Edition-Based Redefinition

Upgrading critical applications can be very difficult. One of the main problems is that for reasons of availability, long downtimes cannot be periodically scheduled. Therefore, for such applications, it is desirable to implement online upgrades. This requires that the application in question, as well as any software used by the application (e.g. the database engine) all support online upgrades. Oracle has recognized this problem for years. Unfortunately, up to and including Database 11g Release 1, only a limited number of features have been implemented for that purpose. As of Oracle Database 11g Release 2, this situation has changed greatly. With edition-based redefinition, Oracle Database offers real support for implementing online upgrades. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of this new feature.
Download full article: http://antognini.ch/papers/EditionBasedRedefinition20101204.pdf