Installing Oracle 8.1.6

Oracle is the RDBMS utilized by the ArsDigita Community System. If you have trouble installing it, please refer to Oracle's documentation.

Table of Contents

1. Acquire Oracle 8.1.6 Enterprise Edition for Linux
2. Things to keep in mind
3. Pre-Installation Tasks
4. Installing Oracle 8.1.6 Server
5. Creating your first database
6. Acceptance Test
7. Automating Startup and Shutdown
8. Appendix A: What to do about wrong dates
9. Appendix B: Useful Procedures
10. Appendix C: Oracle Defaults

Acquire Oracle 8.1.6 Enterprise Edition

You can obtain the software through a variety of methods.

1. Order a CD from the Oracle Store. There is a link under the heading Buying Tips that says "Learn how to trial Oracle software." Click this for instructions on how to make your order. The cost is currently $39.95 with delivery estimated between 3-4 business days.

2. Request a free demonstration CD. At the Oracle Downloads page, click on the appropriate version of Oracle 8.1.6 Release 2 for your OS. You should see a "Try Online" link. After filling out some information forms, you should be able to order a version of the CD. This takes about 2-3 weeks for delivery.

3. You can download Oracle from the Technet ftp site. The Linux version is at ftp://ftp.oracle.com/pub/www/otn/linux/oracle8i/oracle8161_tar.gz.

   Note that the Oracle tarball that you will download is huge (> 250Mb).

   • Oracle 8.1.6 now comes with a Java RunTime Environment built-in to the distribution, so you no longer have to download and install it separately.

   • After the download is complete, untar the file to a convenient location. To do this, you will need to login and cd to the directory where the archive is.

     $ cd /directory/where/oracle/is
     $ tar -xzvf oracle8161_tar.gz
     

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Things to Keep in Mind

Throughout these instructions, we will refer to a number of configurable settings. We will advise certain defaults. With the exception of passwords, we advise you to follow these defaults unless you know what you are doing. Subsequent documents will expect that you used the defaults, so a change made here will necessitate further changes later. For a guide to the defaults, please see Appendix 3.

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Pre-Installation Tasks

Though Oracle 8.1.6 has an automated installer, we still need to perform several manual, administrative tasks before we can launch it. You must perform all of these steps as the root user. We recommend entering the X window system as a user other than root and then doing a su -. This command gives you full root access.

• Login in as a non-root user.

• Start X by typing startx.
• Open a terminal window type and login as root.

  $ su -
  ; Enter the root password when prompted.
  #
  

• Create and setup the oracle group and oracle account.

  We need to create a user oracle, which is used to install the product, as well as starting and stopping the database.

  # groupadd dba
  # groupadd oinstall
  # groupadd oracle
  # useradd -g dba -G oinstall,oracle -m oracle
  

  Now change the oracle account password

  # passwd oracle
  

  You will be prompted for the New Password and Confirmation of that password.

• Setup the installation location for oracle

  While Oracle can reside in a variety of places in the file system, ArsDigita has adopted '/ora8' as the base directory.

  Note: the oracle install needs about 1 Gb free on '/ora8' to install successfully.

  # mkdir /ora8
  # cd /ora8
  # mkdir -p m01 m02 m03/oradata/ora8
  # chown -R oracle.dba /ora8
  # exit                  ; Logs out.
  

• Set up the oracle user Environment
  • Log in as the user oracle

    In the same terminal window, type the following.

    $ su - oracle
    ; Enter oracle's password
    

  • Use a text editor to edit the .bash_profile file in the oracle account home directory.

    $ emacs ~oracle/.bash_profile
    

    You may get this error:

    Xlib: connection to ":0.0" refused by server
    Xlib: Client is not authorized to connect to Server
    emacs: Cannot connect to X server :0.
    Check the DISPLAY environment variable or use `-d'.
    Also use the `xhost' program to verify that it is set to permit
    connections from your machine.
    

    If so, do the following.

    Open a new terminal window.
    $ xhost +localhost
    Now, back in the oracle terminal
    $ export DISPLAY=localhost:0
    $ emacs ~oracle/.bash_profile
    

    Try this procedure anytime you get an Xlib connection refused error.

  • Add the following lines to this file:

    export ORACLE_BASE=/ora8/m01/app/oracle
    export ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_BASE/product/8.1.6
    export PATH=$PATH:$ORACLE_HOME/bin
    export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME/lib:/lib:/usr/lib
    export ORACLE_SID=ora8
    export ORACLE_TERM=vt100
    export ORA_NLS33=$ORACLE_HOME/ocommon/nls/admin/data
    
    umask 022
    

    Save the file by typing CTRL-X CTRL-S and then exit by typing CTRL-X CTRL-C. Alternatively, use the menus.

  Make sure that you do not add any lines like the following

  # NLS_LANG=american
  # export NLS_LANG
  

  These lines will change the Oracle date settings and will break the ArsDigita Community System (ACS) because ACS depends on the ANSI date format, YYYY-MM-DD dates.

• Log out as oracle.

  $ exit
  

• Log back in as oracle and double check that your environment variables are as intended.

  $ su - oracle
  $ env | grep ORACLE
  

  If it worked, you should see:

  ORACLE_SID=ora8
  ORACLE_BASE=/ora8/m01/app/oracle
  ORACLE_TERM=vt100
  ORACLE_HOME=/ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6
  

  If not, try adding the files to ~oracle/.bashrc. Then logout and log back in again. Also, be certain you are doing su - and not just su. The - means that .bashrc and .bash_profile will be evaluated.

  Make sure that /bin, /usr/bin, and /usr/local/bin are in your path by typing:

  $ echo $PATH
  /bin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin/X11:/usr/X11R6/bin:/home/oracle/bin:/ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin
  

  If they are not, then add them to the .bash_profile by changing the PATH statement above to PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin:$ORACLE_HOME/bin).

Installing Oracle 8.1.6 Server

• Log in as the user oracle and start X if not already running.

  Start a new terminal
  $ xhost +localhost
  $ su - oracle
  Enter oracle password
  $ export DISPLAY=localhost:0.0
  

• Find the 'runInstaller' script.
  • If you are installing Oracle from a CD-ROM, it is located in the 'install/linux' path from the cd-rom mount point

    $ su - root
    # mount -t iso9660 /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
    # exit
    $ cd /mnt/cdrom
    

  • If you are installing from the tarball, the install script is located in the 'Oracle8iR2' directory that was cerated when you expanded the archive.

    $ cd /where/oracle/archive/is/Oracle8iR2
    

  Check to make sure the file is there.

  $ ls
  doc  index.htm  install  runInstaller  stage  starterdb
  

  If you don't see runInstaller you are in the wrong directory.

• Run the installer.

  $ ./runInstaller
  

  • A window will open that welcomes you to the 'Oracle Universal Installer' (OUI). Click on "Next."

• The "File Locations" screen in the OUI:
  • "Source" path should have been prefilled with "(wherever you mounted the CDROM)/stage/products.jar."

  • "destination" path says "/ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6."

    If the destination is not correct it is because your environment variables are not set properly. Make sure you logged on as oracle using su - oracle. If so, edit the ~oracle/.bash_profile as you did in the pre-installation steps.

  • Click "Next" (a pop up window will display Loading Product information).

    
    

• The "Unix Group Name" screen in the OUI:
  • The Unix Group name needs to be set to 'oinstall' ( we made this Unix group earlier ).

  • Click "Next."

  • A popup window appears instantly, requesting you to run a script a root:

  • Open a new terminal window, then type:

    $ su
    # cd /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6
    # ./orainstRoot.sh  
    ; You should see:
    Creating Oracle Inventory pointer file (/etc/oraInst.loc)
    Changing groupname of /ora8/m01/app/oracle/oraInventory to oinstall.	  
    # exit
    $ exit
    

  • Click "Retry."

    
    

• The "Available Products" screen in the OUI:
  • Select "Oracle 8i Enterprise Edition 8.1.6.1.0" is selected.

  • Click "Next."

• The "Installation Types" screen.
  • Select the "Custom" installation type.

  • Click "Next."

• The "Available Product Components" screen.
  • In addition to the defaults, make sure that "Oracle SQLJ 8.1.6.0," "Oracle Protocol Support 8.1.6.1.0," and "Linux Documentation 8.1.6.0.0" are also checked (they were not in releases 8.1.5 and 8.1.6).

  • Click "Next."

  • A progress bar will appear for about 1 minute.

    
    

• The "Component Locations" screen in the OUI.
  • Click on the "Java Runtime Environment 1.1.8." It should have the path "/ora8/m01/app/oracle/jre/1.1.8."

  • Click "Next."

  • A progress bar will appear for about 1 minute.

    
    

• The "Privileged Operation System Groups" screen in the OUI.
  • Enter "dba" for "Database Administrator (OSDBA) Group."

  • Enter "dba" for the "Database Operator (OSOPER) Group."

  • Click "Next."

  • A progress bar will appear for about 1 minute.

    
    

• The "Create a Database" screen in the OUI.
  • Select "No" as we will do this later after some important configuration changes.

  • Click "Next."

• The "Summary" screen in the OUI.
  • Check the "Space Requirements" section to verify you have enough disk space for the install.

  • Check that "(91 products)" is in the "New Installations" section title.

  • Click "Install."

  • A progress bar will appear for about 20- 30 minutes. Now is a good time to take a break.

  • A "Setup Privileges" window will popup towards the end of the installation asking you to run a script as root

  • Run the script.

    $ su -
    Enter root password
    # /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/root.sh
    ; You should see the following.	  
    
    Creating Oracle Inventory pointer file (/etc/oraInst.loc)
    Changing groupname of /ora8/m01/app/oracle/oraInventory to oinstall.
    # /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/root.sh
    Running Oracle8 root.sh script...
    The following environment variables are set as:
        ORACLE_OWNER= oracle
        ORACLE_HOME=  /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6
        ORACLE_SID=   ora8
    
    Enter the full pathname of the local bin directory: [/usr/local/bin]: 
    
    Press ENTER here to accept default of /usr/local/bin
    	  
    
    Creating /etc/oratab file...
    Entry will be added to the /etc/oratab file by
    Database Configuration Assistant when a database is created
    Finished running generic part of root.sh script.
    Now product-specific root actions will be performed.
    IMPORTANT NOTE: Please delete any log and trace files previously
                    created by the Oracle Enterprise Manager Intelligent
                    Agent. These files may be found in the directories
                    you use for storing other Net8 log and trace files.
                    If such files exist, the OEM IA may not restart.
    	  

  • Do not follow the instructions on deleting trace and log files. it is not necessary.

  # exit
  $ exit
  

• Go back to the pop-up window and click "OK."

• The "Configuration Tools" screen in the OUI.
  • This window displays the config tools that will automatically be launched.

    
    

• The "Welcome" screen in the "net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Make sure the "Perform Typical installation" is not selected.

  • Click "Next."

  • The "Directory Service Access" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."

  • Select "No."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Listener Configuration, Listener Name" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Accept the default listener name of "LISTENER."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Listener Configuration, Select Protocols" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • The only choice in "Select protocols:" should be "TCP/IP."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Listener Configuration TCP/IP Protocol" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Default Port should be 1521 and selected.

  • Click "Next."

• The "Listener Configuration, More Listeners" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Select "No."

  • Click "Next"

    
    

• The "Listener Configuration Done" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Naming Methods Configuration" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Select "No."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Done" screen in the "Net 8 Configuration Assistant."
  • Click "Finish."

    
    

• The "End of Installation" screen in the OUI.
  • Click "Exit."

  • Click "Yes" on the confirmation pop up window.

  • The Oracle Universal Installer window should have disappeared!

    
    

Creating the first Database

• Make sure you are running X. Open up a terminal and su to oracle and then run the dbassist program.

  $ xhost +localhost
  $ su - oracle
  ; Enter oracle password
  $ export DISPLAY=localhost:0
  $ dbassist
  

• The "Welcome" screen in the Oracle Database Configuration Agent (ODCA).
  • Select "Create a database."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Select database type" screen in the ODCA.
  • Select "Custom."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "Primary Database Type" window in ODCA.
  • Select "Multipurpose."

  • Click "Next."

    
    

• The "concurrent users" screen of the ODCA.
  • Select "60" concurrent users.

  • Click "Next."

• Select "Dedicated Server Mode". Click "Next".

• Accept all of the options, and click "Next." Oracle Visual Information Retrieval may be grayed out. If so, you can ignore it. Just make sure that everything else is checked.

• For "Global Database Name", enter "ora8". For "SID", also enter "ora8" (it should do this automatically). Click "Next".

• Accept the defaults for the next screen (control file location). Click "Next".

• Go to the "temporary" and "rollback" tabs, and change the Size (upper-right text box) to 150Mb. Click "Next".

• Increase the redo log sizes to 10000K each. Click "Next".

• Use the default checkpoint interval & timeout. Click "Next."

• Increase "Processes" to 100; "Block Size" to 4096 (better for small Linux boxes; aD uses 8192 on the big Solaris machines).

• Accept the defaults for the Trace File Directory. Click "Next".

• Finally, select "Save information to a shell script" and click "Finish." (we're going to examine the contents of this file before creating our database.)

• Click the "Save" button. Oracle will automatically save it to the correct directory and with the correct file name. This will be /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/assistants/dbca/jlib/sqlora8.sh

• It will alert you that the script has been saved successfully.

• Now we need to customize the database configuration a bit. While still logged on as oracle, edit the database initialization script (run when the db loads). The scripts are kept in $ORACLE_HOME/dbs and the name of the script is usually initSID.ora where SID is the SID of your database. Assuming your $ORACLE_HOME matches our default of /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6, the following will open the file for editing.

  $ emacs /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/dbs/initora8.ora  
  

• Add the following line to the end:

  nls_date_format = "YYYY-MM-DD"
  

• Now find the open_cursors line in the file. If you're using emacs scroll up to the top of the buffer and do CTRL-S and type open_cursors to find the line. The default is 100. Change it to 500.

  open_cursors = 500
  

• Save the file. In emacs, do CTRL-X CTRL-S to save followed by CTRL-X CTRL-C to exit or use the menu.

• At this point, you are ready to initiate database creation. We recommend shutting down X to free up some RAM unless you have 256 MB of RAM or more. You can do this quickly by doing a CRTL-ALT-BACKSPACE, but make sure you have saved any files you were editing. You should now be returned to a text shell prompt. If you get sent to a graphical login screen instead, switch to a virtual console by doing CRTL-ALT-F1. Then login as oracle.
• Change to the directory where the database creation script is and run the script.

  $ cd /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/assistants/dbca/jlib
  $ ./sqlora8.sh
  

• Your database will now be built. It will take > 1 hour. No fooling. You will see lots of errors scroll by (like: "ORA-01432: public synonym to be dropped does not exist") Fear not, this is normal.

  Eventually, you'll be returned to your shell prompt. In the meantime, relax, you've earned it.

Acceptance Test

• You need to download the "Oracle Acceptance Test" file. It's available here and at http://www.photo.net/wtr/oracle/acceptance-sql.txt. Save the file to /tmp.

• In the oracle shell, copy the file.

  $ cp /tmp/acceptance-sql.txt /tmp/acceptance.sql
  

• Once you've got the acceptance test file all set, stay in your term and type the following:

  $ sqlplus system/manager
  

  SQL*Plus should startup. If you get an ORA-01034: Oracle not Available error, it is because your Oracle instance is not running. You can manually start it as the oracle user.

  $ svrmgrl
  SVRMGR> connect internal
  SVRMGR> startup
  

• Now that you're into SQL*Plus, change the default passwords for system, sys, and ctxsys to "alexisahunk" (or change them to something you'll remember):

  SQL> alter user system identified by alexisahunk;
  SQL> alter user sys identified by alexisahunk;
  SQL> alter user ctxsys identified by alexisahunk;
  

• Verify that your date settings are correct.

  SQL> select sysdate from dual;
   
  

  If you don't see a date that fits the format YYYY-MM-DD, please read this section..

• At this point we are going to hammer your database with an intense acceptance test. This usually takes around 30 minutes.

  SQL> @ /tmp/acceptance.sql
  
  ; A bunch of lines will scroll by.  You'll know if the test worked if
  ; you see this at the end:
  
  SYSDATE
  ----------
  2000-06-10
  
  SQL> 

  If there were no errors, then consider yourself fortunate. Your Oracle installation is working.

Automating Startup & Shutdown

• Oracle includes a script called dbstart that can be used to automatically start the database. Unfortunately, the script shipped in the Linux distribution does not work out of the box. The fix is simple. Follow these directions to apply it. First, save dbstart to /tmp. Then login, and su to oracle.

  $ cp /tmp/dbstart.txt /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/dbstart 
  $ chmod 755 /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/dbstart 
  

• While you're logged in as oracle, you should configure the oratab file to load your database at start.
• Edit the file /etc/oratab

• You will see this line.

  ora8:/ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6:N

  By the way, if you changed the service name or have multiple databases, the format of this file is

  service_name:$ORACLE_HOME:Y || N (for autoload)

• Change the last letter from "N" to "Y". This tells Oracle that you want the database to start when the machine boots. It should look like this.

  ora8:/ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6:Y

• Save the file & quit the terminal.

• You need a script to automate startup and shutdown. Save oracle8i.txt in /tmp. Then login as root and install the script.

   
  $ su -
  # cp /tmp/oracle8i.txt /etc/rc.d/init.d/oracle8i
  # chown root.root /etc/rc.d/init.d/oracle8i
  # chmod 700 /etc/rc.d/init.d/oracle8i      
  

• Test the script by typing the following commands and checking the output.

  # /etc/rc.d/init.d/oracle8i stop
  Oracle 8i auto start/stop
  Shutting Oracle8i:
  Oracle Server Manager Release 3.1.6.0.0 - Production
  
  Copyright (c) 1997, 1999, Oracle Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.
  
  Oracle8i Enterprise Edition Release 8.1.6.1.0 - Production
  With the Partitioning option
  JServer Release 8.1.6.0.0 - Production
  
  SVRMGR> Connected.
  SVRMGR> Database closed.
  Database dismounted.
  ORACLE instance shut down.
  SVRMGR> 
  Server Manager complete.
  Database "ora8" shut down.
        
  # /etc/rc.d/init.d/oracle8i start
  Oracle 8i auto start/stop
  Starting Oracle8i: 
  SQL*Plus: Release 8.1.6.0.0 - Production on Sat Jun 10 17:56:02 2000
  
  (c) Copyright 1999 Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
  
  SQL> Connected to an idle instance.
  SQL> ORACLE instance started.
  
  Total System Global Area   85004272 bytes
  Fixed Size		      69616 bytes
  Variable Size		   76374016 bytes
  Database Buffers	    8388608 bytes
  Redo Buffers		     172032 bytes
  Database mounted.
  Database opened.
  SQL> Disconnected
  
  Database "ora8" warm started.
  

• If it worked, then run these commands to make the startup and shutdown automatic.

  # cd /etc/rc.d/init.d/                      
  # chkconfig --add oracle8i
  # chkconfig --list oracle8i
  ; You should see:
  oracle8i       	0:off	1:off	2:off	3:on	4:on	5:on	6:off
  

• You also need some scripts to automate startup and shutdown of the Oracle8i listener. The listener is a name server that allows your Oracle programs to talk to local and remote databases using a standard naming convention. It is required for Intermedia Text and full site search.

  Download these three scripts into /tmp

  • startlsnr.txt
  • stoplsnr.txt
  • listener8i.txt

  Now issue the following commands (still as root).

  # su - oracle
  # cp /tmp/startlsnr.txt /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/startlsnr
  $ cp /tmp/stoplsnr.txt /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/stoplsnr    
  $ chmod 700 /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/startlsnr
  $ chmod 700 /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/stoplsnr
  $ exit
  ; You should now be back as root.
  # cp /tmp/listener8i.txt /etc/rc.d/init.d/listener8i
  # cd /etc/rc.d/init.d
  # chmod 700 listener8i
  

  Test the listener automation by running the following commands and checking the output.

  # ./listener8i stop
  Oracle 8i listener start/stop
  Shutting down Listener for 8i: 
  LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 8.1.6.0.0 - Production on 10-JUN-2000 18:28:49
  
  (c) Copyright 1998, 1999, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
  
  Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=localhost.localdomain)(PORT=1521)))
  The command completed successfully
  
      
  # ./listener8i start
  Oracle 8i listener start/stop
  Starting the Listener for 8i: 
  LSNRCTL for Linux: Version 8.1.6.0.0 - Production on 10-JUN-2000 18:28:52
  
  (c) Copyright 1998, 1999, Oracle Corporation.  All rights reserved.
  
  Starting /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/bin/tnslsnr: please wait...
  
  TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 8.1.6.0.0 - Production
  System parameter file is /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/network/admin/listener.ora
  Log messages written to /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/network/log/listener.log
  Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp)(HOST=localhost.localdomain)(PORT=1521)))
  Listening on: (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=ipc)(KEY=EXTPROC)))
  
  Connecting to (DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=localhost.localdomain)(PORT=1521)))
  STATUS of the LISTENER
  ------------------------
  Alias                     LISTENER
  Version                   TNSLSNR for Linux: Version 8.1.6.0.0 - Production
  Start Date                10-JUN-2000 18:28:53
  Uptime                    0 days 0 hr. 0 min. 0 sec
  Trace Level               off
  Security                  OFF
  SNMP                      OFF
  Listener Parameter File   /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/network/admin/listener.ora
  Listener Log File         /ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6/network/log/listener.log
  Services Summary...
    PLSExtProc		has 1 service handler(s)
    ora8		has 1 service handler(s)
  The command completed successfully
  

  This test will verify that the listener is operating normally. Login into the database using the listener naming convention.

  sqlplus username/password@SID

  # su - oracle
  $ sqlplus system/alexisahunk@ora8
  
  SQL> select sysdate from dual;
  
  SYSDATE
  ----------
  2000-06-10
  
  SQL> exit
  $ exit
  #
  

  Now run chkconfig on the listener8i script.

  # cd /etc/rc.d/init.d/
  # chkconfig --add listener8i
  # chkconfig --list listener8i
  listener8i     	0:off	1:off	2:off	3:on	4:on	5:on	6:off
  

• Test the automation

  As a final test, reboot your computer and make sure Oracle comes up. You can do this by typing

  # /sbin/shutdown -r -t 0 now
  

  Log b ack in and ensure that Oracle started automatically.

  $ su - oracle
  $ sqlplus system/alexisahunk@ora8
  
  SQL> exit
  

Appendix A: Troubleshooting Oracle Dates

Oracle has an internal representation for storing the data based on the number of seconds elapsed since some date. However, for the purposes of inputing dates into Oracle and getting them back out, Oracle needs to be told to use a specific date format. By default, it uses an Oracle-specific format which isn't copacetic. You want Oracle to use the ANSI-compliant date format which is of form 'YYYY-MM-DD'.

To fix this, you should include the following line in $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/initSID.ora or for the default case, $ORACLE_HOME/dbs/initora8.ora:

nls_date_format = "YYYY-MM-DD"

SQL> select sysdate from dual;

SQL> column sysdate format a15
SQL> select sysdate from dual;

If you're sure that you have restarted the database since adding the line, check your initialization scripts. Make sure that the following line is not included

export nls_lang = american

export nls_date_format = 'YYYY-MM-DD'

Appendix B: Useful Procedures

• Dropping a tablespace
  • run sqlplus as the dba

    $ sqlplus system/changeme
    

  • To drop a user and all of the tables and data owned by that user:

    SQL> drop user oracle_user_name cascade;
    

  • Drop the tablespace. This will delete everything in the tablespace overriding any referential integrity constraints. Run this command only if you want to clean out your database entirely.

    SQL> drop tablespace table_space_name including contents cascade constraints;
    

  For more information on Oracle, please consult the documentation.

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Appendix C: Defaults

Variable	Value	Reason
ORACLE_HOME	/ora8/m01/app/oracle/product/8.1.6	This is the default Oracle installation directory.
ORACLE_SERVICE	ora8	The service name is a domain-qualified identifier for your Oracle server.
ORACLE_SID	ora8	This is an identifier for your Oracle server.
ORACLE_OWNER	oracle	The user who owns all of the oracle files.
ORACLE_GROUP	dba	The special oracle group. Users in the dba group are authorized to do a connect internal within svrmgrl to gain full system access to the Oracle system.