Oracle Essentials [Electronic resources] : Oracle Database 10g, 3rd Edition نسخه متنی

1.2 The Oracle Family

Oracle Database 10g
Database Server describes the most recent
major version of the Oracle Relational Database Management
System (RDBMS) family of products that share common source code. This
family includes:

Personal
Oracle, a database for single users that's often
used to develop code for implementation on other Oracle multiuser
databases

Oracle Standard Edition, which was named
Workgroup Server in its first iteration as part of the Oracle7 family
and is sometimes simply referred to as Oracle Server

Oracle Enterprise Edition, which
includes all Standard Edition functionality and additional
functionality

Oracle Lite, used primarily for mobile applications

Oracle8 was introduced in 1997 with larger size limitations and
management features, such as partitioning, aimed at very large
database implementations. In 1998, Oracle announced
Oracle8i,
which is sometimes referred to as Version 8.1 of the Oracle8
database. The i was added to denote added
functionality supporting Internet deployment in the new version.
Oracle9i followed, with Application Server
available in 2000 and Database Server in 2001. Oracle Database 10g
was introduced in 2003; the g denotes
Oracle's focus on emerging grid deployment models.
The terms Oracle, Oracle8, Oracle8i,
Oracle9i and Oracle Database
10g (or Oracle10g) might
appear to be used somewhat interchangeably in this book, because
Oracle Database 10g includes all the features of
previous versions. When we describe a new feature that was first made
available specifically in certain releases, we've
tried to note that fact to avoid confusion, recognizing that many of
you may have old releases of Oracle. We typically use the simple term
Oracle when describing features that are common to all these
releases.

Oracle has focused
development around a single source code model since 1983. While each
database implementation includes some operating system-specific
source code at very low levels in order to better leverage specific
platforms, the interfaces that users, developers, and administrators
deal with for each version are consistent. Because features are
consistent across platforms for implementations of Oracle Standard
Edition and Oracle Enterprise Edition, companies
can migrate Oracle applications easily to various hardware vendors
and operating systems while leveraging their investments in Oracle
technology. This development strategy also enables Oracle to focus on
implementing new features only once in its product set, instead of
having to add functionality at different times to different
implementations.

1.2.1 Oracle Standard Edition

Oracle Standard Edition refers to a specific database offering, once
known as Workgroup Server. From a functionality and pricing
standpoint, this product intends to compete in the entry-level
multiuser and small database category, supporting smaller numbers of
users. These releases are available today on
Windows and Unix platforms such as HP Compaq, HP/UX, IBM AIX, Linux,
and Sun Solaris.

1.2.2 Oracle Enterprise Edition

Oracle Enterprise Edition is aimed at
larger-scale implementations that require additional features.
Enterprise Edition is available on far more platforms than the Oracle
release for workgroups and includes advanced management, networking,
programming, and data warehousing features, as well as a variety of
special-purpose options, such as clustering, which are available at
extra cost.

1.2.3 Oracle Personal Edition

Oracle Personal Edition is the
single-user version of Oracle Enterprise Edition. Personal Edition is
most frequently used for development on a single machine. Because the
features match those of Enterprise Edition, a developer can write
applications using the Personal Edition and deploy them to multi-user
servers. Some companies deploy single-user applications using this
product. However, Oracle Lite offers a much more lightweight means of
deploying the same applications.

1.2.4 Oracle Lite

Oracle Lite,
once known as Oracle Mobile, is intended for single users who are
using wireless/mobile devices. It differs from other members of the
Oracle database family in that it doesn't use the
same database engine. Instead, Oracle developed a lightweight engine
compatible with the limited memory and storage capacity of handheld
devices. Oracle Lite is described in more detail at the end of this
chapter.

Because the SQL supported by Oracle Lite is largely the same as the
SQL for other Oracle databases, you can run applications developed
for those database engines using Oracle Lite. Replication of data
between Oracle Lite and other Oracle versions is a key part of most
implementations.

Table 1-2 summarizes the situations in which you would typically use
each database product. We've used the Oracle product
names to refer to the different members of the Oracle database
family.