To delete (or configure) a database in UNIX or Linux, you must set ORACLE_SID in the shell from which DBCA is launched. Start the DBCA by entering dbca in a terminal window, and click Next on the Welcome page. to delete the database, perform the following steps:

1. On the Operations page, select Delete a Database, and click Next.
2. Select the database that you wanted to delete (in class, hist), and click Finish.
3. Click Yes to confirm your deletion.

Dropping a database involves removing its data files, redo log files, control files, and initialization parameter files. The DROP DATABASE statement deletes all control files and all other database files listed in the control file. To use the DROP DATABASE statement successfully, all the following conditions must apply:

• The database must be mounted and closed.
• The database must be mounted exclusively – not in shared mode.
• The database must be mounted as RESTRICTED.

An example of this statement is:

DROP DATABASE;

The DROP DATABASE statement has no effect on archieved log files nor does it have any effect on copies or backups of the database. It is best to use Recovery Manager (RMAN) to delete such files. If the database is on raw disks, then the actual raw disk special files are not deleted.