Re: Oracle on Mac?

Ann wrote in message ...
>I was thinking of taking a course that teaches oracle programming. The
>problem is I own a Mac and the personal copy of oracle that is
>distributed in the classroom is compatible with Windows...

First of all, there are excellent Windows emulators available for Mac, so if you have a fast Mac, it is NOT necessary to buy a cheap PC to run Windows software. Secondly, there used to be add-in cards for Mac that allow you to run a real PC on your Mac. More expensive than a second PC if I recall, but it does save desk space.

>Is there a way around this? Is there an Oracle version I can get that is
>compatible with the Mac OS?

Ask your local Oracle sales department, I'd say...

>If I'm thinking of becomming a programmer of Oracle...should I be getting
>a Windows machine so that I can work from home? (I do want to work form
>home!)

No you don't, but it would be handy. Traditional client/server normally uses a Windows client, but thin client Web development uses a browser as a client. So if you prefer Internet or Intranet development, there is no need whatsoever to get involved with Windows. Furthermore, if you don't use the very latest versions of Dev2K, they are fully cross-platform, so you can run them on a Unix box. I am not sure whether the latest versions of Dev2K are first released for Windows and only later (or not at all) for other platforms. Aks the Unix people...

>Any advise would be appreciated!

Well, you have three ways to go (incomplete list):

(1) Internet / intranet development
(2) Oracle on Unix (you could install Linux or FreeBSD at home).
(3) Client / server on Windows

Most of us are on (3), but there is no compelling reason that you should.

My 0.02 EURO: choose between these two scenarios:

(a) get a relatively cheap computer, load a free Unix version and use it as a (web) server. Even if the client runs Windows, the server runs Unix in many shops, so if you have to learn anything, why not Unix? Install a little network and voilà, you're a Web consultant... (b) buy a fully equipped NT Workstation system

And to conclude: don't waste your time on Windows 9x. You'd get enerved and it won't give you any ROI... Choose NT or Unix. NT is easier, but only because you can buy it installed and configured...

--
Dirk Bellemans
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