Database A database is an organized collection of data, typically in digital form.

Database Management System A database management system (DBMS) is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database The relational structure is the most commonly used today. It is used by mainframe, midrange and microcomputer systems. It uses two-dimensional rows and columns to store data. The tables of records can be connected by common key values. Functions: Data Definition, Data Manipulation, Data Security & Integrity, Data Backup, Recovery & Concurrency, Data Dictionary Maintenance, Performance RDBMS A relational database management system (RDBMS) is a program that lets you create, update, and administer a relational database. Database System The database data collection with DBMS is called a database system. Database Administrator The person responsible for the control of the centralized and shared database is the Database Administrator. Tasks of an Oracle Database Administrator Evaluating the database server hardware Installing the Oracle software Planning the database and security strategy Creating, migrating and opening the database Backing up the database Enrolling system users and planning for their Oracle Network access Implementing the database design Recovering from database failure Monitoring database performance

Marketing editions Enterprise Edition (EE) includes more features than the 'Standard Edition', especially in the areas of performance and security. Oracle Corporation licenses this product on the basis of users or of processors, typically for servers running 4 or more CPUs. EE has no memory limits, and can utilize clustering using Oracle RAC software. Standard Edition (SE) contains base database functionality. Oracle Corporation licenses this product on the basis of users or of processors, typically for servers running from one to four CPUs. If the number of CPUs exceeds 4 CPUs, the user must convert to an Enterprise license. SE has no memory limits, and can utilize clustering with Oracle RAC at no additional charge.

Standard Edition One, (SE1 or SEO) introduced with Oracle 10g, has some additional feature-restrictions. Oracle Corporation markets it for use on systems with one or two CPUs. It has no memory limitations. Express Edition ("Oracle Database XE"), introduced in 2005, offers Oracle 10g free to distribute on Windows and Linux platforms. It has a footprint of only 150 MB and is restricted to the use of a single CPU, a maximum of 4 GB of user data. Although it can install on a server with any amount of memory, it uses a maximum of 1 GB. Support for this version comes exclusively through on-line forums and not through Oracle support. Oracle Database Lite, intended for running on mobile devices. The embedded mobile database located on the mobile device can synchronize with a server-based installation.

Major Database Release Number The first digit is the most general identifier. It represents a major new version of the software that contains significant new functionality. Database Maintenance Release Number The second digit represents a maintenance release level. Some new features may also be included. Application Server Release Number The third digit reflects the release level of the Oracle Application Server (OracleAS). Component-Specific Release Number The fourth digit identifies a release level specific to a component. Different components can have different numbers in this position depending upon, for example, component patch sets or interim releases. Platform-Specific Release Number The fifth digit identifies a platform-specific release. Usually this is a patch set. When different platforms require the equivalent patch set, this digit will be the same across the affected platforms.