The Oracle Story

                              No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house
                                                                                                                                                             Mathew 5:15

Oracle corporation, initially called Software Development Laboratories, was founded in 1977 by Larry Elison and Bob Miner, computer programmers at Ampex Corporation, an American electronics company along with Ed Oates, Elison's supervisor at Ampex. The idea for the relational database was inspired by a paper by Edgar F Codd that outlined a relational model. They had the vison of making this data management concept commercial as it arranged large amounts of data efficiently and also enabled quick retrieval. Thus the trio started developing the program based on Codds theory and in 1979 the company released Oracle, the earliest commercial relational database program using structured query language. 

Once he learned the skills and concepts for relational databases Larry Ellison began to pursue his dream to start a data management company now know as Oracle. In the early years it was in competition with IBM which was also in the race to develop a relational database at that time. The IBM database is IBM DB2. But of the two Oracle is more widely used and popular.

Its first customer was the US Air Force which used the program at its air force base.

Oracle has grown from its humble beginnings as one of a number of databases available in the 1970s to the overwhelming market leader today.

In 1978 the first Oracle software was born, written in assembly language running on PDP-11 under RSX-11 in 128K memory. The first Oracle version was never released and the implementation separated oracle code from user code. The name Oracle came from the code name of a CIA project that the three original founders Elison, Bob and Ed had worked on in Amex Corporation.

In the year 1979,they offered the first commercial SQL relational database management system. The second version of Oracle released ran on PDP-11 hardware and they named it as Oracle v2 to capture more customers and they starting promoting it on the VAX platform.

In 1984 the database software was ported to the PC platform with the MS-DOS version 4.1.4 running on 512K memory.

In 1985 it was released to operate in client-server mode.

Initial funding was through personal funding of its founders and Venture Capitalists and it went public in 1986 and was then financed through its IPO and since then it has not raised any additional funds through Venture Capitalist or private investors.

In 1987 UNIX-based Oracle applications were introduced and a year later Oracle v6 was released with hot backups, embedded PL/SQL procedural engine within the database and support for row-level locking. In 1988 Oracle induced PL/SQL. The growth in the company led to relocation of the world headquarters to Redwood Shores, California in 1989 and revenues reaching $584 million.

In 1989, Oracle moved its headquarters to Redwood City, California. 

In 1995, Oracle Systems Corporation changes its name to Oracle Corporation and it became the first large software company to report an internet strategy and offered the first 64-bit RDBMS.

In June 1998 Oracle v8 was released with internet technology, support for terabytes of data and SQL object technology. 

In 1998 they announced integrating a JVM with the oracle database and in September of that year Oracle 8i was release, with i standing for internet. 

In 1999 Oracle offered its first DBMS with XML support.

In 2010 Oracle Corporation acquired Sun Microsystems After the merger Oracle owned Sun's hardware product lines as well as Sun's software product lines including the JAVA programming language.

My tryst with JAVA

Oracle Corporation has now diversified into a range of services like Oracle cloud services, Oracle middleware, Oracle Beehive, Financial services, hardware systems etc.

Middleware includes weblogic server which is a J2EE server and Oracle fusion middleware.

Oracle applications include ERP, CRM and Human Capital Management HCM.

Cloud services include SaaS Software as a service, PaaS Platform as a Service, IaaS  Infracture as a Service and DaaS Database as a Service.

More on the history and the growth of the relational database can be found in the articles below

Key Events and Milestones 

Secrets to 50 years of relational database success: innovation, evolution

References 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oracle-Corporation 

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/database-systems-concepts/9788177585674/9788177585674_ch24lev1sec2.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_Corporation 

https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/oracle-company-overview-history-products/

https://content.dsp.co.uk/the-history-of-oracle-corporation-1977-2000

Thought for the day

Courage to continue matters more than success or failure.

--Winston Churchill

Dewdrops Aug 2026

Dewdrop #107 11-Aug-26

Develop and deploy a Spring web application

Dewdrop #108 17-Aug-26

A Springboot web application using basic HTML for Frontend UI

Dewdrop #109 18-Aug-26

A Springboot-React web application example.

God's Word for the day

Tests in Life

When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears,

  so do a person's faults when he speaks.

The kiln tests a potter's vessels;

  so the test of a person is in his conversation.

Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree;

  So a person's speech discloses the cultivation

of his mind.

  Do not praise anyone before he speaks,

For this is the way people are tested.`

Sirach 27:4-7

Gospel teachings of Jesus

Jesus Blesses little children

Then little children were being brought to him

  In order that he might lay his hands on them 

and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those

  who brought them; But Jesus said, "Let the 

little children come to me, and do not stop them.

  For it is to such as these that the kingdom of

heaven belongs." And he laid his hands on them

  and went on his way.

Mathew 19:13 - 15

A Springboot web application using basic HTML for Frontend UI

Below is an example of creating a springboot application with basic HTML for the front end.

The folder structure for this example is as below.

Here we need the thymeleaf artifactId to render HTML views.

springdemo/
│
├── pom.xml
└── src/
    └── main/
        ├── java/
        │   └── com/
        │       └── example/
        │           └── springdemo/
        │               ├── Application.java
        │               └── controller/
        │                   └── GreetingController.java
        └── resources/
            └── templates/
                └── greeting.html

The source code

Application.java

package com.example.springdemo;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class Application {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
    }
}

GreetingController.java

package com.example.springdemo.controller;

import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.ui.Model;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestParam;

@Controller
public class GreetingController {

    @GetMapping("/greeting")
    public String greeting(@RequestParam(name="name", required=false, defaultValue="World") String name, Model model) {
        // Pass the name variable to the HTML template
        model.addAttribute("name", name);
        
        // Returns the name of the HTML file (greeting.html)
        return "greeting";
    }
}

greeting.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns:th="http://thymeleaf.org">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Spring Boot Greeting</title>
</head>
<body>
    <!-- Thymeleaf replaces the placeholder text with the actual dynamic value -->
    <h1 th:text="'Hello, ' + ${name} + '!'">Hello, User!</h1>
</body>
</html>

pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://apache.org"
         xmlns:xsi="http://w3.org"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://apache.org https://apache.org">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <parent>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
        <version>3.2.5</version>
        <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
    </parent>

    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>springdemo</artifactId>
    <version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <name/>
    <description>Demo project for Spring Boot</description>

    <properties>
        <java.version>17</java.version>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <!-- Spring MVC for Web development -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Thymeleaf for rendering HTML views -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf</artifactId>
        </dependency>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
			<scope>test</scope>
		</dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

Run as below http://localhost:8080/greeting?name=John

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God's Word for the day

Reward and Retribution

If you pursue justice, you will attain it

  and wear it like a glorious robe.

Birds roost with their own kind, so honesty

  comes to those who practice it.

A lion lies in wait for prey;

  so does sin for evil doers.

Sirach 27:8-10

Gospel teachings of Jesus

The rich young man

Then someone came to him and said, 

  "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?"

And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good?

  There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life,

keep the commandments. He said to him, "Which ones?". 

  And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; you shall not commit

adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;

  Honor your Father and Mother; also, You shall love your

neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "I have kept

all these, what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you wish to

  be perfect, go, sell your possessions; and give the money to the

poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come follow me."

Mathew 19:16 - 21

Dewdrops Jul 2026

Dewdrop #106 20-Jul-26

Java : Using Maven to build and compile your HelloWorld application

God's Word for the day

Tests in Life

When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears,

  so do a person's faults when he speaks.

The kiln tests a potter's vessels;

  so the test of a person is in his conversation.

Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree;

  so a persons speech discloses the cultivation of his mind.

Do not praise anyone before he speaks,

  For this is the way people are tested.

Sirach 27:4-7

Gospel teachings of Jesus

The rich young man

Then someone came to him and said, "Teacher,

  what good deed must I do to have eternal life?

And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about

  what is good? There is only one who is good.

If you wish to enter into life, keep the 

  commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?"

And Jesus said, "You shall not murder; you shall

  not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You 

shall not bear false witness; Honor your father

  and mother; also You shall love your neighbor 

as yourself." The young man said to hime, "I have

  kept all these, what do I still lack?" Jesus said to

him, "If you wish to be perfect, go sell your

  possessions and give the money to the poor, and

you will have treasure in heaven. then come follow me."

Mathew 19:16 - 21

A Springboot-React web application example.

Define a Data Model (Java POJO)

Create a simple Java class representing the data you want to send.

Step 1: Generate the Project Structure

The fastest, standard way to bootstrap a Spring Boot application is using Spring Initializr. 

1. Open your web browser and navigate to start.spring.io. 
2. Configure the following project options:
• Project: Maven (or Gradle, if you prefer)
• Language: Java
• Spring Boot: Choose the latest stable, non-SNAPSHOT version
3. Fill out the Project Metadata:
• Group: com.example
• Artifact: springdemo
• Name: demo
• Package name: com.example.springdemo
• Packaging: Jar
• Java: Choose your installed version (Java 17 or 21 is highly recommended)
4. Click the Add Dependencies button on the right and add:
• Spring Web: Contains everything required to build RESTful APIs.
5. Click Generate at the bottom to download a .zip file of your project.

Extract the zipped folder to a location on your computer.

            Step 2: Open and Explore the Project

1. Launch your preferred IDE (IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, or VS Code).
2. Choose Open Project and select the root directory of the extracted folder.
3. Wait for your IDE to download the required Maven libraries.

Locate the main application class file inside src/main/java/com/example/demo/DemoApplication.java:

Step 3: Create the Package Structure and Data Model

Keep your code clean by organizing it into sub-packages.

1. Right-click on the com.example.demo folder in your IDE file tree.
2. Select New > Package and name it model.
3. Inside this new model package, create a new Java class file named User.java.
Copy and paste the following code to represent the structure of the data your API will return:

Step 4: Create the REST Controller

The controller exposes endpoints that handle incoming network requests from React. [1]

1. Right-click on the main package com.example.demo again.
2. Select New > Package and name it controller.
3. Inside this new controller package, create a new Java class file named UserController.java.

package com.example.demo.model;

public class User {
    private int id;
    private String name;
    private String email;

    // Constructor
    public User(int id, String name, String email) {
        this.id = id;
        this.name = name;
        this.email = email;
    }

    // Getters and Setters (Required for Spring to serialize data into JSON)
    public int getId() { return id; }
    public void setId(int id) { this.id = id; }

    public String getName() { return name; }
    public void setName(String name) { this.name = name; }

    public String getEmail() { return email; }
    public void setEmail(String email) { this.email = email; }
}

package com.example.demo.controller;

import com.example.demo.model.User;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.CrossOrigin;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api/users")
// Crucial: Allows your React development server on port 3000 to fetch this data safely
@CrossOrigin(origins = "http://localhost:5173")
public class UserController {

    @GetMapping
    public List<User> getAllUsers() {
        // Simulating mock data for demonstration
        return Arrays.asList(
                new User(1, "Alice Smith", "alice@example.com"),
                new User(2, "Bob Jones", "bob@example.com")
        );
    }
}

Add the code below to build your API route endpoints:

package com.example.demo;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class DemoApplication {

	public static void main(String[] args)
	{
		SpringApplication.run(DemoApplication.class, args);
	}

}

Step 5: Run and Test Your API

1. Open DemoApplication.java.
2. Click the green Play/Run icon next to the main method in your IDE.
3. Check your IDE's console terminal output at the bottom. You should see a log message confirming the server successfully started: Tomcat started on port 8080 (http).
4. Open your web browser or an API client like Postman.
5. Go to the URL: http://localhost:8080/api/users
6. You will see your raw array data printed cleanly as JSON data formatting:

[

  {"id":1,"name":"Alice Smith","email":"alice@example.com"},

                        {"id":2,"name":"Bob Jones","email":"bob@example.com"}

                    ]

Now for the Front End UI development

Install Node.js

Step-by-Step Installation

1. Run the Installer: Double-click the node-v24.18.0-x64.msi file on your computer.
2. Follow the Wizard: Click Next, accept the license agreement, and leave the default installation path unchanged.
3. Native Tools (Optional): If the installer asks to install "Tools for Native Modules" (Chocolatey), you can leave it unchecked for a basic React setup to speed up installation.
4. Finish: Click Install, then click Finish once complete.

Verify the installation on the command prompt with

node -v

Download and Install VisualStudio Code for your front end development IDE.

You can download from

Download Visual Studio Code - Free AI Code Editor for Mac, Linux, Windows

Step 1: Create a Fresh React Project

Open your Windows Command Prompt or PowerShell, navigate to the folder where you want to keep your project (e.g., cd Documents), and run these commands:

bash

# 1. Create the project using Vite (the modern, fast industry standard)

npm create vite@latest my-react-app -- --template react

 # 2. Navigate into your new project folder

cd my-react-app

 # 3. Install all default React packages

npm install

Step 2: Add Your UserList Component

1. Open the my-react-app folder in your code editor (like VS Code).
2. Inside the project folder, locate the src folder.
3. Inside the src folder, create a new file named UserList.jsx.
4. Paste the complete UserList.jsx React code we wrote earlier into this file and save it.

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function UserList() {
  // State to hold our user array from Spring Boot
  const [users, setUsers] = useState([]);
  // State to track if the network request is still loading
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  // State to catch and display any connection errors
  const [error, setError] = useState(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    // 1. Point to your precise Spring Boot URL endpoint
    fetch('http://localhost:8080/api/users')
      .then((response) => {
        // Check if the server responded with an error status (like 404 or 500)
        if (!response.ok) {
          throw new Error(`HTTP error! Status: ${response.status}`);
        }
        return response.json(); // Transform the raw JSON string into a JS array
      })
      .then((data) => {
        setUsers(data);        // Store the user array in state
        setLoading(false);     // Turn off the loading message
      })
      .catch((error) => {
        console.error('Error fetching users:', error);
        setError('Failed to load users from the server.');
        setLoading(false);
      });
  }, []); // Empty dependency array ensures this runs exactly once when component loads

  // 2. Conditional UI rendering based on the request state
  if (loading) return <p style={styles.message}>Loading user profiles...</p>;
  if (error) return <p style={{ ...styles.message, color: 'red' }}>{error}</p>;

  // 3. Render the fetched data into a clean HTML layout
  return (
    <div style={styles.container}>
      <h2 style={styles.heading}>Active Team Members</h2>
      <ul style={styles.list}>
        {users.map((user) => (
          <li key={user.id} style={styles.listItem}>
            <div>
              <strong style={styles.name}>{user.name}</strong>
              <span style={styles.email}>{user.email}</span>
            </div>
            <span style={styles.idBadge}>ID: {user.id}</span>
          </li>
        ))}
      </ul>
    </div>
  );
}

// Quick inline styling for visual layout
const styles = {
  container: { maxWidth: '500px', margin: '40px auto', padding: '20px', fontFamily: 'Arial, sans-serif' },
  heading: { textAlign: 'center', color: '#333' },
  list: { listStyleType: 'none', padding: 0 },
  listItem: { display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'space-between', alignItems: 'center', padding: '15px', margin: '10px 0', border: '1px solid #ddd', borderRadius: '6px', backgroundColor: '#f9f9f9' },
  name: { display: 'block', fontSize: '16px', color: '#222' },
  email: { fontSize: '14px', color: '#666' },
  idBadge: { backgroundColor: '#007bff', color: '#fff', padding: '4px 8px', borderRadius: '4px', fontSize: '12px' },
  message: { textAlign: 'center', fontSize: '18px', marginTop: '50px' }
};

export default UserList;

Step 3: Connect UserList to the Main App File

Open the existing src/App.jsx file in your editor, erase everything inside it, and replace it with this clean code to display your component:

App.jsx

import React from 'react';
import UserList from './UserList'; // Imports your user list logic

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <UserList />
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Step 4: Run Both Servers Simultaneously

1. Keep your Spring Boot app running in your IDE on port 8080.
2. Open your terminal in the React project directory and run your development server:

cmd

npm run dev

you will get output

> my-react-app@0.0.0 dev
> vite

  VITE v8.1.5  ready in 331 ms

  ➜  Local:   http://localhost:5173/
  ➜  Network: use --host to expose
  ➜  press h + enter to show help

pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
	<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
	<parent>
		<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
		<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
		<version>4.1.0</version>
		<relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
	</parent>
	<groupId>com.example</groupId>
	<artifactId>demo</artifactId>
	<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
	<name/>
	<description/>
	<url/>
	<licenses>
		<license/>
	</licenses>
	<developers>
		<developer/>
	</developers>
	<scm>
		<connection/>
		<developerConnection/>
		<tag/>
		<url/>
	</scm>
	<properties>
		<java.version>17</java.version>
	</properties>
	<dependencies>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webmvc</artifactId>
		</dependency>

		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webmvc-test</artifactId>
			<scope>test</scope>
		</dependency>
	</dependencies>

	<build>
		<plugins>
			<plugin>
				<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
				<artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
			</plugin>
		</plugins>
	</build>

</project>

Open your browser to 

http://localhost:5173 (or the custom port your React terminal displays). 

You will instantly see Alice Smith and Bob Jones pulled live from your Java application! 

God's Word for the day

The Temptations of Commerce

A merchant can hardly keep from wrongdoing,

  nor is a tradesman innocent of sin.

Many have committed sin for gain,

  and those who seek to get rich will avert their eyes

As a stake is driven firmly into a fissure between stones,

  so sin is wedged in between selling and buying.

If a person is not steadfast in the fear of the Lord,

  His house will be quickly overthrown.

Sirach 27:1 - 3

Gospel teachings of Jesus

Jesus Blesses little children

Then little children were being brought to Him,

  In order that he might lay His hands on them and pray.

The disciples spoke sternly to those who brough them;

  but Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do

not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom

  of heaven belongs." And he laid his hands on them and

went on his way.

Mathew 18:13 - 15