Oracle has long recognized that without appropriate tools, a database is just a collection of bits and bytes, of little use to anyone. While some vendors assume that tools will be built by the user or purchased from another vendor, Oracle provides a powerful set of tools with the base distribution of the database that are useful for administration and configuration of the database as well as for application development. In fact, it is entirely possible to design and build a functioning database application using just this set of included tools. Table 9.1 provides a quick guide to selecting appropriate Oracle-supplied tools. Note that Import and Export are described in Chapter 4.
If You Want to |
Use This Tool |
Administer one or more Oracle databases |
Oracle Enterprise Manager |
Configure Net8 (Oracle8) |
Net8 Assistant |
Configure SQL*Net (Oracle7) |
Oracle Network Manager |
Create a database object |
SQL*Plus |
Create a formatted report of data from the database |
SQL*Plus |
Create or modify physical database structures |
SQL*Plus, Server Manager, or Oracle Enterprise Manager |
Export a copy of all or part of the database |
Export |
Generate SQL statements using SQL |
SQL*Plus |
Insert, update, or delete data in the database |
SQL*Plus |
Load data into a database |
SQL*Loader |
Modify a database object |
SQL*Plus, Server Manager, or Enterprise Manager |
Monitor the database |
Oracle Enterprise Manager or Server Manager (GUI mode) |
Perform DBA tasks in a GUI environment |
Oracle Enterprise Manager or Server Manager (GUI mode) |
Perform DBA tasks in line mode |
Server Manager |
Reload all or part of the database from a previous export |
Import |