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Oracle
If you are running a Linux version that does not support RPM packages and you need to install Oracle's sqlplus client, you have two options to install it:
To download an Oracle install package from the otn.oracle.com website, you need to supply a log-in Id and a password and perform the whole operation via a browser that supports JavaScript. But, how does one download Oracle install packages onto a headless server, i.e. without using a browser?
A step-by-step construction guide to install and configure a Linux server from scratch and how to then install the Oracle 10g RDBMS on it.
A classical method of getting Oracle-based processes communicating with the outside world is by using the DBMS_PIPE package: Typically, we write to a pipe from an Oracle PL/SQL-based process, and then we continuously run an asynchronous Oracle PL/SQL process which reads the pipe and processes what it reads. A common use of DBMS_PIPE is for debugging, logging and launching external processes.
It is possible to call O/S commands or third-party programs from within SQL or PL/SQL with external procedures. This guide describes how to build, install and use such an ExtProc and shows an exploit on how to grant yourself Oracle sysdba rights. Think of an ExtProc as an Oracle root kit.