When working with unstructured data, there is a major requirement to work with the operating system. The Oracle Database cannot handle a variety of multimedia objects, and handling unstructured data will likely require external processing.
There are two key methods for achieving this. The first involves shelling out of the database and invoking an operating system executable. The second involves calling an Oracle cartridge, which is linked to an external program, which then does the processing.
The cartridge is more complicated to develop and is operating-system specific. It can be built in C or in Windows using the .Net Framework. The .Net Framework uses a special purpose cartridge supplied with the database that can dynamically call a .Net program. This requires the use of Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC)(1).
The goal of this chapter is to describe the methods for shelling out of the database and techniques for working with the Unix and Windows...