Preface

This guide explains basic concepts behind development with Oracle Database Express Edition (Oracle Database XE) and provides examples on how to use basic language features of SQL and PL/SQL. This guide is intended to be a very basic introduction to development and references are provided in the text to detailed information about subjects.

Documentation Topics

Title	Description
Overview of Development	Provides an overview of application development with Oracle Database Express Edition.
Managing Database Objects	Discusses creating and managing database objects in your schema, plus design considerations when developing applications with the Oracle Database XE. Also discusses the datatypes used with database objects in Oracle Database XE.
Using SQL	Describes how to use SQL with Oracle Database XE, including how to retrieve and manipulate data, use SQL functions, and create database objects.
Using PL/SQL	Describes the PL/SQL language, which can be used to develop applications for use with Oracle Database XE.
Using Procedures, Functions, and Packages	Describes how to develop procedures, functions, and packages with PL/SQL for use with Oracle Database XE.
Using Triggers	Discusses the development of triggers with PL/SQL code and the use of database triggers with Oracle Database XE.
Working in a Global Environment	Discusses how to develop applications in a globalization support environment, providing information for SQL and PL/SQL Unicode programming in a global environment.
Using SQL Command Line	Provides an introduction to SQL Command Line (SQL*Plus), an interactive and batch command-line query tool that is installed with Oracle Database XE.
Reserved Words	Lists the Oracle Database XE SQL and PL/SQL reserved words and keywords.

Audience

This guide is intended for anyone interested in learning about the Oracle Database Express Edition development environment.It is primarily an introduction to application development for beginning developers.

To use this guide, you need to have a general understanding of relational database concepts as well as an understanding of the operating system environment under which you are running the Oracle Database XE.

Documentation Accessibility

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Related Documentation

For the most recent version of the Oracle Database Express Edition documentation, see the Oracle Database XE online library:

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Conventions

Convention	Meaning
boldface	Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.
italic	Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for which you supply particular values.
`monospace`	Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.