Logs filling up?

I have Oracle 8.05 for NT and have been experimenting with the database for awhile now. (I am an application developer.)

With SQL Server, I must occasionally backup the database or issue a command:

  DUMP TRANSACTION < dbname > WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY

Either of those options has the effect of clearing the transaction log for the particular database.

In Oracle, I assume there are transaction logs and I also assume I must clear them or someday the database will choke on me. I have been going over the Oracle documentation and the closest thing I can find is a command:

  ALTER DATABASE CLEAR UNARCHIVED LOGFILE GROUP 3; I have three questions.

1. Is the ALTER DATABASE command (above) analogous to the DUMP TRANSACTION command in SQL Server?
2. If so, does the command clear logs on all schemas in the instance?
3. If I am off base how or why to do this, please help me understand what I should do in the Oracle environment. Because I am only using the database for development and testing purposes, I don't care about backing up the database. I figure if I mess it up, I can reinstall it cleanly just as easily as anything else. My concern is the suspicion of logs filling up which will bite me if I don't do something to clear them. Is this a real concern in Oracle? (I have installed Oracle using all their defaults.)

Thanks
Guy Pardoe
Pardoe Development Corporation Received on Sun May 30 1999 - 08:01:11 CDT