Fans of Oracle Database often ask, “When was <insert your favorite feature name> added to Oracle Database?” And, “Is <feature name> included in Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition?” Of course, you could use Google search to find the answer, but now there is a really cool APEX application that answers those questions and so much more.

Using the tool is super easy. On the Features tab, the features are presented in a list, each entry lists the feature by name and check marks indicate the supported versions.

You can page through the over a thousand features listed, but it’s much easier to search for a specific feature by name, or just look for the features of your specific release by selecting one of the major release numbers, 11.2, 12.1, and so on.

If you are only interested in features that are specific to one area, for example, security, then you can select a focus area and sub area in combination with other filters.

Want to see only the latest features? Sure! Select 19c and then click the New features only selector. Now you’ll see all of the features that were introduced in the latest release, Oracle Database 19c. And, if you want to isolate what is just in Oracle Database 19c, then select the 19c version selector. It couldn’t be easier!

Once you’ve found the feature that you’re looking for, click the feature name, which opens a modal window. You’ll find a short description of the feature, the business benefit, release availability, and a link to the documentation page.

But wait, there’s more!

Click the Licensing tab to view the availability of features, options and packs. You can narrow the features that are specific to an offering, or select multiple offerings to compare feature availability across offerings.

Select a license type, Feature, Option or Pack to narrow the list to features that are specific to the selected license type.

Select a Functional Category to display only the feature, options and packs for the selected area.

And same as the Features tab, selecting a feature displays a modal window with detailed information about the functional category, availability across Oracle Database offerings, and notes about the feature.

Finally, open the help page by clicking the “i” icon in the upper right to learn more about the application, and how to use the Features and Licensing tabs.

There is a more functionality in the tool that we think you’ll love, so open up a browser and bookmark https://apex.oracle.com/database-features/. Tell us what you think!