Chapter 10. Managing Tablespaces and Data Files

Terms you'll need to understand:

• DBA_TABLESPACES

• V$TABLESPACES

• DBA_DATA_FILES

• V$DATAFILE

• DBA_TEMP_FILES

• V$TEMPFILE

• CREATE TABLESPACE

• ALTER TABLESPACE

• ALTER DATABASE

Concepts you'll need to master:

• Describe the logical structure of the database.

• Create tablespaces.

• Alter the size of an existing database.

• Allocate space for temporary segments.

• Change the status of tablespaces.

• Change storage settings of tablespaces.

• Implement tablespaces with Oracle Managed Files.

All databases are made up of one or more tablespaces. The single absolutely required tablespace is the SYSTEM tablespace; however, typically many other tablespaces are associated in the database. This chapter addresses the creation, deletion, and maintenance of the tablespaces associated with the database.

Although it is technically true that you really need only the SYSTEM tablespace to have a functional database, it is also true that Oracle suggests that you not store user data in the SYSTEM tablespace. So if you want a functional database, you really don't have much choice but to create additional tablespaces. The addition of more tablespaces gives you more flexibility in administration operations and reduces contention on the data dictionary objects, schema objects, or for the same data files. In this chapter, we look at the creation and maintenance of tablespaces and their data files and the issues surrounding them.