How to get into Oracle development?

Question

I'm a .net/c# developer but I need to set up an Oracle development rig. I have no clue about Oracle, and was hoping for some advice. Here are some things I'm interested in:

• What is licensing like? Is it possible to get copies of Oracle products for development just like we get SQL Server from MSDN?
• What operating system should I have on the primary server machine? Are specs important?
• What is the current state of play regarding .Net-Oracle interoperation? Are there any tools worth checking out?

Thanks for you answers, and sorry for such a newbie-level question.

Answer 1

A good place to start might be with the Express Edition: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/express-edition/overview/index.html

It's free and lets you play around and get a feel for things. As others have mentioned, you can also get test versions of some of the enterprise stuff.

It runs on Widnows (so you won't need to install new OS's), on most desktop machines. I find that I need about 2 gigs of RAM to run Oracle and other tools comfortably, but YMMV.

Installation and server management are through a web app that it comes bundled with, though Oracle also has as free SQL Developer tool ( http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/sql_developer/index.html ) you can use (which I prefer).