Metalink 207303.1 is the Client/ Server Interoperability Matrix which will be the definitive documentation. Since the express edition of 10g is based on Oracle 10.2, a database link to an 8.1.7 database should be supported. Database links to earlier versions of 8i (8.1.5 or 8.1.6) are not supported from a 10.2 database. For general sanity, I'd strongly suggest that the 8i side be running at least the 8.1.7.4 patchset but that isn't strictly required.
If you're really only looking to learn about the development side and have no interest in the administration or installation side at the moment, a quicker route might be to download a prebuilt developer VM image for Virtualbox. That can get you up and running very quickly, and you can connect to the DB running inside the VM from outside, so you can continue to do your development in your current environment.
The overview echos what others have said about licensing kicking in once you ship an application (but Oracle licensing is a quagmire, you'll need to talk to Oracle about it if/when you get past playing around):
Learning your way around a new software stack is challenging enough
without having to spend multiple cycles on the install process.
Instead, we have packaged such stacks into pre-built Oracle VM
VirtualBox appliances that you can download, install, and experience
as a single unit. Just downloaded/assemble the files, import into
VirtualBox (available for free), import, and go (but not for
production use or redistribution)!
For experimenting it's ideal, in my experience. Of course, it's unsupported, but as you won't have a support contract anyway that's a bit of a moot point.
As David said, PL/SQL is integral to the database, not a separate component, so it is available in the VM image. You get some tools too, including SQL Developer, but you might have less friction running that natively and connecting it to the DB in the VM.
Best Answer
You can get Oracle 11 to run natively on OS X, but there is a bit of work required, and not as quick to set up as a pre-installed environment. However, this is a tried and tested method, so it will work, and it will run quicker and more responsively than if you opt for a virtual machine solution.
Taken verbatim from Olivier Refalo's answer to Installing Oracle 11g on OSX (I've not added blockquote formatting as it would mess up the original formatting):
Yes! The fact that Oracle doesn't provide a OSX installer doesn't mean these product shouldn't work natively. Most of them are actually 100% Java.
Please follow the instructions below to install you development environment.
Instructions are for 11g 11.1.1.4.0 but were also tested with 11.1.1.5.0. The trick is to run the installer via a Linux VM and migrate the files to OSX.
Linux VM Installation
It doesn't really matter if you get a 32 or 64 bits Linux distribution. However, the installation folder should be the same on Linux and MacOS.
Download the following software, oracle offers native installers for windows and Linux. However you should stick to generic downloads as much as possible. Some of these packages come in several zips, extract files according to oracle directions.
Install the software in the following order
OSX Installation
Middleware
Here comes the trick, copy the oOracle Middleware folder from your Linux VM to OSX. Make sure the location is the same. For instance if you installed under /Oracle/Middleware on Linux, you should copy to /Oracle/Middleware on OSX.
Fix JVM
For some obscure reasons, Oracle installers don't recognize the Apple JVM. While not mandatory, it is good practices to fix the issue with the following script.
OEPE
Edit file “/Contents/MacOS/eclipse.ini”, append the following lines
-Dweblogic.home=/Oracle/Middleware/wlserver_10.3
-Dharvester.home=/Oracle/Middleware/Oracle_OSB1/harvester
-Dosb.home=/Oracle/Middleware/Oracle_OSB1
-Dosgi.bundlefile.limit=750
-Dosgi.nl=en_US
Now copy the file oracle.osb.ide.link from the folder “oepe/dropins” to “oepemac/dropins” (both under your middleware home).
Oracle XE
Oracle_XE is unfortunately not supported on OSX. we will need to run it via a VirtualBox appliance. The good news is that Oracle provides a easy to install RPM.
For reference, we allocated 1cpu, 600MB of ram to our Linux/OracleXE VM.
Next Steps
Configure your web logic development domain. Please refer to this document for instructions. Quick Start Guide for Oracle® SOA Suite 11gR1 (11.1.1.5.0).pdf
Fix startup scripts
Finally, you will need to fix domain startup script as follows
------------- user_projects/domains/DEVdomain/bin/setDomainEnv.sh -------------
------------ user_projects/domains/DEVdomain/bin/setSOADomainEnv.sh ------------