Does the SQL syntax differ in any way for SQL Plus and apex.oracle.com
From this article I can assume that it doesn't, but I want to be sure. Is SQL Plus only an environment that is able to connect to an Oracle server ?
I'm asking this because I just started learning Oracle's SQL syntax and I don't have access to my faculty's server from home. The only solution I found so far is Apex since I'm not planning to install a server on my laptop.
The SQL commands are identical. They are all passed directly to the database engine for execution.
SQL*Plus has a bunch of extra commands (mostly for formatting output, but also stuff like dealing with variables and database startup/shutdown).
[Very old versions of SQL*Plus from the Oracle 7 era don't recognize the MERGE command as SQL and would refuse to do anything with it. But I'd hope those versions are all dead and buried by now.]
SQLPlus commands are to manage the SQLPLus environment and have really nothing to do with SQL. They are mostly for formatting output or taking in data that is used with SQL to send to the server. SQLPlus is a proprietary Oracle product for connecting to Oracle server and issuiung commands. It is being replaced (officially) by SQL Developer.
I strongly suggest you download the free SQL Developer program from oracle: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/sql-developer/downloads/index.html
it's a great tool for working with sql, pretty easy to get started (install, create a new db connection and start typing sql_ plus does fill in for columns once it know the tablenames. Also, it can run most sqlplus commands if you want to format output, etc. A nice visual intro to the oracle schema and useful if you want to write plsql.
Is SQL Plus only an environment that is able to connect to an Oracle server?
Yes, SQL*Plus is not very useful unless you can connect to an Oracle database server.
I'm asking this because I just started learning Oracle's SQL syntax and I don't have access to my faculty's server from home. The only solution I found so far is Apex since I'm not planning to install a server on my laptop.
If you cannot connect to your faculty's database server from home, you have no choice but to install your own server somewhere. Apex only runs on an Oracle database server.
However, it's not too difficult nowadays, as long as you follow the installation instructions carefully.
Another option is to get a free account at apex.oracle.com. You'll be able to use Apex's SQL interface. I don't think you can connect to it using SQL Developer, though.
Alternatively, you can start up a simple pre-prepared Apex instance on Amazon's EC2. With this option, if you open the relevant port (1521) you'll be able to connect to it using SQL Developer.