10/1/2000 -- I love hearing about new software. Maybe it's because I spend a lot of time evaluating it for clients, but I think it's more that it makes me feel like a kid in a toy store. When I heard that Oracle was updating its flagship database, I got excited. At the same time, with all these software releases coming at us at an unreal pace, I had to ask, "Is it worth it?"

Oracle has focused the bulk of its efforts in Oracle 8i Release 3 (Oracle 8.1.7 is what you'll see on the CD-ROM) in what I'd call the Internet space. Most of the new features deal with Java, HTTP access to the database and XML--all key buzzwords. Let's look at what this might mean for you.

Java Enhancements
The bulk of Release 3 enhancements deal with added support for Java. Oracle's Jserver, which has been renamed the Oracle 8i JVM (Java Virtual Machine), is included in the new Oracle Internet Application Server (iAS). The new Java framework encompasses the user interface, business logic and database portions of a multi-tiered application, providing for a fully cooperative and flexible development environment for complex applications. It lets you use the same toolbox everywhere, which makes the learning curve much easier, but place functionality only where it makes the most sense.

The most exciting Java enhancement is the Oracle8i JVM Accelerator. This gem translates, compiles and runs a platform-independent .jar or .class file as native C code on the platform where your database resides. Here's how it works: You input your Java bytecode in the JVM Accelerator, which generates the C code for your platform. You then compile the C code with the native C compiler for your Oracle platform. The result? JVM-specific shared libraries native to the operating system and box you're on. It's the performance of C with the flexibility of Java!

Other new Java features include:

• a Servlet 2.2-compliant Servlet Engine (embedded in the JVM)
• JavaServer Pages engine
• EJB 1.1 support
• Java Transaction API (JTA) support

In case you're wondering, servlets are small chunks of Java code that execute on their own or call other back-end components and generate dynamic HTML. They're ideally suited for the user interface or application layer of an application. JavaServer Pages are used to generate user interface components (e.g., Web pages) from Servlets, EJBs and other back-end components. JTA lets you demarcate transactions within server- or client-side Java components.

JDBC and SQLJ have also been enhanced to be more efficient and use less memory (and CPU resources).

Everyone's Favorite Acronym: XML
Oracle has integrated Java and XML more closely in Oracle8i Release 3, allowing for the direct retrieval of data using XML and native storage of XML documents in the database.

The XML SQL Utility (XSU) can generate W3C-standard XML output from SQL queries. XML Development Kits for Java, JavaBeans, C, C++ and PL/SQL are also integrated with the database environment, providing XML Parsers, XSL Processors, XML Class Generators, XML Java Beans and XSQL Servlets.

Don't let all the acronyms scare you off--it just means that you can use XML anywhere you need to, and it will adhere to the current published standards. You can even store XML documents in the Internet File System (iFS), and they are natively supported.

Browsing with Netscape
If you feel that an Internet browser is the ideal user interface, Oracle 8i Release 3 has you covered. Oracle HTTP Server Powered by Apache (yep, that's what they're calling it!) is the default HTTP listener for the database engine. This means that the database engine can now receive direct HTTP calls without the need for an external application server or middle-level layer such as ODBC. However, this only works for static HTML pages and stateless Servlets, so it's not quite as robust as it could be. If you want to use dynamic HTML or stateful Servlets, you'll need the Oracle Servlet Engine.

PL/SQL capabilities for the Internet have also been enhanced by the new PL/SQL Gateway, which provides support for native deployment of PL/SQL applications on the Web. The PL/SQL Gateway can make HTTP calls directly to PL/SQL. The PL/SQL Server Pages functionality was first introduced in Oracle 8i Release 2 (aka version 8.1.6), which can be used to embed PL/SQL in HTML pages that can generate Web pages containing dynamic content.

That's All Great for Developers, but I'm a DBA!
DBAs will find that Oracle8i Release 3 doesn't have much for making their lives easier, although some relevant enhancements were made to security, Enterprise Manager, Standby Database and character set support.

Release 3 now supports Triple DES and RC4 (256-bit) encryption keys in the Oracle Advanced Security option (that is, not out of the box). The Advanced Security option also adds support for integration with Entrust PKI for single logon to Oracle and the operating system. Other security enhancements include SSL support, encryption of HTTP connections and strong encryption for thin JDBC connections.

Enterprise Manager has been enhanced to manage new features, including the Apache Web server. DDL actions in Enterprise Manager can now be logged. It also now boasts an HTML reporting capability.

Creation, backup and management of Standby Database has been made easier with a new DUPLICATE command that can be used to create a Standby Database, and the added capability of RMAN (Recovery Manager) to backup and recover a Standby Database.

Additional character sets enhancements include support for Hong Kong government character set and Unicode 3.0 in the UTF8 and UTFE character sets. However, I'm most excited about the new Database Character Set Migration Utility, which will tell you whether or not moving from one character set to another makes sense, based upon the actual data in the database. On that last point, I have to ask, "Oracle, what took you so long?"

So, Is It Worth It?
Should you upgrade to Oracle 8i Release 3? As with most things, the answer is, "It depends."

If your applications rely on Java, the new enhancements are an improvement over the already plentiful support in Release 2. The JVM Accelerator alone may be worth an upgrade!

If you're looking for easier and better support for managing and administering your database, Release 3 does not offer much there. You may want to wait until a future release, when Oracle plans to drop support for the CONNECT INTERNAL syntax. This should make every DBA happy.

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