I disagree with most of the thoughts on this thread... I've used both and, for what I classify as "casual users" and ease of use, I think that SQL Server is head and shoulders above Oracle.

There is no doubt in my mind that it's sometimes a matter of what you cut your teeth on and that Oracle has a lot more functionality, but Oracle has much stricter rules that can be pretty frustrating at times. For example, Oracle cannot return a result set to an app from a simple stored procedure that does a SELECT... you have to write a reference cursor to do that.

And, with all of it's power, Oracle STILL only allows 30 character object names. That requires the creation of a full set of naming conventions for abbreviations or the developers will have an absolute field day making up their own and using it only when they feel like it.

But, like anything else, I suppose "it depends"... there's a very easy way to find out, though... have a race. Describe a complex problem that requires the creation of serveral tables, a user interface (keep that part simple), and several chunks of functionality. Then, let the Oracle ninjas and the SQL Server ninjas in your company have an all out, all night death march race. To give the folks incentive on the race, give them any two or three days off that they choose.

If it's a tie, SQL Server wins not only because of the initial cost, but because of the cost of ownership.

Of course, that's just my opinion... Heh... I can see thise thread turning into a real flame war if we're not careful.