INF: Using the Visigenic Oracle Driver on WinNT & Win95

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Open Database Connectivity, 32-bit drivers
• Microsoft Windows NT operating system, version 3.51

SUMMARY

The Visigenic 32-bit ODBC driver for ORACLE 7 works on the Windows NT operating system using ORACLE SQL*NET components for Windows NT 3.51. Currently, Windows 95 is not a supported platform with respect to the Visigenic 32-bit ORACLE ODBC Driver. Microsoft Corporation will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

NOTE: Windows 95 is supported by the Microsoft Oracle driver. To determine if the version of Oracle you are using is supported by this driver, refer to the driver docmentation. For information on obtaining the driver, which includes the documentation, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q175018
   TITLE     : HOWTO: Acquire and Install the Microsoft Oracle ODBC Driver
               v2.0

Visigenic Corporation has developed a 16-bit version of their ODBC Oracle Driver. Microsoft Corporation neither ships nor specifically endorses this 16-bit driver. The information provided in this paragraph is for the express purpose of informing Microsoft customers on available 16-bit options for accessing Oracle data in an ODBC manner. Customers interested in obtaining this 16-bit driver should send Internet mail to sales@visigenic.com.

The last time that 16-bit ORACLE ODBC drivers were released by Microsoft Corporation was with the ODBC Desktop Database Drivers 2.0. There were two 16-bit ORACLE drivers included with this release. There was a 16-bit ORACLE ODBC Driver designed for use with ORACLE 6.x servers. This driver had a version number of 1.00.3112 and was developed by PageAhead Software Corporation on behalf of Microsoft and Oracle Corporation. The second 16- bit ORACLE driver included in this kit has a version number of 1.11.0000 and was designed for use with ORACLE 7.0 servers. It was developed by Oracle Corporation. Microsoft recommends that ODBC developers and users migrate as soon as possible to 32-bit ODBC ORACLE drivers. The ODBC Desktop Database Drivers 2.0 kit was released in late 1994 and there are no plans to release any updates to 16-bit ODBC components from this kit. If it is critical for you to obtain the 16-bit versions of the ODBC ORACLE drivers, you may still order this kit directly from Microsoft by calling 1- 800-360-7561 and refer to part number #273-054-030. The charge is $5.25 plus shipping and handling. This driver kit is also still released as a part of the 16-bit components included with the Microsoft Developer Network Subscription (MSDN). The Professional and Enterprise (formerly known at Level 2 and Level 3) Subscriptions include these 16-bit drivers. For more information on obtaining MSDN, call 1-800-759-5474 or search online at http://www.msdn.com.

MORE INFORMATION

Using the 32-bit Oracle7 Driver on the Windows NT Operating System

In order to function in a Windows NT environment, the 32-bit Oracle7 driver uses the Oracle NT 3.51 networking components. The Oracle7 driver has been tested against the following versions of SQL*Net. Visigenic Corporation recommends that you use these versions or later:

PLATFORM:                VERSION OF CLIENT LIBRARIES:

Windows NT 3.51          SQL*Net version 1.1
                         SQL*Net version 2.1

Using the 32-bit Oracle7 Driver on the Windows 95 Operating System

The following information pertains to using the Visigenic 32-bit Oracle7 driver on Windows 95.

Currently, Windows 95 is not a supported platform with respect to the Visigenic 32-bit Oracle ODBC Driver. Microsoft Corporation will post new information in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

However, there is a workaround that allows you to use the Oracle7 driver on the Windows 95 operating system.

WARNING: This workaround has not been exhaustively tested by Visigenic Corporation and Visigenic Corporation cannot assure that it will work with all ODBC functions. Oracle Corporation neither supports nor acknowledges this configuration of their SQL*NET components. This workaround should be used for development and testing purposes only and not in a production environment.

When Oracle Corporation ships a general release version of the networking components that support Windows 95, Visigenic Corporation will certify the Visigenic 32-bit Oracle driver with the Oracle SQL*NET components for Windows 95 and if necessary make an upgraded driver available that works with these components.

This workaround works with SQL*Net 1.1 but will not connect with SQL*Net 2.0 or later versions.

To use the driver, follow these steps:

1. Install the Oracle NT 3.51 components. These components are available on either the Oracle7 Server 7.1.3.3.6 CD, the Oracle Workgroup 2000 CD, or the Oracle Products for Windows NT version 7.1 CD.

   Choose Custom Install and install the following components:

         Required Support Files 7.1.3.3.6
         SQL*Net TCP/IP Client 1.1.6.8
   

   This combination contains the files that the Oracle7 driver needs, which include:

         corent23.dll
         msvcrt10.dll
         orant71.dll
         sqltcpnt.dll
   

   The Oracle7 driver is dependent on one additional file that is not installed by the Oracle installer setup:

         ctl3d32.dll
   

   This file must reside in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Both Visual Basic 4.0 and Visual C++ 4.0 ship with this file.

2. During the installation process, ORACLE entries are made in the Windows 95 registry. These entries may need to be removed. After the installation process is complete, start the registry editor (regedit) with the /v option. Search through the registry and remove any ORACLE entries. These entries should be found under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE root in the SOFTWARE key. This will clean up the registry and force the system to use the environment variable "PATH" to find the Oracle components.

   A side effect of removing the registry entries is that some taskbar menu items created by the Oracle installer will no longer function. These are not important to the functioning of ODBC and can be removed at your discretion.

3. Once the registry entries are removed, add the Oracle installation directory \BIN to the search path. Edit the AUTOEXEC.BAT file that is located in the root directory (if one is not already present, then create it), and add the directory to the path. For example, if Oracle has been installed in C:\ORANT, then add the following line:

         PATH=c:\orant\bin;%PATH%
   

4. Other registry entries specific to the Visigenic Oracle7 driver may need to be edited. Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE root in the SOFTWARE hive, search for a key called ODBC. Inside that key is another subkey called ODBCINST.INI. Inside that subkey are additional subkeys, including ODBC Drivers and Visigenic Oracle7.

   The ODBC Drivers folder must contain at least one entry. Entries consist of a Name and the corresponding data. Name must be set to "Visigenic Oracle7" and Data must be set to "Installed."

   The Visigenic Oracle7 subkey must contain at least two entries. For the first entry, Name must be set to "Driver" and Data must be set to "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\vsorac32.dll". FFor the second entry, Name must be set to "Setup" and Data must be set to "C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\vsorac32.dll". Note that the Data value is the same for both Name entries.

   If the Visigenic Oracle7 subkey did not exist in the ODBCINST.INI subkey, you must create it. Note that the entries in the ODBCINST.INI subkey should match those in a file in your C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM called ODBCINST.INI, but it is not sufficient to edit this file, because the registry does not automatically import information from this file, even when you reboot your workstation.

5. You then need to add a "services" file to your windows directory. If you had previously connected to Oracle under Windows 3.1, this file will normally be included in your Windows 3.1 TCP/IP connectivity directory, which is specific to your TCP/IP connectivity software. In that directory there should be a file named "services" (or SERVICES.TXT). Copy this file into your Windows directory. This file should be named "services" with no file extension.

   Below is an example of what this file might look like. This example is taken from a Visigenic internal configuration. The number of entries and the numeric values in yours will be different from this one. The important thing is that the file contains a reference to "orasrv".

         C:\WINDOWS\services:
   

         sqlexec      1525/tcp   (not required)
         orasrv      1526/tcp   (required entry)
         informixse      1527/tcp   (not required)
         online7      1537/tcp   (not required)
   
      If you cannot find the "services" file or do not know how to interpret
      the entries in it, please speak to your system administrator.
   
   

6. Reboot and run.

7. Remember to use the SQL*Net 1.1 connection string syntax and not the SQL*Net 2.1 syntax. The connection string format is:

         t:{server name}:{database name}
   

   where "t" signifies connections using the TCP/IP protocol.

   For example, using TCP/IP with a server named "mickey" and the database instance of "ora1", the following connect string would be used:

         t:mickey:ora1