RE: Q: Config info for Oracle on PC

From: Tony Scott <asc_at_cix.compulink.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 07:00:28 GMT
Message-ID: <CL97Gt.2vp_at_cix.compulink.co.uk>


Your V6/F3/M5 is exactly what I have been doing for the past one and a half years. I found that developing in Forms 3 will in the end give you a protection exception while generating which will lose you everything since the last save. It as if there were some little weevil that gradually eats your memory up. The practical solution I found was to have sufficient memory so that the weevil can't eat you out of your session before you would have finished anyway. I use 10 Mb RAM and this will keep me going hard at it for over half a day. So, just exit at lunchtime and you'll be OK. However, you will find that if you are not to die of boredom, you had better get quite a fast PC. On a 386/25 SX a 120K form would take over 3 mins to save and nearly 1 1/2 to generate i.e. nearly 5 mins every time. That's a hell of a long time if you've just made a tiny change. A 486/66 DX with SCSI disk cut this by nearly a third. You will also need the 486 if you want to use Windows (in my case for Oracle Card, but also, by report, for CDE tools).

To be safe you need to save from time to time (some sites only generate) because if you get a protection exception (say for some other reason, not the weevil) of a crash while generating, you are a dead duck. Your old and new versions are gone. Unfortunately, this can take three times as long as generating (and you still have to generate).

My real site is client/server with DOS tools and SUNOS RDBMS. I just take the .FRM file down and it runs no prob. If I had SUNOS tools I would have to take the .INP file down, convert it to Unix format (I presume) and generate again. It's nice with DOS tools though because I don't even have to put an .INP file within reach of my users.

Other practical point. The HOST command won't work to run SQL*Plus or similar because you will be logging on twice and this isn't allowed single user. You have to use a special version called OHOST which logs you on and off again. You need to remember to develop with OHOST and then change it before you deliver. It seems to work quite well. I noticed recently, going back to such a place that my single user version called a special form which had no other purpose than to do the OHOST procedure and exit again, whereas the HOST version was quite conventional. I can't remember why I did that and I didn't document it. Anyway, I made it work one way or another.

If you do find yourself developing in this way I'd be happy to correspond about it by email.

Tony Scott
(asc_at_cix.compulink.co.uk)

p0070623_at_oxford-brookes.ac.uk (Steve Corbett) wrote:
> Any general advice on *developing* Oracle apps on a *standalone* PC?
> For eg Oracle V6, Forms3, SqlMenu V5
> " V7, " 4, CDE
> Minimum RAM, Desirable RAM?
> O/S: DOS, O/S2, U**x ?
> Windows 3.1: ?
> Disk space requirements for Oracle toolkit: ?
> Cost of Oracle: ?
> Oracle corporation commitment to this environment: ?
>
> We are talking about development only, apps will be run on something
> more substantial.
>
> Any real life experiences/advice welcome.
> Will summarise if parties interested.
> --
> Steve Corbett. vvv
> [. .]
> p0070623_at_brookes.ac.uk --------o00-(_)-00o---------
Received on Tue Feb 15 1994 - 08:00:28 CET

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