Paradox to Oracle (mw)

Hello.

I've been developing apps in Paradox 4.5 & 5.0 for about 2 1/2 years now. I really enjoy Paradox as a development environment and I've invested quite a bit of time learning its native language (ObjectPAL). However, with all the attention and notoriety that Oracle is getting, I thought I would start looking into it. I made some contacts at Oracle and they sent me a demo disk of Personal Oracle 7. With the small amount of time i've spent with this demo (as well as no hard documentation to help me figure out even the simplest of tasks), I'm in need of some explanatory help.

I'm used to the following process: creating my tables, defining indices, defining the data model where i link my tables, designing the forms
(interface), then writing my code.

How close is this (Paradox) process compared to the process employed by Oracle? Does Oracle have its own application language, or do I use some other language (Delphi, etc.?)

Also, I've only tinkered around with SQL, using mostly ObjectPAL queries in my Paradox apps. I guess my question here is, how difficult is Oracle's development environment to learn (maybe in comparison to other desktop relational database products?) I realise this is a subjective question that revolves around experience, but any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

As you can tell, I don't know much of anything about developing in Oracle. I do know its supposedly a very robust product, especially in network environments. I also know there are a lot of opportunities for Oracle developers and administrators (high-demand product support!)

Also, for those of you who don't mind sharing, what kind of cost can i expect to outlay for Oracle's products?

Sorry this is such a long post, but I would definitely like some feedback
(even at the most elementary level about the product.)

Thanks in advance for any ideas and answers!!

Mike Received on Wed Feb 26 1997 - 00:00:00 CST