Re: Anybody familiar with dbvista and oracle.....

lunatic wrote:
>
> Anybody familiar with dbvista and oracle.....
> I ve' got an assignment. I need to transfer data files from dbvista running
> on OS/2 warp to a sun machine runnig oracle.
> Is there a common platform?
> plus the main problem is that the primary key on the dbvista is different
> from the one on oracle.
> is there any way I can jut dump the data form OS/2 machine in to oracle on
> sun and than manipulate the keys....
> currently what we came up with is hooking up a iomega JAZ drive to a OS/2
> machine (since lan is not possible on it , very old), exporting the data on
> it and
> than hooking the JAZ drive to an NT machine which is hooked up to the sun
> station on the network. But the process is awefull, too much hastle
> Need help on it bad.
> Thanx

You touch on some of my favorite topics/systems (OS/2, SUN, Oracle and conversions), so I just had to respond.

Your problem is a general database conversion problem. It has several parts:

*extracting data from the original system  (one or more exporting programs to put the    data in a transportable form, usually text)

*physically transporting the data to the new system  (via networks, tapes, discs, even OCR. sometimes   this is easy, else it may need intermediate machines)

*mapping the data between the old and the new data models.  (programs to reformat, rearrange, and validate the data)

*loading the data into the new system
 (one or more importing programs to accept the remapped   data and insert it into the target system)

*post processing to complete the data mapping after the load step  (sometimes it is easier to finish the mapping from within   the target system.)

You seem to have a solution to the transport problem. Depending on the size of the database, the other three steps can be trivial query scripts for extract, perl, C, or other programming language for data mapping, and SQL*LOADER programs for loading the data into Oracle.

You really want to spend the time planning the mapping of the data. DBVista is a network model database. (Their newer product, RAIMA dataManager is relational.) Oracle is of course, relational. So it is more than a simple matter of "manipulating the keys" to load the data into Oracle

However here are some suggestions:

Extracting: Just use the standard DB Vista tools to export the data to text files. (using the query tools)

Transporting: Use a scsi jaz drive. Then you can connect the drive directly to the SUN machine (they do have Solaris drivers, don't they?) The SUN machine should be able to recognize a DOS formatted JAZ drive. That way you eliminate the NT machine. But the extra step of mounting the disc on NT should not be a big hassle.

Mapping: you aren't simply moving your datamodel from DBVista to Oracle are you. You'll likely lose performance that way since the underlying database engines are so different. Assuming you do have to rearrange data, may I suggest perl or C on the SUN. This can also be done with Visual BASIC or Visual C on the NT box. My partners and I have used both to good success.

Loading: On the NT box you could use VB with ODBC to remap and load the data possibly in one step. The same is possible on the SUN using PERL and SQLPlus and/or SQL*Loader or using Pro*C. There are cases when it is easier to do some of the remapping from within Oracle.

Post Processing: In Oracle you can use SQL or PL/SQL or even Pro*C to do final cleanup and move data to its final tables. Depending on how complex your data mapping is, you may or may not need either this step or the mapping step (but you will need at least one of them)

Planning is a big part of getting the conversion correct (a stable target data model helps too). Let me know if you need more direct help.

Good luck.

  ed Received on Sun Apr 12 1998 - 00:00:00 CEST