Yogyakarta Calendar of Events

* June 7th - July 7th
At 09.00 - 21.00
Yogyakarta Art Festival will be held for a whole month up to July featuring a various kinds of arts. Arts Exhibition that will be held at Vredeburg Fort, Yogyakarta.

* Saturday, June 14, 2007
At 20.00
Leather puppet show will be staged at Sasana Hinggil Dwi Abad, Alun-alun Selatan for all night from 09.00 pm - 05.00 am

* Monday - Sunday, June 5th - July 15th, 2007
Merti Code or Code Village Purification is a tradition held by villagers of Code Utara to show the gratefulness to God for the blessing of Code River that given to them. The climax of Merti Code is a parade carrying a sacred lances called Tombak Kyai Ranu Murti The ceremony also will perform traditional art and Gunungan which is carried out in the parade and scrambled by the villagers.

* Saturday, June 15, 2007
Pengetan 251 Tahun Nagari Ngayogyakarta is The 251th anniversary of Yogyakarta Sultanate Palace.
* Thursday, June 7, 14, 21, 28, 2007
At 20.00
Macapatan, a traditional Javanese folksongs performance accompanied by Javanese traditional music Gamelan will be held at Jarahnitra, Jl. Brigjend Katamso 23, Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta, Jogja, Jogjakarta or Yogya?

There are different names for Yogyakarta. Senior citizens call it Ngayogyakarta; people from East Java and Central Java name it Yogya or Yoja. Yogya is called Jogja in the slogan of Jogja Never Ending Asia. Recently, there is another name: Djokdja. All of the names refer to the same city. How could those various names for one city appear?

There are at least 3 development periods to be explained. The name Ngayogyakarta existed in 1755 when Mangkubumi Prince whose title was Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono I founded the Kingdom of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. The kingdom that was built on the Bering Forest area was a realization of Giyanti Agreement done with Pakubuwono III from Surakarta.

It is unclear when the name Yogyakarta first existed, whether it is a contraction of the name Ngayogyakarto or because of other reasons. However, the name of Yogyakarta has been used formally since the independence of Indonesia. When it became the capital of Indonesia in 1949, this student city had been called Yogyakarta. Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX also used the name of Yogyakarta when he announced that this kingdom is part of Indonesian Republic.

Some other names such as Yogja, Jogja, Jogya and Yogya came afterwards. The variations may exist from different pronunciation of people from different parts of Indonesia. Interestingly, people will refer to the same area when they hear those different names.

For business purpose, the name of Jogja becomes more popular and it is used in the slogan Jogja Never Ending Asia. The slogan is intended to build the image of Yogyakarta as a tourism city having great natural and culture enchantments. The reason to choose the name 'Jogja' is that the pronunciation of the word is relatively easy for most people, including foreigners. Some institutions once replaced Yogyakarta with Jogjakarta.

YogYES.COM uses the name Djokdja in Tour de Djokdja rubric. This name was used during the Dutch colonial time. The proof was the presence of a hotel named Grand Hotel de Djokdja at the north end of Malioboro Street by that time. Now, the hotel is still in operation but the name changes to Inna Garuda. The name of 'Djokdja' is chosen to give an impression of an old city and to invite the readers to fill with nostalgia.

With various spellings and pronunciations, Yogyakarta is the only city with many variations of name. Jakarta only has one variation: Jayakarta, while Bali does not have any other name. Other tourism cities in the world such as Bangkok, Singapore, Cartagena, or Venice do not seem to have variations; neither metropolitan cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and London.

Now, you do not have to be confused when you find someone writing the name of Yogyakarta city as the way he spells it. When you browse in the Internet to find out more about this city, you would better use the name Yogyakarta as it is the most commonly used in writing. The second commonly used name is Jogja.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo & Artistic: Singgih Dwi Cahyanto
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

Coffee Shops in Yogyakarta, from Just Hanging Around to Seeing Indie Films

A little caffeine in a cup of coffee is indeed the right companion to spend the evening or night, either in the loneliness or in a crowd. For the reason, enjoying coffee in the cafes in Yogyakarta should be an amusing tour agenda. While you enjoy such things, you can know Yogyakarta closer through the communities hanging around there.

There are some café concepts, ranging from the ones close to the early concept of a café to those adapting with cotemporary Yogyakarta culture. The coffee menus vary as well; there are classical espresso coffee and Indonesian typical coffees from Java, Aceh, and Toraja. In such cafes, the communities of artists, books lovers and cyber communities such as bloggers and gamers usually meet.

If you like reading and interact with other books lovers you can visit Deket Rumah Cafe that is located in Sagan and Coffee Break Cafe that is situated on Jalan Kaliurang. Various books on different themes, ranging from light reading such as comics to those containing philosophy themes are presented in those cafes in order to satisfy your lust for reading.

In Deket Rumah cafe, you can read literatures written by both local and foreign writers. You will find books written by legendary Indonesian writers such as Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, Pramoedya Ananta Toer and N.H Dini and those written by Nobel winners such as Milan Kundera, Nawal el Sadaawi and Umberto Eco. Some books are even for rent with certain conditions.

If you want to enjoy your coffee while knowing Yogyakarta better through the works of its artists, you can visit Via-Via Cafe that is located in Prawirotaman, V-Art Gallery and Cafe located on Jalan Solo and Djendelo Cafe at the north end of Jalan Gejayan. Those cafes have multi functions as both the places where you can drink your coffee as well as the places to exhibit art works.

Some exhibitions are held there; for example the exhibition of Paintings of Fighters done in November 2006 in Via-Via Cafe. In Djendelo Cafe some painting exhibitions were also done. The same things were also done in V-Art Galery that also often play videos produced by Yogyakarta artists.

The easiness to surf in virtual world and to interact with the members of cyber communities is another offer given by Lor Kali Cafe that is located close to Selokan Mataran and Kedai Kopi on Jalan Gejayan. Through computer facilities connected to Internet network and hotspot facilities, you can surf in virtual world for free in Kedai Kopi.

If you like to use Internet network to play games, please visit Empire that is located at the north-end of Jalan Gejayan. This newly opened place has been the center for gamers in Yogyakarta. Besides, this place provides comfortable café that is suitable for you to get relaxed after you get tired of playing games.

Even though it does not name itself a coffee shop, Kinoki that is located on Jalan Suroto Kotabaru also provides various coffee menus and comfortable open space atmosphere. In addition to spoiling you with coffee, the place of which motto is 'neither a cinema nor a coffee shop' also functions as a place for Yogyakarta cinema artists to meet.

Everyday Kinoki presents interesting films, ranging from those winning film festivals to those indie films produced by young, talented Indonesian film producers. Furthermore, Kinoki sometimes functions as the place to perform short stories reading, poetry reading and light talks and even fashion show.

In general, those cafes in Yogyakarta open at 05:00p.m., but some of them open at the days. Kedai Kopi and Coffe Break open from 10:00a.m. to midnight. Kinoki and Djendelo Café, on the other hand, open from 05:00p.m. and play films at around 07:30 p.m.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Photo: Sigit Nugroho
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

Borobudur Sunrise, the Scenery of the Sunrise in Nirvana

Admiring the grandeur of Borobudur at day and seeing details of each statue and stones with relief of the constructors is something that people from around the world are longing to do. However, not many people realize that Borobudur also has other unique view, namely the scenery of the beautiful rising sun that blows the statue of Buddha sitting cross-legged at the peak of the temple that was constructed in the ninth century.

If you never experience it before, trying to color the coming of the new life in the beginning of the year will become an unforgettable experience. The rising sun with its bright light will at least encourage you to live the life one year ahead, and for sure it becomes a remembrance that wisdom or nirvana symbolized by the peak of this temple is the main destination of your life.

In order to enjoy the scenery of the sunrise, you can stay at Manohara hotel in the complex of Borobudur temple since evening. Alternatively, you may join Borobudur Sunrise package offered by some tour agencies. Otherwise, you will not be able to enter the temple complex and you will miss the sunrise, since the entrance gate of this tourism object is only open at around 07:30a.m.

If you stay at Maonhara, you can start climbing Borobodur temple at any time to enjoy the sunrise. However, hotel management and some tour agencies usually lead you to go to the peak of Borobodur at 03:00 a.m. in order for you to have enough time to reach the peak on foot and you do not have to wait too long for the sunrise. The rise of the sun can usually be enjoyed at around 05:00a.m. It suggested that you wear your coat to expel the cold weather and to bring flashlight for lighting.

Once the sky in the east begins to shine, you are ready to see the movement of the sunrise. Once the reddish yellow light emerges, it means dawn has come in the peak of Borobudur symbolizing nirvana. Uniqueness of watching sunrise in Borobodur is that the sun seems to emerge in between two mountains, namely Merapi as one of the most active mountains in the world and Merbabu that is often said to be its twin.

When Merapi is active and the fog does not cover it, you will be able to see glowing magma pouring out of the mountain directing to the upper reaches of Krasak River. The bright red color of magma will look so bright in contrast with the dark sky. Last January 2006, tens of tourists enjoyed this view and during the increased activity of Merapi lately, you have the opportunity to enjoy it.

Another scenery that is not less interesting is the villages around Borobudur that you will see when looking down. Agriculture and culture that currently are living in those villages will help you imagine the condition of the villages around the temple during the construction of this temple. If thick fog covers your view, you can still see tall, green trees emerge from the surface of the fog. The movement of the rising sun can also be observed from the light intense blowing the Buddha statue. The higher the sun, the brighter the Buddha statue will look, changing its black color to bright gray. If you take quite good camera to take pictures, you can record the moment when the light of the sun begins to blow Buddha statue and make part of the statue brighter compared to other part.

When the sun begins to burn your skin, it signals that you should descend the temple. However, you need not worry, you can still walk around the villages around Borobudur temple that previously was only seen from the top. Some villages are determined to become tourism village. You can see the activities of people such as farming, producing potteries, sculpturing statues and others. Your presence in the villages at least brings hopes for local people currently that live more difficult life.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

HOTEL MANOHARA
Borobudur Temple Tourism Complex
Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia
Phone: +62 293 788131, +62 293 788680
Fax: +62 293 788679
Shortcut URL:
http://www.yogyes.com/manohara

Boko Sunrise, Seeing Sunrise from the Top of Tugel Hill

Many people have visited the Palace of Queen Boko that used to be called Abhayagiri Vihara, a palace that based on the meaning lies on the hill full of peacefulness. Nonetheless, few of them experience the comfort of walking from the palace location and trekking through Boko hill in the morning time and enjoy the sun rising in the east. YogYES invites you to enjoy it to celebrate the coming of the new dawn in the beginning of the year.

In order for you to enjoy it, you can register yourself as participant of Boko Trekking in the Temple Tourism Park. Once you register, you get a tour package of walking around Queen Boko Palace, enjoying dawn scenery at Andrawina Plaza (one of the palace halls), staying night in the tent and trekking Boko hill to see the sunrise and the complex of Boko Queen. It must be an interesting tour package in the year-end.

The most interesting journey is trekking that usually starts at 03:00a.m. in order later to enjoy the view of sunrise. It will be the right time to start the journey to enjoy the dawn in the beginning of the year because you must be busy with blowing trumpets in the previous hours to signal the arrival of the New Year. Make sure that you are physically ready to take the journey after staying out the night.

The path leading to Bukit Tugel, where you will see one of the most beautiful dawns is not too difficult, so you do not have to worry. Besides, tour agencies provide you with guides that will ease your first adventure to climb the hill. Nonetheless, some personal equipment such as field clothes, helmet, mountain shoes, flashlight and medicines must be prepared.

During the journey to Bukit Tugel, you cannot see natural view at the surroundings since it is still dark, but you can listen to melodious natural music. If you are sensitive, you can even notice the change of the natural music when dawn comes; the voice of earth insects and night birds that previously dominated is replaced with the crowing of cocks, the chirp of church birds and a little noise from the activities of local people.

The tiring journey to Bukit Tugel will end by dawn so that you can take a rest for a while to wait the rising of the sun. Sitting, while sipping coffee or tea brought from the camp and talk with your friends will be enjoyable. Discussing the plan for a year ahead in each one's life and opening oneself to certain inputs must be very valuable.

The admiring sky panorama will look while waiting for dawn. The night black color will be replaced by gradation of yellow to red. Gradually, the yellow color becomes more dominant signaling the sun has raised high. If the sun has fully decorated the morning, then the color of the sky that previously was black is changed to blue and is decorated with white cloud. If you take your camera, it will be interesting to record each of the change.

When the sun shines fully in the east, you can begin watching beautiful natural view around Bukit Tugel. Looking to the north, you will see Merapi Mountain that stands firmly with some form of white fumes from the peak. Still in the north, you can see the grandeur of Prambanan Temple as the most beautiful Hindu temple.

In other direction, you can see the view of Yogyakarta city, rice field and villages around the hill, some temples located in the lower place, and other interesting sceneries. You are also free to explore each corner of Bukit Tugel. Afterwards, you will leave for the camping area while enjoying the sceneries on both sides of the trek.

Text: Yunanto Wiji Utomo
Artistic: Agung Sulistiono Mabruron
Copyright © 2006 YogYES.COM

PAdang

Padang (means field) is the capital and largest city of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located on the western coast of Sumatra at 0°57′0″S, 100°21′11″E. It has an area of 694.96 square kilometres (268.3 sq mi) and a population of over 750,000 people, mostly speakers of the Minangkabau language.


History
Padang circa 1795
Since the 16th century Padang has been a trade centre. During the 16th and 17th centuries pepper was cultivated and traded with India, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. In 1663 the city came under the authority of the Dutch. The Dutch built a trading post here in 1680. The city came under British authority twice, the first time during the war between the United Kingdom and the Netherlands (1781-1784) and again when the United Kingdom managed the area for the Netherlands during the Napoleonic wars (1795-1815). Afterwards the city was transferred back to the Netherlands. Up to approximately 1780 the most important trade product was gold, originating from the gold mines in the region. When the mines where exhausted, the emphasis turned to other products such as coffee, salts and textiles.
At the time of independence the city had 50,000 or so inhabitants. Coffee was still inportant, but copra was also a major item produced by farmers in its hinterland. The population growth since then has been partly a result of growth in the area of the city, but largely is a result of the migration to major cities seen in so many developing nations.
In 1950 there had also been a development of the Ombilin coal field with Padang as its outlet. This is an indication of the colonization of Indonesia having been economic as well as political.
Besides locally grown coffee and copra, Padang was a key point in the trade of such items as rubber, tea, spices, cinchona bark, resin, tobacco and rattan.[1]
Administration
Padang is divided in 11 subdistricts (kecamatan): Bungus Teluk Kabung, Koto Tangah, Kuranji, Lubuk Begalung, Lubuk Kilangan, Nanggalo, Padang Barat, Padang Selatan, Padang Timur, Padang Utara, Pauh
Transport
The city is served by the newly-opened Minangkabau International Airport in Ketaping, Padang Pariaman. Padang's Teluk Bayur harbor is the largest and busiest harbor on the west coast of Sumatra.
Education
Andalas University is the oldest university in Indonesia outside of Java. It is located in Limau Manis, about 12 kilometres (7 mi) from the center of Padang. The other universities in Padang are Universitas Negeri Padang in Air Tawar, Bung Hatta University in Ulak Karang, Baiturrahmah University in Air Pacah, Universitas Putra Indonesia YPTK, Ekasakti University, Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Barat and Tamansiswa University.
Culture
Cuisine
The cuisine of the Minangkabau people is commonly called Padang cuisine, due to it being the capital and largest city of the region. Padang restaurants are common throughout the country and are famous for their spicy food and their unique way of serving it. Padang food is served in small portions of various dishes, in a way similar to tapas or mezedes, but constituting, with rice, a complete meal. In a Padang-style restaurant, the table will quickly be set with dozens of small dishes filled with highly-flavored foods such as curried fish, fried tempeh, stewed greens, chili eggplant, curried beef liver, fried chicken, and of course, sambals, the spicy sauces ubiquitous at Indonesian tables. Customers take - and pay for - only what they want from this array of dishes. The best known Padang dish is rendang, a spicy meat stew. Soto Padang (crispy beef in spicy soup) is local residents' breakfast favorite, meanwhile Sate (beef satay in curry sauce served with ketupat) is a treat in the evening.
Sport
Padang is the home town of the soccer team Semen Padang, with Haji Agus Salim Stadium being the home stadium of the club.


Tourism
Padang is a common transit point for surfers travelling to Batu Islands and Mentawai Islands, and for tourists visiting the West Sumatran highlands. Padang beach (known as Taplau or Tapi Lauik) which located from Samudra Street until Puruih, is well-known for its beautiful sunset and hundreds of food stalls. Bungus bay, to the south of Padang, is suitable for swimming and boating.
Adityawarman Museum specializes in the history and culture of the local Minangkabau ethic group, and the main exhibits are housed within a Rumah Gadang style building.

Borobudur

Country Indonesia

Architect Gunadharma

Completion date circa AD 800
Style stupa and candi

Borobudur is a ninth century Buddhist Mahayana monument in Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.[1] A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.
The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balustrades.
Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam.[2] It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Since then, Borobudur has been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, after which the monumen was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[3] Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhist in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.[4][5][6]

Etymology
In Indonesian, temples are known as candi, or formerly chandi. The term is also used more loosely to describe any ancient structure, for example, gates and bathing structures. The origins of the name Borobudur are unclear,[7] although this is not uncommon as the original name of most candi is no longer known.[7] The name 'Borobudur' was first written in the Sir Thomas Raffles book on Java history.[8] Raffles wrote about the existence of a monument called borobudur, but there were no other older documents suggesting the same name.[7] The only written old Javanese manuscript hinting at the monument is Nagarakertagama, written by Mpu Prapanca in AD 1365, which mentions Budur as a Buddhist sanctuary. It is likely that it is associated with Borobudur, but the manuscript lacks any further information to make a definite identification.
The name 'Bore-Budur', and thus 'BoroBudur', is thought to have been written by Raffles in English grammar to mean the nearby village of Bore; most candi are named after a nearby village. If it followed Javanese language, the monument should have been named as BudurBoro. Raffles also suggested that Budur might correspond to the modern Javanese word Buda ('ancient') - i.e., 'ancient Boro'.[7] Another hypothesis is that 'Boro' was taken from an old Javanese term bhara ('honourable'), describing the monument as "The Honourable Buddha". Another interpretation comes from the Javanese word biara ('monastery'), which refers the monument as the 'monastery of Budur'.


Location
A number of Buddhist and Hindu temple compounds are located approximately 40 km (25 miles) northwest of Yogyakarta, on an elevated area between two twin volcanoes, Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi, and the Progo river. According to local myth, the area known as Kedu Plain is a Javanese 'sacred' place and has been dubbed 'the garden of Java' due to its high agricultural fertility.[9] During the first restoration, it was discovered that three Buddhist temples in the region, Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, are in one straight line position.[10] It might be accidental, but the temples' alignment is in conjunction with a native folk tale that a long time ago, there was a brick-paved road from Borobodur to Mendut with walls on both sides.
Unlike other temples, which are built on a flat surface, Borobudur was built on a bedrock hill, 265 m (869 ft) above sea level and 15 m (49 ft) above the floor of the dried-out paleolake.[11] The lake's existence was the subject of intense discussion among archaeologists in the twentieth century; Borobudur was thought to have been built on a lake shore or even floated on a lake. In 1931, a Dutch artist and a scholar of Hindu and Buddhist architecture, W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, developed a theory that Kedu Plain was once a lake and Borobudur initially represented a lotus flower floating on the lake.[9] Lotus flowers are found in almost every Buddhist work of art, often serving as a throne for buddhas and base for stupas. The architecture of Borobudur itself suggests a lotus depiction, in which Buddha postures in Borobudur symbolize the Lotus Sutra, mostly found in many Mahayana Buddhism (a school of Buddhism widely spread in southeast and east Asia regions) texts. Three circular platforms on the top are also thought to represent a lotus leaf.[11] Nieuwenkamp's theory, however, was contested by many archaeologists because the natural environment surrounding the monument is a dry land.
Geologists, on the other hand, support Nieuwenkamp's view, pointing out clay sediments found near the site.[12] A study of stratigraphy, sediment and pollen samples conducted in 2000 supports the existence of a paleolake environment near Borobudur,[11] which corroborates the doubts had raised by archaeologists. The lake area, however, fluctuated with time; a study also proves that Borobudur was near the lake shore circa thirteenth and fourteenth century. River flows and volcanic activities shape the surrounding landscape, including the lake. One of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia, Mount Merapi, is in the direct vicinity of Borobudur and has been very active since the Pleistocene.[13]



History
Construction
Buddhist pilgrims meditate on the top platform.
There is no written record of who built Borobudur, or of its intended purpose.[14] The construction time is estimated by comparison between carved reliefs on the temple's hidden foot and the inscriptions commonly used in royal charters during the eight and ninth centuries. It is likely Borobudur was founded around AD 800.[14] This corresponds to the period between AD 760–830, the peak of the Sailendra dynasty in Central Java.[15], when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire. The construction is estimated to have taken 75 years and was completed in 825, during the reign of Srivijayan Maharaja Samaratunga.[16][17]
There is confusion between Hindu and Buddhist rulers in Java around that time. The Sailendras are known as ardent followers of Lord Buddha, although stone inscriptions found at Sojomerto suggest they were Hindus.[16] It was during this time that many Hindu and Buddhist monuments were built on the plains and mountain around the Kedu Plain. The Buddhist monuments, including Borobudur, were erected around the same time as the Hindu Shiva Prambanan temple compound. In AD 732, king Sanjaya, the founder of the Sailendra dynasty, commissioned a Hindu Shiva lingga sanctuary to be built on the Ukir hill, only 10 km (6.2 miles) east of Borobudur. Sanjaya's immediate successor, Rakai Panangkaran, was associated with a Buddhist Kalasan temple, as shown in the Kalasan Charter dated AD 778. Anthropologists believe that religion in Java has never been a serious conflict.[18] It was possible for a Hindu king to patronize the establishment of a Buddhist monument; or for a Buddhist king to act likewise.[18] The official religion could take place without affecting the continuity of a dynasty and of cultural life.



Abandonment
Borobudur stupas overlooking a shadowy mountain of Java. For centuries, it has been deserted.
For centuries, Borobudur lay hidden under layers of volcanic ash and jungle growth. The facts behind the desertion of the monument remain a mystery. It is unknown until when the monument was still in active use and when it ceased to function as the pilgrimage center of Buddhism.
A general assumption is that the temples were disbanded when the population were converted to Islam in the fifteenth century.[19] Another theory is that a famine caused by a volcanic eruption (est. circa AD 1006) had forced local inhabitants to leave their lands and the monument.[11] The event was said to trigger the movement of Javanese power from the Kedu Plain area to the east of Java nearby the Brantas valley as early as AD 928.
However, the great monument was never completely removed from the local people's memory. Instead of glorifying story about the monument, the memory was then gradually shifted into a more superstitious beliefs associated with bad luck and misery. Two old Javanese manuscripts of the eighteenth century mention a case of bad luck associated with the monument. According to the Babad Tanah Jawi (or the History of Java), the monument was a fatal factor for a rebel who revolted against the king of Mataram in AD 1709.[2] The hill was besieged and the insurgents were defeated and sentenced to death by the king. In the Babad Mataram (or the History of the Mataram Kingdom), the monument was associated with the misfortune of the crown prince of the Yogyakarta Sultanate in AD 1757.[20] In spite of a restriction to visit the monument, he took what is written as the knight who was captured in a cage (a statue in one of the perforated stupas). As soon as he arrived at his palace, he died unexpectedly after a one-day illness.


Tourists in Borobudur.

Rediscovery
The first photograph by Isidore van Kinsbergen (1873) after the monument was cleared up.
Following the Anglo-Dutch Java War, Java was under British administration from 1811 to 1816. The appointed governor was Lieutenant Governor-General Thomas Stamford Raffles, who had a great interest in the history of Java. He collected Javan antiques and made notes through contacts with local inhabitants during his tour throughout the island. On an inspection tour to Semarang in 1814, he was informed about a big monument called Chandi Borobudur deep in a jungle near the village of Bumisegoro.[20] He was not able to make the discovery himself and he sent H.C. Cornellius, a Dutch engineer, to investigate.
In two months, Cornellius and his 200 men cut down trees, burned down vegetation and dug away the earth to reveal the monument. Due to the danger of collapse, he could not unearth all galleries. He reported his findings to Raffles including various drawings. Although the discovery is only mentioned by a few sentences, Raffles has been credited with the monument's recovery and bringing it to the world's attention.[8]
Hartmann, a Dutch administrator of the Kedu region, continued Cornellius' work and in 1835 the whole monument was finally unearthed. His interest in Borobudur was more personal rather than official. Hartmann did not, however, write any reports of his activities; in particular, the alleged story that he discovered the large statue of Buddha in the main stupa.[21] The main stupa is empty. In 1842, Hartmann investigated the main dome although what he discovered remains unknown. The Dutch East Indies government then commissioned a Dutch engineering official, F.C. Wilsen, who in 1853, reported a large Buddha statue the size of one hundred other Borobudur statues.
Besides making hundreds of relief sketches, Wilsen studied the monument itself, preparing three articles on it. The Dutch East Indies government, meanwhile, had appointed J.F.G. Brumund to make a detail study of the monument, which was completed in 1859. Brumund intended to publish an article supplemented by Wilsen's drawings. The colonial government, however, decided otherwise and Brumund subsequently refused to cooperate. The government then commissioned another scholar, C. Leemans, who compiled a monograph based on Brumund's and Wilsen's sources. In 1873, the first monograph of the detailed study of Borobudur was published, followed by its French translation a year later.[21] The first photograph of the monument was taken in 1873 by a Dutch-Flemish engraver, Isidore van Kinsbergen.[22]
Appreciation of the site developed slowly. Some reliefs and ornaments were routinely removed by thieves and souvenir hunters. In 1882, the chief inspector of cultural artefacts recommended that Borobudur be entirely disassembled with the reliefs placed in museums due to the unstable condition of the monument.[22] The government then appointed an archeologist, Groenveldt, to undertake a thorough investigation of the site and assess the actual condition of the monument. The report found that the fears over its condition were unjustified and recommended the monument be left intact.




Contemporary events
Following the major 1973 renovation funded by UNESCO,[23] Borobudur is once again used as a place of worship and pilgrimage. Once a year, during the full moon in May or June, Buddhists in Indonesia observe Vesak (Indonesian: Waisak) day commemorating the birth, death, and the time when Boddhisatva attained the highest wisdom to become Buddha. Vesak is an official national holiday in Indonesia[24] and the ceremony is centered at the three Buddhist temples by walking from Mendut to Pawon and ending at Borobudur.[25]
The monument is visited daily by tourists and is the single most visited tourist attractions in Indonesia. In 1974, 260,000 tourists of whom 36,000 were foreigners visited the monument.[5] The figure hiked into 2.5 million visitors annually (80% were domestic tourists) in the mid 1990s, before the country's economy crisis.[6] Tourism development, however, has been criticized for not including the local community on which occasional local conflict has arisen.[5] In 2003, residents and small businesses around Borobudur organized several meetings and poetry protests, objecting to a provincial government plan to build a three-story mall complex, dubbed 'Java World'.[26]
On 21 January 1985, nine stupas were badly damaged by nine bombs.[27] In 1991, a blind Muslim evangelist, Husein Ali Al Habsyie, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding a series of bombings in the mid 1980s including the temple attack.[28] Two other members of a right-wing extremist group that carried out the bombings were each sentenced to 20 years in 1986 and another man received a 13-year prison term. On 27 May 2006, an earthquake of 6.2 magnitude on Richter scale struck the south coast of Central Java. The event had caused severe damage around the region and casualties to the nearby city of Yogyakarta, but Borobudur, however, was intact.[29]

Architecture
Borobudur ground plan
Borobudur is built as a single large stupa, and when viewed from above takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind.[30] The foundation is a square, approximately 118 metres (387 ft) on each side. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.
Approximately 55,000 m³ (almost 2 million cubic feet) of stones were taken from neighbouring rivers to build the monument.[31] The stone was cut to size, transported to the site and laid without mortar. Knobs, indentations and dovetails were used to form joints between stones. Reliefs were created in-situ after the building had been completed. The monument is equipped with a good drainage system to cater for the area's high stormwater run-off. To avoid innundation, 100 spouts are provided at each corner with a unique carved gargoyles (makaras).
A carved spout (makaras) for water drainage.
Borobudur differs markedly with the general design of other structures built for this purpose. Instead of building on a flat surface, Borobudur is built on a natural hill. The building technique is, however, similar to other temples in Java. With no inner space as in other temples and its general design similar to the shape of pyramid, Borobudur was first thought more likely to have served as a stupa, instead of a temple (or candi in Indonesian).[31] A stupa is intended as a shrine for the Lord Buddha. Sometimes stupas were built only as devotional symbols of Buddhism. A temple, on the other hand, is used as a house of deity and have inner spaces for worship. The complexity, however, of the monument's meticulous design suggests it is in fact a temple. Congregational worship in Borobudur is performed by means of pilgrimage. Pilgrims were guided by the system of staircases and corridors ascending to the top platform. Each platform represents one stage of enlightment. The path that guides pilgrims was designed with the symbolism of sacred knowledge according to the Buddhism cosmology.[32]
Half cross-section with 4:6:9 height ratio for foot, body and head, respectively.
Little is known about the architect Gunadharma.[33] His name is actually recounted from Javanese legendary folk tales rather than written in old inscriptions. He was said to be one who "... bears the measuring rod, knows division and thinks himself composed of parts."[33] The basic unit measurement he used during the construction was called tala, defined as the length of a human face from the forehead's hairline to the tip of the chin or the distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the middle finger when both fingers are stretched at their maximum distance.[34] The unit metrics is then obviously relative between persons, but the monument has exact measurements. A survey conducted in 1977 revealed frequent findings of a ratio of 4:6:9 around the monument. The architect had used the formula to lay out the precise dimensions of Borobudur.[34] The identical ratio formula was further found in the nearby Buddhist temples of Pawon and Mendhut. Archeologists conjectured the purpose of the ratio formula and the tala dimension has calendrical, astronomical and cosmological themes, as of the case in other Buddhist temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.[33]
A narrow corridor with reliefs on the wall.
The main vertical structure can be divided into three groups: base (or foot), body, and top, which resembles the three major division of a human body.[33] The base is a 123x123 m² square in size and 4 metres (13 ft) high of walls.[31] The body is composed of five square platforms each with diminishing heights. The first terrace is set back 7 metres (23 ft) from the edge of the base. The other terraces are set back by 2 metres (6.5 ft), leaving a narrow corridor at each stage. The top consists of 3 circular platforms, with each stage supporting a row of perforated stupas, arranged in concentric circles. There is one main dome at the center; the top of which is the highest point of the monument (35 metres or 115 ft above ground level). Access to the upper part is through stairways at the centre of each side with a number of gates, watched by a total of 32 lion statues. The main entrance is at the eastern side, the location of the first narrative reliefs. On the slopes of the hill, there are also stairways linking the monument to the low-lying plain.
The three monument's division symbolizes three stages of mental preparation towards the ultimate goal according to the Buddhism cosmology, namely Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and finally Arupadhatu (the formless world).[35] Kamadhatu is represented by the base, Rupadhatu by the five square platforms (the body), and Arupadhatu by the three circular platforms and the large topmost stupa. The architectural features between three stages have methaporical differences. For instance, square and detailed decorations in the Rupadhatu disappear into plainless circular platforms in the Arupadhatu to represent how the world of forms - where men are still attached with forms and names - changes into the world of the formless.[36]
In 1885, a hidden structure under the base was accidentally discovered.[37] The "hidden foot" contains reliefs, 160 of which are narrative describing the real Kamadhatu. The remaining reliefs are panels with short inscriptions that apparently describe instruction for the sculptors, illustrating the scene to be carved.[38] An encasement base hides the real base of which its functions remains a mystery. It was first thought that the real base had to be covered to prevent a disastrous subsidence of the monument through the hill.[38] There is another theory that the encasement base was added because the original hidden foot was incorrectly designed, according to Vastu Shastra, the Indian ancient book about architecture and town planning.[37] The encasement base, however, was built with detailed and meticulous design with aesthetics and religious compensation.
Reliefs
Narrative Panels Distribution[39]

section location story #panels
hidden foot wall Karmavibhangga 160
first gallery main wall Lalitavistara 120
Jataka/Avadana 120
balustrade Jataka/Avadana 372
Jataka/Avadana 128
second gallery main wall Gandavyuha 128
ballustrade Jataka/Avadana 100
third gallery main wall Gandavyuha 88
ballustrade Gandavyuha 88
fourth gallery main wall Gandavyuha 84
ballustrade Gandavyuha 72
Total 1,460
Borobudur contains approximately 2,670 individual bas reliefs (1,460 narrative and 1,212 decorative panels), which cover the façades and balustrades. The total relief surface is 2,500 m² and they are distributed at the hidden foot (Kamadhatu) and the five square platforms (Rupadhatu).[39]
The narrative panels, which tell the story of Sudhana and Manohara,[40] are grouped into 11 series encircled the monument with the total length of 3,000 metres (1.86 miles). The hidden foot contains the first series with 160 narrative panels and the remaining 10 series are distributed throughout walls and balustrades in four galleries starting from the eastern entrance stairway to the left. Narrative panels on the wall read from right to left, while on the balustrade read from left to right. This conforms with pradaksina, the ritual of circumambulation performed by pilgrims who move in a clockwise direction while keeping the sanctuary to their right.[41]
The hidden foot depicts the story of the karma law. The walls of the first gallery have two superimposed series of reliefs; each consists of 120 panels. The upper part depicts the biography of Buddha, while the lower part of the wall and also ballustrades in the first and the second galleries tell the story of Buddha's former lives.[39] The remaining panels are devoted to Sudhana's further wandering about his search; terminated by his attainment of the Perfect Wisdom.
The law of karma (Karmavibhangga)
The 160 hidden panels do not form a continuous story, but each panel provides one complete illustration of cause and effect.[39] There are depictions of blameworthy activities, from gossip to murder, with their corresponding punishments. There are also praiseworthy activities, that include charity and pilgrimage to sanctuaries, and their subsequent rewards. The pains of hell and the pleasure of heaven are also illustrated. There are scenes of daily life, complete with the full panorama of samsara (the endless cycle of birth and death).
The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara)
One relief on a corridor wall.
See also: The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara)
The story starts from the glorious descent of the Lord Buddha from the Tushita heaven, and ends with his first sermon in the Deer Park near Benares.[41] The relief shows the birth of Buddha as Prince Siddharta, son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya of Kapilavastu (in present-day Nepal).
The story is preceded by 27 panels showing various preparations, in heavens and on earth, to welcome the final incarnation of Bodhisattva.[41] Before descending from Tushita heaven, Bodhisattva entrusted his crown to his successor, the future Buddha Maitreya. He descended on earth in the shape of white elephants with six tusks, penetrated to Queen Maya's right womb. Queen Maya had a dream of this event, which was interpreted that his son would become either a sovereign or a Buddha.
While Queen Maya felt that it was the time to give the birth, she went to the Lumbini park outside the Kapilavastu city. She stood under a plaksa tree, holding one branch with her right hand and she gave birth to a son, Prince Siddharta. The story on the panels continues until the prince became Buddha.
A detailed carved relief stone.
[edit] Prince Siddharta story (Jataka) and other legendary persons (Avadana)
Jatakas are stories about the Buddha before he was born as Prince Siddharta.[42] Avadanas are similar with jatakas, but the main figure is not Bodhisattva himself. The saintly deeds in avadanas are attributed to other legendary persons. Jatakas and avadanas are treated in one and the same series in the reliefs of Borobudur.
The first 20 lower panels in the first gallery on the wall depict the Sudhanakumaravadana or the saintly deeds of Prince Sudhanakumara. The first 135 upper panels in the same gallery on the balustrades are devoted to the 34 legends of the Jatakamala.[43] The remaining 237 panels depict stories from other sources, as do for the lower series and panels in the second gallery. Some jatakas stories are depicted twice, for example the story of King Sibhi.
[edit] Sudhana search of the Ultimate Truth (Gandavyuha)
Gandavyuha is a story about Sudhana's tireless wandering in search of the Highest Perfect Wisdom. It covers two galleries (third and fourth) and also half of the second gallery; comprising in total of 460 panels.[44] The principal figure of the story, the youth Sudhana, son of an extremely rich merchant, appears on the 16th panel. The preceding 15 panels form a prologue to the story of the miracles during Buddha's samadhi in the Garden of Jeta at Sravasti.
During his search, Sudhana visited no less than 30 teachers but none of them had satisfied him completely. He was then instructed by Manjusri to meet the monk Megasri, where he was given the first doctrine. Sudhana journey continues to meet in the following order Supratisthita, the physician Megha (Spirit of Knowledge), the banker Muktaka, the monk Saradhvaja, the upasika Asa (Spirit of Supreme Enlightment), Bhismottaranirghosa, the Brahmin Jayosmayatna, Princess Maitrayani, the monk Sudarsana, a boy called Indriyesvara, the upasika Prabhuta, the banker Ratnachuda, King Anala, the god Siva Mahadeva, Queen Maya, Bodhisattva Maitreya and then back to Manjusri. Each meeting has given Sudhana a specific doctrine, knowledge and wisdom. These meetings are shown in the third gallery.
After the last meeting with Manjusri, Sudhana went to the residence of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra; depicted in the fourth gallery. The entire series of the fourth gallery is devoted to the teaching of Samantabhadra. The narrative panels finally end with the Sudhana's achievement of the Supreme Knowledge and the Ultimate Truth.[45]

Buddha statues
A Buddha statue with the hand position of dharmachakra mudra (turning the Wheels of the Law).
Apart from the story of Buddhist cosmology carved in stones, Borobudur has many Buddha statues. The cross-legged Buddha statues are seated with lotus position. They are distributed on the five square platforms (the Rupadhatu level) and on the top platform (the Arupadhatu level).
The Buddha statues are in niches at the Rupadhatu level, arranged in rows on the outer sides of the balustrades. As platforms progressively diminish to the upper level, the number of Buddha statues are decreasing. The first balustrades have 104 niches, the second 104, the third 88, the fourth 72 and the fifth 64. In total, there are 432 Buddha status at the Rupadhatu level.[1] At the Arupadhatu level (or the three circular platforms), Buddha statues are placed inside perforated stupas. The first circular platform has 32 stupas, the second 24 and the third 16, that sum up to 72 stupas.[1] Of the total 504 Buddha statues, over 300 are mutilated (mostly headless) and 43 are completely missing.
A headless Buddha statue inside a stupa.
At glance, all Buddha statues are equal, but there is subtle difference between them in the mudras or the position of the hands. There are 5 groups of mudra: North, East, South, West and Zenith, which represent the five cardinal compass according to Mahayana. The first four balustrades have the first four mudras: North, East, South and West, of which Buddha statues that face one compass direction has the corresponding mudra. Buddha statues at the fifth balustrades and inside the 72 stupas on the top platform have the same mudra: Zenith. Each mudra represent one of the Five Dhyani Buddhas; each has its own symbolism.[46] They are Abhaya mudra for Amogashiddi (north), Vara mudra for Ratnasambhava (south), Dhyana mudra for Amitabha (west), Bhumisparsa mudra for Aksobhya (east) and Dharmachakra mudra for Vairochana (zenith).

Restoration
Borobudur attracted attention in 1885, when Yzerman, the Chairman of the Archaeological Society in Yogyakarta, made a discovery about the hidden foot.[37] Photographs that reveal reliefs on the hidden foot were made in 1890–1891.[47] The discovery has led the Dutch East Indies government to take a necessary step to safeguard the monument. In 1900, the government set up a commission consisted of three officials to assess the monument: Brandes, an art historian, Theodoor van Erp, a Dutch army engineer officer, and Van de Kamer, a construction engineer from the Department of Public Works.
In 1902, the commission submitted a threefold plan of proposal to the government. First, the immediate dangers should be avoided by resetting the corners, removing stones that endangers the adjacent parts, strengthening the first balustrades and restoring several niches, archways, stupas and the main dome. Second, fencing off the courtyards, providing proper maintenance and improving drainage by restoring floors and spouts. Third, all loose stones should be removed, cleared up the monument up to the first balustrades, removed disfigured stones and restored the main dome. The total cost was estimated at that time around 48,800 Dutch guilders.


A technique to improve Borobudur's drainage system during the 1973 restoration by embedding concrete and pvc pipe.
The restoration then was carried out between 1907–1911, using the principles of anastylosis and led by Theodor van Erp.[48] The first seven months of his restoration was excavating the grounds around the monument to find missing Buddha heads and panel stones. Van Erp dismantled and rebuilt the upper three circular platforms and stupas. Along the way, Van Erp discovered more things to improve the monument that he submitted another proposal that was agreed with the additional cost of 34,600 guilders. At first glance Borobudur had been restored to its old glory.
Due to the limited budget, the restoration had been primarily focused on cleaning the sculptures, but Van Erp did not solve the drainage problem. Within fifteen years, the gallery walls were sagging and the reliefs showed signs of new cracks and deterioration.[48] Van Erp used concrete from which alkali salts and calcium hydroxide are leached and transported into the rest of the construction. This has caused some problems that a further thorough renovation is urgently needed.
Small restorations have been performed since then, but not for a complete protection. In the late 1960s, the Indonesian government had requested a major renovation to protect the monument to the international community. In 1973, a master plan to restore Borobudur was created.[23] The Indonesian government and UNESCO then undertook the complete overhaul of the monument in a big restoration project between 1975–1982.[48] The foundation was stabilized and all 1,460 panels were cleaned. The restoration involved the dismantling of the five square platforms and improved the drainage by embedding water channels into the monument. Both impermeable and filter layers were added. This colossal project involved around 600 people to restore the monument and cost in total of US$ 6,901,243.[49] After the renovation was finished, UNESCO listed Borobudur as a World Heritage Site in 1991.[50]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Installing PHP and the Oracle 10g Instant Client for Linux and Windows

Oracle 10g Instant Client (free download available) is the easiest way for PHP to connect to a remote Oracle database, requiring installation of only three libraries.

The Instant Client libraries used by PHP access Oracle's current API, called OCI8. (This C interface takes its name from being first introduced in Oracle8.) PHP Oracle 8 Functions can call Oracle 8.1.7, 9.x, or 10.x directly, or optional abstraction classes like PEAR MDB2 and ADOdb can be used for convenience.

The older PHP "oracle" extension can also be used with Instant Client but it calls a deprecated Oracle API. New development with this extension is not recommended by the PHP community or by Oracle.

To use Instant Client with PHP 4 or 5 on Apache, follow the steps below. (See this section for details about 5.1.2 and its refactored OCI8 extension.) An existing Oracle database is needed; Instant Client does not include one.

Typically the database will be on another machine. If the database is local then Oracle components will generally already be available and Instant Client is not required.

Software Requirements:
Software Notes
Oracle Instant Client Download the "Instant Client Package - Basic." On Linux, also download the "Instant Client Package - SDK."
Apache HTTPD Server The PHP community still recommends Apache 1.3
PHP - PHP Hypertext Processor Version 4.3 or later

Enabling the PHP OCI8 Extension on Windows

The Instant Client binaries complement PHP's prebuilt binaries for Windows.

1.

Download the PHP binary zip file (not the installer build) and Apache. Install them following Installation on Windows Systems in the PHP Manual. OTN's PHP Developer Center contains links to useful background material such as "Installing Oracle, PHP, and Apache on Windows 2000/XP," which covers installation of a traditional, full Oracle 10g footprint (which is not required with Instant Client).

Check that PHP is working before continuing. At this stage Oracle support is not enabled.
2.

Download the Instant Client Basic package for Windows from the Instant Client page on OTN. The zip file is about 30MB in size.
3.

Create a subdirectory (e.g., c:\instantclient10_1) and copy these libraries from the zip file:
* oraociei10.dll
* orannzsbb10.dll
* oci.dll

Collectively these three files are about 80MB in size.

To use PHP's older "oracle" extension (enabled with "extension=php_oracle.dll" in php.ini), copy ociw32.dll instead of oci.dll.
4.

Edit the environment and add c:\instantclient10_1 to PATH before any other Oracle directories.

For example, on Windows 2000, follow Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced -> Environment Variables and edit PATH in the System variables list.

If a tnsnames.ora file is used to define Oracle Net service names, copy tnsnames.ora to c:\instantclient10_1 and set the user environment variable TNS_ADMIN to c:\instantclient10_1. A default service name can optionally be set in the user environment variable LOCAL.

Set necessary Oracle globalization language environment variables such as NLS_LANG. If nothing is set, a default local environment will be assumed. See An Overview on Globalizing Oracle PHP Applications for more details.

Unset unnecessary Oracle variables such as ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_SID.
5.

Edit php.ini and uncomment the OCI8 extension:

extension=php_oci8.dll

Set the extension_dir directive to the full PHP extension DLL path. In PHP 4 the DLLs are in the "extensions" sub-directory of the PHP software. In PHP 5 they are in "ext".
6.

Restart Apache.

To check the extension is configured, create a simple PHP script phpinfo.php where the web server can read it.

phpinfo();
?>

Load the script into a browser using an "http://" URL. The browser page should contain an "oci8" section saying "OCI8 Support enabled".
Enabling the PHP OCI8 Extension on Linux

To add Oracle connectivity on Linux, PHP needs to be recompiled.

The PHP Developer Center contains links to useful background material such as Installing Oracle, PHP, and Apache on Linux, which covers installation of a traditional, full Oracle 10g footprint (which is not required with Instant Client).

1. Download and install Apache. For example, to install it in your home directory:

cd apache_1.3.31
./configure --enable-module=so --prefix=$HOME/apache --with-port=8888
make
make install

Edit $HOME/apache/conf/httpd.conf and add:

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps

2. Download PHP and untar it.
3. Download the Basic and the SDK Instant Client packages from the Instant Client page on OTN. Collectively the two RPMs are about 30MB in size.
4. Install the RPMs as the root user.

rpm -Uvh oracle-instantclient-basic-10.1.0.3-1.i386.rpm
rpm -Uvh oracle-instantclient-devel-10.1.0.3-1.i386.rpm

The first RPM puts the Oracle libraries in /usr/lib/oracle/10.1.0.3/client/lib and the second creates headers in /usr/include/oracle/10.1.0.3/client
5. Backup and then apply this patch to PHP's ext/oci8/config.m4. The patch line numbers are based on PHP 4.3.9. This patch will not be necessary when PHP bug 31084 is fixed, most likely in PHP 4.3.11 and 5.0.4.

If you are using PHP 4.3.9 or 4.3.10 you can save the patch to a file, e.g. php_oci8ic_buildpatch, and install it using:

patch -u config.m4 php_oci8ic_buildpatch

The patch creates a new PHP configuration parameter: --with-oci8-instant-client[=DIR]. On Linux, by default, it uses the latest version of the Instant Client installed from the RPMs. A directory to the Oracle libraries can be specified to use a different version. In either case, the correct SDK headers will automatically be used.

The new parameter is mutally exclusive with the existing --with-oci8 parameter.

For reference: on non-Linux platforms, the Instant Client package is unzipped into a directory of your choice. The --with-oci8-instant-client parameter will need this directory explicitly specified; for example, --with-oci8-instant-client=/home/instantclient10_1. The Instant Client SDK should unzipped to the same directory as the basic package so the subdirectory of header files can be located by the revised configuration script.
6. Rebuild the "configure" script in the top-level PHP directory.

cd php-4.3.9
rm -rf autom4te.cache config.cache
./buildconf --force

7. Run configure with the new option. This example uses Apache installed in the home directory.

./configure \
--with-oci8-instant-client \
--prefix=$HOME/php --with-apxs=$HOME/apache/bin/apxs \
--enable-sigchild --with-config-file-path=$HOME/apache/conf

8. Rebuild PHP.

make
make install

9. Copy the PHP configuration to the location given by --with-config-file-path

cp php.ini-recommended $HOME/apache/conf/php.ini

10. Set LD_LIBRARY_PATH to /usr/lib/oracle/10.1.0.3/client/lib and restart Apache.

If a tnsnames.ora file is used to define Oracle Net service names, set TNS_ADMIN to the directory containing the file.

It is important to set all Oracle environment variables before starting Apache. A script helps do that:

#!/bin/sh

APACHEHOME=/home/apache

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/10.1.0.3/client/lib:${LD_LIBRARY_PATH}
TNS_ADMIN=/home
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH TNS_ADMIN

echo Starting Apache
$APACHEHOME/apachectl start

To confirm the extension is configured, create a simple PHP script phpinfo.php where the web server can read it.

phpinfo();
?>

Load the script into a browser using a URL similar to "http://localhost:8888//phpinfo.php". The browser page should contain an "oci8" section saying "OCI8 Support enabled".
Connecting to Oracle

Oracle connection information is passed to OCILogon() to create a connection. Tools linked with Instant Client are always "remote" from any database server and an Oracle Net connection identifier must be used along with a username and password. The connection information is likely to be well known for established Oracle databases. With new systems the information is given by the Oracle installation program when the database is set up. The installer should have configured Oracle Net and created a service name.

In new databases the demonstration schemas such as the HR user may need to be unlocked and given a password. This may also be done in SQL*Plus by connecting as the SYSTEM user and executing the statement:

ALTER USER username IDENTIFIED BY new_password ACCOUNT UNLOCK;

There are several ways to pass the connection information to PHP. This first example uses Oracle 10g's Easy Connect syntax to connect to the HR schema in the MYDB database service running on mymachine. No tnsnames.ora or other Oracle Network file is needed:

$c = OCILogon('hr', 'hr_password', '//mymachine.mydomain/MYDB');

See Oracle's Using the Easy Connect Naming Method documentation for the Easy Connect syntax.
Alternatively, if /home/tnsnames.ora contains:

MYDB =
(DESCRIPTION =
(ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = mymachine.mydomain)(PORT = 1521))
(CONNECT_DATA =
(SERVER = DEDICATED)
(SERVICE_NAME = MYDB)
)
)

and the TNS_ADMIN environment variable was set to /home (before starting Apache), then the connection string could be:

$c = OCILogon('hr', 'hr_password', 'MYDB');



If the environment variable LOCAL (on Windows) or TWO_TASK (on Linux) was set to MYDB then a connection to MYDB could also be made with:

$c = OCILogon('hr', 'hr_password');

Using Oracle

When the basic connection is working, try out a simple script, testoci.php. Modify the connection details to suit your database and load it in a browser. This example lists all tables owned by the user HR:


$conn = OCILogon("hr", "hr_password", '//mymachine.mydomain:port/MYDB);

$query = 'select table_name from user_tables';

$stid = OCIParse($conn, $query);
OCIExecute($stid, OCI_DEFAULT);
while ($succ = OCIFetchInto($stid, $row)) {
foreach ($row as $item) {
echo $item." ";
}
echo "
\n";
}

OCILogoff($conn);

?>

Troubleshooting

The Oracle PHP Troubleshooting FAQ contains helpful information on connecting to Oracle.

Oracle's SQL*Plus command line tool can be downloaded from the Instant Client page to help resolve environment and connection problems. Also see the SQL*Plus Instant Client Release Notes.

Check the environment used by SQL*Plus is the same as shown by phpinfo.php.

Windows Help

If the phpinfo.php script does not produce an "oci8" section saying "OCI8 Support enabled", verify that "extension=php_oci8.dll" is uncommented in php.ini.

If PATH is set incorrectly or the Oracle libraries cannot be found, starting Apache will give an alert: "The dynamic link library OCI.dll could not be found in the specified path." The Environment section of the phpinfo() page will show the values of PATH and the Oracle variables actually being used by PHP.

If php.ini's extension_dir directive is not correct, Apache startup will give an alert: "PHP Startup: Unable to load dynamic library php_oci8.dll."

Linux Help

Carefully check config.m4 was patched correctly. If "configure" fails, check the config.log file. Revert config.m4, remove caches files, run ./buildconf --force and configure, and verify that the problems are related to the changes made.

Make sure the timestamp on "configure" is current. Remove any cache files and rebuild it if necessary.

Set all required Oracle environment variables in the shell that starts Apache.

For PHP 5.1.2 and Later

The "re-factored" OCI8 extension introduces new syntax for Instant Client support. The re-factored extension was first included in PHP 5.1.2. It is also available from pecl.php.net/package/oci8 and pecl4win.php.net/ext.php/php_oci8.dll for earlier versions of PHP.

If you have installed the Instant Client RPMs as described in this Technical Note, configure PHP with:

./configure \
--with-oci8=instantclient,/usr/lib/oracle/10.1.0.3/client/lib \
--prefix=$HOME/php --with-apxs=$HOME/apache/bin/apxs \
--enable-sigchild --with-config-file-path=$HOME/apache/conf

If you are using the Instant Client Basic and SDK zip files then change the --with-oci8 option to the unzipped directory, e.g:

--with-oci8=instantclient,$HOME/instantclient10_1

To tell if you have the re-factored extension, check the output of phpinfo(). It will show seven directives with an "oci8." prefix. These are not present in the previous incarnation.

Conclusion

I hope this article has been helpful. Questions and suggestions can be posted on the OTN Instant Client or PHP forums.


By Author: Christopher Jones, Consulting Technical Staff, Oracle Corporation( http://www.oracle.com)
Updated: January 2006

Oracle Database 10g: The Top 20 Features for DBAs

Join Oracle ACE Arup Nanda over the next 20 weeks as he presents his list of the top Oracle Database 10g features for database administrators
Download entire series as PDF
Read Release 2 addendum
Over the last 27 years, Oracle has made tremendous improvements in its core database product. Now, that product is not only the world's most reliable and performant database, but also part of a complete software infrastructure for enterprise computing. With each new release comes a sometimes dizzying display of new capabilities and features, sometimes leaving developers, IT managers, and even seasoned DBAs wondering which new features will benefit them most.
With the introduction of Oracle Database 10g, DBAs will have in their hands one of the most profound new releases ever from Oracle. So, DBAs who take the time to understand the proper application of new Oracle technology to their everyday jobs will enjoy many time-saving, and ultimately, money-saving new capabilities.
Oracle Database 10g offers many new tools that help DBAs work more efficiently (and perhaps more enjoyably), freeing them for more strategic, creative endeavors—not to mention their nights and weekends. Oracle Database 10g really is that big of a deal for DBAs.
Over the new 20 weeks, I will help you through the ins and outs of this powerful new release by presenting what I consider to be the top 20 new Oracle Database 10g features for database administration tasks. This list ranges from the rudimentary, such as setting a default tablespace for creating users, to the advanced, such as the new Automatic Storage Management feature.
In this series, I will provide brief, focused analyses of these interesting new tools and techniques. The goal is to outline the functions and benefits of the feature so that you can put it into action in your environment as quickly as possible.
I welcome your thoughts, comments, and questions about this series. Enjoy!
Begin the series now
Schedule
Week 1—Flashback Versions Query
Week 2—Rollback Monitoring
Week 3—Tablespace Management
Week 4—Oracle Data Pump
Week 5—Flashback Table
Week 6—Automatic Workload Repository
Week 7—SQL*Plus Rel 10.1
Week 8—Automatic Storage Management
Week 9—RMAN
Week 10—Auditing
Week 11—Wait Interface
Week 12—Materialized Views
Week 13—Enterprise Manager 10g
Week 14—Virtual Private Database
Week 15—Automatic Segment Management
Week 16—Transportable Tablespaces
Week 17—Automatic Shared Memory Management
Week 18—ADDM and SQL Tuning Advisor
Week 19—Scheduler
Week 20—Best of the Rest

Release 2 Features Addendum



by Arup Nanda

Five Steps to Effective Keyword Research

There's no getting around it. Keyword research is a vitally important aspect of your search engine optimization campaign. If your site is targeting the wrong keywords, the search engines and your customers may never find you, resulting in lost dollars and meaningless rankings. By targeting the wrong keywords, you not only put valuable advertising dollars at risk, you are also throwing away all the time and energy you put into getting your site to rank for those terms to begin with. If you want to stay competitive, you can't afford to do that.

The keyword research process can be broken down into the following phases:

Phase 0 - Demolishing Misconceptions
Phase 1 – Creating the list and checking it twice
Phase 2 – Befriending the keyword research tool
Phase 3 – Finalizing your list
Phase 4 – Plan your Attack
Phase 5 - Rinse, Wash Repeat

Phase 0 - Demolishing Misconceptions

Over the years, we've had the opportunity to work with a wide array of wonderful clients. And as different and diverse as their sites and the individuals running them may have been, many had one thing in common: they were self-proclaimed keyword research mavens right out of the gate.

Or so they thought.

One of the most common misconceptions about conducting keyword research for a search engine optimization campaign is the belief that you already know which terms a customer would use to find your site. You don't. Not without first doing some research anyway. You may know what your site is about and how you, the site owner, would find it, but it's difficult to predict how a paying customer would go about looking for it.

This is due to site owners evaluating their site through too narrow of a lens, causing them to come up with words that read like industry jargon, not viable keywords. Remember, your customer probably doesn't work in the same industry that you do. If they did, they wouldn't need you. When describing your site or product, break away from industry speak. Your customers aren't searching that way and if you center your site on these terms, they'll never find you.

Another misconception is that generic or "big dollar" terms are the most important for rankings, even if the term you're going after has nothing to do with your site. Imagine a women's clothing store trying to rank for the term "google". Sure, thousands of searchers probably type that word into their search bar daily, but they're not doing it looking for you. They're looking for Google. Being ranked number one for a term no one would associate with your site is a waste of time and money (and it may get you in trouble!). Your site may see a lot of traffic, but customers won't stick around.

Phase 1 – Creating the list and checking it twice

The initial idea of keyword research can be daunting. Trying to come up with the perfect combination of words to drive customers to your site, rev up your conversion rate and allow the engines to see you as an expert would easily give anyone a tension headache.

The trick is to start slowly.

The first step in this process is to create a list of potential keywords. Brainstorm all the words you think a customer would type into their search box when trying to find you. This includes thinking of phrases that are broad and targeted, buying and research-oriented, and single and multi-word. What is your site hoping to do or promote? Come up with enough words to cover all the services your site offers. Avoid overly generic terms like 'shoes' or 'clothes'. These words are incredibly difficult to rank for and won't drive qualified traffic to your site. Focus on words that are relevant, but not overly used.

If you need help brainstorming ideas, ask friends, colleagues or past customers for help. Sometimes they are able to see your site differently than the way you yourself see it. Also, don't be afraid to take a peek at your competitor's Meta Keyword tag. What words are they targeting? How can you expand on their keyword list to make yours better? It's okay to get a little sneaky here. All's fair in love and search engine rankings.

Phase 2 – Befriend the keyword research tool

Now that you have your list, your next step is to determine the activity for each of your proposed keywords. You want to narrow your list to only include highly attainable, sought-after phrases that will bring the most qualified traffic to your site.

In the early days of SEO, measuring the "popularity" of your search terms was done by performing a search for that phrase in one of the various engines and seeing how many results it turned up. As you can imagine, this was a tedious and ineffective method of keyword research. Luckily, times have changes and we now have tools to do the hard part for us.

By inputting your proposed keywords into a keyword research tool, you can quickly learn how many users are conducting searches for that term every day, how many of those searches actually converted, and other important analytical information. It may also tune you in to words you had previously forgotten or synonyms you weren't aware of.

There are lots of great tools out there to help you determine how much activity your keywords are receiving. Here's a few of our personal favorites:

Overture Keyword Selector Tool: Overture's Keyword Selector tools shows you how many searches have been conducted over the last month for a particular phrase and lists alternative search terms you may have forgotten about. Our only complaint with Overture is that they lump singular and plural word forms into one phrase. For example, "boots" and "boot" would appear under one category of "boot". This can sometimes cause problems.

Wordtracker: Wordtracker is a paid-use tool that lets you look up popular keyword phrases to determine their activity and popularity among competitors. Their top 1000 report lists the most frequently searched for terms, while their Competition Search option provides valuable information to determine the competitiveness of each phrase. This is very useful for figuring out how difficult it will be to rank for a given term. It may also highlight hidden gems that have low competition-rates, but high relevancy.

Trellian Keyword Discovery tool: This is a fee-based tool where users can ascertain the market share value for a given search term, see how many users search for it daily, identify common spellings and misspellings, and discover which terms are impacted by seasonal trends (mostly useful for PPC).

Google AdWords Keyword Tool: Google's keyword PPC tool doesn't provide actual search numbers for keywords. Instead, it displays a colored bar, giving users only an approximation. Still, it may be useful.

Google Suggest: Google Suggest is a great way to find synonyms and related word suggestions that may help you expand your original list.

Thesaurus.com: Again, another way to locate synonyms you may have forgotten.

If those don't tickle your fancy, we'd also suggest Bruce Clay's Check Traffic tool, which estimates the number of queries per day for that search term across the major search engines.

Keep in mind that you're not only checking to see if enough people are searching for a particular word, you're also trying to determine how competitive that phrase is in terms of rankings.

Understanding the competition tells you how much effort you will need to invest in order to rank well for that term. There are two things to pay attention to when making this decision: how many other sites are competing for the same word and how strong are those sites' rankings (i.e. how many other sites link to them, how many pages do they have indexed)? Basically, is that word or phrase even worth your time? If it's not, move on.

While you're testing your new terms, you may want to do a little housekeeping and test the activity for keywords your site is already targeting. Keep the ones that are converting and drop the losers.

Phase 3 – Finalizing your list

Now that you have your initial list of words and have tested their activity, it's time to narrow down the field and decide which terms will make it into your coveted final keyword list.

We recommend creating a spreadsheet or some other visual that will allow you to easily see each word's conversion rate, search volume and competition rate (as given to you by the tools mentioned above). These three figures will allow you to calculate how viable that term is for your site and will be a great aid as you try and narrow down your focus.

The first step in narrowing down your list is to go through and highlight the terms that most closely target the subject and theme of your web site. These are the terms you want to hold on to. Kill all words that are not relevant to your site or that you don't have sufficient content to support (unless you're willing to write some). You can't optimize for words that you don't have content for.

Create a mix of both broad and targeted keywords. You'll need both to rank well. Broad terms are important because they describe what your web site does; however, they won't increase the level of qualified traffic coming into your site.

For example, say you are a company that specializes in cowboy boots. It may be natural for your site to focus on the broad search terms "boots" and "cowboy boots". These words are important because they tell the search engines what you do and may increase your visitors, but the traffic you receive will be largely unqualified. Customers will arrive on your site still unsure of what kind of boots you sell. Do you offer traditional cowboy boots, stiletto cowboy boots, toddler cowboy boots, suede cowboy boots or women's cowboy boots? By only targeting broad terms, customers won't know what you offer until they land on your site.

Targeted terms are often easier to rank for and help bring qualified traffic. They also make you a subject matter expert to the search engines, since the targeted terms strengthen the theme created with the broader phrases. Sticking with our example, targeted terms for your cowboy boots site may be "men's cowboy boots", "blue suede cowboy boots", "extra-wide women's cowboy boots", etc. Broad search terms may bring you the higher levels of traffic, but it's targeted, buying-oriented terms like these that will maximize conversions.

Phase 4 – Plan your attack

So you made your list of about 10-20 highly focused keywords, now what do you do with them? You prepare them for launch!

Chances are, if you did your keyword research right, at least some of the words on your list already appear in your site content, but some of them may not. Start thinking about how many pages you'll need to create to support these new words, and how and where your keyword phrases will be used.

We typically recommend only going after three or four related keywords per page (five if you can balance them properly). Any more than that and you run the risk of diluting your page to the point where you rank for nothing. Make sure to naturally work the keywords into your content and avoid over-repetition that may be interpreted as spamming. Your content should never sound forced.

Your on-page content isn't the only place where you can insert keywords. Keywords should also be used in several other elements on your site:

* Title Tag
* Meta Description Tags
* Meta Keywords Tag
* Headings
* Alt text
* Anchor Text/ Navigational Links

You've spent a lot of time molding your keywords; make sure you use them in all the appropriate fields to get the maximum benefit.

Phase 5 - Rinse, Wash, Repeat.

Congratulations. Your initial keyword research process is behind you. You've created your list, checked it twice, made friends with the keyword research tools and are now off to go plan your attack. You're done, right?

Unfortunately, no. As your customer's and your site's needs change over time, so will your keywords. It's important to keep monitoring your keywords and make tweaks as necessary. Doing so will allow you to stay ahead of your competition and keep moving forward.
(by Lisa Barone, searchengineguide.com)

Oracle database

Developer:	Oracle Corporation
Latest release:	10g Release 2 / 2005
OS:	Cross-platform
Genre:	RDBMS
License:	Proprietary
Website:	www.oracle.com

An Oracle database consists of a collection of data managed by an Oracle database management system. Popular usage also uses the term to refer to the Oracle DBMS software, but not necessarily to a specific database under its control.

One can refer to the Oracle database management system unambiguously as Oracle DBMS or (since it manages databases which have relational characteristics) as Oracle RDBMS.

Oracle Corporation blurs the distinctions^{[citation needed]} between:

1. data managed by an Oracle RDBMS
2. an Oracle database, and
3. the Oracle RDBMS software itself

when it refers nowadays to the Oracle RDBMS (the software it sells for the purpose of managing databases) as the Oracle Database. The distinction between the managed data (the database) and the software which manages the data (the DBMS / RDBMS) relies, in Oracle's marketing literature, on the capitalisation of the word database.

Oracle Corporation produces and markets the Oracle DBMS, which many database applications use extensively on many popular computing platforms.

Larry Ellison and his friends and former co-workers Bob Miner and Ed Oates - who had started a consultancy called Software Development Laboratories (SDL) - developed the original Oracle DBMS software. They called their finished product Oracle after the code name of a CIA-funded project they had worked on while previously employed by Ampex.

Physical and logical structuring

An Oracle database comprises at least one instance, along with data storage. An instance comprises a set of operating system processes and memory structures that interact with the storage. Typical processes include PMON (the process monitor) and SMON (the system monitor).

Users of Oracle databases refer to the server-side memory-structure as the SGA (System Global Area). The SGA typically holds cache information such as data-buffers, SQL commands and user information. In addition to storage, the database consists of online redo logs (which hold transactional history). Processes can in turn archive the online redo logs into archive logs (offline redo logs), which provide the basis (if necessary) for data recovery and for some forms of data replication.

The Oracle RDBMS stores data logically in the form of tablespaces and physically in the form of data files. Tablespaces can contain various types of segments, for example, Data Segments, Index Segments etc. Segments in turn comprise one or more extents. Extents comprise groups of contiguous data blocks. Data blocks form the basic units of data storage. At the physical level, data-files comprise one or more data blocks, where the blocksize can vary between data-files.

Oracle database management keeps track of its data storage with the help of information stored in the SYSTEM tablespace. The SYSTEM tablespace contains the data dictionary — and often (by default) indexes and clusters. (A data dictionary consists of a special collection of tables that contains information about all user-objects in the database). Since version 8i, the Oracle RDBMS also supports "locally managed" tablespaces which can store space management information in bitmaps in their own headers rather than in the SYSTEM tablespace (as happens with the default "dictionary-managed" tablespaces).

If the Oracle database administrator has instituted Oracle RAC (Real Application Clusters), then multiple instances, usually on different servers, attach to a central storage array. This scenario offers numerous advantages, most importantly performance, scalability and redundancy. However, support becomes more complex, and many sites do not use RAC. In version 10g, grid computing has introduced shared resources where an instance can use (for example) CPU resources from another node (computer) in the grid.

The Oracle DBMS can store and execute stored procedures and functions within itself. PL/SQL (Oracle Corporation's proprietary procedural extension to SQL), or the object-oriented language Java can invoke such code objects and/or provide the programming structures for writing them.

Schemas

Oracle database conventions refer to defined groups of ownership (generally associated with a "username") as schemas.

Most Oracle database installations traditionally come with a default schema called SCOTT. After the installation process has set up the sample tables, the user can log into the database with the username scott and the password tiger. (The name of the SCOTT schema originated with Bruce Scott, one of the first employees at Oracle (then Software Development Laboratories), who had a cat named Tiger.)

Other default schemas include:

• SYS (essential core database structures and utilities)
• SYSTEM (additional core database structures and utilities, and privileged account)
• OUTLN (utilized to store metadata for stored outlines for query optimizer plan stability.
• BI, IX, HR, OE, PM, and SH (expanded sample schemas containing more data and structures than the older SCOTT schema)

Tablespaces

Default tablespaces include:

• SYSTEM (essential core database structures and utilities)
• SYSAUX (extra/extended data to supplement the SYSTEM schema)
• TEMP (temporary tablespace)
• UNDOTBS1 (undo tablespace)
• USERS (default users tablespace created by the Database Configuration Assistant - but replaceable by the DBA)

Memory architecture

System Global Area

Each Oracle instance uses a "System Global Area" or "SGA" — a "shared memory area" — to store its data and control information.

Each Oracle instance allocates itself an SGA when it starts and de-allocates it at shut-down time. The information in the SGA consists of the following elements, each of which has a fixed size, established at instance startup:

• The database buffer cache: this stores the most recently used data blocks. These blocks can contain modified data not yet written to disk (sometimes known as dirty blocks), unmodified blocks, or blocks written to disk since modification (sometimes known as clean blocks). Because the buffer cache keeps blocks based on a most-recently-used algorithm, the most active buffers stay in memory to reduce I/O and to improve performance.

• The redo log buffer: this stores redo entries — a log of changes made to the database. The instance writes redo log buffers to the redo log as quickly and efficiently as possible. The redo log aids in instance recovery in the event of a system failure.

• The shared pool: this area of the SGA stores shared-memory structures such as shared SQL areas in the library cache and internal information in the data dictionary. An insufficient amount of memory allocated to the shared pool can cause performance degradation. The shared pool consists of the library cache and the data-dictionary cache.

Library cache

The library cache stores shared SQL, caching the parse tree and the execution plan for every unique SQL statement.

If multiple applications issue the same SQL statement, each application can access the shared SQL area: this reduces the amount of memory needed and reduces the processing-time used for parsing and execution planning.

Data-dictionary cache

The data dictionary comprises a set of tables and views that map the structure of the database.

Oracle stores information here about the logical and physical structure of the database. The data dictionary contains information such as the following:

• User-information, such as user-privileges

• Integrity constraints defined for tables in the database

• Names and data-types of all columns in database tables

• Information on space allocated and used for schema objects

The Oracle instance frequently accesses the data dictionary in order to parse SQL statements. The operation of Oracle depends on ready access to the data dictionary: performance bottlenecks in the data dictionary affect all Oracle users. Because of this, database administrators should make sure that the data-dictionary cache has sufficient capacity to cache this data. Without enough memory for the data-dictionary cache, users see a severe performance-degradation. Allocating sufficient memory to the shared pool where the data-dictionary cache resides precludes these particular performance-problems.

Program Global Area

The Program Global Area or PGA memory area contains data and control information for the Oracle server processes.

The size and content of the PGA depends on the Oracle server options installed. This area consists of the following components:

• Stack space: the memory that holds the session's variables, arrays, and so on.

• Session information: unless using the multithreaded server, the instance stores its session information in the PGA. (In a multithreaded server, the session information goes in the SGA.)

• Private SQL area: an area in the PGA holding information such as bind-variables and runtime buffers.

History

Corporate and technical development

Larry Ellison founded Software Development Laboratories in 1977. In 1979 SDL changed its company-name to Relational Software, Inc. (RSI) and introduced its product Oracle V2 as an early commercially-available relational database system. The version did not support transactions, but implemented the basic SQL functionality of queries and joins. (RSI never released a version 1 - instead calling the first version version 2 as a marketing gimmick.)

In 1983, RSI in its turn changed its name, becoming known as Oracle Corporation to align itself more closely with its flagship product. The company released Oracle version 3, which it had re-written using the C programming language and which supported COMMIT and ROLLBACK functionality for transactions. Version 3 extended platform support from the existing Digital VAX/VMS systems to include Unix environments.

In 1984 Oracle Corporation released Oracle version 4, which supported read-consistency.

From 1985 the Oracle DBMS began supporting the client-server model, with networks becoming available in the mid-1980s. Oracle version 5.0 supported distributed queries.

In 1989 Oracle Corporation entered the application products market and developed its ERP product - Oracle Financials based on the Oracle relational database. Oracle RDBMS version 6 came out with support for PL/SQL, row-level locking and hot backups.

In 1992 Oracle version 7 appeared with support for referential integrity, stored procedures and triggers.

In 1997 Oracle Corporation released version 8, which supported object-oriented development and multimedia applications.

In 1999 Oracle8i came out, aiming to operate more in tune with the needs of the Internet (The i in the name stands for "Internet"). The Oracle 8i database incorporated a native Java virtual machine (JVM).

In 2001 Oracle9i appeared with 400 new features, including the ability to read and write XML documents. 9i also provided an option for Oracle RAC, or Real Application Clusters, a computer cluster database, as a replacement for the Oracle Parallel Server (OPS) option.

In 2003, Oracle Corporation released Oracle Database 10g. The g stands for "grid"; emphasizing a marketing thrust of presenting 10g as "grid-computing ready".

In 2005 Oracle Database 10.2.0.1 — also known as Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (10gR2) — appeared.

Version-numbers

Other Oracle products may become confused with the Oracle RDBMS — these have historically followed their own release-numbering and naming conventions. As of the RDBMS 10g release, Oracle Corporation seems to have started to make an effort to standardize all current versions of its major products using the "10g" label, although some sources often refer to Oracle Applications Release 11i as Oracle 11i. Major database-related products and some of their versions include:

• Oracle Application Server 10g (aka Oracle AS 10g) — a middleware product;
• Oracle Applications Release 11i (aka Oracle e-Business Suite, Oracle Financials or Oracle 11i) — a suite of business applications;
• Oracle Developer Suite 10g (9.0.4);
• Oracle JDeveloper 10g — a Java integrated development environment;

Oracle's numbering conventions have confused many people; they warrant a brief explanation. Since version 7, Oracle's RDBMS release numbering has used the following codes:

• Oracle7: 7.0.16 — 7.3.4
• Oracle8 Database: 8.0.3 — 8.0.6
• Oracle8i Database Release 1: 8.1.5.0 — 8.1.5.1
• Oracle8i Database Release 2: 8.1.6.0 — 8.1.6.3
• Oracle8i Database Release 3: 8.1.7.0 — 8.1.7.4
• Oracle9i Database Release 1: 9.0.1.0 released May 2002
• Codenamed "the last database"
• 9.0.1.5 (Latest current patchset as of December 2003)
• Oracle9i Database Release 2: 9.2.0.7 — 9.2.0.8 (Latest current patchset as of April 2007)
• Oracle Database 10g Release 1: 10.1.0.2 — 10.1.0.5 (Latest current patchset as of February 2006)
• Oracle Database 10g Release 2: 10.2.0.1 — 10.2.0.3 (Latest current patchset as of November 2006)

As of 2006 Oracle Corporation has started to discuss the proposed next major version of its database, which it provisionally terms "Oracle database 11g beta".

The version-numbering syntax within each release follows the pattern: major.maintenance.application-server.component-specific.platform-specific.

For example, "10.2.0.1 for 64-bit Solaris" means: 10th major version of Oracle, maintenance level 2, Oracle Application Server (OracleAS) 0, level 1 for Solaris 64-bit.

The Oracle Administrator's Guide offers further information on Oracle release numbers. Oracle Corporation provides a table showing the latest patch-set release by major release, operating-system and hardware-architecture.

List of firsts

Oracle Corporation has provided:

• the first commercially-available SQL-based database (1979)
• the first database to support symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) (1983)
• the first distributed database (1986)
• the first database product tested to comply with the ANSI SQL standard (1993)
• the first 64-bit database (1995)
• the first web database (1997)
• the first database to incorporate a native JRE (1998)
• the first commercial RDBMS to become available on Linux (August 1999)^{[citation needed]}
• the first database to support XML (1999)

Editions

Over and above the different versions of the Oracle database, Oracle Corporation subdivides its product into varying "editions" - apparently for marketing and licence-tracking reasons.

• Standard Edition (SE) contains base database functionality. Oracle Corporation licenses this product on the basis of users or of processors, typically for servers running from one to four CPUs. If the number of CPUs exceeds 4 CPUs, the user must convert to an Enterprise license. SE has no memory limits, and can utilize clustering with Oracle RAC at no additional charge.
• Enterprise Edition (EE) includes more features than the 'Standard Edition', especially in the areas of performance and security. Oracle Corporation licenses this product on the basis of users or of processors, typically for servers running 4 or more CPUs. EE has no memory limits, and can utilize clustering using Oracle RAC software.
• Standard Edition One, introduced with Oracle 10g, has some additional feature-restrictions. Oracle Corporation markets it for use on systems with one or two CPUs. It has no memory limitations.
• Express Edition ('Oracle Database XE'), introduced in 2005, offers Oracle 10g free to distribute on Windows and Linux platforms (with a footprint of only 150 MB and restricted to the use of a single CPU, a maximum of 4 GB of user data and 1 GB of memory). Support for this version comes exclusively through on-line forums and not through Oracle support.
• Oracle Personal Edition provides the functionality of the "high end" Enterprise Edition but marketed to (and licensed for) single-user developers working on personal workstations.
• Oracle Database Lite, intended to run on mobile devices. The database, partially located on the mobile device, can synchronize with a server-based installation.
• TimesTen, a memory-resident database that has the ability to cache transactions and synchronize data with a centralized Oracle database server. It functions as a real-time infrastructure software product designed for low latency, high-volume data, event and transaction management
• BerkeleyDB, high-performance, embedded database library

Host platforms

Prior to releasing Oracle9i, Oracle Corporation ported the database engine to a wide variety of platforms. More recently, Oracle Corporation has consolidated on a smaller range of operating-system platforms.

As of October 2006, Oracle Corporation supported the following operating systems and hardware-platforms for Oracle Database 10g:

• Apple Mac OS X Server: PowerPC
• HP HP-UX: PA-RISC, Itanium
• HP Tru64 UNIX: Alpha
• HP OpenVMS: Alpha, Itanium
• IBM AIX5L: POWER
• IBM z/OS: zSeries
• Linux: x86, x86-64, PowerPC, zSeries, Itanium
• Microsoft Windows: x86, x86-64, Itanium
• Sun Solaris: SPARC, x86, x86-64

Related software

For links to some of Oracle Corporation's software which integrates with Oracle databases, see the Oracle Corporation category and the Oracle software category pages.

Database options

Oracle Corporation refers to some extensions to the core functionality of the Oracle database as "database options". As of 2006 such options include:

• Advanced Security
• Content database
• Database Vault
• Data Mining (ODM)
• Label Security
• Management Packs (various)
• Oracle OLAP
• Partitioning
• Real Application Clusters (RAC)
• Records database
• Oracle Spatial
• Oracle Warehouse Builder (in various forms and sub-options)

In most cases, using these options entails extra licensing costs.

Suites

In addition to its powerful RDBMS, Oracle has released several related suites of tools and applications.

• Oracle Application Server, a J2EE-based application server, aids in developing and deploying applications which utilise Internet technologies and a browser.

• Oracle Collaboration Suite contains messaging, groupware and collaboration applications.

• Oracle Developer Suite contains software development tools, including JDeveloper.

• Oracle E-Business Suite collects together applications for enterprise resource planning (including Oracle Financials), customer relationship management and human resources management (Oracle HR).

• Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) used by database administrators (DBAs) to manage the DBMS, and recently in version 10g, a web-based rewrite of OEM called "Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control". Oracle Corporation has dubbed the super Enterprise Manager used to manage a grid of multiple DBMS and Application Servers as "Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control".

Database "features"

Apart from the clearly-defined database options, Oracle databases may include many semi-autonomous software sub-systems, which Oracle Corporation sometimes refers to as "features". Such "features" may include (for example):

• Data Aggregation and Consolidation
• Data Guard for high availability
• Flashback for selective data recovery and reconstruction
• Recovery Manager (rman) for database backup, restoration and recovery

See also the category "Oracle software" (linked below)

Standalone tools

Various tools address specific environments or specific market requirements.

Development of applications commonly takes place in Java (using Oracle JDeveloper) or through PL/SQL (using, for example, Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports). Oracle Corporation has started a drive toward 'wizard'-driven environments with a view to enabling non-programmers to produce simple data-driven applications.

Oracle SQL Developer, a free graphical tool for database development, allows developers to browse database objects, run SQL statements and SQL scripts, and edit and debug PL/SQL statements. It incorporates standard and customized reporting.

Getting started

Users new to Oracle who need to get databases up and running may check out the online documentation, the Oracle Technology Network site, and the comp.databases.oracle Usenet discussion group. The Oracle Technet site offers downloads of full-featured evaluation software. Users who have Oracle support contracts should turn to Oracle's Metalink web site (password required). Users can also check the Oracle FAQ site before posting questions to forums, mailing lists, etc. They can also log on to http://asktom.oracle.com to post questions to and get answers from Tom Kyte, the author of several Oracle books including Expert One-On-One Oracle (ISBN 1-59059-525-4).

The Oracle database has had a reputation among novice users as difficult to install on Linux systems. Oracle Corporation has packaged recent versions for several popular Linux distributions in an attempt to minimize installation challenges beyond the level of technical expertise required to install a database server.^{[citation needed]}

Oracle database in the market

Competition

In the market for relational databases, Oracle competes against commercial products such as IBM's DB2 UDB and Microsoft SQL Server. Oracle and IBM tend to battle for the mid-range market (especially on UNIX and Linux platforms), while Microsoft tends to compete in the low-end market (on Microsoft Windows platforms). However, since they share many of the same customers, Oracle and IBM tend to support each other's products in many middleware and application categories (for example, WebSphere, PeopleSoft, and Siebel Systems CRM), and IBM's hardware divisions work closely with Oracle on performance-optimizing server-technologies (for example, Linux on zSeries). The two companies have a relationship perhaps best described as "coopetition". Niche commercial competitors include Teradata (in data warehousing and business intelligence), Software AG's Adabas, Sybase, and IBM's Informix, among many others.

Increasingly, the Oracle database products compete against open-source relational databases, particularly PostgreSQL, Firebird, and MySQL. Oracle acquired Innobase, supplier of the InnoDB codebase to MySQL, in part to compete better in the open source market. Database products developed on the basis of the open-source model generally cost significantly less to acquire than Oracle databases. EnterpriseDB, based on PostgreSQL, has recently made inroads by proclaiming that its product delivers Oracle compatibility features at a much lower price.

Pricing

As of March 2006, the Enterprise Edition of the Oracle database sells at a list price of US$40,000 per machine-processor. Standard Edition comes cheaper - $15,000 per processor (it can run on up to 4 processors but has fewer features than Enterprise Edition — it lacks proper parallelization^{[citation needed]}, etc; but remains quite suitable for running medium-sized applications). Standard ONE edition sells even more cheaply - $5000 per processor (but limited to 2 CPUs). Standard Edition ONE sells on a per-seat basis, and costs $149 per user, with a 5-user minimum. Oracle Corporation usually sells the licenses with an extra 22% cost for support and upgrades (access to MetaLink - Oracle Corporation's support site) which customers need to renew annually.

Oracle Express Edition (Oracle XE), an addition to the Oracle database product family (beta version released in 2005, production version released in February 2006), offers a free version of the Oracle RDBMS, but one limited to 4 GB of user data and to 1 GB of RAM. XE will use no more than one CPU and lacks an internal JVM.

For exact pricing calculations see the Oracle price list, but telephoning a partner sales-representative can pay off because the prices can vary greatly depending on who does the buying. A good small-to-medium-sized technical Oracle Partner may have the resources to go to significant lengths to understand requirements, review architectures and make recommendations. This may help avoid the all-too-frequent case of technology-oversell.

As computers running Oracle often have eight or more processors, the software price can rise into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The total cost of ownership exceeds this, as Oracle databases usually require experienced and trained database administrators to do the set-up properly. Because of the product's large installed base and available training courses, Oracle specialists in some areas have become a more abundant resource than those for more exotic databases. Oracle frequently provides special training offers for database-administrators.

On Linux, Oracle's certified configurations include mostly commercial Linux distributions (RedHat Enterprise Linux 3 and 4, SuSE SLES8 and 9, Asianux) which can cost in a range from a few hundred to a few thousand USD per year (depending on processor-architecture and the support-package purchased). One can avoid paying for those distros by using free alternatives such as any RedHat Enterprise Linux clones (such as CentOS or White Box). Oracle can also run reliably on unsupported distributions, as installation instructions on this website suggest.

by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia