Oracle Topics

Brief History of Oracle Database
The current version of Oracle Database is the result of over 30 years of innovative development. Highlights in the evolution of Oracle Database include the following:

Larry Ellison
  1. Founding of Oracle:- In 1977, Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates started the consultancy Software Development Laboratories, which became Relational Software, Inc. (RSI). In 1983, RSI became Oracle Systems Corporation and then later Oracle Corporation.
  2. First commercially available RDBMS:- In 1979, RSI introduced Oracle V2 (Version 2) as the first commercially available SQL-based RDBMS, a landmark event in the history of relational databases.
  3. Portable version of Oracle Database:- Oracle Version 3, released in 1983, was the first relational database to run on mainframes, minicomputers, and PCs. The database was written in C, enabling the database to be ported to multiple platforms.
  4. Enhancements to concurrency control, data distribution, and scalability:- Version 4 introduced multiversion read consistency. Version 5, released in 1985, supported client/server computing anddistributed database systems. Version 6 brought enhancements to disk I/O, row locking, scalability, and backup and recovery. Also, Version 6 introduced the first version of the PL/SQL language, a proprietary procedural extension to SQL.
  5. PL/SQL stored program units:- Oracle7, released in 1992, introduced PL/SQL stored procedures and triggers.
  6. Objects and partitioning:- Oracle8 was released in 1997 as the object-relational database, supporting many new data types. Additionally, Oracle8 supported partitioning of large tables.
  7. Internet computing:- Oracle8i Database, released in 1999, provided native support for internet protocols and server-side support for Java. Oracle8i was designed for internet computing, enabling the database to be deployed in a multitier environment.
  8. Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC):- Oracle9i Database introduced Oracle RAC in 2001, enabling multiple instances to access a single database simultaneously. Additionally, Oracle XML Database (Oracle XML DB) introduced the ability to store and query XML.
  9. Grid computing:- Oracle Database 10g introduced grid computing in 2003. This release enabled organizations to virtualize computing resources by building a grid infrastructure based on low-cost commodity servers. A key goal was to make the database self-managing and self-tuning. Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM) helped achieve this goal by virtualizing and simplifying database storage management.
  10. Manageability, diagnosability, and availability:- Oracle Database 11g, released in 2007, introduced a host of new features that enabled administrators and developers to adapt quickly to changing business requirements. The key to adaptability is simplifying the information infrastructure by consolidating information and using automation wherever possible.
  11. Plugging In to the Cloud:- Oracle Database 12c, released in 2013, was designed for the Cloud, featuring a new Multitenant architecture, In-Memory column store, and support for JSON documents. Oracle Database 12c helps customers make more efficient use of their IT resources, while continuing to reduce costs and improve service levels for users.