Advantages & Disadvantages of Oracle SQL

Oracle SQL Developer is a free integrated development environment that simplifies the development and management of Oracle Database. SQL Developer offers complete end-to-end development of your PL/SQL applications, a worksheet for running queries and scripts, a DBA console for managing the database, a reports interface, a complete data modeling solution, and a migration platform for moving your 3rd party databases to Oracle.

Oracle SQL (structured query language) is a computer language that is designed to manage data stored in RDBMS (relational database management systems) databases. An RDBMS is a system of tables that store data and represents the relationships between them. SQL has various structural elements, including clauses, expressions, queries, statements and predicates. Oracle SQL is commonly used for the management of data stored in Oracle databases (also called Oracle RDBMS or simply Oracle).

Oracle SQL Developer is a free graphical tool for database development. With SQL Developer, you can browse database objects, run SQL statements and SQL scripts, and edit and debug PL/SQL statements. You can also run any number of provided reports, as well as create and save your own. SQL Developer enhances productivity and simplifies your database development tasks.

     Advantage: Centralized Management System and Control

• Oracle SQL statements allow data to be controlled from a central tabular repository. A database administrator (DBA) is responsible to create users, assign privileges, add records, delete redundant information, modify existing data and process queries. This centrally stored data is shared and accessed by various applications. This eliminates data entry and data storage redundancy.

     Advantage: Standardization

• A major advantage of Oracle SQL is its standardization and consistency among various different implementations. SQL was first standardized by ANSI (American Standards Institute) in 1986, and further ratified in 1987 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), which remains its standardization body.
  
  
          Disadvantage: Inability to Implement Recursive Processing

• According to "SQL for Dummies," one of the major drawbacks of SQL is its incapability to execute recursive processing. Recursive processing is a type of computer function (or program) in which one of the steps of a program (or procedure) reruns the entire program (or procedure). SQL lacks looping constructs that are common in other high-level programming languages, such as for and what loops. It cannot repeat actions and there is no way to define repetitive looping constructs in SQL.

  Disadvantage: Incompatibility and Complexity

• One of the major disadvantages of Oracle SQL is inconsistency and data incompatibility in the areas of time and date syntax, string concatenation and case sensitivity. The language is complex, with a keyword approach similar in structure to COBOL (common business-oriented language), with fewer syntax and grammar rules.

  Disadvantage: Limited Functionality

• SQL is a domain specific or special-purpose language, and its use is limited to a specific program domain. SQL statements are operated on tables and sets of data, such as personnel databases and accounting spreadsheets. SQL is a declarative domain specific language that is limited to the tabular representation of data.

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