How to Query Database Name in Oracle SQL Developer?

Question

How do I query the database name in Oracle SQL Developer? I have tried the following and they all fail:

SELECT DB_NAME();

SELECT DATABASE();

Why do these basic MySQL queries fail in SQL Developer? Even this one fails too:

show tables;

EDIT: I can connect to the database and run queries such as:

select * from table_name_here;

EDIT 2: The database type is Oracle, this is why MySQL queries are failing. I thought it was related to the database client not the database itself. I was wrong. I'll leave the question as is for other as lost as I was.

Answer 1

Once I realized I was running an Oracle database, not MySQL, I found the answer

select * from v$database;

or

select ora_database_name from dual;

Try both. Credit and source goes to: http://www.perlmonks.org/?node_id=520376.

Answer 2

try this:

select * from global_name;

Answer 3

You can use the following command to know just the name of the database without the extra columns shown.

select name  from v$database;

If you need any other information about the db then first know which are the columns names available using

describe v$database;

and select the columns that you want to see;

Answer 4

I know this is an old thread but you can also get some useful info from the V$INSTANCE view as well. the V$DATABASE displays info from the control file, the V$INSTANCE view displays state of the current instance.

Answer 5

Edit: Whoops, didn't check your question tags before answering.

Check that you can actually connect to DB (have the driver placed? tested the conn when creating it?).

If so, try runnung those queries with F5

Answer 6

To see database name, startup;

then type show parameter db_name;

Answer 7

DESCRIBE DATABASE NAME; you need to specify the name of the database and the results will include the data type of each attribute.