Re: Help with jdbc install please. Oracle 817 on XP

Roger Redford wrote:
>
> Dear experts,
>
> I'm very new to jdbc, so please forgive the seemingly
> dumb questions.
>
> I've got to get java and jdbc working with oracle on
> a machine running Oracle 8.1.7 on XP. I don't have
> any CDs to install with.
>
> I downloaded and installed the sdk/jdk: j2sdk1.4.2_05
>
> Since I have the latest SDK, I chose the drivers:
>
> ojdbc14_g.jar - JDBC classes with debug and trace(1,391,860 bytes)
> Oracle9i 9.2.0.3 JDBC Drivers
> For use with JDK 1.4
>
> The 8.1.7 drivers were supposed to be for an earlier version of
> the sdk, For use with JDK 1.2, according to oracle's webpage:
> http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/java/sqlj_jdbc/htdocs/jdbc817.html
>
> Question 1)
> It is correct to sync the JDBC drivers to the SDK?
> As opposed to the version of Oracle?

Full syncing of the JDBC drivers is probably not needed, though it is possible that the drivers for JDK 1.4 may require features only available in the later JDK. The drivers for JDK 1.2 should work fine on JDK 1.4. I assume Oracle's webpage is saying that you need the JDK 1.2 drivers if you have not upgraded to the newer JDK.

It may be more important align with the proper version of Oracle. Even in that case, it's probably only necessary if you need new features that the JDBC driver supports. I'm not an expert in those matters (Oracle, this is), but my advice should be correct.

> The next issue is installing them. I double clicked in Explorer,
> but I got a message:
>
> Failed to load main-class manifest attribute from <filename.jar>.

Normally, jars for JDBC drivers don't need a specific install program. You just need to copy the jar to an appropriate location and ensure that the jar is on your client classpath.

> So, I extracted the files with:
> jar -xvf *.jar

That should not be necessary and will likely just cause problems. Use the JDBC driver jar as is.

> question 2)
> Are they just supposed to be unzipped like this? Or, do I
> need to do more to install them? Is there a standard or
> default directory to install them in, or anywhere you like?

No, they shouldn't be unzipped. Assuming you're not using container software, like an application server or IDE, you can place them anywhere you like but will need to set your classpath properly. To avoid classpath hassles, you could place them in the extension directory for the JVM (for instance: \j2sdk1.4.2_05\jre\lib\ext\, check the JDK docs). The JVM will find them automatically then.

-- 
Lee Fesperman, FFE Software, Inc. (http://www.firstsql.com)
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