Here it is :
Add the following repository to the "/etc/apt/sources.list" file using the following command to open the file in any editor:
$ gksudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
Goto the very end and paste the following line:
deb http://oss.oracle.com/debian unstable main non-free
Open up the terminal and paste the following lines one after the other:
$ wget http://oss.oracle.com/el4/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle -O- | sudo apt-key add -
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install oracle-xe
After installation the oracle db needs to be configured.
$ sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe configure
The configuration will ask you for
1. HTTP port for the application (default is 8080 which conflicts with GlassFish or Apache Tomcat, hence I chose 33333 !!!)
2. Port used for the database listener (kept the default 1521)
3. The PASSWORD for the username 'system' with which you will login (DO NOT forget this password)
4. Whether you want the database to run at startup ( I chose no)
The configuration completes (may take some time) & you are ready to go.
To start the database:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe start
To stop the database:
$ sudo /etc/init.d/oracle-xe stop
This installation also adds a menu under "Applications" . If you want to start/stop the database using the GUI, you will need to add your user to the usergroup 'dba'. After this the database can be started/stopped using the GUI options.
You can then run the command-line tool SQL Plus. At the prompt type:
connect username/ password
(username can be 'system' or 'sys' and password is the password specified during the configuration
OR
You can use the interface via the browser using the address:
(Use your own port number instead of 33333)
http://127.0.0.1:33333/apexLogin with the same credentials as above.
Thats it. You can run all your SQL queries now :)
EDIT:
This is where I got my howto
http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/linux/install/xe-on-kubuntu.html
EDIT 2:
If you want to install the oracle deb file separately (offline), you will need to download & install the libaio package using the command:
$ sudo apt-get install libaio
Edit 3:
If you are having problems starting, stopping and using the web interface(http://127.0.0.1:33333/apex) as mentioned above you could follow the steps below:
To start the Database server
Applications -> Oracle 10g -> Start Database
To Stop the Database
Applications -> Oracle 10g -> Stop Database
To run SQL commands (after you have started the Database) :
Applications -> Oracle 10g -> Run SQL Command Line
Hope this helps as well !