Re: Migrating from 6.5 SQL Server to Oracle 8.1

ramsfanatic9999_at_yahoo.com (ramsfanatic9999) wrote in news:dbe53dfe.0302101621.586bbd5_at_posting.google.com:

> Newbie here trying to understand the general considerations when
> migrating from SQL Server 6.5 with a PowerBuilder from end to Oracle
> 8.1.

We migrated from SQL Server 6.5 to Oracle 8i EE about 3 years ago. Didn't have to worry about PowerBuilder though so I can't help you on that specific part.

> If our in-house IT staff try to do it, versus the current
> consulting firm, what do we need and need to consider knowing that we
> would like to minimize co-operation from the consulting firm.

That depends on how well your in-house staff understands relational databases in general and how adept they are at picking up new concepts. I highly recommend reading the freely available Oracle docs at technet.oracle.com and picking up a few of the excellent O'Reilly books, including Oracle Essentials and Oracle PL/SQL Programming.  

> I understand much of the application is written with stored
> procedures. So starting there what are the options when making our
> move over to Oracle? Do we have full access to these procedures? Any
> other considerations?

You will need to learn PL/SQL in order to duplicate the functionality you currently have with TransactSQL on SQL Server. Fortunately, PL/SQL is relatively straightforward and the Oracle documentation for built-in functions is fairly good. You will also need to learn the art of writing a trigger, especially if you use any identity fields in SQL Server. Sequences will become your friend in those tables that use identity fields for primary keys. Learn about the init.ora configuration file and understand the myriad of tuning possibilities. Remember that Oracle is significantly more complex than SQL Server and adjust your expectations accordingly. Above all, experiment. Download 8i and install it on a test bed. Be prepared to make mistakes. Be prepared to get sick of that java installer since you'll likely be re-installing Oracle several times during your experimentations.

-- 
Wayne Menzie