Oracle Database

Oracle User-Defined Functions

Michael Mikhailidi

• 1 min read
Oracle User-Defined Functions
Photo by Frans Vledder / Unsplash

Last week, I presented to the Quest Oracle Community SIG on using Oracle User-Defined Functions and Oracle OCI Functions and how they could be instrumental in battling technology debt.

The entire presentation is available on the community site. Unfortunately, access to the video requires registration, so here are a few points that will help you decide whether to watch it.

  • Plenty of companies have grown their infrastructure over the decades. Although they may no longer use mainframes or good old-school hardware servers, some mission-critical processes rely on Oracle PL/SQL business logic and direct communications.
  • For such systems, migration to the cloud would require significant investments in overall modernization and increased cloud expenses to achieve comparable functionality.
  • The prospect of the unsuccessful, expensive "big-bang" upgrade of the mission-critical systems makes companies hold such systems as is, increasing technology debt and pushing stakes even higher.

Now, on that side note, let me introduce Oracle Database User-Defined Functions (UDF), which allows Oracle Database 19c and higher access to external providers, such as external dynamic libraries, cloud serverless functions such as Oracle OCI Functions, AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and other essential cloud services.

For such a massively overseen feature, the potential of the Oracle UDF is enormous:

  • You can use Oracle UDF on-premises and for the Cloud services, including Autonomous Database offerings.
  • You can keep your existing ecosystem and refactor the integration parts at the pace and scale that aligns with your modernization plans.
  • You externalize your database-centric process and make it available for other systems and applications.
  • The ability to choose from various database deployment options, including budget-friendly, fully managed Autonomous Database services.

Additionally, to the presentation recording you may find useful the related resources: