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Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> Oracle Version Numbers Explained
There was some discussion recently (in the thread on Apache and
iAS) on version numbers of Oracle and how confusing they have
become.
Here is a document that explains the version numbers, at least for the RDBMS. It lost it's authorship along the way, so forgive me for not crediting it.
"If you have ever wondered what an Oracle release number really means; included below is the break down and how to find out what you are running via a query against a Data Dictionary view. It has changed a little starting with Release 9.2.
For the Release number: 9.2.0.1.0 , the significance of each number (reading from left to right) is shown below:
Number Significance______________
9 1 Major database release number
2 1 Database maintenance release number
0 1 Application server release number
1 1 Component specific release number
0 1 Platform specific release number
( Starting with release 9.2, maintenance releases of Oracle
are denoted by a change to the second digit of a release number.
In previous releases, the third digit indicated a particular
maintenance release.)
Major Database Release Number
This is the most general identifier. It represents a major new edition (or version) of the software that contains significant new functionality.
Database Maintenance Release Number
This digit represents a maintenance release level. Some new features may also be included.
Application Server Release Number
This digit reflects the release level of the Oracle9i Application Server (Oracle9iAS).
Component Specific Release Number
This digit identifies a release level specific to a component. Different components can have different numbers in this position depending upon, for example, component patch sets or interim releases.
Platform Specific Release Number
This digit identifies a platform specific release. Usually this is a patch set. Where different platforms require the equivalent patch set, this digit will be the same across the effected platforms.
How to Check Your Current Release Number:
To identify the release of the Oracle database server that is currently installed and to see the release levels of other Oracle components you are using, query the Data Dictionary view PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION. Here is a sample query.
(Yes, the old instructor part of me wants your Sql*Plus session to be readable, so included are 3 Sql*Plus commands before the query since each of these column widths are 65. :-)
)
COL PRODUCT FORMAT A40
COL VERSION FORMAT A15
COL STATUS FORMAT A15
SELECT * FROM PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION;
PRODUCT VERSION
STATUS
---------------------------------------- ---------------
---------------
NLSRTL 9.2.0.1.0
Production
Oracle9i Enterprise Edition 9.2.0.1.0
Production
PL/SQL 9.2.0.1.0
Production
TNS for Solaris: 9.2.0.1.0
Production
Optionally, you can query against the V$VERSION view to see component-level information as well.
(Other product release levels may increment independently of the database server.)"
Regards,
Chris Gait
--
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
--
Author:
INET: cjgait_at_earthlink.net
Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists --------------------------------------------------------------------To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). Received on Mon Jul 29 2002 - 06:33:19 CDT
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