Oracle basic concepts

1. What Is Oracle?

Oracle is a company. Oracle is also a database server, which manages data in a very structured way. It allows users to store and retrieve related data in a multiuser environment so that many users can concurrently access the same data. All this is accomplished while delivering high performance. A database server also prevents unauthorized access and provides efficient solutions for failure recovery.

2.     What Is an Oracle Database?

An Oracle database is a collection of data treated as a big unit in the database server.

3.     What Is an Oracle Instance?

Every running Oracle database is associated with an Oracle instance. When a database is started on a database server (regardless of the type of computer), Oracle allocates a memory area called the System Global Area (SGA) and starts one or more Oracle processes. This combination of the SGA and the Oracle processes is called an Oracle instance. The memory and processes of an instance manage the associated database's data efficiently and serve the one or multiple users of the database.

4.     What Is a Parameter File?

            A parameter file is a file that contains a list of initialization parameters and a value for each parameter.                 You specify initialization parameters in a parameter file that reflect your particular installation. Oracle                    supports the following two types of parameter files:

             Server Parameter Files - Binary version. Persistent.

             Initialization Parameter Files - Text version. Not persistent.

5.     What Is a Server Parameter File?

A server parameter file is a binary file that acts as a repository for initialization parameters. The server parameter file can reside on the machine where the Oracle database server executes. Initialization parameters stored in a server parameter file are persistent, in that any changes made to the parameters while an instance is running can persist across instance shutdown and startup.

6.     What Is an Initialization Parameter File?

An initialization parameter file is a text file that contains a list of initialization parameters. The file should be written in the client's default character set. Sample initialization parameter files are provided on the Oracle distribution medium for each operating system. A sample file is sufficient for initial use, but you will probably want to modify the file to tune the database for best performance. Any changes will take effect after you completely shut down and restart the instance.

7.     What Is System Global Area (SGA)?

The System Global Area (SGA) is a memory area that contains data shared between all database users such as buffer cache and a shared pool of SQL statements. The SGA is allocated in memory when an Oracle database instance is started, and any change in the value will take effect at the next startup.

8.     What Is Program Global Area (PGA)?

A Program Global Area (PGA) is a memory buffer that is allocated for each individual database session and it contains session specific information such as SQL statement data or buffers used for sorting. The value specifies the total memory allocated by all sessions, and changes will take effect as new sessions are started.

9.     What Is a User Account?

            A user account is identified by a user name and defines the user's attributes, including the following:

            Password for database authentication

            Privileges and roles

            Default tablespace for database objects

            Default temporary tablespace for query processing work space. 

10.  What Is the Relation of a User Account and a Schema?

User accounts and schemas have a one-to-one relation. When you create a user, you are also implicitly creating a schema for that user. A schema is a logical container for the database objects (such as tables, views, triggers, and so on) that the user creates. The schema name is the same as the user name, and can be used to unambiguously refer to objects owned by the user.

11.  What Is a User Role?

A user role is a group of privileges. Privileges are assigned to users through user roles. You create new roles, grant privileges to the roles, and then grant roles to users.

12.  What Is a Database Schema?

A schema is a collection of logical structures of data, or schema objects. A schema is owned by a database user and has the same name as that user. Each user owns a single schema. Schema objects can be created and manipulated with SQL and include: tables, views, and other types of data objects.

13.  What Is a Database Table?

A database table is a basic unit of data logical storage in an Oracle database. Data is stored in rows and columns. You define a table with a table name, such as employees, and a set of columns. You give each column a column name, such as employee_id, last_name, and job_id; a datatype, such as VARCHAR2, DATE, or NUMBER; and a width. The width can be predetermined by the datatype, as in DATE. If columns are of the NUMBER datatype, define precision and scale instead of width. A row is a collection of column information corresponding to a single record.

14.  What Is a Table Index?

Index is an optional structure associated with a table that allow SQL statements to execute more quickly against a table. Just as the index in this manual helps you locate information faster than if there were no index, an Oracle Database index provides a faster access path to table data. You can use indexes without rewriting any queries. Your results are the same, but you see them more quickly.

15.  What Is an Oracle Tablespace?

An Oracle tablespace is a big unit of logical storage in an Oracle database. It is managed and used by the Oracle server to store structures data objects, like tables and indexes.Each tablespace in an Oracle database consists of one or more files called datafiles, which are physical structures that conform to the operating system in which Oracle is running

16.  What Is an Oracle Data File?

An Oracle data file is a big unit of physical storage in the OS file system. One or many Oracle data files are organized together to provide physical storage to a single Oracle tablespace.

17.  What Is a Static Data Dictionary?

            Data dictionary tables are not directly accessible, but you can access information in them through data               dictionary views. To list the data dictionary views available to you, query the view DICTIONARY. Many                 data dictionary tables have three corresponding views:

            An ALL_ view displays all the information accessible to the current user, including information from the                 current user's schema as well as information from objects in other schemas, if the current user has                     access to those objects by way of grants of privileges or roles.

            A DBA_ view displays all relevant information in the entire database. DBA_ views are intended only for                 administrators. They can be accessed only by users with the SELECT ANY TABLE privilege. This p                   privilege is assigned to the DBA role when the system is initially installed.

            A USER_ view displays all the information from the schema of the current user. No special privileges are             required to query these views.

18.  What Is a Dynamic Performance View?

Oracle contains a set of underlying views that are maintained by the database server and accessible to the database administrator user SYS. These views are called dynamic performance views because they are continuously updated while a database is open and in use, and their contents relate primarily to performance. Although these views appear to be regular database tables, they are not. These views provide data on internal disk structures and memory structures. You can select from these views, but you can never update or alter them.

19.  What Is a Recycle Bin?

Recycle bin is a logical storage to hold the tables that have been dropped from the database, in case it was dropped in error. Tables in recycle bin can be recovered back into database by the Flashback Drop action. Oracle database recycle save the same purpose as the recycle bin on your Windows desktop.Recycle bin can be turned on or off in the recyclebin=on/off in your parametere file.

20.  What Is SQL*Plus?

SQL*Plus is an interactive and batch query tool that is installed with every Oracle Database Server or Client installation. It has a command-line user interface, a Windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the iSQL*Plus web-based user interface.

21.  What Is Transport Network Substrate (TNS)?

TNS, Transport Network Substrate, is a foundation technology, built into the Oracle Net foundation layer that works with any standard network transport protocol.

22.  What Is Open Database Communication (ODBC)?

ODBC, Open Database Communication, a standard API (application program interface) developed by Microsoft for Windows applications to communicate with database management systems. Oracle offers ODBC drivers to allow Windows applications to connect Oracle server through ODBC.