As Published In January/February 2006

Oracle Offers Free Starter Database
By Rich Schwerin

Oracle Database 10g Express Edition is free to download, distribute, develop, and deploy.

Developers and database administrators (DBAs) who need a free starter database can turn to Oracle for the solution: Oracle Database 10g Express Edition (Oracle Database XE). This small-footprint database is free to download, develop, deploy, and distribute, enabling developers to build applications within a powerful, industry-leading infrastructure.

"As a free starter database, Oracle Database XE is ideal for developers, new DBAs, and educational institutions or students who need a database for their curriculum," says Mark Townsend, Oracle's senior director of database product management. "It is also ideal for independent software vendors [ISVs] and hardware vendors that need a small-footprint database to embed or distribute for free with their software or product."

Although there are no costs associated with Oracle Database XE, certain runtime criteria must be met. Oracle Database XE allows a database size of up to 4GB for user data (in addition to Oracle system data), and users can install only a single instance per individual system. Oracle Database XE can use up to 1GB of RAM, and if it's installed on a multiprocessor or multicore system, it will use and execute on only one processor.

"With Oracle Database XE, developers can tap into Oracle's complete development stacks free of charge, including Oracle Data Provider for .NET [ODP.NET] and a Visual Studio tools plug-in for .NET developers; JDBC and Oracle JDeveloper for Java developers; Zend Core for Oracle for PHP developers; and HTML DB, a database feature, for Oracle developers," says Townsend.

Oracle Database XE, available for 32-bit Linux and Windows, was built from the same code base as Oracle Database 10g Release 2. "Because Oracle Database XE is part of Oracle's family of database products, developers can choose the edition that best fits their requirements," adds Townsend. "With Oracle Database XE, developers can upgrade their applications smoothly and easily without costly, complex migrations—no changes required."

Free Online Community Forum

Registered Oracle Database XE users can access a free forum on Oracle Technology Network monitored by Oracle experts, including Oracle vice president and technology author Tom Kyte.

"As host of the forum, I aim to make it the single best resource for developers, DBAs, and anyone else using Oracle Database XE," explains Kyte. "I'll be participating and keeping my eye on the forum to ensure that questions are answered, discussions are fostered, and topics are appropriately addressed."

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In addition to supporting the Oracle Database XE user community, the forum will serve as the primary place for the product team to receive feedback and respond to issues and challenges, including possible future platform support and new versions.

Free to Embed and Distribute

For ISVs and hardware vendors facing razor-thin margins, the opportunity to distribute the industry's leading database technology at zero cost is extremely compelling, explains Tom Herrmann, Oracle's senior director for global ISV programs and technology.

"Oracle Database XE is aimed squarely at ISVs and hardware vendors that might not be familiar with Oracle and that are looking for a free starter database to use in their applications and products," he says. "Because Oracle Database XE can be distributed standalone or as part of a third-party application or product at no cost, provided that the usage criteria are adhered to, including it is a fast, easy way to add significant customer value with zero risk and investment."

Hermann adds that although Oracle Support Services doesn't offer paid support licenses for Oracle Database XE, ISVs and hardware vendors that need a fully supported Oracle deployment can instead license Oracle Database Standard Edition One, Standard Edition, or Enterprise Edition and join the Oracle PartnerNetwork. Simply embedding and distributing Oracle Database XE, however, requires no payments or memberships.