Re: newbie again... Completely puzzled

See answers inline
answer not crossposted!

<writer_at_writemaster.com> wrote in message news:3c047d99.12895314_at_news.writemaster.com...
> Okay, okay, I probably need to take a course or three on
 Oracle. Or
> even go to graduate school. On the other hand, I am a
 computer
> literate person, with some background in programming (C++,
 MFC, VB,
> Access), so you would think I could figure this out, but I
 am stumped.
> Maybe someone will be kind enough to answer a few basic
 questions, at
> least to get me oriented.
>
> I have a Win98 system, and I ordered the trial version of
 Oracle 8i
> Enterprise Edition, release 3 (8.1.7). I've installed it.
I can't

I dont think Oracle 8i EE will run on Win98. You must have gotten some error messages during install? On Win98 you will need 8i Personal. Your 8i EE wil run on NT or Win2000.

> get anything to happen. Now what follows is admittedly
 long, but if
> you are bored at work and looking to amuse yourself by
 humoring an
> idiot, perhaps you can address my questions...
>
> What I'm expecting (based on Access and DBase experience)
 is to find
> an Oracle application that lets me create a brand new
 database, place
> it in a desired directory on my personal computer, and
 start building
> and playing with tables. I cannot find any such
 application. What I
> do find is this:

There is a tool. Database Configuration Assistent. I guess you will have to supply a lot a parameters you would probably need to know what they all mean. Read the manuals first

> I purchased Oracle 8i for Dummies, which tells me to start
 with an
> application called DBA Studio. So I start DBA Studio, and
 enter the
> stand-alone mode of operation. In the book, there is
 already some
> kind of database tree displayed at the left. In real
 life, Oracle
> displays a dialog box asking me to either Add A Database
 Manually, or
> add selected databases from the local tsnnames.ora file in
 the
> directory c:\Oracle8i\Network\Admin.
>
> To add a database manually, I would have to identify
 Hostname, Port
> Number, SID, and Net Service Name. I assume these have
 something to
> do with locating a database over a network connection, but
 I don't
> have access to any database on a network, and if I did, I
 wouldn't
> know any of these parameters anyway. Besides, I don't
 want a database
> over the network, I want it on my own computer.
>
> Moreover, there are no databases listed in the
 tnsnames.ora file.
> Actually, there IS NO tnsnames.ora file in the indicated
 (\Admin)
> directory. In other words, if some kind of default
 database was
> supposed to be installed with this software, it has not
 been
> installed.

The install will either install a starterdatabase or ask if you want one.

> So, I go hunting around for an application that will let
 me create a
> database. I try:
> * Everything under the Application Development folder.
 None of these
> apps seem relevant, except perhaps SQL Plus. When I try
 SQL Plus, it
> asks me for a User, Password, and Host String. When I
 can't supply
> and of these, it bails on me. Remember, I've just
 installed this, so
> I haven't had any opportunity to create a user, password,
 or host
> string. In fact, at this point, I don't know how to
 create them or
> what they are for.
> * SQL Plus Worksheet. This wants a Username, Password,
 and Service.
> How is it that this application (Oracle) asks for
 passwords and
> usernames all over the place, when it didn't ask me to
 create a user
> name or passwork during installation, and I haven't
 created any
> databases?
> * Enterprise Manager Console (this seems like a logical
 place to
> specify a database...). I am immediately alerted that I
 must have at
> least one management server in place, and I am prompted to
 enter a
> name. Obviously this is a non-starter.
> * I skipped all the apps in the Extended Administration
 Folder, since
> that looked too scary.
> * Tried the Enterprise Login Assistant and was spurned
 for not having
> a wallet. My problem is actually that I do have a wallet,
 but I
> apparently don't have an Oracle database...
> * Tried Net8 Assistant and didn't get very far with that.
> * Aha! Found the Wallet Manager, and was able to create
 a wallet.
> Whatever that is.
> * Went back to the Enterprise Login Assistant. Nope. No
 DEFAULT
> wallet exists. I guess my wallet wasn't good enough.
>

Well, you are poking around, and Oracle isnt easy using that method. Read the docs, start with Concepts. It WILL save you a lot of time in the long run...

> Basically, how the hell does one find an application here
 which lets
> me create a database, and stuff some tables into it, and
 then create
> some kind of pretty front end if I want to!? All this
 other stuff
> seems related to managing a database and database
 connections over a
> network, and to my mind that's a secondary task to just
 creating the
> d**n database in the first place.

You do need to learn to manage a database to get things up and running. Oracle is not a one file desktop DB.

> I get the feeling that all I've acquired is some software
 for setting
> up network connections between databases that I can't even
 create.
> Can someone help a confused soul out here?
>
> Thanks
> Steve O.
>
> P.S. I have an Athlon 1200 processor in my system. Even
 with that,
> some of these apps seem to respond awfully slowly when I
 click on menu
> options. Is Oracle really this slow?
>

Oracle on Win98 is slow, even slower if you are low on RAM. It will run on 128MB but slow.

/Peter Received on Wed Nov 28 2001 - 11:41:49 CST