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Oracle® Database SQL Reference 10g Release 2 (10.2) Part Number B14200-02 |
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# Recent Enhancements

The Oracle Database SQL engine is the underpinning of all Oracle Database applications. Oracle SQL continually evolves to meet the growing demands of database applications and to support emerging computing architectures, APIs, and network protocols.

In addition to traditional structured data, SQL is capable of storing, retrieving, and processing more complex data:

- Object types, collection types, and REF types provide support for complex structured data. A number of standard-compliant multiset operators are now supported for the nested table collection type.

- Large objects (LOBs) provide support for both character and binary unstructured data. A single LOB can reach a size of 8 to 128 terabytes, depending on database block size.

- The `XMLType` datatype provides support for semistructured XML data.

Native support of standards-based capabilities includes the following features:

- Native regular expression support lets you perform pattern searches on and manipulate loosely formatted, free-form text within the database.

- Native floating-point datatypes based on the IEEE754 standard improve the floating-point processing common in XML and Java standards and reduce the storage space required for numeric data.

- Built-in SQL aggregate and analytic functions facilitate access to and manipulation of data in data warehouses and data marts.

Ongoing enhancements in Oracle SQL will continue to provide comprehensive support for the development of versatile, scalable, high-performance database applications.