●　access driver

In the external table infrastructure, the API that interprets the external data for the database. The access driver runs inside the database, which uses the driver to read the data in the external table.

●　access path

The means by which data is retrieved from a database. For example, a query using an index and a query using a use different access paths.

●　active transaction

A transaction that has started but not yet committed or rolled back.

●　ADDM

Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor. An Oracle Database infrastructure that enables a database to diagnose its own performance and determine how identified problems could be resolved.

●　ADR

Automatic Diagnostic Repository. A a file-based hierarchical data store for managing diagnostic information, including network tracing and logging.

●　alert log

A file that provides a chronological log of database messages and errors. The alert log is stored in the .

●　antijoin

A join that returns rows from the left side of the predicate for which there are no corresponding rows on the right side of the predicate.

●　application architecture

The computing environment in which a database application connects to an Oracle database. The two most common database architectures are client/server and multitier.

●　application domain index

A customized index specific to an application.

●　archived redo log file

A member of the that has been archived by Oracle Database. The archived redo log files can be applied to a database backup in media recovery.

●　ARCHIVELOG mode

A mode of the database that enables the archiving of the .

●　ascending index

An index in which data is stored in ascending order. By default, character data is ordered by the binary values contained in each byte of the value, numeric data from smallest to largest number, and date from earliest to latest value.

●　Automatic Database Diagnostic Monitor (ADDM)

See .

●　Automatic Diagnostic Repository (ADR)

See .

●　automatic undo management mode

A mode of the database in which it automatically manages undo space in a dedicated undo tablespace.

See also .

●　Automatic Workload Repository (AWR)

See .

●　AWR

Automatic Workload Repository (AWR). A built-in repository in every Oracle database. Oracle Database periodically makes a snapshot of its vital statistics and workload information and stores them in AWR.

●　B-tree index

An index organized like an upside-down tree. A B-tree index has two types of blocks: branch blocks for searching and leaf blocks that store values. The leaf blocks contain every indexed data value and a corresponding rowid used to locate the actual row. The "B" stands for "balanced" because all leaf blocks automatically stay at the same depth.

●　background process

A that consolidates functions that would otherwise be handled by multiple Oracle programs running for each . The background processes asynchronously perform I/O and monitor other Oracle processes.

See also ; .

●　bind variable

A placeholder in a SQL statement that must be replaced with a valid value or value address for the statement to execute successfully. By using bind variables, you can write a SQL statement that accepts inputs or parameters at run time. The following example shows a query that uses v_empid as a bind variable:

SELECT * FROM employees WHERE employee_id = :v_empid;

●　bitmap index

A database in which the database stores a bitmap for each index key instead of a list of rowids.

●　bitmap join index

A bitmap index for the join of two or more tables.

●　bitmap merge

An operation that merges bitmaps retrieved from scans. For example, if the gender and DOB columns have bitmap indexes, then the database may use a bitmap merge if the is WHERE gender='F' AND DOB > 1966.

●　block corruption

A that is not in a recognized Oracle format, or whose contents are not internally consistent.

●　block header

A part of a that includes information about the type of block, the address of the block, and sometimes information.

●　block overhead

Space in a that stores metadata required for managing the block. The overhead includes the , table directory, and row directory.

●　branch block

In a B-tree index, a block that the database uses for searching. The leaf blocks store the index entries. The upper-level branch blocks of a B-tree index contain index data that points to lower-level index blocks.

●　buffer

A main memory address in the . A buffer caches currently and recently used data blocks read from disk. When a new block is needed, the database can replace an old with a new one.

●　byte semantics

Treatment of strings as a sequence of bytes. Offsets into strings and string lengths are expressed in bytes.

●　cache recovery

The phase of where Oracle Database applies all committed and uncommitted changes in the files to the affected .

●　cardinality

The ratio of distinct values to the number of table rows. A column with only two distinct values in a million-row table would have low cardinality.

●　character encoding

A code that pairs each character from a given repertoire with a code unit to facilitate data storage.

●　character semantics

Treatment of strings as a sequence of characters. Offsets into strings and string lengths are expressed in characters (character codes).

●　character set

An encoding scheme used to display characters on your computer screen.

●　checkpoint

1. A data structure that marks the checkpoint position, which is the SCN in the redo thread where database instance recovery must begin. Checkpoints are recorded in the and each data file header, and are a crucial element of recovery.

2. The writing of dirty data blocks in the to disk. The process writes blocks to disk to synchronize the buffer cache with the .

●　client

In , the front-end database application that interacts with a user. The client portion has no data access responsibilities.

●　client process

A that executes the application or Oracle tool code. When users run client applications such as SQL*Plus, the operating system creates client processes to run the applications.

See also .

●　client/server architecture

Software architecture based on a separation of processing between two CPUs, one acting as the in the transaction, requesting and receiving services, and the other as the server that provides services in a transaction.

●　cluster file system

A distributed file system that is a cluster of servers that collaborate to provide high performance service to their clients.

●　cluster index

A B-tree index on the cluster key.

●　cluster key

In a table cluster, the column or columns that the clustered tables have in common. For example, the employees and departments tables share the department_id column. You specify the cluster key when creating the table cluster and when creating every table added to the table cluster.

●　column

Vertical space in a that represents a domain of data. A table definition includes a table name and set of columns. Each column has a name and data type.

●　commit

Action that ends a database and makes permanent all changes performed in the transaction.

●　composite index

An index on multiple columns in a table.

●　composite partitioning

In partitioning strategy in which a table is partitioned by one data distribution method and then each partition is further divided into subpartitions using a second data distribution method.

●　compression unit

In Hybrid Columnar Compression, a logical construct that stores a set of rows. When you load data into a table, the database stores groups of rows in columnar format, with the values for each column stored and compressed together. After the database has compressed the column data for a set of rows, the database fits the data into the compression unit.

●　concurrency

Simultaneous access of the same data by many users. A multiuser database management system must provide adequate concurrency controls so that data cannot be updated or changed improperly, compromising .

See also .

●　condition

The combination of one or more and logical in a SQL statement that returns a value of TRUE, FALSE, or UNKNOWN. For example, the condition 1=1 always evaluates to TRUE.

●　connection

Communication pathway between a and an Oracle database .

See also .

●　connection pooling

A resource utilization and user scalability feature that maximizes the number of over a limited number of protocol connections to a .

●　consistent backup

A that you can open with the RESETLOGS option without performing media recovery. In other words, the backup does not require the application of redo to be made consistent.

See also .

●　context

A set of application-defined attributes that validates and secures an application. The SQL statement CREATE CONTEXT creates namespaces for contexts.

●　control file

A binary file that records the physical structure of a database and contains the names and locations of files, the time stamp of the database creation, the current log sequence number, information, and so on.

●　cube

An organization of measures with identical dimensions and other shared characteristics. The edges of the cube contain the members, whereas the body of the cube contains the data values.

●　cursor

A handle or name for a in the . Because cursors are closely associated with private SQL areas, the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

●　database

Organized collection of data treated as a unit. The purpose of a database is to store and retrieve related information. Every Oracle database accesses only one database in its lifetime.

●　database access control

The restriction of data access and database activities. For example, a database administrator can restrict users from querying specified tables or executing specified database commands.

●　database application

A software program that interacts with a database to access and manipulate data.

●　database authentication

The process by which a user presents credentials to the database, which verifies the credentials and allows access to the database.

●　database buffer cache

The portion of the that holds copies of . All concurrently connected to the share access to the buffer cache.

●　database instance

The combination of the and . An instance is associated with one and only one database. In an Oracle Real Application Clusters configuration, multiple instances access a single database simultaneously.

●　database link

In a , a in one database that enables users to access objects on a different database.

●　database management system (DBMS)

Software that controls the storage, organization, and retrieval of data.

●　database object

An object in the database that can be manipulated with SQL. Schema objects such as tables and indexes reside in schemas. Nonschema objects such as directories and roles do not reside in schemas.

●　database security

The aspect of database administration that involves user authentication, encryption, access control, and monitoring.

●　database server

A server that reliably manages a large amount of data in a multiuser environment so that users can concurrently access the same data. A database server also prevents unauthorized access and provides efficient solutions for failure recovery.

●　database service

A named representation of one or more database instances. The service name for an Oracle database is normally its global database name. Clients use the service name to connect to one or more database instances.

●　database user

An account through which you can log in to an Oracle database.

●　database writer (DBW)

A that writes buffers in the to .

●　data block

Smallest logical unit of data storage in Oracle Database. Other names for data blocks include Oracle blocks or pages. One data block corresponds to a specific number of bytes of physical space on disk.

See also ; .

●　data consistency

A consistent view of the data by each user in a multiuser database.

See also concurrency.

●　data corruption

An error that occurs when a hardware, software, or network component causes corrupt data to be read or written.

●　data dictionary

A read-only collection of database tables and views containing reference information about the database, its structures, and its users.

●　data dictionary cache

A memory area in the that holds information. The data dictionary cache is also known as the row cache because it holds data as rows instead of buffers, which hold entire data blocks.

●　data dictionary view

A predefined view of tables or other views in the . Data dictionary views begin with the prefix DBA_, ALL_, or USER_.

●　data file

A physical file on disk that was created by Oracle Database and contains the data for a database. The data files can be located either in an operating system file system or .

●　data integrity

Business rules that dictate the standards for acceptable data. These rules are applied to a database by using and to prevent invalid data entry.

●　data mining

The automated search of large stores of data for patterns and trends that transcend simple analysis.

●　Data Recovery Advisor

An Oracle Database infrastructure that automatically diagnoses persistent data failures, presents repair options to the user, and executes repairs at the user's request.

●　data segment

The containing the data for a nonclustered table, table partition, or .

See also .

●　data type

In SQL, a fixed set of properties associated with a value or constant. Examples include VARCHAR2 and NUMBER. Oracle Database treats values of different data types differently.

●　data warehouse

A relational database designed for and analysis rather than for .

●　DDL

Data definition language. Includes statements such as CREATE TABLE or ALTER INDEX that define or change a data structure.

●　deadlock

A situation in which two or more users are waiting for data locked by each other. Such deadlocks are rare in Oracle Database.

●　dedicated server

A database configuration in which a handles requests for a single .

See also .

●　deferrable constraint

A constraint that permits a SET CONSTRAINT statement to defer constraint checking until after the transaction is committed. A deferrable constraint enables you to disable the constraint temporarily while making changes that might violate the constraint.

●　degree of parallelism

The number of parallel execution servers associated with a single operation. Parallel execution is designed to effectively use multiple CPUs. Oracle Database parallel execution framework enables you to either explicitly choose a specific degree of parallelism or to rely on Oracle Database to automatically control it.

●　dependent object

In a schema object dependency, the object whose definition references another object. For example, if the definition of object A references object B, then A is a dependent object on B.

●　descending index

An index in which data is stored on a specified column or columns in descending order.

●　dimension

A structure that categorizes data to enable users to answer business questions. Commonly used dimensions are customers, products, and time.

●　dimension table

A relational table that stores all or part of the values for a in a star or snowflake schema. Dimension tables typically contain columns for the dimension keys, levels, and attributes.

●　direct-path INSERT

An INSERT in which the database writes data directly to the data files, bypassing the database buffer cache. The database appends the inserted data to the existing data in the table.

●　directory object

A database object that specifies an alias for a directory on the server file system where external binary file LOBs (BFILEs) and data are located. All directory objects are created in a single namespace and are not owned by an individual schema.

●　dirty read

A transaction reads data that has been written by another transaction that has not been committed yet. Oracle Database never permits dirty reads.

●　dispatcher

See .

●　dispatcher process (Dnnn)

Optional background process present only when a shared server configuration is used. Each dispatcher process is responsible for routing requests from connected client processes to available processes and returning the responses.

●　distributed database

A set of databases in a distributed system that can appear to applications as a single data source.

●　distributed processing

The operations that occurs when an application distributes its tasks among different computers in a network.

●　distributed transaction

A transaction that includes statements that, individually or as a group, update data on nodes of a . Oracle Database ensures the integrity of data in distributed transactions using the two-phase commit mechanism.

●　DML

Data manipulation language. Includes statements such as SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE.

●　edition

A private environment in which you can redefine database objects. Edition-based redefinition enables you to upgrade an application's database objects while the application is in use, thus minimizing or eliminating down time.

●　encryption

The process of transforming data into an unreadable format using a secret key and an encryption algorithm.

●　equijoin

A join with a join condition containing an equality operator.

●　ETL

Extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL). The process of extracting data from source systems and bringing it into a .

●　execution plan

The combination of steps used by the database to execute a SQL statement. Each step either retrieves rows of data physically from the database or prepares them for the user issuing the statement. You can override execution plans by using .

●　expression

A combination of one or more values, , and SQL functions that evaluates to a value. For example, the expression 2*2 evaluates to 4. In general, expressions assume the data type of their components.

●　extent

Multiple contiguous data blocks allocated for storing a specific type of information. A is made up of one or more extents.

See also .

●　external table

A read-only table whose metadata is stored in the database but whose data in stored in files outside the database. The database uses the metadata describing external tables to expose their data as if they were relational tables.

●　extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)

See .

●　fact

Data that represents a business measure, such as sales or cost data.

●　fact table

A table in a star schema of a that contains factual data. A fact table typically has two types of columns: those that contain facts and those that are to tables.

●　fast full index scan

A in which the database reads the index blocks in no particular order. The database accesses the data in the index itself, without accessing the table.

●　fast recovery area

An optional disk location that stores recovery-related files such as control file and copies, , flashback logs, and RMAN backups.

●　field

In a table, the intersection of a row and column.

●　file system

A data structure built inside a contiguous disk address space.

●　foreign key

An that requires each value in a column or set of columns to match a value in the unique or for a related table. Integrity constraints for foreign keys define actions dictating database behavior if referenced data is altered.

●　format model

A character literal that describes the format of a datetime in a character string.

●　full index scan

A scan of an in which the database reads the entire index in order.

●　full table scan

A scan of table data in which the database sequentially reads all rows from a table and filters out those that do not meet the selection criteria. All under the are scanned.

●　function

A schema object, similar to a , that always returns a single value.

●　function-based index

An index that computes the value of a function or expression involving one or more columns and stores it in the index.

●　granule

The basic unit of work in parallelism. Oracle Database divides the operation executed in parallel (for example, a table scan, table update, or index creation) into granules. Parallel execution processes execute the operation one granule at a time.

●　grid computing

A computing architecture that coordinates large numbers of servers and storage to act as a single large computer.

●　grid infrastructure

The software that provides the infrastructure for an enterprise grid architecture. In a cluster, this software includes Oracle Clusterware and . For a standalone server, this software includes Oracle Restart and Oracle ASM. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) combines these infrastructure products into one software installation called the grid infrastructure home.

●　hard parse

The steps performed by the database to build a new executable version of application code. The database must perform a hard parse instead of a if the parsed representation of a submitted statement does not exist in the .

●　hash cluster

A type of that is similar to an indexed cluster, except the index key is replaced with a hash function. No separate cluster index exists. In a hash cluster, the data is the index.

●　hash collision

Hashing multiple input values to the same output value.

●　hash function

A that operates on an arbitrary-length input value and returns a fixed-length hash value.

●　hash join

A in which the database uses the smaller of two tables or data sources to build a in memory. The database scans the larger table, probing the hash table for the addresses of the matching rows in the smaller table.

●　hash key value

In a hash cluster, an actual or possible value inserted into the cluster key column. For example, if the cluster key is department_id, then hash key values could be 10, 20, 30, and so on.

●　hash table

An in-memory data structure that associates join keys with rows in a . For example, in a of the employees and departments tables, the join key might be the department ID. A uses the key to generate a hash value. This hash value is an index in an array, which is the hash table.

●　hash value

In a hash cluster, a unique numeric ID that identifies a bucket. Oracle Database uses a hash function that accepts an infinite number of hash key values as input and sorts them into a finite number of buckets. Each hash value maps to the database block address for the block that stores the rows corresponding to the hash key value (department 10, 20, 30, and so on).

●　hashing

A mathematical technique in which an infinite set of input values is mapped to a finite set of output values, called hash values. Hashing is useful for rapid lookups of data in a hash table.

●　heap-organized table

A table in which the data rows are stored in no particular order on disk. By default, CREATE TABLE creates a heap-organized table.

●　hierarchical database

A database that organizes data in a tree structure. Each parent record has one or more child records, similar to the structure of a file system.

●　high water mark

The boundary between used and unused space in a .

●　hint

An instruction passed to the through comments in a SQL statement. The optimizer uses hints to choose an execution plan for the statement.

●　human error outage

An outage that occurs when unintentional or malicious actions are committed that cause data in the database to become logically corrupt or unusable.

●　implicit query

A component of a statement that retrieves data without a . An UPDATE, DELETE, or MERGE statement that does not explicitly include a SELECT statement uses an implicit query to retrieve the rows to be modified.

●　inconsistent backup

A backup in which some files in the backup contain changes made after the . Unlike a , an inconsistent backup requires to be made consistent.

●　index

Optional schema object associated with a nonclustered , table , or . In some cases indexes speed data access.

●　index block

A special type of data block that manages space differently from table blocks.

●　index cluster

An table cluster that uses an index to locate data. The cluster index is a B-tree index on the cluster key.

●　index clustering factor

A measure of the row order in relation to an indexed value such as last name. The more order that exists in row storage for this value, the lower the clustering factor.

●　index-organized table

A table whose storage organization is a variant of a primary B-tree . Unlike a , data is stored in order.

●　index range scan

An ordered scan of an index that has the following characteristics:

• One or more leading columns of an index are specified in conditions. A specifies a combination of one or more expressions and logical (Boolean) and returns a value of TRUE, FALSE, or UNKNOWN.

• 0, 1, or more values are possible for an index key.

●　index scan

The retrieval of a row by traversing an index, using the indexed column values specified by the statement.

●　index segment

A that stores data for a nonpartitioned index or index .

●　index skip scan

An index scan that uses logical subindexes of a composite index. The database "skips" through a single index as if it were searching separate indexes.

●　index unique scan

An index scan that must have either 0 or 1 rowid associated with an index key. The database performs a unique scan when a predicate references all of the columns in the key of a UNIQUE index using an equality operator.

●　in-flight transaction

A transaction that is running when an outage breaks the connection between a client application and the database.

●　information system

A formal system for storing and processing information.

●　initialization parameter

A configuration parameter such as DB_NAME or SGA_TARGET that affects the operation of a database . Settings for initialization parameters are stored in a text-based file or binary .

●　initialization parameter file

A text file that contains settings for a database .

●　inner join

A join of two or more tables that returns only those rows that satisfy the join condition.

●　instance

The combination of the and . An instance is associated with one and only one database. In an Oracle Real Application Clusters configuration, multiple instances access a single database simultaneously.

●　instance failure

The termination of a database because of a hardware failure, Oracle internal error, or SHUTDOWN ABORT statement.

●　instance recovery

The automatic application of redo log records to uncommitted data blocks when an is restarted after a failure.

●　integrity

See .

●　integrity constraint

Declarative method of defining a rule for a . The integrity constraints enforce business rules and prevent the entry of invalid information into tables.

●　interested transaction list (ITL)

Information in the block header of every segment that determines whether a transaction was uncommitted when the database began modifying the block. Entries in the ITL describe which transactions have rows locked and which rows in the block contain committed and uncommitted changes.

●　invisible index

An index that is maintained by DML operations, but is not used by default by the optimizer. Making an index invisible is an alternative to making it unusable or dropping it.

●　join

A statement that retrieves data from multiple tables specified in the FROM clause. Join types include inner joins, outer joins, and Cartesian joins.

●　join condition

A condition that compares two columns, each from a different table, in a . The database combines pairs of rows, each containing one row from each table, for which the join condition evaluates to TRUE.

●　key

Column or set of columns included in the definition of certain types of .

●　key compression

The elimination of repeated occurrence of column values in an .

●　key values

Individual values in a key.

●　large object (LOB)

See .

●　large pool

Optional area in the that provides large memory allocations for backup and restore operations, I/O server processes, and session memory for the and .

●　latch

A low-level serialization control mechanism used to protect shared data structures in the from simultaneous access.

●　leaf block

In a B-tree index, a lower-level block that stores index entries. The upper-level branch blocks of a B-tree index contain index data that points to lower-level index blocks.

●　library cache

An area of memory in the . This cache includes the shared SQL areas, private SQL areas (in a configuration), procedures and packages, and control structures such as and library cache handles.

●　listener

A process that listens for incoming client connection requests and manages network traffic to the database.

●　literal

A fixed data value.

●　LOB

Large object. An Oracle data type designed to hold large amounts of data.

●　locally managed tablespace

A that uses a bitmap stored in each data file to manage the . In contrast, a dictionary-managed tablespace uses the to manage space.

●　lock

A database mechanism that prevents destructive interaction between accessing a shared resource such as a table, row, or system object not visible to users. The main categories of locks are DML locks, DDL locks, and latches and internal locks.

●　logical transaction ID

A globally unique identifier that defines a transaction from the application perspective. The logical transaction ID is bound to the database .

●　logical volume

A virtual disk partition.

●　logical volume manager (LVM)

A software package, available with most operating systems, that enables pieces of multiple physical disks to be combined into a single contiguous address space that appears as one disk to higher layers of software.

●　log sequence number

A number that uniquely identifies a set of redo records in a file. When the database fills one file and switches to a different one, the database automatically assigns the new file a log sequence number.

●　log switch

The point at which the stops writing to the active redo log file and switches to the next available redo log file. LGWR switches when either the active redo log file is filled with redo records or a switch is manually initiated.

●　log writer (LGWR)

The responsible for buffer management—writing the redo log buffer to the . LGWR writes all redo entries that have been copied into the buffer since the last time it wrote.

●　lookup table

A table containing a code column and an associated value column. For example, a job code corresponds to a job name. In contrast to a master table in a pair of , a lookup table is not the means to obtain a detailed result set, such as a list of employees. Rather, a user queries a table such as employees for an employee list and then joins the result set to the lookup table.

●　lost update

A problem in which one writer of data overwrites the changes of a different writer modifying the same data.

●　mantissa

The part of a floating-point number that contains its significant digits.

●　manual undo management mode

A mode of the database in which undo blocks are stored in user-managed undo segments. In , undo blocks are stored in a system-managed, dedicated undo tablespaces.

●　master-detail tables

A detail table has a relationship with a master table. For example, the employees detail table has a foreign key to the departments master table. Unlike a , a master table is typically queried and then joined to the detail table. For example, a user may query a department in the departments table and then use this result to find the employees in this department.

●　master site

In a environment, a different database with which a shares data.

●　master table

The table associated with a at a .

●　materialized view

A schema object that stores the result of a query. Oracle materialized views can be read-only or updatable.

See also .

●　media recovery

The application of redo or incremental backups to a or backup .

●　mounted database

An that is started and has the database open.

●　multitier architecture

An architecture in which one or more application servers provide data for clients and serves as an interface between clients and database servers.

●　network database

A type of database, similar to a hierarchical database, in which records have a many-to-many rather than a one-to-many relationship.

●　network encryption

Encrypting data as it travels across the network between a client and server.

●　null

Absence of a value in a of a . Nulls indicate missing, unknown, or inapplicable data.

●　object-relational database management system (ORDBMS)

An RDBMS that implements object-oriented features such as user-defined types, inheritance, and polymorphism.

●　object table

An special kind of table in which each row represents an object.

●　object type

A that abstracts a real-world entity such as a purchase order. Attributes model the structure of the entity, whereas methods implement operations an application can perform on the entity.

●　OLAP

Online Analytical Processing. OLAP is characterized by dynamic, dimensional analysis of historical data.

●　OLTP

Online Transaction Processing. OLTP systems are optimized for fast and reliable transaction handling. Compared to systems, most OLTP interactions involve a relatively small number of rows, but a larger group of tables.

●　online redo log

The set of two or more online files that record all changes made to Oracle Database and . When a change is made to the database, Oracle Database generates a redo record in the redo buffer. writes the contents of the redo buffer to the online redo log.

●　operator

1. In memory management, operators control the flow of data. Examples include sort, , and operators.

2. In SQL, an operator manipulates data items called operands or arguments and returns a result. The SQL operators are represented by special characters or by keywords. For example, the multiplication operator is represented by an asterisk (*).

●　optimizer

Built-in database software that determines the most efficient way to execute a SQL statement by considering factors related to the objects referenced and the conditions specified in the statement.

●　Oracle architecture

Memory and structures used by Oracle Database to manage a .

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM)

See .

●　Oracle ASM

Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM). A volume manager and a file system for database files. Oracle ASM is Oracle's recommended storage management solution, providing an alternative to conventional volume managers, file systems, and raw devices.

●　Oracle ASM disk group

One or more disks managed as a logical unit. I/O to a disk group is automatically spread across all the disks in the group.

●　Oracle Clusterware

A set of components that enables servers to operate together as if they were one server. Oracle Clusterware is a requirement for using and it is the only clusterware that you need for platforms on which Oracle RAC operates.

●　Oracle Database Vault

A database security feature that controls when, where, and how databases, data, and applications are accessed.

●　Oracle Data Redaction

A security feature that enables you to mask (redact) data that is returned from queries issued by low-privileged users or applications.

●　Oracle Enterprise Manager

A system management tool that provides centralized management of an Oracle database environment.

●　Oracle home

The operating system location of an Oracle Database installation.

●　Oracle Net

Communication software that enables a network session between a client application and an Oracle database. After a network session is established, Oracle Net acts as a data courier for the client application and the database.

●　Oracle Net Listener

A process that resides on the server whose responsibility is to listen for incoming client connection requests and manage the traffic to the server. When a client requests a network session with a database, Oracle Net Listener (typically called the listener) receives the request. If the client information matches the listener information, then the listener grants a connection to the database server.

●　Oracle Net Services

A suite of networking components that provide enterprise-wide connectivity solutions in distributed, heterogeneous computing environments. Oracle Net Services includes Oracle Net, listener, Oracle Connection Manager, Oracle Net Configuration Assistant, and Oracle Net Manager.

●　Oracle process

A that runs Oracle Database code. Oracle processes include and .

●　Oracle RAC

Oracle Real Application Clusters. Option that allows multiple concurrent database to share a single physical database.

●　Oracle Real Application Clusters

See .

●　Oracle SQL

An implementation of the ANSI standard for SQL. Oracle SQL supports numerous features that extend beyond standard SQL.

●　Oracle Virtual Private Database (VPD)

A security feature that enables you to create security policies to control database access at the row and column level. Essentially, VPD adds a dynamic WHERE clause to a SQL statement that is issued against the table, view, or synonym to which a VPD security policy was applied.

●　Oracle XA

An external interface that allows global transactions to be coordinated by a manager other than Oracle Database.

●　outer join

A join that returns all rows that satisfy the join condition and also returns some or all of those rows from one table for which no rows from the other satisfy the join condition.

●　parallel execution

The application of multiple CPU and I/O resources to the execution of a single database operation.

●　partial index

An index that is correlated with the indexing properties of an associated partitioned table.

●　partition

A piece of a table or index that shares the same logical attributes as the other partitions. For example, all partitions in a table share the same column and constraint definitions.

●　partition key

A set of one or more columns that determines the partition in which each row in a partitioned table should go. Each row is unambiguously assigned to a single partition.

●　partitioning

The ability to decompose very large tables and indexes into smaller and more manageable pieces called partitions.

●　PGA

Program global area. A memory buffer that contains data and control information for a .

See also .

●　physical guess

The physical rowid of an index entry when it was first made. Oracle Database can use physical guesses to probe directly into the leaf block of any index-organized table, bypassing the primary key search.

●　plan generator

The part of the optimizer that tries different access paths, join methods, and join orders for a given query block to find the plan with the lowest cost.

●　PL/SQL

Procedural Language/SQL. The Oracle Database procedural language extension to . PL/SQL enables you to mix SQL statements with programmatic constructs such as procedures, functions, and packages.

●　PL/SQL package

A logical grouping of related PL/SQL types, variables, and subprograms.

●　PL/SQL procedure

A that consists of a set of SQL statements and other constructs, grouped together, stored in the database, and run as a unit to solve a specific problem or perform a set of related tasks.

●　PL/SQL subprogram

A named PL/SQL block that can be invoked with a set of parameters

●　precision

The total number of digits in a floating-point number. You specify a fixed-point number in the form NUMBER(p,s), where p represents the precision.

●　precompiler

A programming tool that enables you to embed SQL statements in a high-level source program written in a language such as C, C++, or COBOL.

●　predicate

The WHERE condition in a SQL statement.

●　primary key

The column or set of columns that uniquely identifies a row in a table. Only one primary can be defined for each table.

●　primary key constraint

An that disallows duplicate values and nulls in a column or set of columns.

●　private SQL area

An area in memory that holds a parsed statement and other information for processing. The private SQL area contains data such as values, execution state information, and query execution work areas.

●　privilege

The right to run a particular type of SQL statement, or the right to access an object that belongs to another user, run a PL/SQL package, and so on. The types of privileges are defined by Oracle Database.

●　privilege analysis

A security mechanism that captures privilege usage for a database according to a specified condition. For example, you can find the privileges that a user exercised during a specific database session.

●　process

A mechanism in an operating system that can run a series of steps. By dividing the work of Oracle Database and database applications into several processes, multiple users and applications can connect to a single database instance simultaneously.

See also ; ; .

●　program global area (PGA)

See .

●　pseudocolumn

A column that is not stored in a table, yet behaves like a table column.

●　query

An operation that retrieves data from tables or views. For example, SELECT * FROM employees is a query.

See also ; .

●　query block

A top-level SELECT statement, subquery, or unmerged view.

●　query coordinator

In parallel execution, the user session or shadow process that coordinates the parallel execution servers. The parallel execution servers performs each operation in parallel if possible. When the parallel servers are finished executing the statement, the query coordinator performs any portion of the work that cannot be executed in parallel. Finally, the query coordinator returns any results to the user.

●　query plan

The execution plan used to execute a query.

●　R

A language and environment for statistical computing and graphics.

●　read consistency

A consistent view of data seen by a user. For example, in statement-level read consistency the set of data seen by a SQL statement remains constant throughout statement execution.

See also concurrency; .

●　read-only database

A database that is available for queries only and cannot be modified.

●　recoverable error

A class of errors that arise because of an external system failure, independently of the application session logic that is executing. Recoverable errors occur following planned and unplanned outages of networks, nodes, storage, and databases. An example of a nonrecoverable error is submission of invalid data values.

●　Recovery Manager (RMAN)

See .

●　recursive SQL

SQL that the database executes in the background to obtain space for database objects. You can think of recursive SQL as "side effect" SQL.

●　redo log

A set of files that protect altered database data in memory that has not been written to the . The redo log can consist of two parts: the and the archived redo log.

●　redo log buffer

Memory structure in the that stores redo entries—a log of changes made to the database. The database writes the redo entries stored in the redo log buffers to an file, which is used if is necessary.

●　redo record

A record in the that holds a group of change vectors, each of which describes a change made to a data block. Each redo log file consists of redo records.

●　redo thread

The redo generated by a database .

●　referenced object

In a schema object dependency, the object that is referenced by another object's definition. For example, if the definition of object A references object B, then B is a referenced object for A.

●　referential integrity

A rule defined on a in one table that guarantees that the values in that key match the values in a key in a related table (the referenced value).

●　relation

A set of tuples.

●　relational database

A database that conforms to the relational model, storing data in a set of simple relations.

●　relational database management system (RDBMS)

A management system that moves data into a relational database, stores the data, and retrieves it so that applications can manipulate it.

●　replication

The process of sharing database objects and data at multiple databases.

●　reserved pool

A memory area in the that Oracle Database can use to allocate large contiguous chunks of memory.

●　reverse key index

A type of B-tree index that physically reverses the bytes of each index key while keeping the column order. For example, if the index key is 20, and if the two bytes stored for this key in hexadecimal are C1,15 in a standard B-tree index, then a reverse key index stores the bytes as 15,C1.

●　RMAN

Recovery Manager. An Oracle Database utility that backs up, restores, and recovers Oracle databases.

●　role

A set of that can be granted to database users or to other roles.

●　row

A set of information corresponding to a single record in a . The database stores rows in .

●　row chaining

A situation in which Oracle Database must store a row in a series or chain of blocks because it is too large to fit into a single block.

●　rowid

A globally unique address for a row in a database.

●　row major format

A type of table storage in which all columns of one row are stored together, followed by all columns of the next row, and so on.

●　row migration

A situation in which Oracle Database moves a row from one to another data block because the row grows too large to fit in the original block.

●　row piece

A row is stored in a variable-length record. This record is divided into one or more row pieces. Each row piece has a row header and column data.

●　sample schemas

A set of interlinked schemas that enable Oracle documentation and Oracle instructional materials to illustrate common database tasks.

●　savepoint

A named SCN in a transaction to which the transaction can be rolled back.

●　scale

In a floating-point number, the number of digits from the decimal point to the least significant digit. You specify a fixed-point number in the form NUMBER(p,s), where s represents the scale.

●　schema

A named collection of database objects, including logical structures such as tables and indexes. A schema has the name of the database user who owns it.

●　schema object

A logical structure of data stored in a . Examples of schema objects are tables, indexes, sequences, and database links.

●　schema object dependency

The referencing of one object by another object. For example, a view contains a that references tables or views, or a subprogram invokes other subprograms.

●　SCN

System Change Number. A database ordering primitive. The value of an SCN is the logical point in time at which changes are made to a database.

●　secondary index

An index on an index-organized table. In a sense, it is an index on an index.

●　security policy

A set of methods for protecting a database from accidental or malicious destruction of data or damage to the database infrastructure.

●　segment

A set of allocated for a specific database object such as a table, index, or . User segments, undo segments, and temporary segments are all types of segments.

●　selectivity

In a query, the measure of how many rows from a row set pass a test, for example, WHERE last_name = 'Smith'. A selectivity of 0.0 means no rows, whereas a value of 1.0 means all rows. A predicate becomes more selective as the value approaches 0.0 and less selective (or more unselective) as the value approaches 1.0.

●　self join

A join of a table to itself.

●　sequence

A that generates a serial list of unique numbers for table columns.

●　server

In a , the computer that runs Oracle software and handles the functions required for concurrent, shared data access. The server receives and processes the SQL and PL/SQL statements that originate from applications.

●　server parameter file

A server-side binary file containing settings that is read and written to by the database.

●　server process

An that communicates with a and Oracle Database to fulfill user requests. The server processes are associated with a database instance, but are not part of the instance.

●　service-oriented architecture (SOA)

A multitier architecture relying on services that support computer-to-computer interaction over a network.

●　session

A logical entity in the database memory that represents the state of a current user login to a database. A single can have 0, 1, or more sessions established on it.

●　SGA

System global area. A group of shared memory structures that contain data and control information for one Oracle database .

●　shared pool

Portion of the that contains shared memory constructs such as shared SQL areas.

●　shared server

A database configuration that enables multiple client processes to share a small number of .

See also .

●　shared SQL area

An area in the that contains the parse tree and execution plan for a SQL statement. Only one shared SQL area exists for a unique statement.

●　single-level partitioning

A partitioning strategy that uses only one method of data distribution, for example, only list partitioning or only range partitioning.

●　soft parse

The reuse of existing code when the parsed representation of a submitted SQL statement exists in the and can be shared.

See also .

●　sorted hash cluster

A hash cluster that stores the rows corresponding to each value of the hash function in such a way that the database can efficiently return them in sorted order. The database performs the optimized sort internally.

●　SQL

Structured Query Language. A nonprocedural language to access a relational database. Users describe in SQL what they want done, and the SQL language compiler automatically generates a procedure to navigate the database and perform the task. Oracle SQL includes many extensions to the ANSI/ISO standard SQL language.

See also ; .

●　SQL*Plus

Oracle tool used to run statements against Oracle Database.

●　standby database

An independent copy of a production database that you can use for disaster protection in a high availability environment.

●　star schema

A relational schema whose design represents a dimensional data model. The star schema consists of one or more fact tables and one or more dimension tables that are related through foreign keys.

See also ; .

●　statement-level rollback

A database operation in which the effects of an unsuccessful SQL statement are rolled back because the statement caused an error during execution.

●　stored procedure

A named block or Java program that Oracle Database stores in the database. Applications can call stored procedures by name.

●　Structured Query Language (SQL)

See .

●　subquery

A nested within another SQL statement. Unlike implicit queries, subqueries use a SELECT statement to retrieve data.

●　summary

In a data warehouse, an aggregate view that reduces query time by precalculating joins and aggregation operations and storing the results in a table.

●　synonym

An alias for a . You can use synonyms to provide data independence and location transparency.

●　system change number (SCN)

See .

●　system global area (SGA)

See .

●　table

Basic unit of data storage in Oracle Database. Data in tables is stored in and .

●　table cluster

A schema object that contains data from one or more tables, all of which have one or more columns in common. In table clusters, the database stores together all the rows from all tables that share the same cluster .

●　table compression

The compression of data to reduce disk space in a or table .

●　table function

A user-defined PL/SQL function that returns a collection of rows (a nested table or varray). You can select from this collection as if it were a database table by invoking the table function inside the TABLE clause in a SELECT statement.

●　tablespace

A database storage unit that groups related logical structures together. The database are stored in tablespaces.

●　temp file

A file that belongs to a temporary . The temp files in temporary tablespaces cannot contain permanent database objects.

●　temporary segment

A created by Oracle Database when a SQL statement needs a temporary database area to complete execution.

●　temporary table

A table that holds an intermediate result set for the duration of a or a . Only the current session can see the data in temporary tables.

●　trace file

An administrative file that contain diagnostic data used to investigate problems. Oracle Database writes trace files to .

●　transaction

Logical unit of work that contains one or more SQL statements. All statements in a transaction or roll back together. The use of transactions is one of the most important ways that a database management system differs from a file system.

●　transaction ID

An identifier is unique to a and represents the undo segment number, slot, and sequence number.

●　transaction recovery

A phase of in which uncommitted transactions are rolled back.

●　transaction table

The data structure within an undo segment that holds the transaction identifiers of the transactions using the undo segment.

●　Transparent Data Encryption

A database feature that encrypts individual table columns or a tablespace. When a user inserts data into an encrypted column, the database automatically encrypts the data. When users select the column, the data is decrypted. This form of encryption is transparent, provides high performance, and is easy to implement.

●　transportable tablespace

A tablespace that you can copy or move between databases. Oracle Data Pump provides the infrastructure for transportable tablespaces.

●　trigger

A or Java procedure that fires when a table or view is modified or when specific user or database actions occur. Procedures are explicitly run, whereas triggers are implicitly run.

●　tuple

An unordered set of attribute values.

●　UGA

User global area. Session memory that stores session variables, such as logon information, and can also contain the pool.

●　undo data

Records of the actions of transactions, primarily before they are committed. The database can use undo data to logically reverse the effect of SQL statements. Undo data is stored in undo .

●　undo segment

A in an .

●　undo tablespace

A containing undo segments when is enabled.

●　Unicode

A universal encoded character set that can store information in any language using a single character set.

●　universal rowid

A data type that can store all types of rowids. Oracle uses universal rowids to store the addresses of index-organized and non-Oracle tables.

●　unusable index

An index that is not maintained by DML operations and is ignored by the optimizer. All indexes are usable (default) or unusable.

●　user global area (UGA)

See .

●　user name

The name by which a user is known to Oracle Database and to other users. Every user name is associated with a password, and both must be entered to connect to Oracle Database.

●　user process

See .

●　user profile

A named set of resource limits and password parameters that restrict database usage and database instance resources for a user.

●　view

A custom-tailored presentation of the data in one or more tables. The views do not actually contain or store data, but derive it from the tables on which they are based.

●　virtual column

A that is not stored on disk. The database derives the values in virtual columns on demand by computing a set of or functions.

●　whole database backup

A backup of the and all that belong to a database.

●　work area

A private allocation of PGA memory used for memory-intensive operations.

●　application server

A server designed to host applications and their environments, permitting server applications to run. A typical example is Oracle Application Server, which is able to host Java, C, C++, and PL/SQL applications in cases where a remote client controls the interface.

●　attribute

A property of an element that consists of a name and a value separated by an equals sign and contained within the start-tags after the element name. In this example, <Price units='USD'>5</Price>, units is the attribute and USD is its value, which must be in single or double quotes. Attributes may reside in the document or DTD. Elements may have many attributes but their retrieval order is not defined.

●　binary XML

An XML representation using the compact schema-aware format.

●　BLOB

See binary large object.

●　callback

A programmatic technique in which one process starts another and then continues. The second process then calls the first as a result of an action, value, or other event. This technique is used in most programs that have a user interface to allow continuous interaction.

●　cartridge

A stored program in Java or PL/SQL that adds the necessary functionality for the database to understand and manipulate a new datatype. Cartridges interface through the Extensibility Framework within Oracle Database version 8 or later. Oracle Text is such a cartridge, adding support for reading, writing, and searching text documents stored within the database.

●　Cascading Style Sheets

A simple mechanism for adding style (fonts, colors, spacing, and so on) to Web documents.

●　CDATA

See character data.

●　character data (CDATA)

Text in a document that should not be parsed is put within a CDATA section. This allows for the inclusion of characters that would otherwise have special functions, such as &, <, >, and so on. CDATA sections can be used in the content of an element or in attributes.

●　child element

An element that is wholly contained within another, which is referred to as its parent element. For example <Parent><Child></Child></Parent> illustrates a child element nested within its parent element.

●　class generator

A utility that accepts an input file and creates a set of output classes that have corresponding functionality. In the case of the XML class generator, the input file is a DTD and the output is a series of classes that can be used to create XML documents conforming with the DTD.

●　CLASSPATH

The operating system environmental variable that the JVM uses to find the classes it needs to run applications.

●　Common Object Request Broker API (CORBA)

An Object Management Group standard for communicating between distributed objects across a network. These self-contained software modules can be used by applications running on different platforms or operating systems. CORBA objects and their data formats and functions are defined in the Interface Definition Language (IDL), which can be compiled in a variety of languages including Java, C, C++, Smalltalk and COBOL.

●　Common Oracle Runtime Environment (CORE)

The library of functions written in C that provides developers the ability to create code that can be easily ported to virtually any platform and operating system.

●　CORBA

See Common Object Request Broker API.

●　CSS

See Cascading Style Sheets.

●　datagram

A text fragment, which may be in XML format, that is returned to the requester embedded in an HTML page from a SQL query processed by the XSQL Servlet.

●　DOCTYPE

The term used as the tag name designating the DTD or its reference within an XML document. For example, <!DOCTYPE person SYSTEM "person.dtd"> declares the root element name as person and an external DTD as person.dtd in the file system. Internal DTDs are declared within the DOCTYPE declaration.

●　Document Object Model (DOM)

An in-memory tree-based object representation of an XML document that enables programmatic access to its elements and attributes. The DOM object and its interface is a W3C recommendation. It specifies the Document Object Model of an XML Document including the APIs for programmatic access. DOM views the parsed document as a tree of objects.

●　Document Type Definition (DTD)

A set of rules that define the legal structure of an XML document. DTDs are text files that derive their format from SGML and can either be included in an XML document by using the DOCTYPE element or by using an external file through a DOCTYPE reference.

●　DOM

See Document Object Model.

●　DTD

See Document Type Definition.

●　element

The basic logical unit of an XML document that can serve as a container for other elements such as children, data, and attributes and their values. Elements are identified by start-tags, such as <name>, and end-tags, such as </name>, or in the case of empty elements, <name/>.

●　empty element

An element without text content or child elements. It can only contain attributes and their values. Empty elements are of the form <name/> or <name></name>, where there is no space between the tags.

●　Enterprise JavaBean (EJB)

An independent program module that runs within a JVM on the server. CORBA provides the infrastructure for EJBs, and a container layer provides security, transaction support, and other common functions on any supported server.

●　entity

A string of characters that may represent either another string of characters or special characters that are not part of the document character set. Entities and the text that is substituted for them by the parser are declared in the DTD.

●　eXtensible Markup Language (XML)

An open standard for describing data developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) using a subset of the SGML syntax and designed for Internet use.

●　eXtensible Stylesheet Language (XSL)

The language used within stylesheets to transform or render XML documents. There are two W3C recommendations covering XSL stylesheets—XSL Transformations (XSLT) and XSL Formatting Objects (XSLFO).

XSL consists of two W3C recommendations: XSL Transformations for transforming one XML document into another and XSL Formatting Objects for specifying the presentation of an XML document. XSL is a language for expressing stylesheets. It consists of two parts:

• A language for transforming XML documents (XSLT), and

• An XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics (XSLFO).

An XSL stylesheet specifies the presentation of a class of XML documents by describing how an instance of the class is transformed into an XML document that uses the formatting vocabulary.

●　eXtensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Object (XSLFO)

The W3C standard specification that defines an XML vocabulary for specifying formatting semantics. See FOP.

●　eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation (XSLT)

Also written as XSL-T. The XSL W3C standard specification that defines a transformation language to convert one XML document into another.

●　FOP

Print formatter driven by XSL formatting objects. It is a Java application that reads a formatting object tree and then renders the resulting pages to a specified output. Output formats currently supported are , PCL, PS, SVG, XML (area tree representation), Print, AWT, MIF and TXT. The primary output target is .

●　HTTP

See Hypertext Transport Protocol.

●　HTTPS

See Hypertext Transport Protocol, Secure.

●　IDE

See Integrated Development Environment.

●　infoset

XML Information Set, an abstract data set consisting of a number of information items. It has at least one information item: the document node, but the infoset is not necessarily valid XML. The W3C Recommendation is at

●　instance document

An XML document validated against an XML schema. If the instance document conforms to the rules of the schema, then it is said to be valid.

●　instantiate

A term used in object-based languages such as Java and C++ to refer to the creation of an object of a specific class.

●　Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

A set of programs designed to aid in the development of software run from a single user interface. JDeveloper is an IDE for Java development, because it includes an editor, compiler, debugger, syntax checker, help system, and so on, to permit Java software development through a single user interface.

●　J2EE

See Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition.

●　Java

A high-level programming language developed and maintained by Sun Microsystems where applications run in a virtual machine known as a JVM. The JVM is responsible for all interfaces to the operating system. This architecture permits developers to create Java applications that can run on any operating system or platform that has a JVM.

●　Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE)

The Java platform (Sun Microsystems) that defines multitier enterprise computing.

●　Java API for XML Processing (JAXP)

Enables applications to parse and transform XML documents using an API that is independent of a particular XML processor implementation.

●　Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB)

API and tools that map to and from XML documents and Java objects. A JSR-31 recommendation.

●　JavaBeans

An independent program module that runs within a JVM, typically for creating user interfaces on the client. Also known as Java Bean. The server equivalent is called an Enterprise JavaBean (EJB). See also Enterprise JavaBean.

●　Java Database Connectivity (JDBC)

The programming API that enables Java applications to access a database through the SQL language. JDBC drivers are written in Java for platform independence but are specific to each database.

●　Java Developer's Kit (JDK)

The collection of Java classes, runtime, compiler, debugger, and usually source code for a version of Java that makes up a Java development environment. JDKs are designated by versions, and Java 2 is used to designate versions from 1.2 onward.

●　Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI)

A programming interface from Sun for connecting Java programs to naming and directory services such as DNS, LDAP, and NDS. Oracle XML DB Resource API for Java/JNDI supports JNDI.

●　Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

The collection of complied classes that make up the Java virtual machine on a platform. JREs are designated by versions, and Java 2 is used to designate versions from 1.2 onward.

●　JavaServer Pages (JSP)

An extension to the servlet functionality that enables a simple programmatic interface to Web pages. JSPs are HTML pages with special tags and embedded Java code that is executed on the Web server or application server providing dynamic functionality to HTML pages. JSPs are actually compiled into servlets when first requested and run in the JVM of the server.

●　Java Specification Request (JSR)

A recommendation of the Java Community Process organization (JCP), such as JAXB.

●　Java Virtual Machine (JVM)

The Java interpreter that converts the compiled Java bytecode into the machine language of the platform and runs it. JVMs can run on a client, in a browser, in a middle tier, on an intranet, on an application server, or in a database server.

●　JAXB

See Java Architecture for XML Binding.

●　JAXP

See Java API for XML Processing.

●　JDBC

See Java Database Connectivity.

●　JDeveloper

Oracle Java IDE that enables application, applet, and servlet development and includes an editor, compiler, debugger, syntax checker, help system, an integrated UML class modeler, and so on. JDeveloper has been enhanced to support XML-based development by including the Oracle Java XDK components, integrated for use along with XML support, in its editor.

●　JDK

See Java Developer's Kit.

●　JNDI

See Java Naming and Directory Interface

●　JSR

See Java Specification Request

●　JVM

See Java virtual machine.

●　listener

A separate application process that monitors the input process.

●　LOB

See large object.

●　marshalling

The process of traversing a Java content tree and writing an XML document that reflects the content of the tree. It is the inverse of .

●　node

In XML, the term used to denote each addressable entity in the DOM tree.

●　notation attribute declaration

In XML, the declaration of a content type that is not part of those understood by the parser. These types include audio, video, and other multimedia.

●　OASIS

See Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information.

●　OC4J

Oracle Containers for J2EE, a J2EE deployment tool that comes with JDeveloper.

●　Oracle Application Server

The Oracle Application Server product integrates all the core services and features required for building, deploying, and managing high-performance, n-tier, transaction-oriented Web applications within an open standards framework.

●　Oracle CM SDK

See Oracle Content Management Software Development Kit.

●　Oracle Content Management SDK

The Oracle file system and Java-based development environment that either runs inside the database or on a middle tier and provides a means of creating, storing, and managing multiple types of documents in a single database repository.

●　Oracle Text

An Oracle tool that provides full-text indexing of documents and the capability to do SQL queries over documents, along with XPath-like searching.

●　Oracle XML DB

A high-performance XML storage and retrieval technology provided with Oracle database server. It is based on the W3C XML data model.

●　Oracle XML Developer's Kit (XDK)

The set of libraries, components, and utilities that provide software developers with the standards-based functionality to XML-enable their applications. In the case of the Oracle Java components of XDK, the kit contains an XML parser, an XSLT processor, the XML class generator, the JavaBeans, and the XSQL Servlet.

●　ORACLE_HOME

The operating system environment variable that identifies the location of the Oracle database installation for use by applications.

●　Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information (OASIS)

An organization of members chartered with promoting public information standards through conferences, seminars, exhibits, and other educational events. XML is a standard that OASIS is actively promoting as it is doing with SGML.

●　parent element

An element that surrounds another element, which is referred to as its child element. For example, <Parent><Child></Child></Parent> illustrates a parent element wrapping its child element.

●　parsed character data (PCDATA)

The element content consisting of text that should be parsed but is not part of a tag or nonparsed data.

●　path name

The name of a resource that reflects its location in the repository hierarchy. A path name is composed of a root element (the first /), element separators (/) and various sub-elements (or path elements). A path element may be composed of any character in the database character set except ("\", "/" ). These characters have a special meaning for Oracle XML DB. Forward slash is the default name separator in a path name and backward slash may be used to escape characters.

●　PCDATA

See Parsed Character Data.

●　principal

An entity that may be granted access control privileges to an Oracle XML DB resource. Oracle XML DB supports as principals:

• Database users.

• Database roles. A database role can be understood as a group, for example, the DBA role represents the DBA group of all the users granted the DBA role.

Users and roles imported from an LDAP server are also supported as a part of the database general authentication model.

●　prolog

The opening part of an XML document containing the XML declaration and any DTD or other declarations needed to process the document.

●　PUBLIC

The term used to specify the location on the Internet of the reference that follows.

●　repository

The set of database objects, in any schema, that are mapped to path names. There is one root to the repository ("/") which contains a set of resources, each with a path name.

●　resource

An object in the repository hierarchy.

●　resource name

The name of a resource within its parent folder. Resource names must be unique (potentially subject to case-insensitivity) within a folder. Resource names are always in the UTF-8 character set (NVARCHAR2).

●　result set

The output of a SQL query consisting of one or more rows of data.

●　root element

The element that encloses all the other elements in an XML document and is between the optional prolog and epilog. An XML document is only permitted to have one root element.

●　SAX

See Simple API for XML.

●　schema

The definition of the structure and data types within a database. It can also be used to refer to an XML document that support the XML Schema W3C recommendation.

●　servlet

A Java application that runs in a server, typically a Web or application server, and performs processing on that server. Servlets are the Java equivalent to CGI scripts.

●　SGML

See Structured Generalized Markup Language.

●　Simple API for XML (SAX)

An XML standard interface provided by XML parsers and used by event-based applications.

●　Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)

An XML-based protocol for exchanging information in a decentralized, distributed environment.

●　SOAP

See Simple Object Access Protocol.

●　SQL

See Structured Query Language.

●　SQL/XML

An ANSI specification for representing XML in SQL. Oracle SQL includes SQL/XML functions that query XML. The specification is not yet completed.

●　Structured Generalized Markup Language (SGML)

An ISO standard for defining the format of a text document implemented using markup and DTDs.

●　Structured Query Language (SQL)

The standard language used to access and process data in a relational database.

●　stylesheet

In XML, the term used to describe an XML document that consists of XSL processing instructions used by an XSLT processor to transform or format an input XML document into an output one.

●　SYSTEM

Specifies the location on the host operating system of the reference that follows.

●　tag

A single piece of XML markup that delimits the start or end of an element. Tags start with < and end with >. In XML, there are start-tags (<name>), end-tags (</name>), and empty tags (<name/>).

●　TransX Utility

TransX Utility is a Java API that simplifies the loading of translated seed data and messages into a database.

●　UIX

See User Interface XML.

●　unmarshalling

The process of reading an XML document and constructing a tree of Java content objects. Each content object corresponds directly to an instance in the input document of the corresponding schema component.

See Also:

●　User Interface XML (UIX)

A set of technologies that constitute a framework for building Web applications.

●　valid

The term used to refer to an XML document when its structure and element content is consistent with that declared in its associated DTD or XML schema.

●　W3C

See World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

●　WebDAV

See World Wide Web distributed authoring and versioning.

●　well-formed

The term used to refer to an XML document that conforms to the syntax of the XML version declared in its XML declaration. This includes having a single root element, properly nested tags, and so forth.

●　Working Group (WG)

The committee within the W3C that is made up of industry members that implement the recommendation process in specific Internet technology areas.

●　World Wide Web

A worldwide hypertext system that uses the Internet and the HTTP protocol.

●　World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

An international industry consortium started in 1994 to develop standards for the World Wide Web. It is located at

●　World Wide Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning (WebDAV)

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard for collaborative authoring on the Web. Oracle XML DB Foldering and Security features are WebDAV-compliant.

●　XDBbinary

An XML element defined by the Oracle XML DB schema that contains binary data. XDBbinary elements are stored in the repository when completely unstructured binary data is uploaded into Oracle XML DB.

●　XDK

See Oracle XML Developer's Kit.

●　XLink

The XML Linking language consisting of the rules governing the use of hyperlinks in XML documents. These rules are being developed by the XML Linking Group under the W3C recommendation process. This is one of the three languages XML supports to manage document presentation and hyperlinks (XLink, XPointer, and XPath).

●　XML

See eXtensible Markup Language.

●　XML Base

A W3C recommendation that describes the use of the xml:base attribute, which can be inserted in an XML document to specify a base URI other than the base URI of the document or external entity. The URIs in the document are resolved by means of the given base.

●　XML Gateway

A set of services that allows for integration with the Oracle E-Business Suite to create and consume XML messages triggered by business events.

●　XML Namespaces

The term to describe a set of related element names or attributes within an XML document. The namespace syntax and its usage is defined by a W3C Recommendation. For example, the <xsl:apply-templates/ > element is identified as part of the XSL namespace. Namespaces are declared in the XML document or DTD before they are used, with the following attribute syntax: xmlns:xsl="".

●　XML parser

In XML, a software program that receives an XML document and determines whether it is well-formed and, optionally, valid. The Oracle XML parser supports both SAX and DOM interfaces.

●　XML Pipeline Definition Language

W3C recommendation that enables you to describe the processing relations between XML resources.

●　XML processor

A software program that reads an XML document and processes it, that is, performs actions on the document based on a set of rules. Validity checkers and XML editors are examples of processors.

●　XML Query (XQuery)

The on-going effort of the W3C to create a standard for the language and syntax to query XML documents.

●　XML schema

A document written in the XML Schema language.

●　XML Schema

See .

●　XML Schema Definition

Equivalent to .

●　XML Schema language

The XML Schema language, also called simply "XML Schema," is a W3C standard for the use of simple data types and complex structures within an XML document. It addresses areas currently lacking in DTDs, including the definition and validation of data types.

Oracle XML Schema processor automatically ensures validity of XML documents and data used in e-business applications, including online exchanges. It adds simple and complex datatypes to XML documents and replaces DTD functionality with an XML schema definition XML document.

●　XMLSchema-instance namespace

Used to identify an instance document as a member of the class defined by a particular XML schema. You must declare the XMLSchema-instance namespace by adding a namespace declaration to the root element of the instance document. For example: xmlns:xsi=

●　XML SQL Utility (XSU)

This Oracle utility can generate an XML document (string or DOM) given a SQL query or a JDBC ResultSet object. XSU can also extract the data from an XML document, then insert, update, or delete rows in a database table.

●　XMLType

XMLType is an Oracle datatype that stores XML data using an underlying CLOB column, or object-relational columns, or a binary format within a table or view.

●　XMLType views

Oracle XML DB provides a way to wrap existing relational and object-relational data in XML format. This is especially useful if, for example, your legacy data is not in XML but you have to migrate it to an XML format.

●　XPath

The open standard syntax for addressing elements within a document used by XSL and XPointer. XPath is currently a W3C recommendation. It specifies the data model and grammar for navigating an XML document utilized by XSLT, XLink and XML Query.

●　XPointer

The term and W3C recommendation to describe a reference to an XML document fragment. An XPointer can be used at the end of an XPath-formatted URI. It specifies the identification of individual entities or fragments within an XML document using XPath navigation.

●　XSL

See eXtensible Stylesheet Language.

●　XSLFO

See eXtensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Object.

●　XSLT

See eXtensible Stylesheet Language Transformation.

●　XSLT Virtual Machine (XVM)

Oracle's XSLT Virtual Machine is the software implementation of a "CPU" designed to run compiled XSLT code. The concept of virtual machine assumes a compiler compiling XSLT stylesheets to a program of byte-codes, or machine instructions for the "XSLT CPU".

●　XSQL pages

XML pages that contain instructions for the XSQL servlet.

●　XSQL servlet

A Java-based servlet that can dynamically generate XML documents from one or more SQL queries and optionally transform the documents in the server with an XSLT stylesheet.

●　XSU

See XML SQL Utility.

●　BFILE

A Large Object datatype that is a binary file residing in the file system, outside of the database data files and tablespace. Note that the BFILE datatype is also referred to as an external LOB in some documentation.

●　Binary Large Object (BLOB)

A Large Object datatype that has content consisting of binary data and is typically used to hold unstructured data. The BLOB datatype is included in the category Persistent LOBs because it resides in the database.

●　BLOB

Pronounced "bee-lob." See Binary Large Object.

●　Character Large Object (CLOB)

The LOB datatype that has content consisting of character data in the database character set. A CLOB can be indexed and searched by the Oracle Text search engine.

●　CLOB

Pronounced "see-lob." See Character Large Object.

●　deduplication

Deduplication enables Oracle Database to automatically detect duplicate LOB data and conserve space by only storing one copy (if storage parameter is SECUREFILE).

●　external LOB

A Large Object datatype that is stored outside of the database tablespace. The BFILE datatype is the only external LOB datatype. See also BFILE.

●　internal persistent LOB

A large object (LOB) that is stored in the database in a BLOB/CLOB/NCLOB column.

●　introspect

To examine attributes or value of an object.

●　Large Objects (LOBs)

Large Objects include the following SQL datatypes: BLOB, CLOB, NCLOB, and BFILE. These datatypes are designed for storing data that is large in size. See also BFILE, Binary Large Object, Character Large Object, and National Character Large Object.

●　LOB

See Large Objects.

●　LOB attribute

A large object datatype that is a field of an object datatype. For example a CLOB field of an object type.

●　LOB value

The actual data stored by the Large Object. For example, if a BLOB stores a picture, then the value of the BLOB is the data that makes up the image.

●　National Character Large Object

The LOB datatype that has content consisting of Unicode character data in the database national character set. An NCLOB can be indexed and searched by the Oracle Text search engine.

●　NCLOB

Pronounced "en-see-lob." See National Character Large Object.

●　persistent LOB

A BLOB, CLOB, or NCLOB that is stored in the database. A persistent LOB instance can be selected out of a table and used within the scope of your application. The ACID (atomic, consistent, isolated, durable) properties of the instance are maintained just as for any other column type. Persistent LOBs are sometimes also referred to as internal persistent LOBs or just, internal LOBs.

A persistent LOB can exist as a field of an object datatype and an instance in a LOB-type column. For example a CLOB attribute of an instance of type object.

See also temporary LOB and external LOB.

●　SECUREFILE

LOB storage parameter that allows deduplication, encryption, and compression. The opposite parameter, that does not allow these features, is BASICFILE.

●　tablespace

A database storage unit that groups related logical structures together.

●　temporary LOB

A BLOB, CLOB, or NCLOB that is accessible and persists only within the application scope in which it is declared. A temporary LOB does not exist in database tables.

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group

A set of disk devices that manages as a single unit. Each disk device can be an individual physical disk, a multiple disk device such as a RAID storage array or logical volume, or even a partition on a physical disk. You can create the Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group when you create the , or with Oracle Database Configuration Assistant.

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance

The Oracle instance that manages Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk groups s. It is created automatically when you install and configure . See also Oracle system identifier ().

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management

Enables creation of a single disk group from a collection of individual disk devices. It balances I/O to the disk group across all of the devices in the disk group. It also implements striping and mirroring to improve I/O performance and data reliability.

●　automatic undo management mode

A mode of Oracle Database in which undo data is stored in a dedicated . Unlike in , the only undo management that you must perform is the creation of the undo tablespace. All other undo management is performed automatically.

●　connect descriptor

A specially formatted description of the destination for a network connection. A connect descriptor contains destination service and network route information.

The destination service is indicated by using its service name for the Oracle Database or its Oracle system identifier () for Oracle release 11.2 databases. The network route provides, at a minimum, the location of the through use of a network address.

●　connect identifier

A name, net service name, or service name that resolves to a connect descriptor. Users initiate a connect request by passing a user name and password along with a connect identifier in a connect string for the service to which they want to connect, for example:

SQL> CONNECT user_name@connect_identifier Enter password: password 

●　control files

Files that record the physical structure of a database and contain the database name, the names and locations of associate datafiles and online , the time stamp of the database creation, the current log sequence number, and checkpoint information.

●　default domain

The network domain within which most client requests take place. It can be the domain where the client resides, or a domain from which the client often requests network services. The default domain is also the client configuration parameter that determines what domain to append to unqualified network name requests. A name request is unqualified if it does not have a "." character within it.

●　directory naming

A that specifies a directory server to resolve a net service name into a connect descriptor. The net service name is stored centrally in a directory server.

●　directory server

A Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)-compliant directory server. A directory can provide centralized storage and retrieval of database network components, user and corporate policies preferences, user authentication, and security information, replacing client-side and server-side localized files.

●　external procedures

Procedure or function written in the C programming language and stored in a shared library. An Oracle server can call external procedures or functions using PL/SQL routines. For Oracle Database to connect to external procedures, the server must be configured with a net service name and the must be configured with protocol address and service information.

●　global database name

The full database name that uniquely distinguishes it from any other database in your network domain.

For example:

sales.us.example.com

where sales is the name you want to call your database and us.example.com is the network domain in which the database is located.

●　initialization parameter file

An ASCII text file that contains information needed to initialize a database and .

●　instance

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

●　installation type

A predefined component set that automatically selects which components to install. See for a list of installation types available with each top-level component.

●　Interprocess Communication (IPC)

A protocol that client applications use that resides on the same node as the to communicate with the database. IPC can provide a faster local connection than TCP/IP.

●　listener

A process that resides on the server and whose responsibility is to listen for incoming client connection requests and manage the traffic to the server.

When a client requests a network session with a database server, a listener receives the actual request. If the client information matches the listener information, then the listener grants a connection to the database server.

●　listener.ora file

A configuration file for the listener that identifies the:

• Listener name

• Protocol addresses on which it is accepting connection requests

• Services for which it is listening

The listener.ora file resides in the ORACLE_HOME\network\admin directory.

An Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) does not require identification of the database service because of service registration. However, static service configuration is required for an Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) if you plan to use Oracle Enterprise Manager.

●　local naming

A that resolves a net service name into a connect descriptor. This name is configured and stored in the on each individual client.

●　manual undo management mode

A mode of the database in which undo blocks are stored in user-managed rollback segments.

●　naming method

A resolution method used by a client application to resolve a connect identifier to a network address when attempting to connect to a database service. Oracle Net Services supports the following naming methods:

• Local naming

• Directory naming

• Host naming

• External naming

●　net service name

A simple name for a service that resolves to a connect descriptor. Users initiate a connect request by passing a user name and password along with a net service name in a connect string for the service to which they want to connect:

SQL> CONNECT user_name Enter password: password SQL> @net_service_name 

Depending on your needs, net service names can be stored in a variety of places, including:

• Local configuration file, tnsnames.ora, on each client

• Directory server

• External naming service, such as Network Information Service (NIS) or Cell Directory Service (CDS)

●　OPS$

Acronym for operating system specific. The initialization file parameter OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX enables users to specify a prefix that Oracle uses to authenticate users attempting to connect to the database. Oracle concatenates the value of this parameter to the beginning of the user's operating system account name. When a connection request is attempted, Oracle compares the prefixed user name with Oracle user names in the database.

The default value of this parameter is "" (a null string), thereby eliminating the addition of any prefix to operating system account names. In earlier releases, OPS$ was the default setting.

●　ORACLE_BASE

ORACLE_BASE is the root of the Oracle Database directory tree. The Oracle Base directory is the top level directory that you can use to install the various oracle software products. You can use the same Oracle base directory for multiple installations. If you install an OFA-compliant database using Oracle Universal Installer defaults, then ORACLE_BASE is X:\oracle\product\11.2.0 where X is any hard drive (for example, C:\oracle\product\11.2.0).

●　ORACLE_HOME

Corresponds to the environment in which Oracle Database products run. This environment includes location of installed product files, PATH variable pointing to products' binary files, entries, , and program groups.

If you install an OFA-compliant database, using Oracle Universal Installer defaults, Oracle home (known as \ORACLE_HOME in this guide) is located beneath X:\ORACLE_BASE. The default Oracle home is db_n where n is the Oracle home number. It contains subdirectories for Oracle Database software executables and network files. See also .

●　Oracle home

The directory path to install Oracle components (for example, C:\app\oracle\product\11.2.0\dbhome_n). You are prompted to enter an Oracle home in the Path field of the Specify File Locations window. See also .

●　Oracle schema

A set of rules that determine what can be stored in an LDAP-compliant directory server. Oracle has its own schema that is applied to many types of Oracle entries, including Oracle Net Services entries. The Oracle schema for Oracle Net Services entries includes the attributes the entries may contain.

●　Oracle Net foundation layer

A networking communication layer that establishes and maintains the connection between the client application and server, as well as exchanging messages between them.

●　protocol address

An address that identifies the network address of a network object.

When a connection is made, the client and the receiver of the request, such as the , or Oracle Connection Manager, are configured with identical protocol addresses. The client uses this address to send the connection request to a particular network object location, and the recipient "listens" for requests on this address. It is important to install the same protocols for the client and the connection recipient, and to configure the same addresses.

●　raw partitions

Portions of a physical disk that are accessed at the lowest possible disk (block) level.

●　redo log files

Files that contain a record of all changes made to data in the database buffer cache. If an instance failure occurs, then an administrator can use the redo log files to recover the modified data that was in memory.

●　registry

A Windows repository that stores configuration information for a computer.

●　repository

A set of tables located in any Oracle database accessible to the Oracle Management Server. Oracle Management Server uses a repository to store all system data and application data, information about the state of managed nodes distributed throughout the environment, as well as information about the separately licensable management packs.

●　service registration

A feature by which the PMON process (an instance background process) automatically registers information with a . Because this information is registered with the listener, the must not be configured with this static information.

Service registration provides the listener with the following information:

• Service names for each running instance of the database

• Instance names of the database

• Service handlers (dispatchers and dedicated servers) available for each instance

  This allows the listener to direct a client's request appropriately.

• Dispatcher, instance, and node load information

  This allows the listener to determine which dispatcher can best handle a client connection's request. If all dispatchers are blocked, the listener can spawn a dedicated server for the connection.

This information allows the listener to determine how best to service a client connection request.

●　SID

The Oracle system identifier that distinguishes the database from all other databases on your computer. The SID automatically defaults to the database name portion of the global database name (sales in the example sales.us.example.com) until you reach eight characters or enter a period. You can accept or change the default value.

The SID can also see an Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance SID, available when you install .

●　sqlnet.ora file

A configuration file for the client or server that specifies the:

• Client domain to append to unqualified service names or net service names

• Order of naming methods for the client to use when resolving a name

• Logging and tracing features to use

• Route of connections

• External naming parameters

• Oracle Advanced Security parameters

The sqlnet.ora file resides in ORACLE_HOME\network\admin.

●　Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

An industry standard protocol designed by Netscape Communications Corporation for securing network connections. SSL provides authentication, encryption, and data integrity using public key infrastructure (PKI).

●　SSL

See Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

●　System Global Area

A group of shared memory structures that contain data and control information for an Oracle Database .

●　system identifier

See .

●　tablespace

A logical storage unit within a database. Tablespaces are divided into logical units of storage called segments, which are further divided into extents.

●　tnsnames.ora file

A configuration file that contains net service names mapped to connect descriptors. This file is used for the local naming method. The tnsnames.ora file resides in ORACLE_HOME\network\admin.

●　undo tablespace

An tablespace that contains one or more undo segments. The creation of any other types of segment (for example, tables, indexes) in undo tablespaces is not allowed.

In the automatic mode, each Oracle instance is assigned one and only one undo tablespace. Each undo tablespace is composed of a set of undo files. Undo blocks are grouped in extents. At any point in time, an extent is either allocated to (and used by) a transaction table, or is free.

Blocks in undo tablespaces are grouped into the following categories:

• File control blocks, bitmap blocks, and so forth used for space management

• Undo segments containing transaction table blocks, undo blocks, and extent-map blocks used for transaction management

• Free blocks that are unallocated to file control or undo segments

●　unqualified name

A net service name that does not contain a network domain.

●　User Account Control

A Microsoft Windows feature that helps prevent unauthorized changes by asking for permission or administrator privileges to perform certain operations. Some Oracle administration tasks require Windows administrator privileges granted through User Account Control.

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management disk group

A set of disk devices that (Oracle ASM) manages as a unit. Each disk device can be an individual physical disk, a multiple disk device such as a RAID storage array or logical volume, or even a partition on a physical disk. You can create the Oracle ASM disk group when you create the , or with Oracle Database Configuration Assistant.

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management instance

The Oracle instance that manages an . It is created automatically when you install and configure . See also Oracle system identifier ().

●　Oracle Automatic Storage Management

Enables creation of a single disk group from a collection of individual disk devices. It balances I/O to the disk group across all of the devices in the disk group. It also implements striping and mirroring to improve I/O performance and data reliability.

●　automatic undo management mode

A mode of Oracle Database in which undo data is stored in a dedicated . Unlike in , the only undo management that you must perform is the creation of the undo tablespace. All other undo management is performed automatically.

●　connect descriptor

A specially formatted description of the destination for a network connection. A connect descriptor contains destination service and network route information.

The destination service is indicated by using its service name for the Oracle Database or its Oracle system identifier () for Oracle release 11.2 databases. The network route provides, at a minimum, the location of the through use of a network address.

●　connect identifier

A name, net service name, or service name that resolves to a connect descriptor. Users initiate a connect request by passing a user name and password along with a connect identifier in a connect string for the service to which they want to connect, for example:

SQL> CONNECT user_name@connect_identifier Enter password: password 

●　control files

Files that record the physical structure of a database and contain the database name, the names and locations of associated datafiles and online , the time stamp of the database creation, the current log sequence number, and checkpoint information.

●　default domain

The network domain within which most client requests take place. It can be the domain where the client resides, or a domain from which the client often requests network services. The default domain is also the client configuration parameter that determines what domain to append to unqualified network name requests. A name request is unqualified if it does not have a "." character within it.

●　directory naming

A that specifies a directory server to resolve a net service name into a connect descriptor. The net service name is stored centrally in a directory server.

●　directory server

A Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)-compliant directory server. A directory can provide centralized storage and retrieval of database network components, user and corporate policies preferences, user authentication, and security information, replacing client-side and server-side localized files.

●　external procedures

Procedure or function written in the C programming language and stored in a shared library. An Oracle server can call external procedures or functions using PL/SQL routines. For Oracle Database to connect to external procedures, the server must be configured with a net service name and the must be configured with protocol address and service information.

●　global database name

The full database name that uniquely distinguishes it from any other database in your network domain.

For example:

sales.us.example.com

where sales is the name you want to call your database and us.example.com is the network domain in which the database is located.

●　initialization parameter file

An ASCII text file that contains information needed to initialize a database and .

●　instance

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

●　installation type

A predefined component set that automatically selects which components to install. See for a list of installation types available with each top-level component.

●　Interprocess Communication (IPC)

A protocol that client applications use that resides on the same node as the to communicate with the database. IPC can provide a faster local connection than TCP/IP.

●　listener

A process that resides on the server and whose responsibility is to listen for incoming client connection requests and manage the traffic to the server.

When a client requests a network session with a database server, a listener receives the actual request. If the client information matches the listener information, then the listener grants a connection to the database server.

●　listener.ora file

A configuration file for the listener that identifies the:

• Listener name

• Protocol addresses on which it is accepting connection requests

• Services for which it is listening

The listener.ora file resides in the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin directory.

An Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) does not require identification of the database service because of service registration. However, static service configuration is required for an Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) if you plan to use Oracle Enterprise Manager.

●　local naming

A that resolves a net service name into a connect descriptor. This name is configured and stored in the on each individual client.

●　manual undo management mode

A mode of the database in which undo blocks are stored in user-managed rollback segments.

●　naming method

A resolution method used by a client application to resolve a connect identifier to a network address when attempting to connect to a database service. Oracle Net Services supports the following naming methods:

• Local naming

• Directory naming

• Host naming

• External naming

●　net service name

A simple name for a service that resolves to a connect descriptor. Users initiate a connect request by passing a user name and password along with a net service name in a connect string for the service to which they want to connect:

SQL> CONNECT user_name@net_service_name Enter password: password 

Depending on your needs, net service names can be stored in a variety of places, including:

• Local configuration file, tnsnames.ora, on each client

• Directory server

• External naming service, such as Network Information Service (NIS) or Cell Directory Service (CDS)

●　OPS$

Acronym for operating system specific. The initialization file parameter OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX enables users to specify a prefix that Oracle uses to authenticate users attempting to connect to the database. Oracle concatenates the value of this parameter to the beginning of the user's operating system account name. When a connection request is attempted, Oracle compares the prefixed user name with Oracle user names in the database.

The default value of this parameter is "" (a null string), thereby eliminating the addition of any prefix to operating system account names. In earlier releases, OPS$ was the default setting.

●　ORACLE_BASE

ORACLE_BASE is the root of the Oracle Database directory tree. The Oracle Base directory is the top level directory that you can use to install the various oracle software products. You can use the same Oracle base directory for multiple installations. For example, /u01/app/oracle is an Oracle base directory created by the oracle user.

●　ORACLE_HOME

Corresponds to the environment in which Oracle Database products run. If you install an OFA-compliant database, using Oracle Universal Installer defaults, Oracle home (known as $ORACLE_HOME in this guide) is located beneath $ORACLE_BASE. The default Oracle home is db_n where n is the Oracle home number. It contains subdirectories for Oracle Database software executables and network files. See also .

●　Oracle home

The directory path to install Oracle components (for example, /u01/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_n). You are prompted to enter an Oracle home in the Path field of the Specify File Locations window. See also .

●　Oracle schema

A set of rules that determine what can be stored in an LDAP-compliant directory server. Oracle has its own schema that is applied to many types of Oracle entries, including Oracle Net Services entries. The Oracle schema for Oracle Net Services entries includes the attributes the entries may contain.

●　Oracle Net foundation layer

A networking communication layer that establishes and maintains the connection between the client application and server, and also exchanging messages between them.

●　protocol address

An address that identifies the network address of a network object.

When a connection is made, the client and the receiver of the request, such as the , or Oracle Connection Manager, are configured with identical protocol addresses. The client uses this address to send the connection request to a particular network object location, and the recipient "listens" for requests on this address. It is important to install the same protocols for the client and the connection recipient, and to configure the same addresses.

●　raw partitions

Portions of a physical disk that are accessed at the lowest possible disk (block) level.

●　redo log files

Files that contain a record of all changes made to data in the database buffer cache. If an instance failure occurs, then an administrator can use the redo log files to recover the modified data that was in memory.

●　repository

A set of tables located in any Oracle database accessible to the Oracle Management Server. Oracle Management Server uses a repository to store all system data and application data, information about the state of managed nodes distributed throughout the environment, and information about the separately licensable management packs.

●　service registration

A feature by which the PMON process (an instance background process) automatically registers information with a . Because this information is registered with the listener, the does not have to be configured with this static information.

Service registration provides the listener with the following information:

• Service names for each running instance of the database

• Instance names of the database

• Service handlers (dispatchers and dedicated servers) available for each instance to enable the listener to direct a client's request appropriately.

• Dispatcher, instance, and node load information

  To enable the listener to determine which dispatcher can best handle a client connection's request. If all dispatchers are blocked, the listener can spawn a dedicated server for the connection.

This information enables the listener to determine how best to service a client connection request.

●　SID

The Oracle system identifier that distinguishes the database from all other databases on your computer. The SID automatically defaults to the database name portion of the global database name (sales in the example sales.us.example.com) until you reach eight characters or enter a period. You can accept or change the default value.

The SID can also refer to an Oracle ASM instance SID, available when you install .

●　sqlnet.ora file

A configuration file for the client or server that specifies the:

• Client domain to append to unqualified service names or net service names

• Order of naming methods for the client to use when resolving a name

• Logging and tracing features to use

• Route of connections

• External naming parameters

• Oracle Advanced Security parameters

The sqlnet.ora file resides in $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin.

●　Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

An industry standard protocol designed by Netscape Communications Corporation for securing network connections. SSL provides authentication, encryption, and data integrity using public key infrastructure (PKI).

●　SSL

See Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

●　System Global Area

A group of shared memory structures that contain data and control information for an Oracle Database .

●　system identifier

See .

●　tablespace

A logical storage unit within a database. Tablespaces are divided into logical units of storage called segments, which are further divided into extents.

●　tnsnames.ora file

A configuration file that contains net service names mapped to connect descriptors. This file is used for the local naming method. The tnsnames.ora file resides in $ORACLE_BASE/network/admin.

●　undo tablespace

A tablespace that contains one or more undo segments. The creation of any other types of segment (for example, tables, indexes) in undo tablespaces is not allowed.

In the automatic mode, each Oracle instance is assigned one and only one undo tablespace. Each undo tablespace is composed of a set of undo files. Undo blocks are grouped in extents. At any point in time, an extent is either allocated to (and used by) a transaction table, or is free.

Blocks in undo tablespaces are grouped into the following categories:

• File control blocks, bitmap blocks, and so forth used for space management

• Undo segments containing transaction table blocks, undo blocks, and extent-map blocks used for transaction management

• Free blocks that are unallocated to file control or undo segments

●　unqualified name

A net service name that does not contain a network domain.

●　connect descriptor

A specially formatted description of the destination for a network connection. A connect descriptor contains destination service and network route information.

The destination service is indicated by using its service name for the Oracle Database or its Oracle system identifier () for Oracle release 8.0, or version 7 databases. The network route provides, at a minimum, the location of the through use of a network address.

●　default domain

The network domain within which most client requests take place. It can be the domain where the client resides, or a domain from which the client often requests network services. The default domain is also the client configuration parameter that determines what domain to append to unqualified network name requests. A name request is unqualified if it does not have a "." character within it.

●　easy connect naming

A that allows clients to connect to a database server without any configuration. Clients use a simple TCP/IP address, which consists of a host name and optional port number, service name, and instance name:

SQL>CONNECT user_name@host[:port][/service_name][/instance_name]
Enter password: password 

●　installation type

An installation type is a predefined component set that automatically selects which components to install. See for a list of installation types available with each top-level component.

●　Interprocess Communication (IPC)

A protocol used by client applications that resides on the same node as the to communicate with the database. IPC can provide a faster local connection than TCP/IP.

●　ldap.ora file

A file created by the Oracle Net Configuration Assistant that contains the following directory access information:

• Type of directory

• Location of directory

• Default administrative context the client or server uses to look up or configure connect identifiers for connections to database services

The ldap.ora file resides in ORACLE_HOME\network\admin.

●　listener

A process that resides on the server and whose responsibility is to listen for incoming client connection requests and manage the traffic to the server.

When a client requests a network session with a database server, a listener receives the actual request. If the client information matches the listener information, then the listener grants a connection to the database server.

●　listener.ora file

A configuration file for the listener that identifies the:

• Listener name

• Protocol addresses on which it is accepting connection requests

• Services for which it is listening

The listener.ora file resides in ORACLE_HOME\network\admin.

An Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) does not require identification of the database service because of service registration. However, static service configuration is required for an Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (11.2) if you plan to use Oracle Enterprise Manager.

●　local naming

A that resolves a net service name into a connect descriptor. This name is configured and stored in the on each individual client.

●　Naming method

A resolution method used by a client application to resolve a connect identifier to a network address when attempting to connect to a database service. Oracle Net Services supports the following naming methods:

• Local naming

• Directory naming

• Easy Connecting naming

• NIS External naming

●　net service name

A simple name for a service that resolves to a connect descriptor. Users initiate a connect request by passing a username and password along with a net service name in a connect string for the service to which they want to connect:

SQL> CONNECT username@net_service_identifier Enter password: password 

Depending on your needs, net service names can be stored in a variety of places, including:

• Local configuration file, tnsnames.ora, on each client

• Directory server

• External naming service, such as Network Information Service (NIS) or Cell Directory Service (CDS)

●　operating system authenticated connections

Windows login credentials can be used to authenticate users connecting to an Oracle Database. The benefits of Windows native authentication include:

• Enabling users to connect to multiple Oracle Databases without supplying a username or password

• Centralizing Oracle Database user authorization information in Windows, which frees Oracle Database from storing or managing user passwords

●　OPS$

The initialization file parameter OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX enables users to specify a prefix that Oracle uses to authenticate users attempting to connect to the database. Oracle concatenates the value of this parameter to the beginning of the user's operating system account name. When a connection request is attempted, Oracle compares the prefixed username with Oracle usernames in the database.

The default value of this parameter is "" (a null string), thereby eliminating the addition of any prefix to operating system account names. In earlier releases, OPS$ (short for operating system specific) was the default setting.

●　Oracle Context

The root of a directory subtree with a relative distinguished name of cn=OracleContext, under which all Oracle software information is kept. There may be one (or multiple) Oracle Context in a directory. An Oracle Context can be associated with a directory naming context.

The Oracle Context can contain the following Oracle entries:

• Connect identifiers for use with Oracle Net Services directory naming to make database connections

• Enterprise user security for use with Oracle Advanced Security

●　Oracle home

The directory path to install Oracle components (for example, c:\app\username\product\11.2.0\dbhome_n where n is the number of the Oracle home). You are prompted to enter an Oracle home in the Path field of the Oracle Universal Installer File Locations window.

●　Oracle schema

A set of rules that determine what can be stored in an LDAP-compliant directory server. Oracle has its own schema that is applied to many types of Oracle entries, including Oracle Net Services entries. The Oracle schema for Oracle Net Services entries includes the attributes the entries may contain.

●　Oracle Net foundation layer

A networking communication layer that is responsible for establishing and maintaining the connection between the client application and server, and exchanging messages between them.

●　protocol address

An address that identifies the network address of a network object.

When a connection is made, the client and the receiver of the request, such as the , or Oracle Connection Manager, are configured with identical protocol addresses. The client uses this address to send the connection request to a particular network object location, and the recipient "listens" for requests on this address. It is important to install the same protocols for the client and the connection recipient, as well as configure the same addresses.

●　repository

A set of tables located in any Oracle database accessible to the Oracle Management Server. Oracle Management Server uses a repository to store all system data and application data, information about the state of managed nodes distributed throughout the environment, as well as information about the separately licensable management packs.

●　service registration

A feature by which the PMON process (an instance background process) automatically registers information with a . Because this information is registered with the listener, the does not need to be configured with this static information.

Service registration provides the listener with the following information:

• Service name(s) for each running instance of the database

• Instance name(s) of the database

• Service handlers (dispatchers and dedicated servers) available for each instance

  This allows the listener to direct a client's request appropriately.

• Dispatcher, instance, and node load information

  This allows the listener to determine which dispatcher can best handle a client connection's request. If all dispatchers are blocked, the listener can spawn a dedicated server for the connection.

This information allows the listener to determine how best to service a client connection request.

●　SID

The Oracle system identifier that distinguishes the database from all other databases on your computer. The SID automatically defaults to the database name portion of the global database name (sales in the example sales.us.example.com) until you reach eight characters or enter a period. You can accept or change the default value.

●　sqlnet.ora file

A configuration file for the client or server that specifies the:

• Client domain to append to unqualified service names or net service names

• Order of naming methods for the client to use when resolving a name

• Logging and tracing features to use

• Route of connections

• External naming parameters

• Oracle Advanced Security parameters

The sqlnet.ora file resides in ORACLE_HOME\network\admin.

●　system identifier

See .

●　Terminal Server

Microsoft Windows Terminal Server is a Windows thin-client terminal server, a product that adds support for multiple, simultaneous client sessions on the Windows Server. Windows Terminal Server provides an operating system graphical user interface (GUI) to users of Oracle databases.

●　tnsnames.ora file

A configuration file that contains net service names mapped to connect descriptors. This file is used for the local naming method. The tnsnames.ora file resides in ORACLE_HOME\network\admin.

●　UNC

See

●　typical configuration

Oracle Universal Installer option that performs a default configuration of a connection between Oracle Database Client and Oracle Database. It configures the following:

• One net service name in the .

• and methods in the .

When Oracle Database Client attempts to connect, it tries local naming first, followed by easy connect naming.

●　unqualified name

A net service name that does not contain a network domain.

●　Universal Naming Convention (UNC)

The Universal Naming Convention provides a means to access files on a network without mapping the network drive to a drive letter. UNC names are constructed in the following manner:

\\computer name\share name\filename

●　ABAP script

A script that can be generated in Oracle Warehouse Builder that extracts and loads data from SAP systems.

●　activity

A unit of work for a process flow. See also .

●　analytic workspace

A container within Oracle Database that stores data in a multidimensional format. Analytic workspaces provide the best support for OLAP processing.

●　Code Template (CT)

A cross-platform, reusable object that contains the information required to perform a specific set of tasks against a specific technology or set of technologies, for example data integration or data transformation tasks.

●　Code Template mapping

A mapping that contains an association with a Code Template. Typically used to extract or load data (both with and without transformations) from non-Oracle databases, such as IBM DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server.

●　connector

A logical link created by a mapping between a source location and a target location.

●　Control Center Agent (CCA)

The agent that runs the Code Templates in the Oracle Containers for J2EE (OC4J) server. You must start the Control Center Agent before you deploy Code Templates or CT mappings. Also referred to as the J2EE Runtime.

●　Control Center Manager

The graphical console of the Control Center Service for centrally viewing and managing all aspects of deployment and execution. Provides access to the information stored in the active configuration. Includes update capabilities to enable management of your data system's life cycle.

●　Control Center Service

A service that runs outside the database, which can monitor and execute things that cannot be run directly in the database, such as: PL*SQL scripts, SQL*Loader, and shell scripts. Enables deployment of Oracle Warehouse Builder mappings and processes to targets (databases, and so on), and the execution of these mappings and processes.

●　control row

A row that links fact data to a dimension at any level.

●　CT mapping

See .

●　cube

A data object that contains measures, and links to one or more dimensions. The axes of a cube contain dimension members, and the body of the cube contains measure values.

●　data auditors

Processes that provide data monitoring by validating data against a set of data rules to determine which records comply and which do not.

●　data rule

Metadata (as definitions) about data profiling results, which can be bound to the profiled data objects, and then be available in any context in which the profiled objects are used in ETL.

●　data transformation

A set of operations, which are specified in a mapping, that change source data into consistent, compatible output for a target.

●　DDL script

A script that can be generated in Oracle Warehouse Builder that creates or drops database objects.

●　deployable parameter

The parameter for an object that specifies it is to be deployed. By default this parameter is selected. To prevent an object from being deployed, clear this parameter.

●　deployable parameter

The parameter for an object that specifies it is to be deployed. By default this parameter is selected. To prevent an object from being deployed, clear this parameter.

●　deployment

The process of creating physical objects in a target location according to the logical objects defined in an Oracle Warehouse Builder workspace.

●　dimension

An object that contains additional metadata to identify and categorize data. Same as dimensional object. Can be a cube.

●　dimension attribute

A descriptive characteristic of a dimension member, having a name and a data type.

●　dimensional object

Refer to and cube.

●　ETL

The process of extracting data from its source location, transforming it as defined in a mapping, and loading it into target objects (or schemas). ETL stands for extract, transform, and load.

●　execution

The process of running the code for the ETL logic that is defined in the deployed objects to instantiate the logic within the objects.

●　Expert

Mini-applications or task-flows that perform a specific sequence of tasks in Oracle Warehouse Builder.

●　flat files

Non-hierarchical, non-object-oriented file structures in plain text comma-delimited or tab-separated format, ASCII format, or proprietary binary formats.

●　folders

Structures in which to organize all or some objects within a target module based on specific object characteristics. For example, you may create user folders to group tables based on their functionality (sales, marketing, administration and so forth).

●　hierarchy

A structure that uses ordered levels to organize data. Oracle Warehouse Builder uses hierarchies to define relationships between adjacent levels in time dimensions.

●　item folder

Item folders are business views.

●　J2EE Runtime

Refer to . Also, sometimes called Java Runtime.

●　level attribute

For time dimensions, a descriptive characteristic of a level value.

●　location

Object that stores the connection information to the various files, databases, and applications that Oracle Warehouse Builder accesses for extracting and loading data. Locations also store connection information to ETL management tools and Business Intelligence tools.

●　logical definition

The data objects created when you design a target schema.

●　mapping

An object that contains operations for extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) that moves data from sources to targets.

●　mapping operator

The representation of an operation for a distinct task you want to perform in a mapping. For example, operations include extracting data, loading data, and transforming data.

●　match bin set

Relating to the match merge feature, a match bin set consists of one or more similar records.

●　metadata

Data that describes the contents of objects in a data set.

●　module

A container object that appears in the Projects Navigator and that corresponds to a specific location in the Locations Navigator. A module can correspond to only one metadata location and data location at a time.

●　ODI

See .

●　OMB*Plus

The Oracle Warehouse Builder scripting API, which is based on the Java implementation of Tcl called Jacl.

●　OMB

The OMB-prefixed commands ('B' for batch component) of OMB*Plus.

●　OMU

A subset of OMB*Plus that provides scripting commands for manipulating the user interface in Oracle Warehouse Builder. Also OMU-prefixed commands ('U' for UI component).

●　operator

Oracle Warehouse Builder contains pre-built operators for transformations, mappings, names and addresses, and so forth. Operators in Oracle Warehouse Builder are customizable and take advantage of the library of PL/SQL functions, procedures, package functions, and package procedures for Oracle Database. See also .

●　Oracle Data Integrator

Oracle Data Integrator (ODI). See .

●　Oracle Warehouse Builder Repository

The single, unified repository for the database instance, which is pre-seeded with a schema and database objects. The run time environment and the design environment reside in this single repository. The repository schema, named OWBSYS, gets created when you install Oracle Database.

●　pluggable mapping

A reusable grouping of mapping operators that works as a single operator. Similar in concept to a function in a programming language.

●　process flow

An object that describes dependencies and activities between Oracle Warehouse Builder mappings and external processes, applets, or applications. Process flows begin with a start activity and conclude with an end activity and can also start other process flows. Compare to schedule. See also .

●　process flow module

A container for a grouping of process packages.

●　process flow package

A container for a grouping of process flows.

●　project

The highest-level and largest object in Oracle Warehouse Builder workspace. Each project contains the metadata and definitions for objects in the data system that contains the sources and targets.

●　relational target schema

A target schema that contains relational data objects such as tables, views, materialized views, and sequences. All of the data for a data store or data warehouse is contained in these objects.

●　repository

Refer to .

●　SQL*Loader control file

A file or script that can be generated in Oracle Warehouse Builder that extracts and transports data from file sources.

●　table function

A set of operators that enable manipulation of a set of input rows, which return another set of rows of the same or different cardinality. Can return a set of output rows that can be queried like a physical table.

●　target module

A container that holds the metadata definitions of all your data warehouse objects. Each target module corresponds to a target location that represents the physical location where the objects are stored.

●　target schema

A schema that contains the data objects that store your data warehouse data. You can design a relational target schema or a dimensional target schema.

●　transportable module

Type of module that enables rapid copying of a group of related database objects in one database, to be pasted or inserted into another database.

●　transformation operators

Prebuilt operators that enable commonly performed operations such as filtering, joining, and sorting. Oracle Warehouse Builder also includes prebuilt operators for complex operations such as merging data, cleansing data, or profiling data.

●　user folder

A folder you can create to organize all or some objects in a target module based on specific object characteristics. Related tables and views that must be generated or deployed can be placed under a common folder. For example, you may create user folders to group tables based on their functionality (sales, marketing, administration and so forth).

●　validation

The process of verifying metadata definitions and configuration parameters to ensure that data object definitions are complete and that scripts can be generated and deployed.

●　value-based hierarchy

A dimension in which hierarchical relationships are defined by a parent dimension attribute and a child dimension attribute.

●　workspace

Oracle Warehouse Builder structure that contains all the related projects and their objects. Graphically displayed as the canvas in the Design Center where Oracle Warehouse Builder windows, navigators, wizards, and dialog boxes are laid out to create a work environment that one or more users log in to.