DBD::Oracle  --  an Oracle interface for Perl 5.

   Copyright (c) 1994-2006  Tim Bunce, Ireland.

   See the COPYRIGHT section in the Oracle.pm file for terms.
   See also the MAINTAINER section in the Oracle.pm

   PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE README FILE CAREFULLY !

   AND THEN READ ANY README.* FILES RELEVANT TO YOUR PLATFORM:

	README.aix.txt - AIX
	README.hpux.txt - HP-UX
	README.java.txt - Java/thread problem on Solaris
	README.macosx.txt - Mac OS/X
	README.win32.txt - MS Windows
	README.wingcc.txt - MS Windows using GCC
	README.* - see if there's a file for your platform

   You may find these useful

	README.help.txt - Help and hints on build problems
	README.sec.txt - Oracle security issues to be aware of
	README.login.txt - Help on how to connect to Oracle
	README.longs.txt - Help on handling LONGs
	README.clients.txt - What Oracle client files you need installed


*** QUICK START GUIDE:

    The DBI requires one or more 'driver' modules to talk to databases.
    Fetch, build and install the DBI module as per its README file.
    You may then delete its source directory tree since it's no longer needed.
    Use the 'perldoc DBI' command to read the DBI documentation.

    Fetch this DBD::Oracle driver module and unpack it.
    Follow the guidelines in this README file carefully.


*** *BEFORE* BUILDING, TESTING AND INSTALLING DBD::Oracle:

    Build, test and install Perl 5 (at least 5.6.1)
    It is very important to TEST it and INSTALL it!

    Build, test and install the DBI module (at least DBI 1.51).
    It is very important to TEST it and INSTALL it!

    Remember to *read* the DBI README file and this one CAREFULLY!

    Install enough Oracle software to enable DBD::Oracle to build.

    For Oracle Instant Client: that means install the following packages:
        * The "Basic" package for the essential Oracle libraries.
        * The "SDK" package for the headers and makefile.
        * The "SQL*Plus" component is optional, but will help you check
          your configuration and DBD::Oracle determine your Oracle version.

    For full Oracle installs: that usually includes Pro*C and SQL*Net.
    (That's not very specific because it varies between Oracle releases.).  
    As of release 1.22 support of Oracle clients before 9 was dropped.
    The main reason for this is that next few versions of DBD::Oracle will introduce a number of new features
    whicht will required a great deal of extra coding to make the OCI 8 work. 
    As well it is getting harder to find an Oracle client 8 to test against as well
    Oracle no longer supports clients before 9.

    The ORACLE_HOME environment variable must point to the Oracle Home
    used to create DBD::Oracle. (Not essential under MS Windows).

*** MOST IMPORTANTLY:

    Make sure Oracle is working and you can use the Oracle sqlplus
    command to talk to the database from the machine you
    want to build DBD::Oracle on. This often involves setting
    environment variables like PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, TWO_TASK etc.
    Consult Oracle documentation for more details.

    Only once you can connect to Oracle using sqlplus
    should you try building and testing DBD::Oracle.

*** BUILDING:

Execute:

    perl Makefile.PL            # use a perl that's in your PATH

Use the perl that is first on your PATH. Then execute:

    make

If you get an error like "make: not found" you need to find the
directory that has the make command installed in it (e.g. /usr/ccs/bin
on Solaris) and add that to your PATH environment variable.

Don't worry about most warnings when make runs, specifically ones like
"end-of-loop code not reached", "... due to prototype",
"cast increases required alignment of target type", etc.

If you have problems see the 'IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS' section below.
If it builds without error you should then run 'make test'. For the
main tests to work they must be able to connect to an Oracle database.

The tests default to using a DSN of "dbi:Oracle:" which means you'll be
connected to the default database based on your TWO_TASK or ORACLE_SID
environment variables. This default can be altered either by defining the
ORACLE_DSN environment variable or the DBI_DSN environment variable.
See the oracle_test_dsn() sub in t/nchar_test_lib.pl

The supplied tests will connect to the database using the value of the
ORACLE_USERID environment variable to supply the username/password.
So you should set that to a valid user (e.g. 'scott/tiger') and ensure that
this user has sufficient privileges to create, insert into, select from and 
drop a table,  is also able to create, call and drop a procedure  and is able to select from 
systemtables like 'v$sessions'. Using 'system/manager' might work but is not
recommended! See also

README.login.txt.

    make test

If the all the formal tests pass then, finally, run:

    make install


*** IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS:

Make sure you are using a recent perl (5.6.1 or later) and make
sure it's on your PATH so you can say 'perl Makefile.PL' and not
'/path/to/perl Makefile.PL'.

If you get compiler errors refering to Perl's own header files
(.../CORE/*.h) then there is something wrong with your installation.
It is important to use a Perl that was built on the system you are using.
It's also important to use the same compiler that was used to build the
Perl you are using.

If you have build/link or core dump problems try:
	perl Makefile.PL -p
or
	perl Makefile.PL -nob
If it helps then please let me know (and please include a copy
of the log from the failed default build, the log from the build that
worked, plus the output of the "perl -V" command).

Do not hand edit the generated Makefile unless you are completely sure
you understand the implications! Always try to make changes via the
Makefile.PL command line and/or editing the Makefile.PL.
You should not need to make any changes. If you do please let us
know so that I can try to make it automatic in a later release.

If you just can't login or login takes a long time then read
README.login.txt

If you have linking problems (errors related to libraries or functions)
then you could try forcing a 'static' build using:

  make realclean
  perl Makefile.PL LINKTYPE=static
  make
  make perl       (you'll need to use and install _this_ new perl binary)
  make test
  make -f Makefile.aperl inst_perl MAP_TARGET=perl  (install new perl)
  make install                                      (install DBD::Oracle)

But that's not recommended these days.

>>> Also carefully read the README.help.txt file which is full of useful
>>> tips and workarounds for various problems of various systems.


*** HOW TO REPORT PROBLEMS

This software is supported via the dbi-users@perl.org mailing list.
(You don't need to subscribe to the list in order to post.)

Please do NOT post problems to comp.lang.perl.*, perl5-porters@perl.org,
http://www.cpanforum.com/dist/DBD-Oracle, or google groups etc.

If you're *sure* the problem is a bug then you can post a bug report
to http://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=DBD-Oracle
Problem reports that don't include sufficient detail (including the
information listed below and how to reproduce the problem)
are unlikely to get resolved.

For more information and to keep informed about progress you can join the
mailing list. Send a message to dbi-users-help@perl.org for more information.

Please post details of any problems (or changes you needed to make) to
dbi-users@perl.org.


** IT IS IMPORTANT TO INCLUDE *ALL* THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION:

1. A complete log of all steps of the build, e.g.:

    (do a make realclean first)
    perl Makefile.PL
    make
    make test

    Make sure to include the 'stderr' output. The best way to do this is
    to use the "script" command (man script). If that's not available
    then "command > command.log 2>&1" (assuming you're not using csh).
    The "2>&1" is required (after the stdout redirect) to redirect stderr
    to the same place.

    If a test fails then also include the output of:

    perl -Mblib t/<name-of-failed-test>.t

2. Full details of which version of Oracle client and server you're using
   (if it wasn't automatically found and printed by "perl Makefile.PL")

3. The output of perl -V       (that's a capital V, not lowercase)

4. If you get errors like "undefined symbol", "symbol not found",
   "undefined reference", "Text relocation remains" or any similar
   error then include the output of "perl Makefile.PL -s XXX"
   where XXX is the name of one of the symbols.
   Please don't send the entire output of this command,
   just any obviously 'interesting' parts (if there are any).
   See also the LINKTYPE=static notes above.

5. If you get a core dump, rebuild DBD::Oracle with debugging
   enabled by executing: perl Makefile.PL -g  (note the -g option)
   then rerun the code to get a new core dump file, finally use a 
   debugger (gdb, sdb, dbx, adb etc) to get a stack trace from it.
   NOTE: I may not be able to help you much without a stack trace!
   It is worth fetching and building the GNU GDB debugger (>=4.15) if
   you don't have a good debugger on your system. If desperate try:
     make perl; ./perl script; echo '$c' | adb ./perl core
   Also see the Devel::CoreStack module on CPAN.

6. If the stack trace mentions XS_DynaLoader_dl_load_file then rerun
   make test after setting the environment variable PERL_DL_DEBUG to 2.

7. If your installation succeeds, but your script does not behave
   as you expect, the problem may be on your end. Before
   sending to dbi-users, try writing a *small*, easy to use test case
   to reproduce your problem. Also, use the DBI->trace method to
   trace your database calls.

It is important to check that you are using the latest version before
posting. If you're not then you're *very* likely to be told "upgrade to
the latest". You would do yourself a favour by upgrading beforehand.

Try to help yourself first, then try to help others help you by following
these guidelines carefully.  And remember, please don't mail developers
directly - use the dbi-users mailing list.

Regards,
Tim.

===============================================================================
Examples and other info:

README.help.txt     -- READ IT FIRST IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS
README.win32.txt    -- building DBD::Oracle under MS Windows
README.wingcc.txt   -- building DBD::Oracle under MS Windows with gcc
README.macosx.txt   -- building DBD::Oracle under MacOS X
README.clients.txt  -- building/using DBD::Oracle on minimally configured systems
README.login.txt    -- help for login problems
README.longs.txt    -- examples dealing with LONG types (blobs)

DBI 'home page': http://dbi.perl.org

Old archive site for Perl DB information:
    ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/perl/db/
Mailing list archive:                /DBI/perldb-interest/
Perl 4 Oraperl (v2.4)                /perl4/oraperl/

Jeff Stander's stuff stands out for Oraperl:
Directories of interest might be
	/pub/Oracle/sources
	/pub/Oracle/sources/jstander
	/pub/Oracle/sources/jstander/distrib
	/pub/Oracle/sources/jstander/tsmlib
	/pub/Oracle/sources/jstander/wdbex
	/pub/Oracle/sources/web/scripts
	/pub/Oracle/sources/dba
	/pub/Oracle/sources/dba/imp2sql7
	/pub/Oracle/sources/Lonnroth
	/pub/Oracle/sources/harrison

http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/~orafaq/perlish.html
ftp://ftp.bf.rmit.edu.au/pub/perl/db
ftp://ftp.bf.rmit.edu.au/pub/Oracle
ftp://ftp.bf.rmit.edu.au/pub/Oracle/sources
ftp://ftp.bf.rmit.edu.au/pub/Oracle/OS/MS/NT/ntoraperl.zip

DBI and DBD::Oracle are very portable. If Perl and Oracle run on a platform
then the chances are that DBD::Oracle will as well.

===============================================================================

See the large README.help.txt file for lots of hints and advice
about building and runtime issues.

End.