Top 10 New Features of ORACLE 23c

Oracle Database 23c Free – Developer Release is the first release of the next-generation Oracle Database, allowing developers a head-start on building applications with some of the new 23c features.
1. IMPROVED MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS
New improvements to Oracle In-Database Machine Learning algorithms make it simpler to categorize text and data while offering better performance and flexibility.

2. AZURE AD OAUTH2 INTEGRATION
New functionality enables single sign-on to Oracle Database service instances or on-premises Oracle Databases from Microsoft Azure Cloud.
3. DIRECT JOINS FOR UPDATE AND DELETE STATEMENTS
Join the target table in UPDATE and DELETE statements to other tables using the FROM clause. These other tables can limit the rows changed or be the source of new values.
Direct joins make it easier to write SQL to change and delete data.

4. IF [NOT] EXISTS SYNTAX SUPPORT
DDL object creation, modification, and deletion now support the IF EXISTS and IF NOT EXISTS syntax modifiers. This enables you to control whether an error should be raised if a given object exists or does not exist.
The IF [NOT] EXISTS syntax can simplify error handling in scripts and by applications.
5. NEW DATABASE ROLE FOR APPLICATION DEVELOPERS
The DB_DEVELOPER_ROLE role provides an application developer with all the necessary privileges to design, implement, debug, and deploy applications on Oracle databases.
By using this role, administrators no longer have to guess which privileges may be necessary for application development.
6. REAL-TIME SQL MONITORING ENHANCEMENTS
Real-time SQL Monitoring works independently and concurrently across multiple PDB containers in an efficient manner. SQL statements, PL/SQL procedures and functions, and DBOPs (Database Operations) are monitored at PDB and CDB levels. You can efficiently query SQL Monitor reports across ad-hoc time ranges, DBIDs (internal database identifiers), and CON_DBIDs (CDB identifiers). This data is also accessible through SQL History Reporting.
7. INCREASED MAXIMUM SIZE OF INLINE LOBS OF 8000 BYTES
LOB values are stored either in the table row (inline) or outside of the table row (out-of-line). The maximum size of the inline LOB is increased to 8000 bytes, allowing larger LOB values being stored inside a row. Earlier, the maximum size was 4000.
This provides better input-output performance while processing LOB columns. You can experience the improved performance while running operations, such as full table scans, range scans, and DML.

8. VECTORIZED QUERY PROCESSING: MULTI-LEVEL JOINS AND AGGREGATIONS
This feature enhances the In-Memory Deep Vectorization framework by fully exploiting SIMD capabilities to further improve hash join and group by aggregation performance. New optimizations include incorporating multi-level hash join support, full In-Memory group by aggregation support, and support for multi-join key and additional join methods.
This feature adds improvements in the performance of joins and aggregations, which are the foundations for analytic queries. This enables faster real-time analytic performance and requires no application SQL changes. This feature is automatically used when enabled, which is the default.
9. INCREASED ORACLE DATABASE PASSWORD LENGTH
Oracle Database now supports passwords up to 1024 bytes in length. In previous releases, the Oracle Database password length and the secure role password length could be up to 30 bytes.
10. SQL FIREWALL TO PREVENT SQL INJECTION ATTACKS
You can use SQL Firewall to detect anomalies and prevent SQL injection attacks. SQL Firewall examines all SQL, including session context information such as IP address and OS user. SQL Firewall logs and (if enabled) blocks unauthorized SQL. SQL Firewall is embedded into the database kernel, ensuring that it cannot be bypassed.
By enforcing an allow-list of SQL and approved session contexts, SQL Firewall can prevent many zero-day attacks. It reduces the risk of credential theft/abuse by enforcing session context information.