My First Oracle Setup

I have experience with SQL server but I am very new to Oracle Database technologies. So, it was time for me to touch the basics and take a look at some basic features Oracle holds in store for us.

1.Download

First I downloaded and installed the latest version of the oracle database available at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/enterprise-edition/downloads/index.html

Make sure you remember your password after installation!!

2.Helpfull documentation

I got myself all the necessary documentation at http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17781_01/index.htm and started with the getting started pdf.

3.Install SQL Developer

As I am not a huge fan of using the command line to configure the database, I installed the SQL developer which allows you to do the same but in a graphical environment. I downloaded it at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/sql-developer/downloads/index.html

To use the database tool, make sure you have the latest Java JDK installed on your computer. You can download it here http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html

4.Database Home Page (pdf ref 1.2)

For me this can be found at C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\11.2.0\server\Get_Started. Launch it and it will open in your web browser and give you access to various database administration operations.

5.Create a new User (pdf ref 2.0)

That’s why I installed the SQL developer, to make these things a lot easier then typing inside an old prompt window.

First you have to start by creating a SYSTEM connection. The username should be SYSTEM and password is the one you defined on Oracle Database installation. The name of the connection can be chosen freely.

If all went well you should see a tree view with a lot off tree nodes. Most of them are Chinese still, but there are similarities to SQL server. The treenode Other Users is the one where we define a new user and set up its privileges.

6.UNLOCK HR SAMPLE DATA

There is a HR user inside the Other Users section that should have his account unlocked. This grants you access to the tables tied to that user profile. Modify the properties of that user using the SYSTEM connection and define a new password for that HR user.

The pdf Getting Started guide continued with building an application using the wizard on the Getting Started page but I’ll skip that one. If you are into wizards, feel free to run this sample :)

7.Oracle Database XE

I read the second pfd in line found at http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E17781_01/index.htm and filtered some of the most important things I need to communicate in a descent manner from a .Net environment. At least I have a good first general impression of the Oracle Database XE now and this should be more than enough to get me started.

In the next post I’ll try to connect to the database and pull data from the HR tables using C#.