ORACLE7 list of features

From: Guy Harel <guy_at_mais.hydro.qc.ca>
Date: 24 Feb 93 14:47:27 GMT
Message-ID: <guy.730565247_at_tdsb-s>

Hello,

I was asked to gather information on the new feature of ORACLE 7 for my present client. Having found not much on this net and having other mandate to pursue, I`ve decided to follow the 'formal' route and asked the Oracle Corporation to provide me with a list of features.

The marketing departement diligently sent me by regular mail a few articles and a brochure which contain information that I found usefull, at our current stage of desire and need for awareness on the topic.

I`ve taken notes of the features which are of interest for us and tried to cut all the propaganda out.... but some might still lurk here and there...so watch yourself.

This is posted following the requests for information from 'comp.databases.oracle' readers.

---

List of feature for the Oracle 7:

References:         

	a- Snider Gail, Musson Mike, 'Announcing ORACLE7', ORACLE Corp, June 92
	b- 'ORACLE7. Feature Summary', Oracle Corp, June 92

A- Cooperative server technology:

        Automatically retrieve and modify data on multiple servers

        Application see as if data on local server

        Multiple server can contributes to a single query

        Multiple server can back-up each other

        Provide access to all the data on all the computers on the network

	All the data on all the servers are queried and updated in exactly 
	the same way and with the same ease as if stored on a single server

	The same SQL query and update statement can be made to run on multiple
	servers instead of one (without changing the syntax of the program)

	  - automatic distributed join query
	  - automatic distributed update transaction with automatic 2 phase 
            commit

B- Automatic Gateway to non-Oracle data:

• SQL to IMS, DEC RMS, IBM DB2 DEC Rdb
• support automatic distributed queries to native and non-native (without changing the program)

C- Programmable gateway:

• support acces to any data source via RPC
• exemple: a micro controler

D- Automatic Network Interchange:

• Gateway supports many network protocols (SNA APPC LU6.2, TCP/IP)
• same query (without changing the program)

E- Programmable server:

        Stored procedures:

• complete PL/SQL transactions can be stored and executed on the server
• can be invoked directly by a client computer
• can be triggered by a database event

        Event based Triggers

        Database remote procedure calls

F- Server-Enforced Referential Integrity:

• ANSI SQL syntax
• specified during the creation of the table

          ex: Dept_number integer(4) REFERENCES Employee;

• on INSERT, if Dept_number inserted and does not exist in table Employee, then row rejected (stored in a 'rejection' table)
• on UPDATE, the same
• on DELETE, a special option 'DELETE CASCADE' will delete all the 'child' rows on the foreign table

G- Multi-Threaded kernel

• shared server processes allocated dynamicaly
• dispatcher balances request amongst them

	(will this mean more performance on a single CPU system?)
	(does this means that the oracleP process is lighter?)

H- Shared compiled SQL:

• reduce memory utilisation by allowing the sharing of compiled or non compiled SQL programs

I- New commands:

• analyse: compute statistics on a table or index data distribution
• truncate: delete all rows from a table (fast)

J- Resource limiter:

• database admin can enforce per-query and per-session limit on CPU, I/O, sessions, idle time

K- Menu driven DBA operations:

• addin users
• dba files
• backups
• monitoring performance
• startup shutdow

L- Declarative (non-procedural) referential integrity:

• compliant to ANSI/ISO SQL
• CHECK (row integrity )

        ex: check

                 job in ('sales' , 'manager' ..),, and salary > 0, and ...

• DEFAULT (column integrity)

	ex: 
		hiredate DATE DEFAULT SYSDATE



	- Primary and foreign key:


	


	- PRIMARY KEY

	- REFERENCES (..)


	- DELETE CASCADE ( to delete all childs when the parent is deleted)


	

M- Table Constraints can be named for documentation:

• can be enabled disabled (???)
• invalid (rejected) rows to a table

N- Avantages of ORACLE7:

• server-envorced constraints improve effiency and reliablity since defined only once and apply to all data acces (report, screen)
• stored procedures reduce the development and maintenance costs
• stored procedures are automatically re-compiled when their dependences are modified:
  • tables
  • tables indexes
  • other procedures
• callable by triggers and other procedures, other servers
• package of procedure can be defined:
  • provide convient modularization of procedures
  • provide encapsulation of internal only procedures
  • can defiined session global variable

O- Triggers:

• execute before or after INSERT , UPDATE or DELETE
• row level trigger have access to old and new data
• triggers can calll procedures and cause other trigger to cascade
• usefull for enforcing comples rules, auditing, derive data, security, integrity..

P- Migrating from ORACLE6:

• integrity constraints of 6 are enforced in 7
• distributed database operations are supported between 6 and 7 within the limit of oracle 6 (?????)

	(probably another way of saying you can SELECT form 6 but cannot
	UPDATE to 6... Don`t you love marketing brochures ?)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Guy Harel

Received on Wed Feb 24 1993 - 15:47:27 CET