Introduction to the Oracle Server Technologies
CERTIFICATION OBJECTIVES
1.01 1.02 1.03 Position the Oracle Product Family Explain Relational Structures Understand the SQL Language 1.04 Appreciate the DBA’s Role Two-Minute Drill Self Test
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Q&A
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Chapter 1:
Introduction to the Oracle Server Technologies
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his chapter describes the entire Oracle product family, the concepts behind relational databases, the SQL language, and the role of the database administrator (DBA) in the IT environment. The content is not directly tested in the OCP examination, but it is assumed knowledge that provides an essential background to the study of Oracle database administration. It also gives an idea of the scope of a DBA’s work. The DBA is often expected to know everything about everything. Well, that isn’t possible—but at least he/she should be aware of the whole environment and how the parts link together. The Oracle server technologies product set is more than a database. There are also the Oracle Application Server and the Oracle Enterprise Manager. Taken together, these are the server technologies that make up the Oracle Grid offering. Grid computing is an emerging environment for managing the complete IT environment and for providing resources to users on demand. Supplied with the server technologies are the development tools: third-generation languages (3GLs) and rapid application development tools. It is also possible to write software in a wide range of third-party application development environments. Oracle Corporation has a total commitment to supporting international standards for data processing, which means that it is perfectly possible to run third-party products on the Oracle technology stack. The final part of the Oracle product set is the applications, primarily the Oracle E-Business Suite and the Oracle Collaboration Suite. These are applications written with the Oracle development tools and running on the Oracle servers that can fulfill