Because Oracle Database continues to evolve and can require maintenance, Oracle periodically produces new releases. Not all customers initially subscribe to a new release or require specific maintenance for their existing release. As a result, multiple releases of the product exist simultaneously.
As many as five numbers may be required to fully identify a release. The significance of these numbers is discussed in the sections that follow.
Release Number Format：
To understand the release nomenclature used by Oracle, examine the following example of an Oracle Database release labeled "11.2.0.1.0".
Major Database Release Number
The first digit is the most general identifier. It represents a major new version of the software that contains significant new functionality.
Database Maintenance Release Number
The second digit represents a maintenance release level. Some new features may also be included.
Fusion Middleware Release Number
The third digit reflects the release level of Oracle Fusion Middleware.
Component-Specific Release Number
The fourth digit identifies a release level specific to a component. Different components can have different numbers in this position depending upon, for example, component patch sets or interim releases.
Platform-Specific Release Number
The fifth digit identifies a platform-specific release. Usually this is a patch set. When different platforms require the equivalent patch set, this digit will be the same across the affected platforms.
Checking Your Current Release Number
To identify the release of Oracle Database that is currently installed and to see the release levels of other database components you are using, query the data dictionary view PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION. A sample query follows. (You can also query the V$VERSION view to see component-level information.) Other product release levels may increment independent of the database server.
COL PRODUCT FORMAT A40 COL VERSION FORMAT A15 COL STATUS FORMAT A15 SELECT * FROM PRODUCT_COMPONENT_VERSION; PRODUCT VERSION STATUS ---------------------------------------- ----------- ----------- NLSRTL 11.2.0.0.1 Production Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition 11.2.0.0.1 Production PL/SQL 11.2.0.0.1 Production ...
It is important to convey to Oracle the results of this query when you report problems with the software.
