Preface

Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database (TimesTen) is a relational database that is memory-optimized for fast response and throughput. The database resides entirely in memory at runtime and is persisted to the file system.

  • Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database in classic mode, or TimesTen Classic, refers to single-instance and replicated databases (as in previous releases).

  • Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database in grid mode, or TimesTen Scaleout, refers to a multiple-instance distributed database. TimesTen Scaleout is a grid of interconnected hosts running instances that work together to provide fast access, fault tolerance, and high availability for in-memory data.

  • TimesTen alone refers to both classic and grid modes (such as in references to TimesTen utilities, releases, distributions, installations, actions taken by the database, and functionality within the database).

  • TimesTen Cache is ideal for caching performance-critical subsets of an Oracle database into cache tables within a TimesTen database for improved response time in the application tier. Cache tables can be read-only or updatable. Applications read and update the cache tables using standard Structured Query Language (SQL) while data synchronization between the TimesTen database and the Oracle database is performed automatically.

  • TimesTen Replication features, available with TimesTen Classic or TimesTen Cache, enable high availability.

TimesTen supports standard application interfaces JDBC, ODBC, and ODP.NET; Oracle interfaces PL/SQL, OCI, and Pro*C/C++; and the TimesTen TTClasses library for C++.

Audience

This document provides a reference for TimesTen SQL data types, statements, expressions, functions, including TimesTen SQL extensions.

To work with this guide, you should understand how database systems work. You should also have knowledge of SQL (Structured Query Language).

Related documents

TimesTen documentation is available on the TimesTen documentation website.

Oracle Database documentation is also available on the Oracle documentation website. This may be especially useful for Oracle Database features that TimesTen supports but does not attempt to fully document.

Conventions

TimesTen supports multiple platforms. Unless otherwise indicated, the information in this guide applies to all supported platforms. The term Windows refers to all supported Windows platforms. The term UNIX applies to all supported UNIX platforms. The term Linux is used separately. Refer to "Platforms and compilers" in Oracle TimesTen In-Memory Database Release Notes (README.html) in your installation directory for specific platform versions supported by TimesTen.

Note:

In TimesTen documentation, the terms "data store" and "database" are equivalent. Both terms refer to the TimesTen database.

This document uses the following text conventions:

Convention Meaning

boldface

Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.

italic

Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for which you supply particular values.

monospace

Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

italic monospace

Italic monospace type indicates a placeholder or a variable in a code example for which you specify or use a particular value. For example:

LIBS = -Ltimesten_home/install/lib -ltten

Replace timesten_home with the path to the TimesTen instance home directory.

[ ]

Square brackets indicate that an item in a command line is optional.

{ }

Curly braces indicated that you must choose one of the items separated by a vertical bar ( | ) in a command line.

|

A vertical bar (or pipe) separates alternative arguments.

. . .

An ellipsis (. . .) after an argument indicates that you may use more than one argument on a single command line.

% or $

The percent sign or dollar sign indicates the UNIX shell prompt, depending on the shell that is used.

#

The number (or pound) sign indicates the UNIX root prompt.

TimesTen documentation uses these variables to identify path, file and user names:

Convention Meaning

installation_dir

The path that represents the directory where the current release of TimesTen is installed.

timesten_home

The path that represents the home directory of a TimesTen instance.

release or rr

The first two parts in a release number, with or without dots. The first two parts of a release number represent a major TimesTen release. For example, 221 or 22.1 represents TimesTen Release 22.1.

DSN

The data source name.

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