Re: FAQ for help going from Sybase to Oracle?

Been there. Done that. I feel your pain :-)

I don't know of such a FAQ. There needs to be one. If I had the time (meaning if my current contract gets cut), one of the things I think really needs to be done is a rational (the holy flame wars are a waste of time!) comparison of Sybase and Oracle. I am working with both on my current contract. There are things about each one that are very frustrating(!!!!).  I would certainly find a basic comparison helpful.

Simple answer #1. Oracle does more with views; Sybase does more with stored procedures. Check out the dba_, all_ and user_ views. There are lots of these views.

Simple answer #2. Oracle does not have multiple databases in a single instance (server) the way Sybase does. The same thing can be simulated with what Oracle calls 'schemas'. The equiv. of Sybase's master database is kept in Oracle's data dictionary. The Oracle DD is accessed via the views mentioned in answer #1.

I have a book called 'Oracle Unleashed'. I think it is a good intro to a very large part of the Oracle product line. The coverage of each topic is very thin, but it is a good start.

Kevin M. Haney <khaney_at_netaxs.com> wrote in article <01bc1318$73f96bc0$9787a4cd_at_157.121.8.16.N_MIS>...
> If there's a FAQ out there that will help me make the transition from
> Sybase to Oracle, I'd like to hear about it. It's driving me crazy that
 I
> can't just connect to an Oracle database and do an sp_who, or select name
> from sysobjects, or select db_name(). I'm sure there are equivalent
> commands... I just need a good reference to figure them out.
>
> Is there a "master" database in Oracle? Are there system stored
 procedures
> like sybase? How do I use sqlplus from unix (I've played with "sqlplus
> user/password_at_server"... it doesn't seem as flexible as isql)?, are there
> equivalent tables like sysdatabases, syslogins, sysobjects, etc, etc.
>
> Any help, such as a book or web page that might have such helpful hints
> would be appreciated. If there isn't such a thing, maybe I'll compile
 one
> and submit it to the Oracle FAQ.
>
>
>
Received on Thu Feb 06 1997 - 00:00:00 CST