ORACLE Database Management System

Those parts of the pharmaceutical database which handle input and output of structural formulae, i.e., the registration of compounds, the data sheets, and part of the result output are implemented using MACCS-II. A typical data sheet output is shown in Figure 2. One of the features of MACCS-II which we heavily use is the interface to the ORACLE database management system. The example data sheet shown in Figure 2... 

MACCS-II enables direct interface with other database management systems, such as the Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) and Oracle, so that databases which contain text and numeric data for which special interfaces are normally needed can be constmcted. Eor example, an Oracle MACCS-II linked system is currendy being used by the National Institute on Dmg Abuse (113) to develop a database that will allow scientists to determine the molecular stmctures of cocaine and other controlled substances as well as designer dmgs. 

A database management system (DBMS) is used by most LIMS systems for storing data. Examples of commercially available DBMS are DB2, DBASE, Informix, INGRES, ORACLE, and RDB. AH of these DBMS conform to the "relational" model developed by Codd (19). Eigure 3 demonstrates the use of a relational DBMS for storing LIMS data. Here data is grouped by type so customer and analysis requests are stored separately from sets of sample information which are, in turn, stored separately from sets of analysis results. Individual records are linked or related by unique identification data. 

MACCS-II enables direct interface with other database management systems, such as Ihe Relational Database Management System RDBMS) and Oracle, so that databases that contain text and numeric data, for which special interfaces arc normally needed, can be constructed. 

When discussing validating databases, it is important to distinguish between a database and a Database Management System (DBMS). The DBMS is the layered software that provides the tools to build and use a database. For example, Oracle and Microsoft Access are two examples of a DBMS often used in pharmaceutical companies. 

Oracle and Access are two examples of relational database management systems. SAP , which has thonsands of tables, is an example of a large application that makes use of relational database technology. There are two other types of databases — hierarchical and network — but these are less common and generally limited to the mainframe world and will not be discussed here. This chapter will focus primarily on relational databases. 

ORACLE - Relational database management system, hardware supported DEC VAX, IBM, etc., available from Oracle Corporation, 20 Davis Drive, Belmont, CA 94002, U.S.A. 

The communication protocol is used by us for linking DARC with the external system ORACLE. It can however be used for every external system. This gives a freedom of choice regarding the database management system. Also direct use of DARC and ORACLE remains possible. 

Examples of the second technique are Beilstein (currently with SANDRA on PC), MACCS (for storage and retrieval of structural data) and DARC-SMS (for storage and retrieval of structural data). Both MACCS and DARC-SMS can be coupled with general Database Management Systems (ORACLE, 1032) to store descriptive data. Other examples are CCSD, the Cambridge Crystallographic Database, PDB, the Brookhaven... 

The database is managed by a relational database management system developed by the ORACLE Corporation, Belmont, California, USA. Unlike hierarchical database... 

Most clinical data management systems used for clinical trials today store their data in relational database software such as Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server. A relational database is composed of a set of rectangular data matrices called tables that relate or associate with one another by certain key fields. The language most often used to work with relational databases is structured query language (SQL). The SAS/ACCESS SQL Pass-Through Facility and the SAS/ACCESS LIBNAME engine are the two methods that SAS provides for extracting data from relational databases. 

All that changed in 1992 when Waters introduced its revolutionary new CDS product Millennium . This was the first commercially available CDS to use an embedded relational database (Oracle) to manage all aspects of the system. System security, user privileges, method versions and their respective results were all managed by the database. While this technology was new to CDS, it had been widely used by the Faboratory Information Management System (FIMS) market. All of the... 

The SGX Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) is based on an Oracle database platform. As an enterprise level relational database, Oracle is robust and can be expanded to meet any future needs. The expense to implement and maintain the database and to create the tools to retrieve the data stored within, including an administrator dedicated to managing the system, can be significant. At SGX, use of the LIMS to monitor all of our scientific activities reduces the incremental cost to the beamline to an acceptable level. 

We are very accustomed to using forms and reports, often prepared in a standard fashion for a particular application. Record-based models are computer implementations of these spreadsheet-like forms. Two types can be identified. The first of these, common in the early days of file processing systems (FPSs) or file management systems (FMSs), is the individual record model. This is little more than an electronic file drawer in which records are stored. It is useful for a great many applications. More sophisticated, however, is the relational database data model, in which mathematical relations are used to electronically cut and paste reports from a variety of files. Relational database systems have been developed to a considerable degree of sophistication, and many commercial products are available. Oracle and Informix are two leading providers. 

Generai database management (ORACLE, iNGRES, System 1032, iNQUiRE)... 

Systems Integration Technique used to manage the computing systems of companies that use multiple types of software, such as an Oracle database and Microsoft Office. 

Most in-house systems permit links to other database management software, in particular to relational database systems such as ORACLE, in order to integrate large amounts of textual or numeric data that already exist there with reaction databases. As many of the reaction retrieval systems mentioned here are able to import and export files in MolFile or RxnFile formats (originally proprietary file formats of MDL, later published), or in the SMD format, even exchange of reaction databases between different retrieval systems is often possible. ... 

The last horizontal application to be discussed here is the database. Although most of the desktop applications include a database, another class of database software exists—the database server. The responsibility of this software is to manage all databases on a network in a central location. The application software on the user desktop can then access this database. Database servers are not used in and of themselves they are often the platforms on which other systems, particularly vertical market systems, are built. The advantage of using database servers is that the server generally resides on a powerful computer, giving users fast access to the data they need. Some of the most popular database servers on the market include Oracle , Microsoft SQL Server , and IBM DB2 . 

A typical operating system is Windows 2000 or XP, although Linux is increasing in use. The operating system snpports other software components required for the application to operate inclnding a database, e.g., Oracle, and a front-end application to manage the operator interface, e.g., written in VB or Access. Other code, for example code to control instrumentation, motors or drives, may be cnstom written or standard code modules. 

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