There has been a lot of concerns regarding the readiness of Open Source databases for the enterprise. Does this article: Sun Jumps On Open-Source Database Bandwagon To Boost Solaris prove that the enterprise has finally embraced Open Source databases?

In an announcement I received today from Andy Mendelsohn, Senior Vice President, Database Server Technologies of Oracle: "Earlier today, Oracle and TimesTen, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Oracle will acquire TimesTen, a leading provider of real-time data management software, to extend Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware."

Read more from Oracle: Welcome TimesTen

I had assumed that with the rise of Open Source RDBMS that Open Source RDBMS had a larger share in the Linux platform. I am wrong. According to the article, IBM, Oracle Tie For No. 1 In Database Market, "Oracle accounted for 80.5 percent of new license sales on the Linux platform". Oracle has been running in Linux for years now. I used to support Oracle on Linux during my days in Oracle Support and that was in my other life. So, it is not that surprising to me that Oracle would dominate the Linux market. I just assumed that enterprises who use Linux are more open to Open Source Software and would use Open Source RDBMS like MySQL and Postgres.

The other interesting thing I found from the article:
"RDBMS revenues on the Unix platform declined by 0.7 percent, as Linux-based RDBMS sales increased by more than 118 percent. Revenues from new licenses on the open-source operating system, however, remained relatively small at $654.8 million."
The study classified Linux separate from Unix even if Linux is a flavor of Unix.

For those doing data warehousing in Oracle, the MODEL Clause proves to be a powerful extension to SQL in Oracle 10g. The MODEL clause enables one to create a multidimensional array by mapping the columns of a query into three groups: partitioning, dimension, and measure columns.

Here are some good and useful resources on how to use the MODEL Clause:

• Oracle Technology Network
• Anthony Molinaro's article Using the New MODEL Clause in Oracle Database 10g
• Jonathan Gennick’s Oracle Magazine article Announcing the New MODEL

And of course, there's the most useful one for me ...
Oracle® Documentation

Related References:
Oracle Database 10g: The Complete Reference
Oracle Database 10g PL/SQL Programming

When I was in Oracle support (years ago), my favorite Oracle error to resolve was ORA-600. Since I was taught Oracle internals, ORA-600 errors were challenging to me. During those days in support, I enjoyed reading file dumps, trace files and debugging. Ok, I admit, I am weird.

An ORA-600 error is not necessarily an Oracle bug. When an internal inconsistency is encountered or some unexpected condition is met, the kernel code of Oracle raises an ORA-600 error. Conditions that can cause ORA-600 other than an Oracle bug are hardware failures, problems with the operating system, not enough resources, to name a few.

The ORA-600 error has a list of arguments that are enclosed in square brackets.

An example of an ORA-600 error from Version 7 looks like:
ORA-600 [3398] [603992043], [603992043], [1], [50], [16150], [548]

The key information in identifying the problem is in the first argument. The first argument tells where in the Oracle code the error was caught. The other remaining arguments give the other related information. Hence, in our ORA-600 example, which is a Block Corruption in Memory, the remaining arguments provide supporting information related to the data block address (DBA).

A trace file is generated whenever an ORA-600 error occurs. The trace file contains important information on what led to the error condition. The trace file is generated in the USER_DUMP_DEST or BACKGROUND_DUMP_DEST. The error is also written in the alert log along with the name of the trace file.

Oracle Metalink provides more information on ORA-600. If after searching Metalink you still cannot identify the cause and possible fix for an ORA-600 error, give Oracle support a call. Make sure you are thorough on reporting your problem, including any recent changes to the system environment, e.g. upgrades, power failures, etc. It will facilitate in resolving your ORA-600.