The Rise of Oracle and the Evolution of the Database Industry

Author Jiang Hongjun (CSDN Cloud Computing) introduces a recommended reading on the history of Chinese databases and notes that the references at the end are valuable.

In 2018, Oracle founder Larry Ellison claimed that Oracle's databases are "fully autonomous" while Amazon's are only "semi‑autonomous," likening them to half‑self‑driving cars. Ellison's bold statements and flamboyant personality are highlighted throughout the narrative.

The article uses Ellison's life story as a lens to explore the evolution of database technology, beginning with early hierarchical (IBM IMS) and network (CODASYL) models of the 1960s and 1970s, and the seminal 1976 IBM research paper "The R‑System: Relational Database Theory" that launched the relational era.

Ellison read this paper, convinced his team to build a relational DBMS, and founded Oracle, naming the product after a CIA project. Early Oracle focused on aggressive sales, achieving double‑digit annual growth from 1977 to 1984.

The piece then follows Oracle's rivals: Borland (later acquired Ashton‑Tate’s dBASE), Sybase (which partnered with Microsoft), and other emerging vendors such as Informix, Visual FoxPro, and later MySQL, PostgreSQL, Ingres, and InterBase.

Key competitive moments include IBM’s delayed DB2 release, Oracle’s rapid adoption of row‑level locking and PL/SQL in Oracle 6, and Sybase’s rapid expansion and eventual acquisition by SAP.

Ellison’s confrontational stance toward Microsoft and Bill Gates is recounted, including public taunts, advertising campaigns, and strategic moves like the Network Computer (NC) alliance, which aimed to bypass traditional PCs.

The narrative also covers the rise of open‑source databases: MySQL’s origins by Michael "Monty" Widenius, its acquisition trail (Sun → Oracle), and the broader ecosystem of PostgreSQL, Ingres, and InterBase.

Finally, the article examines the shift toward cloud computing, noting Amazon AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle’s own cloud ambitions, as well as Ellison’s 2016 declaration to challenge Amazon’s dominance. It concludes with a list of references that document the historical claims.