on July 11th.

Conventions on the numbers of version

The numbers of version of Oracle introduced a certain confusion at many people.

The nomenclature of version changed during time, but is based in general on following convention: X.Y.Z.a version

Where X.Y indicates the major version of the product: 8.1 for 8i, 9.2 for 9i Release 2, etc This true any more into 10, where one has a major version (10g), is not declined into 2 " release". Within the same major version (8i, 9i or 10g), the general functionalities of RDBMS are supposed being the same ones.

Digit Z indicates as for him the generic level of corrective measure applied. Oracle in general delivers 3 or 4 updates (" patchset") for a major version, but that remains very variable.

Lastly, the digit has indicates a level of corrective measure specific to an operating system, or a platform.

Since version 7, the major versions of DBMS Oracle were the following ones:

Oracle 7: 7.1,7.2,7.3
Oracle 8: 8.0.3, 8.0.4, 8.0.5, 8.0.6
Oracle 8i: 8.1.5 (Release 1), 8.1.6 (Release 2), 8.1.7 (Release 3)
Oracle 9i: 9.0.1 (Release 1), 9.2.0 (Release 2)
Oracle 10g: 10.1 (Release 1), 10.2 (Release 2)
Oracle 11g

Editions and licenses

Product RDBMS Oracle is sold according to two modes of licenses:

named Users: concretely, number of single people being connected to the databases. This is appropriate for typical business applications in client/server mode.
Processors, where it is the number of processors of the waiter lodging Oracle which will be invoiced. This option is directly dedicated to the architectures three thirds, where the exact number of customers is known with difficulty, or when thousands of people can potentially reach the base (Web sites). It will be noted that a specific weighting is defined for recent the chips “multi-core” (Intel, AMD or SPARC).

In version 10g, Oracle develops the price of a license according to 3 types:

edition Undertaken: includes/understands all the functionalities of the product
Standard edition: limitations brought to the functionalities
Standard edition One: idem that standard, and limitation on the number of Processor S (4 maximum)

It will be noted that in addition to these licenses, Oracle invoices certain options in addition. Thus, the following functionalities must be specifically bought:

Partitionning
OLAP
Dated Mining
Real Application Cluster
Advanced Security

Lastly, Oracle proposes since the end of 2005 completely free version of the base, “Oracle Database Express Edition”. It is about a version 10g Standard Edition One, strongly limited: It currently manages data files limited to 4 Go of data and a waiter equipped with only one processor and a maximum of 1 Go of memory RAM.

Remote loading of the products

Entirety of the Oracle products, namely:

database (RDBMS)
the waiter of application (IAS)
the collaborative continuation (OCS)
environment of development (ODS)
the applicative continuation (eBusiness continuation)

As well as associated documentations, are downloadable in integral version, without time limit, on the site Oracle Technology Network: http://otn.oracle.com

Functionalities

Principal

SQL
PL/SQL, computer programming language specific to Oracle, used to create trigger S during insertion, the modification or the obliteration of elements
Java, this computer programming language is also usable to create triggers during insertion, the modification or the obliteration of elements
Montage of the database on several waiters (grid in 10g, rac in 9i)
Spatial, to allow the data management geographical
Partitionnement physiques of the data in subsets to optimize the access times
integrated Moteur OLAP, storing the cubes in the form of BLOB (Broad Binary Objects)
Management of very great volumes of data, cuts maximum of 65.536 files of 128 To each one by using BigFiles of the version 10gR2 or 10.2
Réplication of the data according to various synchronous modes or asynchronous of whole or part of a database

Appendices

Partitioning
Module Oracle Text
DBLink

Supported platforms

In October 2004, the platforms supported for Oracle 10g Release 1 were:

HP-UX PA-RISC
HP-UX Itanium
HP Tru64
Linux X86
Linux Itanium
Z/Linux
Mac OS X
Microsoft Windows (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows (64-bit Itanium)
Sun Solaris x86
Sun Solaris (SPARC) (64-bit)

In May 2006, the following platforms are supported for Oracle 10g Release 2:

HPUX Itanium
HPUX PA-RISC
Linux Itanium
Linux Power5
Linux x64 (Opteron/EM64T)
Linux 32bits
Microsoft Windows Itanium
Microsoft Windows x64 (Opteron/EM64T)
Microsoft Windows 32bits
Solaris SPARC64
Solaris x86-64
IBM AIX5L
IBM z/OS (OS/390)

Connectors

ODBC
JDBC
In Java, Oracle can be used in a transparent way with the standard JDO.

List first

Oracle is the first database tested to be in conformity with the Standard ANSI SQL
Oracle is the first database to integrate nativement JRE
Oracle is the first commercial relational database and owner available on Linux (August 1999)
Oracle is the first database used in France for the business applications (2005)
Oracle is the first database to exceed the million transactions to the bench TPC-C, in November 2004

Certifications

There exist various levels of certification around the Oracle products. On the level of database (RDBMS):

Oracle Certifiate Associate (OCA)
Oracle Certified Professional (OCP)
Oracle Certified Master (OCM)

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