Re: Java vs. VB6?

> Oracle claims I can do about everything with their tools, like Java
> Developer this, Forms maker that, Report coder the other. If I use
> these Ora tools, am I gonna have to learn Java too? Will I end up

For Oracle Forms and Reports, you do not need to know any Java. You'll need to know SQL and PL/SQl though. So you don't have to learn Java. But it might not be a bad idea to learn it if nothing else but to "advance" one's career.

> coding java anyway sometime in the future? Heck, I see they've even
> embedded it into the DB now (8i). What about OLE/DB? Is Net8 the only
> way to connect? How about JDBC? I'm lost...

Net8 is not the only way to connect. You can connect with ODBC. You can connect with JDBC. JDBC is just like ODBC, but for Java. There are different types of JDBC. Oracle has some good docs on this.  

> Do you think I could keep my "old" toolset (the Sheridan stuff) and
> still code against Oracle using ADO and good ole' VB6?

Since you can connect to Oracle through ODBC, you can use any programming language that supports it. Microsoft's Visual products support ODBC so you should be able to use VB apps.

HTH,
Brian  

-- 
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Brian Peasland
Raytheons Systems at
  USGS EROS Data Center
These opinions are my own and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of my 
company!
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