Re: VB and Oracle

syam_at_axionet.com (Steve Yam) wrote:
>In article <3rl3hn$ria_at_bass.hooked.net>, jkbrophy_at_bass.hooked.net says...
>>
>>I'd like to build an app using:
>>
>>VB
>>ODBC
>> <---------------------------What goes in here? SQLNET?
>>Communicating over TCP/IP
>>to Oracle running on an HP
>>
 

>Roughly, you are right. In detail, it is
>
>VB/ODBC/ORAWIN31.DLL,SQLWIN31.DLL/Sqlnet/TCP/IP --> your server.
>
>Sqlnet is big but it is a must unless you consider other product like
>SQLLINK which is claimed better than SQLNET.
>

It isn't THAT big.

>SQLNET Ver 1.6.. support virtual mode but only one VB application. Other
>older version supports Protected mode rather than real mode.

1.6?? Usually SQL*Net for Windows has versions like 1.1.X.Y (We used 1.1.7.7b at my old organization). If configured for WinSock, it's "just another Windows DLL" and runs fine in 386 Enhanced mode. You may be thinking of SQL*Net for DOS which isn't needed, is NOT desirable unless it is necessary to support DOS applications.

I've personally run multiple VB <--> Oracle apps simultaneously on a putt-putt 386-DX/20 with 6 Megs using SQL*Net for Windows. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it did work.

>
>Sqlnet Ver 2.1 supports virtual mode with multiple applications. But it
>seems too far for you now. Sqlnet ver 2.1 needs a lot of planning and
>administration.
>
>Steve Yam.
>

True enough that it takes some planning, but if there is no/little legacy code around for SQL*Net 1.X, it's probably better to go directly to 2.1 without bringing up 1.X first.

The biggest problem isn't the VB or the SQL*Net it's the ODBC. Currently available ODBC drivers only support ODBC 1.0 and miss out on many of the features you'd like to take advantage of on the Oracle 7 server.

A better bet is to use Oracle Objects for OLE (from Oracle) which gives much better performance (unless you want to program directly to the ODBC API at the DLL level where the performance is roughly equal but requires beaucoup more code to do anything useful) and takes advantage of all the goodies of Oracle 7.

Good luck!

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