Oracle Instant Client allows you to run your applications without installing the standard Oracle client or having an Oracle home.
Apr 24, 2003 Hello Gang, At the moment am looking into consolidating SQL Server databases. I am basically an Oracle DBA and know very little about SQL Server. The question is, if I move the database to a new server then in Oracle I will change the values in TNSNAMES.ORA to point in the right direction. Where should I do this in case of SQL Server 7? For information about the syntax notation used, see the Oracle Database SQL Language Reference. Connecting to a Database with the Tools Instant Client Package. To use Net Service Names configured in a local Oracle Net tnsnames.ora file.
The following topics are discussed:
- What is the Tools Instant Client?
The Tools Instant Client package is available on platforms that support the OCI Instant Client. - Choosing the Instant Client to Install
Before you install the Tools Instant Client Tools package, you must first choose either Basic Instant Client or Instant Client Light. - Installing Tools Instant Client by Downloading from OTN
The OTN downloads for Linux are RPM packages. The OTN downloads for UNIX and Windows are zip files. - Installing Tools Instant Client from the 12c Client Release Media
The Tools Instant Client package can be installed from client release media. - Configuring Tools Instant Client Package
The Tools Instant Client package executable should only be used with the matching version of the OCI Instant Client. NoORACLE_HOME
orORACLE_SID
environment variables need to be set. - Connecting to a Database with the Tools Instant Client Package
After the Tools Instant Client package is installed and configured, you can connect to a database. - Uninstalling Instant Client
The Tools Instant Client package can be removed separately from the OCI Instant Client.
B.1 What is the Tools Instant Client?
The Tools Instant Client package is available on platforms that support the OCI Instant Client.
The Tools package contains several command-line utilities, including SQL*Loader, Data Pump Export, Data Pump Import, Original (classic) Export, and Original (classic) Import. Instant Client installations are standalone, with all the functionality of the command-line versions of the products. The Instant Client connects to existing remote Oracle databases, but does not include its own database. It is easy to install and uses significantly less disk space than the full Oracle Database Client installation required to use the command-line versions of products.
See the Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for more information about the OCI Instant Client.
To use the Tools Instant Client, you need two packages:
- Tools Instant Client Package
- Either the Basic OCI Instant Client package, or the OCI Instant Client Light package.
The basic steps required to use the Tools Instant Client are as follows. Each of these steps is described in this appendix.
- Choose which OCI Package (Basic or Light) you want to use, and also select the directory in which to install the Instant Client files.
- Copy the Tools Instant Client Package, and the OCI Instant Client package of your choice, from an installed Oracle instance or download them from OTN.
- Install (unpack) the Tools Instant Client package and the OCI package. A new directory
instantclient_12_2
is created as part of the installation. - Configure the Instant Client.
- Connect to a remote instance with the utility you want to run.
Both the Tools package and OCI package must be from Oracle Database version 12.2.0.0.0, or higher, and the versions for both must be the same.
Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
B.2 Choosing the Instant Client to Install
Before you install the Tools Instant Client Tools package, you must first choose either Basic Instant Client or Instant Client Light.
Basic Instant Client
The Tools Instant Client package, when used with Basic Instant Client works with any
NLS_LANG
setting supported by the Oracle Database. It supports all character sets and language settings available in the Oracle Database. Instant Client Light
The Instant Client Light (English) version of Instant Client further reduces the disk space requirements of the client installation. The size of the library has been reduced by removing error message files for languages other than English and leaving only a few supported character set definitions out of around 250.
Instant Client Light is geared toward applications that use either
US7ASCII
, WE8DEC
, WE8ISO8859P1
, WE8MSWIN1252
, or a Unicode character set. There is no restriction on the LANGUAGE
and the TERRITORY
fields of the NLS_LANG
setting, so the Instant Client Light operates with any language and territory settings. Because only English error messages are provided with the Instant Client Light, error messages generated on the client side, such as Net connection errors, are always reported in English, even if NLS_LANG
is set to a language other than AMERICAN
. Error messages generated by the database side, such as syntax errors in SQL statements, are in the selected language provided the appropriate translated message files are installed in the Oracle home of the database instance. Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
B.3 Installing Tools Instant Client by Downloading from OTN
The OTN downloads for Linux are RPM packages. The OTN downloads for UNIX and Windows are zip files.
Instant Client packages should never be installed on an Oracle home.
Installing Instant Client from Linux RPM Packages
- Download the RPM packages containing the Tools Instant Client package, and the OCI package from the OTN Instant Client page at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/instant-client/overview/index.html. Both packages must be version 12.2.0.0.0 or higher, and the versions of both must be the same.
- Use
rpm -i
for the initial install of the RPM packages, orrpm -u
to upgrade to a newer version of the packages. Install the OCI Package first. - Configure Instant Client. See Configuring Tools Instant Client Package.
Installing Instant Client from the UNIX or Windows Zip Files
- Download the RPM packages containing the Tools Instant Client package, and the OCI package from the OTN Instant Client page at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/instant-client/overview/index.html. Both packages must be version 12.2.0.0.0 or higher, and the versions of both must be the same.
- Create a new directory, for example,
/home/instantclient12_2
on UNIX orc:instantclient12_2
on Windows. - Unzip the two packages into the new directory. Install the OCI Package first.
- Configure Instant Client. See Configuring Tools Instant Client Package
List of Files Required for Tools Instant Client
The following table lists the required files from the Tools Instant Client package. You also need the files from one of the OCI packages (either Basic or Light). Other files installed that are not listed here can be ignored, or can be removed to save disk space.
See the Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for more information about required files for the OCI Instant Client.
Table B-1 Instant Client Files in the Tools Package
Linux and UNIX | Windows | Description |
---|---|---|
exp | exp.exe | Original (classic) export executable |
expdp | expdp.exe | Data Pump export executable |
imp | imp.exe | Original (classic) import executable |
impdp | impdp.exe | Data Pump import executable |
libnfsodm12.so | Not applicable | A shared library used by the SQL*Loader Instant Client to use the Oracle Disk Manager (ODM). |
sqlldr | sqlldr.exe | SQL*Loader executable |
TOOLS_README | Not applicable | Readme for the Tools Instant Client package |
wrc | wrc.exe | The Tools Instant Client package contains tools other than those described in this appendix. The wrc tool is the Workload Replay Client (wrc) for the Oracle Database Replay feature. The wrc tool is listed here for completeness sake, but it is not covered by the information in this appendix. |
Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
B.4 Installing Tools Instant Client from the 12c Client Release Media
The Tools Instant Client package can be installed from client release media.
- Run the installer on the Oracle Database 12c Client Release media and choose the Administrator option.
- Create a new directory, for example,
/home/instantclient12_2
on UNIX and Linux, orc:instantclient12_2
on Windows. - Copy the Tools Instant Client package and the OCI Instant Client files to the new directory. All files must be copied from the same Oracle home.
- Configure the Tools Instant Client package. See Configuring Tools Instant Client Package.
Installing Tools Instant Client on UNIX or Linux
To install the Tools Instant Client using the Basic Instant Client package on UNIX and Linux, copy the following files:
To install the Tools Instant Client using the Instant Client Light package on UNIX and Linux, copy the following files:
Installing Tools Instant Client on Windows
To install the Tools Instant Client using the Basic Instant Client package on Windows, copy the following files:
To install the Tools Instant Client using the Instant Client Light package on Windows, copy the following files:
Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
B.5 Configuring Tools Instant Client Package
The Tools Instant Client package executable should only be used with the matching version of the OCI Instant Client. No
ORACLE_HOME
or ORACLE_SID
environment variables need to be set. Configuring Tools Instant Client Package (from RPMS) on Linux
The RPMs downloaded from OTN install into Oracle specific sub-directories in the
/usr
file system. The subdirectory structure enables multiple versions of Instant Client to be available. - Add the name of the directory containing the Instant Client libraries to
LD_LIBRARY_PATH
. Remove any other Oracle directories.For example, to setLD_LIBRARY_PATH
in the Bourne or Korn shells, use the following syntax:Or, to setLD_LIBRARY_PATH
in the C shell, use the following syntax: - Make sure the Tools executables installed from the RPM are the first executables found in your
PATH
. For example, to test this you could enterwhich sqlldr
which should return/usr/bin/sqlldr
. If it does not, then remove any other Oracle directories fromPATH
, or put/usr/bin
before other Tools executables inPATH
, or use an absolute or relative path to start Tools Instant Client.For example, to setPATH
in the bash shell: - Set Oracle globalization variables required for your locale. A default locale will be assumed if no variables are set.
Configuring Tools Instant Client Package (from Client Media or Zip File) on Linux and UNIX
- Add the name of the directory containing the Instant Client files to the appropriate shared library path
LD_LIBRARY_PATH
,LIBPATH
orSHLIB_PATH
. Remove any other Oracle directories.For example on Solaris in the Bourne or Korn shells: - Add the directory containing the Instant Client files to the
PATH
environment variable. If it is not set, then an absolute or relative path must be used to start the utilities provided in the Tools package. Remove any other Oracle directories fromPATH
. For example: - Set Oracle globalization variables required for your locale. A default locale will be assumed if no variables are set. For example:
Configuring Tools Instant Client Package on Windows
The environment may be configured using
SET
commands in a Windows command prompt or made permanent by setting Environment Variables in System Properties. For example, to set environment variables in Windows 2000 using System Properties, open System from the Control Panel, click the Advanced tab and then click Environment Variables.
- Add the directory containing the Instant Client files to the
PATH
system environment variable. Remove any other Oracle directories fromPATH
.For example, addc:instantclient12_2
to the beginning ofPATH
. - Set Oracle globalization variables required for your locale. A default locale will be assumed if no variables are set.For example, to set
NLS_LANG
for a Japanese environment, create a user environment variableNLS_LANG
set toJAPANESE_JAPAN.JA16EUC
.
Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
B.6 Connecting to a Database with the Tools Instant Client Package
After the Tools Instant Client package is installed and configured, you can connect to a database.
The utilities supplied in the Tools Instant Client are always remote from any database server. It is assumed that the server has an Oracle instance up and running and has the TNS listener running. For the Data Pump Export and Import clients, the dump files reside on the remote server; an Oracle directory object on the server must exist and should have the appropriate permissions.
To connect to a database you must specify the database using an Oracle Net connection identifier. The following information uses the SQL*Loader (sqlldr) utility, but the information applies to other utilities supplied in the Tools Instant Client package as well.
An example using an Easy Connection identifier to connect to the
HR
schema in the MYDB
database running on mymachine is: Alternatively you can use a Net Service Name:
Net Service Names can be stored in a number of places, including LDAP. The use of LDAP is recommended to take advantage of the new features of Oracle Database 12c
To use Net Service Names configured in a local Oracle Net
tnsnames.ora
file, set the environment variable TNS_ADMIN
to the directory containing the tnsnames.ora
file. For example, on UNIX, if your tnsnames.ora
file is in /home/user1
and it defines the Net Service Name MYDB2
: If
TNS_ADMIN
is not set, then an operating system dependent set of directories is examined to find tnsnames.ora
. This search path includes looking in the directory specified by the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable for network/admin/tnsnames.ora
. This is the only reason to set the ORACLE_HOME
environment variable for SQL*Loader Instant Client. If ORACLE_HOME
is set when running Instant Client applications, it must be set to a directory that exists. This example assumes the
ORACLE_HOME
environment variable is set, and the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin/tnsnames.ora
or ORACLE_HOMEnetworkadmintnsnames.ora
file defines the Net Service Name MYDB3
: The
TWO_TASK
(on UNIX) or LOCAL
(on Windows) environment variable can be set to a connection identifier. This removes the need to explicitly enter the connection identifier whenever a connection is made in SQL*Loader or SQL*Loader Instant Client. This UNIX example connects to the database known as MYDB4
: On Windows,
TNS_ADMIN
and LOCAL
may be set in the System Properties. Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
B.7 Uninstalling Instant Client
The Tools Instant Client package can be removed separately from the OCI Instant Client.
After uninstalling the Tools Instant Client package, the remaining OCI Instant Client libraries enable custom written OCI programs or third party database utilities to connect to a database.
Uninstalling Tools Instant Client
- For installations on Linux from RPM packages, use
rpm -e
only on the Tools Instant Client packageORFor installations on UNIX and Windows, and installations on Linux from the Client Release media, manually remove any files specific to the Tools Instant Client. The files to be deleted should be in the Instant Client directory that you specified at installation. Be sure you do not remove any Oracle home files.Reset environment variables and removetnsnames.ora
if necessary.
Uninstalling the Complete Instant Client
- For installations on Linux from RPM packages, use
rpm -qa
to find the Tools Instant Client and Basic OCI package names and runrpm -e
to remove themORFor installations on UNIX and Windows, and installations on Linux from the Client Release media, manually delete the directory containing the Tools executable and Oracle libraries. - Reset environment variables such as
PATH
,LD_LIBRARY_PATH
andTNS_ADMIN
. - Remove
tnsnames.ora
if necessary.
Parent topic:Instant Client for SQL*Loader, Export, and Import
This chapter describes the following postinstallation tasks:
Note:
This chapter describes basic configuration only. See Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows and product-specific administration and tuning guides for more sophisticated configuration and tuning information.4.1 Required Postinstallation Tasks
This section covers the following topics:
4.1.1 Downloading and Installing Patches
To download required patches, check the My Oracle Support (formerly OracleMetaLink) Web site for required patches for your installation. Doing so ensures that you have the latest update of Oracle Database Client.
Note:
You cannot update Instant Client by downloading a patch. Use the procedure under 'Updating Instant Client' to update Instant Client.To find and download patches:
- Use a web browser to view the My Oracle Support website:
- Log in to My Oracle Support.Note:If you are not a My Oracle Support registered user, then click Register here and follow the registration instructions.
- On the main My Oracle Support page, click Patches and Updates tab.
- In the Patch Search group, select Product or Family (Advanced).
- In the Product field, select Oracle Database.
- In the Release field select the release number. For example, Oracle 11.2.0.3.0.
- Click Search.
- Any available patch updates are displayed in the Patch Search page.
- Select the patch number and click ReadMe. The README page is displayed and contains information about the patch set and how to apply the patches to your installation.
- Return to the Patch Search page, click Download, and save the file on your system.
- Use the unzip utility provided with Oracle Database 12c to uncompress the Oracle patch updates that you downloaded from My Oracle Support. The unzip utility is located in the
ORACLE_BASEORACLE_HOME
bin
directory.
4.1.2 Updating Instant Client
![Tnsnames.ora Tnsnames.ora](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5Ud37Oz8eiU/Vh0UDJkJYfI/AAAAAAAAQss/yO4mnUVM6lg/s1600/SQL%2BDeveloper.png)
To update Instant Client:
- Download Instant Client from Oracle Technology Network .
- Place the new files directly on top of the previous files.If you place the files into a different directory (and remove the previous files), be sure to update your
PATH
environment variable setting to reflect the new location.
4.2 Recommended Postinstallation Tasks
Oracle recommends that you perform the tasks in the following sections after completing an installation:
4.2.1 Configuring Instant Client Light
To configure Instant Client Light, you must make it the default instead of Instant Client.
To configure Instant Client Light:
- In the
ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME
directory, either rename or delete theoraociei11.dll
file.Theoraociei11.dll
file is the main binary for Instant Client. - From the
ORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME
installinstantclientlight
directory, copy theoraociicus11.dll
file to theORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME
directory.Theoraociicus11.dll
file is the binary for Instant Client Light. - Ensure that the
PATH
environment variable points to theORACLE_BASE
ORACLE_CLIENT_HOME
directory.
Note:
If the Instant Client PATH
is not set, applications will try to load the regular Instant Client libraries first. If the applications cannot find these, they will attempt to load the Instant Client Light library next.4.2.2 Connecting Oracle Database Client to an Oracle Database
After you run Oracle Universal Installer to install Oracle Database Client, you must use Net Configuration Assistant (NetCA) to configure Oracle Database Client to connect to an Oracle database. At the end of installation, Oracle Universal Installer prompts you to configure the database connection. If you bypassed that option, or if you need to change the database connection later on, use the following procedure if you installed the Administrator, Runtime, or Custom installation types.
See Also:
'Connecting Instant Client or Instant Client Light to an Oracle Database' if you had installed the Instant Client installation typeTo connect Oracle Database Client to an Oracle Database:
- From the Start menu, choose Oracle -HOME_NAME, then Configuration and Migration Tools, then Net Configuration Assistant.
- In the Welcome window, select Local Net Service Name configuration and click Next.
- In the Net Service Name Configuration window, select Add and click Next.
- In the Service Name window, enter the name of the Oracle database to which you want to connect and click Next.
- In the Select Protocols window, select the protocol you want and click Next.
- In the Protocol window, depending on the protocol you selected, enter the appropriate information and click Next.
- In the Net Test window, select whether you want to test the connection, and click Next.
- In the Net Service Name window, enter a name for the net service and click Next.
- Answer the remaining prompts, which allow you to configure another net service name, and then click Finish to complete the configuration.Net Configuration Assistant creates the
tnsnames.ora
file in the following location:
See Also:
Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for more information about Oracle Net Configuration Assistant4.2.3 Connecting Instant Client or Instant Client Light to an Oracle Database
Before you can connect Instant Client or Instant Client Light to an Oracle database, ensure that the
PATH
environment variable specifies the directory that contains the Instant Client libraries. (By default, Oracle Universal Installer updates the PATH
variable for you during the installation process, but another user may have inadvertently reset it since then.) This directory is the Oracle home directory that you specified during installation.For example, for regular Instant Client, it is in:
For Instant Client Light, it is in:
After you have checked the
PATH
environment variable, you can use any of the following methods to specify Oracle Database connection information for client applications:4.2.3.1 Specifying a Connection by Using the Easy Connect Naming Method
You can specify a connection address to an Oracle Database directly from a client application, without having to configure a
tnsnames
setting for the Instant Client. This method is convenient in that you do not have to create and manage a tnsnames.ora
file. However, your application users must specify the host name and port number when they want to log in to your application.For example, suppose you are running SQL*Plus on the client computer and want to connect to the
sales_us
database, which is located on a server whose host name is shobeen
and port number is 1521. If you launch SQL*Plus from the command line, you could log in as follows:Similarly, in your application code, you can use Oracle Call Interface net naming methods to create the Instant Client-to-Oracle Database connection. For example, the following formats in the
OCIServerAttach()
call specify the connection information:- Specify a SQL connect URL string using the following format:For example:
- Alternatively, you can specify the SQL connect information as an Oracle Net keyword-value pair. For example:See Also:Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for more information about using Oracle Call Interface Instant Client
4.2.3.2 Specifying a Connection by Configuring a tnsnames.ora File
By default, when you install Instant Client, Oracle Universal Installer does not include a sample
tnsnames.ora
file nor the Oracle Net Configuration Assistant utility normally used to create it. However, if you want to shield users from having to specify actual host names and port numbers, you may want to consider using a tnsnames.ora
file to set the Instant Client-to-Oracle Database connection.You can create the
tnsnames.ora
file manually by copying and modifying a version of this file from another Oracle installation, or you can use Oracle Net Configuration Assistant to create and manage it for you.To install Oracle Net Configuration Assistant:
- Run Oracle Universal Installer.
- Select the Custom installation type.
- In the Available Product Components list, select Oracle Network Utilities and click Next.
- In the Summary window, click Install, then click Exit and Yes to exit Oracle Universal Installer.
After you have installed Oracle Net Configuration Assistant, follow the procedure in 'Connecting Oracle Database Client to an Oracle Database' for each client computer.
Then, on each client computer, configure either of the following settings:
- Set the
TNS_ADMIN
environment variable to specify the location of thetnsnames.ora
file and specify a service name from that file. - Place the
tnsnames.ora
file in theORACLE_HOME
networkadmin
directory, and ensure that theORACLE_HOME
environment has been set to this Oracle home.See Also:Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for more information about Oracle Call Interface Instant Client connection strings
4.2.3.3 Specifying a Connection by Using an Empty Connect String and the LOCAL Variable
You can set the connect string to an empty connect string ('), and then set the
LOCAL
environment variable to one of the following values:- A direct address, as described under 'Specifying a Connection by Using the Easy Connect Naming Method'
- Oracle Net keyword-value pair
- A
tnsnames.ora
entry andTNS_ADMIN
is set to the location oftnsnames.ora
- A
tnsnames.ora
entry and the following:tnsnames.ora
file located inORACLE_HOME
/network/admin
- The
ORACLE_HOME
environment variable set to this Oracle home
This method allows your applications to specify internally a connection string if the application code itself uses an empty connection string. The benefit of an empty connect string is that the application itself does not need to specify the
tnsnames.ora
entry. Instead, when a user invokes the application, the location of the database is determined by a script or the environment, depending on where you have set the LOCAL
environment variable. The disadvantage of using empty strings is that you must configure this additional information in order for your application to connect to the database.4.2.4Setting Up User Accounts
For information about setting up additional user accounts, see Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows.
4.2.5 Using Oracle9i Language and Definition Files with Oracle Database 11g Release 2
Changes have been made to the content of some of the language and territory definition files in Oracle Database 10g and later releases. These updates are necessary to correct the legacy definitions that no longer meet the local conventions in some of the languages and territories that Oracle Database supports.
Oracle Database 11g Release 2 customers should review their existing application code to ensure that the correct cultural conventions, which were introduced and defined in Oracle Database 10g, are being used. For customers who may not be able to make the necessary code changes to support their applications, Oracle Database offers Oracle9i locale definition files with this release of Oracle Database. If the Oracle Database server installation has been configured to use the Oracle9i files, then you must enable this functionality in each client installation as well.
To enable this functionality:
- Run the
cr9idata.pl
script, by default located inORACLE_HOME
nlsdataold
.If the client installation type you chose does not include this directory, you can find thecr9idata.pl
script in the same directory path in a default Oracle Database installation. - Set the
ORA_NLS10
environment variable to point to the directory where you installed the new language and territory definition files, which by default are inORACLE_HOME
nlsdata
. - Restart Oracle Database.
See Also:
- Appendix B, 'Installing Oracle Database Client Using Response Files' for information about response files, in which you can set the
b_cr9idata
variable and then run the response file with Oracle Universal Installer - Appendix C, 'Configuring Oracle Database Globalization Support' for information about globalization support that is affected by this release of Oracle Database
- Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide for information about the
NLS_LANG
parameter, the Globalization Support initialization parameters, and the changes made to language and territory definitions in Oracle Database 10g
4.2.6 Configuring Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor
Before you can use to view Oracle-specific counters, you must specify the system password using
operfcfg.exe
located in the ORACLE_HOME
bin
directory.To set the system password, enter the following:
See Also:
Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows for additional information about Oracle Counters for Windows Performance Monitor4.3 Required Product-Specific Postinstallation Task – Configuring Oracle Net Services
You can configure Oracle Database Client to communicate with Oracle Net Services by adding the appropriate entries to the
tnsnames.ora
and listener.ora
files. If you have a previous release or Oracle software, you can just copy information in the Oracle Net tnsnames.ora
and listener.ora
configuration files from the previous release to the corresponding files in the new release.Note:
The default location for the tnsnames.ora
and listener.ora
files is the ORACLE_HOME
networkadmin
directory.4.4 Postinstallation Tasks for SQL Developer
This section describes tasks that you must complete after you install the software:
4.4.1 Migrating User Settings from Release 1.0
The first time you start SQL Developer after installing it or after adding any extensions, you are asked if you want to migrate your user settings from a previous release. (This occurs regardless of whether there was a previous release on your system.)
Note:
Migration of user settings is supported only from SQL Developer Release 1.0 to Release 1.1. It is not supported for migration from a pre-release version of 1.1 to Release 1.1.These settings refer to database connections, reports, and certain SQL Developer user preferences that you set in a previous version by clicking Tools and then Preferences. However, some user preferences are not saved, and you must re-specify these using the new release.
To migrate user settings from SQL Developer Release 1.0:
- Install Oracle SQL Developer.
- When you start SQL Developer Release 1.1, click Yes when asked if you want to migrate settings from a previous release.
- In the dialog box that is displayed, do not accept the default location for the settings. Instead, specify the location of your Release 1.0 settings, which might be a folder whose path ends with
sqldeveloperjdevsystem
.
See also Section 4.4.2, 'Migrating Information from Previous Releases.'
4.4.2 Migrating Information from Previous Releases
If you have used a previous release of SQL Developer or a pre-release version of the current release, you may want to preserve database connections that you have been using. To preserve database connections, save your existing database connections in an XML file. To save the connections, right-click the Connections node in the Connections Navigator and select Export Connections. After you complete the installation described in this guide, you can use those connections by right-clicking the Connections node in the Connections Navigator and selecting Import Connections.
If you want to use any user-defined reports or the SQL history from a previous version, see 'Location of User-Related Information' for information about where these are located. If you want to use any user-defined reports or the SQL history from Release 1.0 with both Releases 1.0 and 1.1, you must save them before using Release 1.1, because Release 1.1 modifies the files to a format that is incompatible with Release 1.0.
SQL Developer preferences (specified by clicking Tools and then Preferences) from a pre-release version of the current release cannot currently be saved and reused; you must re-specify any desired preferences.
4.4.3 Location of User-Related Information
SQL Developer stores user-related information in several places, with the specific location depending on the operating system and certain environment specifications. User-related information includes user-defined reports, user-defined snippets, SQL Worksheet history, and SQL Developer user preferences.
SQL Developer user preferences are stored under the installation directory. To preserve preferences when upgrading to a more recent version of the same SQL Developer release, but not to upgrade from Release 1.0 to 1.1, use the Check for Updates feature (click Help, then Check for Updates) to upgrade your system.
This user-related information is stored in or under the
HOME
environment variable location, if defined; otherwise the SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR
location, if defined; otherwise as indicated in the following table.The table shows the typical default locations (under a directory or in a file) for specific types of resources on different operating systems. (Note the period in the name of any directory or folder named
.sqldeveloper
.)Table 4-1 Default Locations for User-Related Information
Resource Type | Windows Systems |
---|---|
User-defined reports | C:Documents and Settings<user-name>.sqldeveloperUserReports.xml |
User-defined snippets | C:Documents and Settings<user-name>.sqldeveloperUserReports.xml |
SQL history | C:Documents and Settings<user-name>.sqldeveloperSqlHistory.xml |
SQL Worksheet archive files | C:Documents and Settings<user-name>.sqldevelopertmp |
SQL Developer user preferences | <sqldeveloper_install>sqldevelopersqldevelopersystem ~/.sqldeveloper/system/ |
SQL Worksheet archive files contain SQL statements that you have entered. These files begin with sqldev and then have a random number (for example,
sqldev14356.sql
). If you close SQL Developer with a SQL Worksheet open that contains statements, then you will be prompted to save these files.To specify a nondefault
SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR
location, do either of the following:- Set the
SQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR
environment variable to specify another directory path. - Edit the
<sqldeveloper_install>
sqldevelopersqldeveloperbinsqldeveloper.conf
file and substitute the desired directory path forSQLDEVELOPER_USER_DIR
in the following line:
If you want to prevent other users from accessing your user-specific SQL Developer information, you must ensure that the appropriate permissions are set on the directory where that information is stored or on a directory above it in the path hierarchy. For example, you may want to ensure that the
sqldeveloper
folder and the <user-name>
.sqldeveloper
folder under Documents and Settings
are not sharable.