Oracles in the Library All Library entries have an Oracle these days, although some of them still say nothing Even peripheral Library constituents -- a glossary, say -- often contain Oracular content For example, today's oracle might look like this: This afternoon's oracle: (For Sat Apr 18 17: 01: 39 1998 ; Source: Yow) I feel like I am sharing a ``CORN-DOG'' with NIKITA KHRUSCHEV See also: Entry for November 30, 1997
The proprietary name of the underlying database used by both the PMIS and Finance One Information is stored in the database and is retrieved from it using an application such as 'Finance One', 'Concept' or SQL
1 (esp in the ancient world) a shrine at which inquiries are made of a particular deity through a means of divination b the agency by which the inquiry is answered, as a priest or priestess c the typically terse, ambiguous response of the deity 2 a person who delivers authoritative and usu influential pronouncements 3 any utterance regarded as authoritative, unquestionably wise, or infallible
Based in Redwood, California, Oracle Corporation is the largest software company whose primary business is database products Historically, Oracle has targeted high-end workstations and minicomputers as the server platforms to run its database systems Its relational database was the first to support the SQL language, which has since become the industry standard
Also called "black box " An imaginary device that solves some computational problem immediately Note: An oracle is specified by the answers it gives to every possible question you could ask it So in some contexts, 'oracle' is more or less synonymous with 'input' - but usually an input so long that the algorithm can only examine a small fraction of it
A "sub-component" S of an adversary A living its own life independent of the adversary; A interacts with the oracle but cannot control its behavior Typically, S takes some parameters as input and outputs some other parameters (such as a bit string) For example, S can be a random oracle or a decryption oracle simulating the decryption primitive
{i} source of wise counsel; wise counsel; conveyor of divine messages; spiritual medium or channel; prophet, predictor; temple of a god (Mythology); divine message; prophecy or prediction; sacred inner court of the temple (Judaism)
Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, Oracle provides relational database products, development tools, and client/server applications For more information, see the Oracle homepage
In ancient Greece, an oracle was a priest or priestess who made statements about future events or about the truth. Source of a divine communication delivered in response to a petitioner's request. Ancient Greece and Rome had many oracles. The most famous was that of Apollo at Delphi, where the medium was a woman over 50 called the Pythia. After bathing in the Castalian spring, she apparently would descend into a basement cell, mount a sacred tripod, and chew the leaves of the laurel, sacred to Apollo. Her utterances, which were often highly ambiguous, were interpreted by priests. Other oracles, including those at Claros (Apollo), Amphicleia (Dionysus), Olympia (Zeus), and Epidaurus (Asclepius), were consulted through various other methods; for example, the oldest of the oracles, that of Zeus at Dodona, spoke through the whispering of the leaves of a sacred oak. At some shrines, the inquirer would sleep in the holy precinct and receive an answer in a dream
From the Latin orare, to speak or pray, a statement or prophecy uttered at a cultic shrine through a recognized intermediary (prophet, priest, shaman), often in the form of an enigmatic statement or allegory
A person through which otherworldly entities speak, similar to channeling Classically the oracle goes into a trance The word also refers to the message received People often see oracles to ask questions or to be given insights to their future In ancient Greece, the voices or mediums of the oracles were sybils, women priests, who lived in caves regarded as the shrines of deities The most famous Roman oracles were at Dodua, where Zeus was thought to give answers through the rustling of the oak leaves, and at Delphi, where Apollo supposedly spoke through a priestess In both cases, oracular responses came in such ambiguous ways that it was difficult to prove them wrong A famous Roman oracle was at Cumae, where the sibyl was said to have drawn inspiration from Apollo Oracles may also be dreams and visions The Urim and Thummim is called an oracle
An information processing operation that can be applied A use of the oracle is called a ``query'' In the oracle model of computation, a standard model is extended to include the ability to query an oracle Each oracle query is assumed to take one time unit Queries can reduce the resources required for solving problems Usually, the oracle implements a function or solves a problem not efficiently implementable by the model without the oracle Oracle models are used to compare the power of two models of computation when the oracle can be defined for both models For example, in 1994, D Simon showed that quantum computers with a specific oracle could efficiently solve a problem that had no efficient solution on classical computers with access to the classical version of At the time, this result was considered to be the strongest evidence for an exponential gap in power between classical and quantum computers
The answer of a god, or some person reputed to be a god, to an inquiry respecting some affair or future event, as the success of an enterprise or battle
Oracle is the world's leading supplier of software for information management Their relational database products use SQL See www oracle com for more details of their products
A person through which otherworldly entities can be communicated with, similar to channeling People often see oracles to ask questions or to be given insights to their future