The Oracle Database

Oracle is a relational database. In a relational database, all data is stored in two-dimensional tables that are composed of rows and columns. The Oracle Database enables you to store data, update it, and efficiently retrieve it.

Oracle provides software to create and manage the Oracle database. The database consists of physical and logical structures in which system, user, and control information is stored. The software that manages the database is called the Oracle database server. Collectively, the software that runs Oracle and the physical database are called the Oracle database system.

You will learn more about the operation of the database server and the structure of the Oracle database where they are relevant to the performance of specific database management tasks.