Jul 31 2006
Yes, Virginia, Oracle XE is real Oracle!
Earlier today, I was told yet again that Oracle XE isn’t really based on the standard Oracle code base. As I am now both puzzled and irritated as to where people are getting this misinformation, I have decided to address it globally.
At this point in time, eleven people have told me (with conviction), that Oracle XE isn’t based on real Oracle. Instead, they assert that it is some cut-down bastardized emulation of the real thing™. Really? Let’s start from the beginning and see what we can find out regarding this issue.
First, anyone who has used Oracle Enterprise or Standard Edition could tell you right off the bat that Oracle XE is real Oracle. However, for the sake of argument, we’ll assume you’re not one of those people and as such, continue to delve further into Oracle’s claims.
Second, to investigate further, we’ll start by looking at some of the documentation surrounding Oracle XE. By reading the Oracle XE Data Sheet, one will find that it states, “Oracle Database XE is built using the same code base as Oracle Database 10g Release 2 product line—Standard Edition One, Standard Edition, and Enterprise Edition—and is available on 32-bit Windows and Linux platforms.” OK, so we all know companies exaggerate their marketing material to make their products and services look and sound better than reality. So, in this case, I can see why some people may assume it’s marketing fluff. But, this one is actually easily provable as one can find by looking through the Oracle XE Documentation Library. Comparing …
Hope that clears things up.
