The Oracle database is a broad and powerful product.
To give some structure to the broad spectrum of the Oracle database, we’ve organized the features into the following sections:
• Database application development features
• Database connection features
• Distributed database features
• Data movement features
• Performance features
• Database management features
Database Application Development Features
The main use of the Oracle database system is to store and retrieve data for applications. The features of the Oracle database and related products described in this section are used to create applications. We’ve divided the discussion in this section into two categories: database programming and database extensibility options. Later in this chapter, we describe the Oracle Developer Suite, a set of optional tools used in
Oracle Database Server and Oracle Application Server development.
Database Programming
All flavors of the Oracle database include different languages and interfaces that allow programmers to access and manipulate the data in the database. Database programming features usually interest two groups: developers building Oracle-based applications that will be sold commercially, and IT organizations within companies that custom-develop applications unique to their businesses. The following sections describe the languages and interfaces supported by Oracle.This is the Title of the Book, eMatter Edition
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10 | Chapter 1: Introducing Oracle
SQL
The ANSI standard Structured Query Language (SQL) provides basic functions for data manipulation, transaction control, and record retrieval from the database. However, most end users interact with Oracle through applications that provide an interface that hides the underlying SQL and its complexity.
PL/SQL
Oracle’s PL/SQL, a procedural language extension to SQL, is commonly used to implement program logic