Oracle Database / Applications Definitions

This glossary explains the meaning of key words and phrases that information technology (IT) and business professionals use when discussing Oracle and related software products. You can find additional definitions by visiting WhatIs.com or using the search box below.

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D
distributed database

A distributed database is a database that consists of two or more files located in different sites either on the same network or on entirely different networks.
F
field

A field is an area in a fixed or known location in a unit of data such as a record, message header, or computer instruction that has a purpose and usually a fixed size.
foreign key

A foreign key is a column or columns of data in one table that refers to the unique data values -- often the primary key data -- in another table.
M
multidimensional database (MDB)

A multidimensional database (MDB) is a type of database that is optimized for data warehouse and online analytical processing (OLAP) applications.
MySQL

MySQL is a relational database management system (RDBMS) based on SQL (Structured Query Language).

N
NetSuite

NetSuite is a business technology vendor based in San Mateo, California.
O
object-oriented database management system (OODBMS)

An object-oriented database management system (OODBMS), sometimes shortened to ODBMS for object database management system, is a database management system (DBMS) that supports the modelling and creation of data as objects.
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)

Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is an open standard application programming interface (API) that allows application programmers to easily access data stored in a database.
operational data store (ODS)

An operational data store (ODS) is a type of database that's often used as an interim logical area for a data warehouse.
Oracle E-Business Suite

Oracle E-Business Suite is one of Oracle Corporation's major product lines. Oracle E-Business Suite applications run on top of the vendor's flagship Oracle Database software.
What is Oracle?

Oracle is one of the largest vendors in the enterprise IT market and the shorthand name of its flagship product, a relational database management system (RDBMS) that's formally called Oracle Database.
P
PeopleSoft

PeopleSoft is an e-business software product line owned by Oracle.
PL/SQL (procedural language extension to Structured Query Language)

In Oracle database management, PL/SQL is a procedural language extension to Structured Query Language (SQL).
R
record

In computer data processing, a record is a collection of data items arranged for processing by a program.
S
sharding

Sharding is a type of database partitioning that separates large databases into smaller, faster, more easily managed parts.
stored procedure

A stored procedure is a group of statements with a specific name, which are stored inside a database, such as MySQL or Oracle.