Difference between Database name & Global Database name in RDBMS

A few days before, the project requirement provoked me to migrate from Oracle 10G to Oracle 11G. While installing & configuration of the same As I came across some peculiar Tech jargons. I would like to share my viewpoints for the same.

This might be taken up as a simple interview questions by a group of DB geeks but for a beginner it may prove to be a point worth mentioning for the betterment of his understanding.

DATABASE NAME:

In an RDBMS, a Database name is an entity clearly defined inside a logical boundary of its Schema Namespace which holds a collection of multiple Tables depicting a relation amongst its fields represented by a pre-defined set of tuples that have same attributes.

GLOBAL DATABASE NAME:

It can be understood as something collectively comprising a Database Name along with the Domain on which its Running, which can be your Organization, Collage, University etc. domain or any other network  you are connected to. Usually a Global Database Name runs as a service in the background (denoted by SID) where multiple User-schemas can run concurrently without any intervention. Eg. Oracle 10 G, Oracle 11G has be default SIDs as xe and orcl respectively.

Note: Moreover, Database administrator may allocate different names to these SIDs at the time of installation of these products.