Re: Schema vs Database, what is the difference?

[Phillip Ward]

"Database" vs "Schema" is largely DBMS specific.

Since you're asking in this forum ...

Oracle Database:
(The full-blown, hideously expensive but, arguably, most powerful RDBMS on the planet)

Database - A set of processes running out of a given software installation, plus the datafiles containing the Data on which those processes operates.
Schema - A logical subdivision within a Database used to compartmentalise related data objects.

MySQL:
(A completely separate DBMS product acquired from Sun Microsystems in 2010, but now owned by Oracle Corporation)

Database and Schema - The terms are completely synonymous - you can use them interchangeably.

And, just for "Fun", other DBMSs draw the line between these terms differently again!

Regards, Phill W.