The main use of the Oracle database system is to store and retrieve data for applica- tions. The features of the Oracle database and related products described in this sec- tion are used to create applications. We’ve divided the discussion in this section into two categories: database programming and database extensibility options. Later in this chapter, we describe the Oracle Developer Suite, a set of optional tools used in Oracle Database Server and Oracle Application Server development. Database Programming All flavors of the Oracle database include different languages and interfaces that allow programmers to access and manipulate the data in the database. Database pro- gramming features usually interest two.
