I did a simple benchmark for the 3 main databases (Oracle 11g, MySQL 5.1, SQL Server 2008) to see how using ODBC compares to using their native providers in .NET for all database access. To keep things on an even playing field, all 3 databases were run on the same machine, with the exact same database name, table name, and schema. Database authenticaton was used by all databases.

I’ve created a tool to help test different connection strings and settings for the various databases. The information out there on certain database connection types is poor at best so this was put together over a week long process of testing and reverse engineering. A lot of forums and blog posts were pieced together to figure all of this out.

This is a quick list of tips to keep in mind when working with Oracle (being a complete Oracle newb, I wish someone would have put these up on a blog instead of having to search for them).

Getting setup to do SQL commands Oracle
In the Oracle Enterprise Manager Console, you can do "straight-SQL" to Oracle. Click on the left icon "Database Applications". It will expand out to show a few icons. Click on the "SQL+ Plus Worksheet". This will open a SQL editor similar to SQL Server Enterprise Manager's (well, not that similar because Oracle's tools suck).