{"id":12,"date":"2015-12-18T08:59:54","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T01:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oracletutorial.com\/?page_id=12"},"modified":"2025-04-25T21:10:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T04:10:39","slug":"what-is-oracle-database","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.oracletutorial.com\/getting-started\/what-is-oracle-database\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Oracle Database"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Summary<\/strong>: In this tutorial, you will have an overview of the Oracle Database, its features, and editions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What is a database? #<\/a><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A database is an organized collection of structured data stored electronically in a computer system.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When the computer was first invented, it was mainly used for scientific research to perform calculations quickly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As computers became more widely adopted, their requirements also increased to store a larger volume of data for fast retrieval.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Before the database system was invented, the flat file structure was commonly used to store data. For example, here is the comma-separated value (CSV) file that stores employee information:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

first name, last name, phone\r\nJohn, Doe, (408)-245-2345\r\nJane, Doe, (503)-234-2355\r\n...\r\n<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\r\n\r\n\r\n
The CSV file consists of three columns, known as fields, and rows, referred to as records. When the number of rows in the flat file increases, e.g., to millions of rows, it becomes unmanageable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In the 1970s, Dr. Ted Codd<\/a>, a computer scientist, invented the relational model<\/strong> for database management. The relational model addresses many issues arising from the flat file model.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
According to his relational model, data is organized into entities and attributes, rather than being combined into a single structure. An entity is a person, place, or thing, and attributes describe the person, place, or thing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
For example, you can use the relational model to organize employee information into an employee entity with the following attributes: employee Id, first name, last name, and phone number.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"what<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Each employee may have one or more contacts. You can create a contact entity and relate the employee entity to it through a one-to-many<\/strong> relationship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\"what<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
We often refer to the entities as tables, records as rows, and fields as columns.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The relational model is superior to the flat file model because it eliminates duplicate data, for example, when storing employee and contact information in the same file. The employee, who has more than one contact, will appear in multiple rows.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The Relational Database Management System\u00a0(RDBMS)<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0manages relational data. Oracle Database is a relational database management system (RDBMS) with the largest market share.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
In addition to the Oracle Database, other relational database management system (RDBMS) products are available. Here are some notable ones:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n