Oracle query tool simplifies access to large databases
Andy Patrizio
Oracle Corp. began shipping Discoverer/2000 late last month, a database query and analysis tool designed to simplify the task of retrieving and analyzing data from large databases.
The End User Layer in Discoverer/2000 hides database structures and SQL queries from the user and presents the data in a spreadsheetlike format, said Dennis Moore, vice president of product marketing for Oracle, in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Discoverer/2000 uses a feature in the Oracle7.2 database that allows queries to be run in the background without locking up the computer, Moore said. The database receives the query, retrieves data, and sends it back to the client PC, where Discoverer/2000 displays it in a spreadsheetlike table, he said. The data can be cut and pasted into other applications.
With the Data Query tool, users can put together a business query without having to know how their own database is set up.
"Because it protects users from needing to know anything about databases, even the schema of their own database, it dramatically reduces training time. Users can be productive immediately," Moore said. When one comparison query is done, a user can quickly change the query to get another view of the data, Moore added. An example of changing a query would be to switch from sales by state to sales by region by selecting the new area rather than the usual method of creating a whole new query, he explained.
Discoverer/2000 comes with native drivers for Oracle and Rdb, and Open Database Connectivity drivers for databases from Microsoft Corp., Sybase Inc., Informix Software Inc., and Computer Associates International Inc.
The ease of use was what sold one customer. "We chose it because it's got a very good end-user interface and because it gives us the ability to do what I call tactical decision support, which allows us to look at and analyze the data in our data warehouse quickly and easily with non-technical users," said Steve Warsop, a project manager with National Power plc, a power company in Swindon, England.
Discoverer/2000 for Microsoft Windows, priced at $395, is available now from Oracle and its resellers. A Motif-based version for all major Unix platforms is due in the third quarter. A Macintosh version is due in the fourth quarter.
Oracle can be reached at (415) 506-7000.