Create Oracle Express geodatabase without server license??

[PeterLen]

Hello - I have a home use license for ArcDesktop (Advanced).  On the same laptop that I have my ArcDesktop, I have an Oracle XE installation in which I want to use the ArcToolbox's Create Enterprise Geodatabase tool to create a geodatabase in my local Oracle installation.  The tool, however, requires an authorization file.  After some emails with Esri customer service, I am finding that I can't get an authorization file unless have an ArcGIS for Server license.  In other words, in order to create a local Oracle XE geodatabase, I need to purchase a server license.  I don't want to purchase ArcServer because I have no need for it and my Oracle installation is not an enterprise database.  Does anyone have any other thoughts on if there is any way to create an Esri "enterprise" geodatabase for a local copy of Oracle?  I want to be able to create a geodatabase rather than just use file geodatabases for my personal testing and research due to my work environment using an Oracle geodatabase.  I have a feeling I am at the end of the line on this topic but thought I would reach out.  Thanks - Peter

[George_Thompson]

To create a geodatabase on any RDBMS (like Oracle XE) you need the ArcGIS Server license. If you created one on the Oracle XE instance it would basically be an Enterprise Geodatabase.

There is not away around this. You can use a file geodatabase, as you mentioned. What do you need from the Oracle configuration that the file geodatabase does not provide (i.e. SQL updating, custom triggers, etc.)?

[PeterLen]

George - Thanks for the reply.  I guess I figured as much but I thought I would ask.  Yes, the primary reason why I wanted to work with an Oracle geodatabase rather than a file geodatabase deals with triggers and stored procedures.  Thanks again for your response. - Peter

[George_Thompson · Accepted solution]

There is a concept of the Database Desktop Server but it uses SQL Server Express. It would be downloaded from My Esri and is authorized via your Desktop license; Set up a database server—Help | Documentation 

I usually stay away from these DB's due to the limiting factors based on SQL Express, like CPU, RAM & size limitations.

If you need anything else, that ArcGIS Server keycodes file would be required.

[JoshuaBixby]

And to add a bit to George's comment, even if you had an enterprise geodatabase code, Oracle Express is not a supported platform. 

[MarcoBoeringa]

Do you actually need an ESRI "Geo-"database, or just a "spatial" database? Setting triggers and stored procedures on an ESRI Geodatabase is generally not recommended, as you may be trashing the geodatabase by your stored procedures and triggers interfering with the ESRI designed ones and data model.

If you just need a spatial database to store stuff, and want to manage it yourself, you can use the pyodbc Python package that is part of the package list in ArcGIS Pro in the Python Package Manager, to insert data in the database through cursors, and use database DDL and DML statements via ODBC to manage your database.

You can subsequently access the created data by running the Add Incrementing ID Field tool to add an objectid field (or manage a similar unique ID field yourself), and then use ArcGIS Query Layers to add the data to ArcGIS as read-only layers (that can however be input to other tools).

I have done all of this based on a PostGIS database installed on Ubuntu running in Oracle's Virtualbox virtualization environment on a Windows 10 host.

It takes time to get familiar with all of this, but is do-able.

Of course, since you are not going to create an ESRI Geodatabase through this method, editing data, and using any of the advanced Geodatabase behaviors and functionality, is out of the question. Be aware of that (Actually, editing data may be possible through a web Feature Service, but I have never tried that and it requires ArcGIS Enterprise / Server to publish the service, also see this link for information regarding accessing a non-geodatabase spatial database: Databases and ArcGIS—Help | Documentation ).