Personal Oracle 8 Explorer

Overview

"Explores the complexities of Personal Oracle8's architecture, including in-depth explanations of tables, indexes, memory structures, tuning, and more."
"Demonstrates how to integrate and move information from other existing PC-based databases (e.g., Microsoft Access) to Personal Oracle8."
Presents proven approaches to database administration and warehousing.
"Offers numerous practical, hands-on examples that encourage readers to test all of Personal Oracle8's powerful features."

"Serves as the only book on the market that explains and demonstrates Personal Oracle8, which is destined to become the most popular PC database around."
"Written by the Lead Database Administrator for the world's largest implementation of Oracle, who is an insider in the field with over eight years of experience."
"Packed full of explanations and demonstrations designed to quickly ensure the reader has full use of the powerful features of Personal Oracle8."

"Complete database schema, including table definitions, working SQL, and pre-created data files ready to create a large database"
Useful third-party tools, such as RevealNet for Oracle

"Richard Fieldhouse (Chippenham, UK) currently works as the lead DBA for the world's largest implementation of Oracle HR as a consultant to Unisys. He is a professional in the Oracle field and has been heavily involved with Oracle for the past eight years. Through his professional experience, he has cultivated an in-depth mastery of Oracle, from Oracle version 5 through each successive release. In addition to his work experience, he has participated in a number of Oracle training programs."

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1: Quick Start Installation

This chapter will give the more computer-literate user a fast-track method to install the Personal Oracle8 software and get on with the creation of the demo database. Once you've completed this chapter, you will have installed the standard database (Application Developer option). To install other options–i.e., the Replication option–please refer to Chapter 2. Refer to Chapter 14 for more details on installing to a machine with Personal Oracle7 already installed.

Hardware and Software Requirements

To install Personal Oracle8, you must make sure your system complies with the following minimum hardware and software requirements:

Hardware

Minimum hardware requirements are as follows:

32MB RAM for standard installation
48MB RAM for installation of the Replication option
165MB of available disk space (for the standard installation)
200MB of available disk space (for the Replication option)
A CD-ROM drive

Software

Minimum software requirements are as follows:

Windows 95 (noncompressed drive)
A suitable Web browser (to read the online documentation)

Installation of software from CD-ROM

Insert the CD-ROM into the drive on your computer. This will initiate the Autorun facility of Windows 95 and automatically start up the software. You'll be presented with the window shown in Figure 1.1.

Choose the Begin Installation icon. This will execute the Oracle Installer. The Installer will then ask what language you would like the software to be installed with, as shown in Figure 1.2.

Once you've chosen a language and clicked on the OK button, the Installer will prompt you for the installation settings: the company name you wish to register the software under and the directory you want to install the software to, as shown in Figure 1.3. Leaving the default directory at C:\ORAWIN95 is a good idea at this point, as all Oracle products default to this when installed under Windows 95. If you need to change the default directory–if you have other Oracle products installed elsewhere–then click on the folder icon to select a different directory.

When you've selected the installation settings and clicked on the OK button, you'll be presented with the Installation Options screen, shown in Figure 1.4. This is where you decide which type of installation you'll perform. For a quick installation, choose the default (Application Developer). This will install a ready-to-use database and associated tools with the most common options. If you need to install a Runtime or Custom option, read Chapter 2 for guidelines and a discussion of all options available.

Click on the OK button with the default option selected. The Starter Database Installation Options window will be displayed, as shown in Figure 1.5. This selects the type of database to install. For this quick installation, you need a standard database. The installation of the Replication option is covered in Chapter 2.

Once you've clicked on the OK button with the standard database option, the installer will check for other product dependencies. This will be shown on the installer screen with a progress indication bar. After a short time, you'll see the Oracle8 Documentation window shown in Figure 1.6. This is where you choose how to have the documentation installed. The answer here will depend upon how much free disk space you have. The minimum disk space requirement includes the documentation being installed locally on your hard disk drive. If space is at a premium, select the CD-ROM option. This requires that you load the CD-ROM every time you need to access the documentation.

Select the appropriate option and click on the OK button. The Installer will once again analyze the dependencies, and the installation will begin. This may take some time, depending largely on the speed of your CD-ROM drive. The progress indication bar will gradually increase toward 100 percent. The Installer, at this point, is copying the files from the CD-ROM to your hard disk. Other tasks performed by the Installer are as follows:

Creates icons on your desktop.
Installs and creates the starter database.
Installs the documentation (if selected) to your hard disk.
Registers the application.

The above tasks are performed automatically. You'll see messages above and below the progress indicator explaining what the Installer is doing. Once the installation is complete, you'll receive a message that the installation was successful, as shown in Figure 1.7.

At this point, you have a working copy of Personal Oracle8. Click on the OK button to exit the Installer. You'll be presented with your Windows 95 desktop, with two new folders: Oracle for Windows 95 and Personal Oracle8 for Windows 95.

The Oracle for Windows 95 folder, shown in Figure 1.8, contains all of the software installed that is common across all Oracle products on Windows 95.

Among the many items created in this folder, the Oracle Installer, documentation, and release notes are some of the most useful.

The Personal Oracle8 for Windows 95 folder, shown in Figure 1.9, contains all the Personal Oracle8 programs and documentation. With the version I am using (V8.0.3.0.0), seven icons are created, which I discuss in the next section.

Oracle8 Navigator
Personal Oracle8 Help
Personal Oracle8 Release Notes
Start Database
Stop Database
The Backup Manager
The Recovery Manager

Overview Of Personal Oracle8 Icons

Once your software is installed, various icons will appear on your desktop and Start menu bar. The following sections give you an overview of these icons and what they are used for.

Oracle8 Navigator

The Navigator is the graphical user interface tool used to manage and display projects, local database objects, and connections to remote databases. You will use this tool in all aspects of developing the demo database, from creating users and roles to populating tables within the database. The Navigator performs a similar function to the Windows 95 Explorer. If you click on the Personal Oracle8 folder, it will expand to show projects and the local database, as shown in Figure 1.10. Projects are used to store project-related information–i.e., all objects related to products. Projects can also be used to store external files–e.g., reports or spreadsheets. The Navigator is discussed in more detail in later chapters.

Personal Oracle8 Help

This icon will display the Personal Oracle8 help screen. The help file is a standard Windows 95 type of help function. You can choose to look through the contents, an index, or to search for words.

Personal Oracle8 Release Notes

The release notes are the latest information available about Personal Oracle8, including bug fixes and known problems. These may be different on later versions of the software. It is a good idea to look at the release notes right after installation.

Start Database

Use this icon to start the database. When you've finished the installation, the database will be stopped. Your first job is to start the database by double-clicking on this icon. Numerous messages will appear on the screen, indicating the state of the database. The last message should say "Oracle8 database started successfully." Once this appears, click on the OK button. You'll also notice that a small icon appears on the task bar, showing that the database is running.

Stop Database

Use this icon to stop the database. You should stop it before you shut down your PC to reduce the chance of corruption to the database. You can stop the database in two ways: Click on Start|Programs|Personal Oracle8 for Windows 95|Stop Database, or right-click on the icon on the task bar and then click on the Oracle8 Shutdown option.

The Backup Manager

Use this tool to back up your Personal Oracle8 database. It gives you the option to back up the whole database to disk or tape (if available). I'll fully discuss other available backup strategies in Chapter 15.

The Recovery Manager

The Recovery Manager is used to recover a corrupt database from a previous backup. This program allows various options for recovery. Again, these are discussed fully in Chapter 15. a detailed explanation

Now that you've used the quick route to install Oracle8, you may want to know more about the options and potential problems involved in the procedure. For a detailed explanation of the installation process, see Chapter 2. If you need to install the other options available with Personal Oracle8 –i.e., replication–also see Chapter 2. Or skip to Chapter 3, where you'll create your first database.