Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Oracle XE 12c becomes Oracle XE 18c

Oracle Database, Express Edition (XE) is a free version of the Oracle Database, currently available as version 11g (11.2) for Windows and Linux.
A planned new version of Oracle XE based on 12c (12.2) was first mentioned back in 2013. Now we are in 2017 and Oracle has changed its version numbering, aiming for yearly releases of the database, which means that after 12c comes 18c (in 2018) and 19c (in 2019) and so on.

According to information coming out at this year's Oracle OpenWorld, the next version of Oracle Database Express Edition (XE) will therefore be Oracle XE 18c.

Below are the details known so far about this upcoming version. Disclaimer: I've collected this information from tweets and blogs, so nothing is official yet. Time will tell as to what is true. UPDATE: Gerald Venzl from Oracle has confirmed the below to be "all true" :-)

  • The next version of Oracle Express Edition (XE) will be 18c. (Source: Chris Saxon, Twitter)
  • Oracle XE 18c is expected in Q1 of 2018. (Source: AMIS blog). UPDATE: Oracle XE 18c "is currently planned between March and August 2018 and might change". (Source: Gerald Venzl, Twitter)
  • There will be yearly releases of Oracle Express Edition (XE), ie Oracle XE 19c in 2019, etc. (Source: Franck Pachot, Twitter).
  • There will be simultaneous releases of XE for Linux and Windows. (Source: Gerald Venzl, Twitter)
  • Limits for XE 18c will be 2 GB of memory, 12GB of storage (with basic/advanced compression bringing real capacity up to around 40GB), 2 CPUs and 4 pluggable databases. (Source: AMIS blog and Lucas Jellema, Twitter)
  • Express Edition (XE) will actually include "nearly all" of the features from Enterprise Edition (EE)! (Source: Franck Pachot, Twitter and Chris Saxon, Twitter).
  • Express Edition (XE) will still be free for both development and production. (Source: Chris Saxon, Twitter).
  • There will be no support (except through community/forums) for XE, and no bug fixes/patches. Still, with a yearly release cycle that means bugs will be fixed by upgrading to the latest release. (Source: Franck Pachot and Bob Bryla, Twitter)


If most, or even some, of the above is true, this is really great news! I understand we should thank Gerald Venzl at Oracle for this, as he is the guy working on bringing us all this goodness! Thanks in advance, Gerald! :-)





13 comments:

  1. Hi,
    ... "nearly all" ... does that mean: Java will be part of it?
    Can you tell something about it...
    Thanks
    Regards
    Andre

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  2. You are very welcome! I hope the community will enjoy the upcoming XE releases.

    And yes, Java (OJVM) will be part of it!

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  3. Hi Gerald,
    dont' be too modest. (Although I like modest people.)
    They will enjoy it - for sure.
    Thanks you and best regards
    Andre

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  4. Hi,

    Is there a limit on the number of instances per physical / virtual host?

    Thanks, Markus

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  5. The limit of instances per host will very likely remain the same as to one instance per host.

    We saw a lot of excitement including all functionality in Oracle XE going forward.
    If you are on Twitter and are reading this within the next 7 days, please vote on and share this tweet: https://twitter.com/GeraldVenzl/status/921383624452087808

    Oh, and Andre: Modesty is an attribute I too do appreciate. :)

    Thanks,

    Gerald

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  6. Awesome! Thanks! Great news for apex developers :)

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  7. I am really looking forward to the XE 18 version and welcome this "open approach" from Oracle's side.
    Seeing the new REST capabilities in the upcoming APEX 5.2, it will be important to communicate encrypted (using HTTPS) out of the database.
    Is it planned that the XE 18 can do this (Oracle Wallet...) ?

    Brgds
    Martin

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  8. Oracle XE 18c, Oracle Apex free cloud service.. How hard it is for oracle to release them? I can see why amazon is making more money than oracle in platform as service..

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  9. And a big thanks to Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition. Because of them Oracle developed the XE version and because SQL Server Express Edition 2017 version that offers 2 GB of RAM, 10 GB of disk space, 4 cores, and row level security, the next XE version will offer similar features. Good to have competition!

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  11. AnonymousMay 25, 2018

    Hello, Does XE 18c include Spatial?

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  12. Can OEM be used to provide Tuning and Diagnostic analysis for the XE databases without licensing the management packs?
    Thanks,
    Frank

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  13. If don't find any official statement, whether activating the Diagnostic and tuning option with alter system set control_management_pack_access='DIAGNOSTIC+TUNING'; is allowed without licensing
    Thanks
    Bob

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