Oracle has recently announced the release of their latest stable version of Oracle Database, dubbed as Oracle Database 23ai. What makes this release intriguing is that Oracle unveiled a test version of this database as early as last year, referring to it as Oracle Database 23c, with the letter ‘c’ at the end signifying “cloud”. This naming convention traces back to the introduction of Oracle Database 12c in 2012, marking a shift towards incorporating cloud technology into their database systems.
The evolution of Oracle’s database versioning can be seen through the inclusion of suffixes indicating the technological focus of each era. From the initial usage of ‘i’ in Oracle 8i (i for internet), to ‘g’ in Oracle 10g (g for grid), and finally ‘c’ in Oracle 12c (c for cloud), each iteration reflects the prevalent technology trends of its time.
The rationale behind Oracle’s latest versioning approach is crystal clear – a sharp pivot towards AI. The standout feature of Oracle Database 23ai is the AI Vector Search capability, a sought-after feature in modern-day databases. This feature enables the LLM model to determine the proximity of data, measuring closeness in terms of vectors. Oracle has seamlessly integrated this feature into every subversion of Oracle Database 23ai, at no additional cost.
Other notable features in version 23ai include JSON Relational Unification, Graph Relational Unification, Oracle Globally Distributed Database with RAFT, True Cache, and In-Database SQL Firewall. These features address a range of database challenges, bridging the gap between relational data in databases and JSON in applications, enabling graph-based data queries, globally distributing data using the Raft algorithm, enhancing in-memory caching for faster data retrieval, and fortifying database security against SQL injection attacks and other threats.
Source: Oracle, Oracle Blog
TLDR: Oracle introduces Oracle Database 23ai with a focus on AI capabilities, including features like AI Vector Search, JSON Relational Unification, and enhanced security measures such as In-Database SQL Firewall. Oracle continues to innovate and adapt to current technological trends in database management.
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