Chapter 6. The Major Parts of an Oracle Windows Installation

As you gain experience with Oracle in the Windows NT and Windows 2000 (also known as W2K) world, you'll begin to appreciate the complexity and depth of both the Windows operating system and the Oracle database environment. However, becoming proficient in both is not an overnight process. In fact it will take years of handling the unexpected before you really understand the nuances of these systems.

In the meantime you can master certain fundamental parts, and doing so will allow you to create a functioning Oracle environment on a Windows NT and 2000 server and clients . These parts are what we will discuss in this chapter as preparation for actually building the parts on your server and client machines and maintaining your database.

Let's look at the basic parts of the Oracle Windows installation process. First there is creating the detailed database design, which includes business analysis, table normalization, and table design, which we have already done. Next comes building the Oracle server, in our case a Windows NT or 2000 server. Third comes creating the Oracle database, followed by building the tables, loading initial data, and addressing security considerations, then creating users, loading the clients, and some of the standard DBA (database administrator) tasks . In other words, now is when all the theory we covered in the first five chapters helps us develop a concrete, functioning database.

We have to figure out how much room we will need for our tables, determine who will be able to do what to the tables, actually build the tables and load them with some data, and then, finally, make the client PCs database smart. Once all that is done, we'll be in the perfect position to start using SQL, SQL*Plus, PL/SQL, Oracle Forms and Reports, and the Web to produce the well-designed and well-built system your customers have asked for. Ultimately, you will need to go through all of these steps to turn your normalized table design into a real, solid database.

Warning

To begin, you must know what you want to name your database (don't laugh ), and you must have the necessary hardware and licenses. If you don't, get them now.

To move forward in this discussion we're going to have to get into some more terminology. Yes, learning more terms is necessary because they are what all Oracle designers, DBAs, and developers use. So let's start with the concepts and then move into the other major parts of the full installation and programming.