System tables compatible with Oracle

This article describes system tables that provide compatibility between Exasol and in Oracle databases.

The system tables CAT and DUAL in the system schema SYS provide Oracle-related functionality.

The system schemas SYS and EXA_STATISTICS are automatically integrated into the namespace. This means that the tables in the system schemas can be accessed without specifying the schema as long as the same table name is not in use in the current schema.

CAT

This system table lists all of the tables and views in the current schema that the current user can access.

CAT is not completely compatible with Oracle, because in Oracle this table contains only objects that are owned by the user.

All users have access to this table.

Column Meaning
TABLE_NAME Name of the table or the view
TABLE_TYPE Type of object: TABLE or VIEW

DUAL

Along the lines of Oracle's identically named system table, this system table can be used to output static information (for example,. SELECT CURRENT_USER FROM DUAL). It contains one row with one single column.

All users have access to this table.

Column Meaning
DUMMY Contains a NULL value