CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Page Preface 1 RdbAccess Introduction 1.1 Introduction to RdbAccess 1.1.1 RdbAccess Environment 1.1.2 Data Access Problems that RdbAccess Solves 1.2 How RdbAccess Works 1.2.1 Software Used in the Data Access Path 1.2.1.1 User Interface Software 1.2.1.2 The Rdb/VMS Routing Software 1.2.1.3 The RdbAccess Product 1.2.2 How You Extract ORACLE Data 1.2.3 How the Data Access Path Is Used 1.2.4 How to Ensure Security When You Use RdbAccess 1.2.5 Considerations About Optimal Digital User Interface Performance 1.2.6 Possible Configurations for Data Access 1.2.6.1 Local Node Access to ORACLE 1.2.7 Using the Digital Network 1.2.7.1 Remote End User Access 1.2.7.2 Remote ORACLE Database Access 1.2.7.3 Selective Database Access 1.3 VMS System and ORACLE Coordination 1.3.1 RdbAccess System Coordinator 1.3.2 System Managers on the Digital Network 1.3.3 ORACLE Database Administrator 1.4 Information Provided Through RdbAccess Online Documentation 1.4.1 The Online Release Notes 2 RdbAccess Access Parameters 2.1 Data Access Concepts 2.1.1 Access Parameters 2.1.2 Database Name Qualifiers 2.1.2.1 CREATOR and TABLES 2.1.2.2 NODE 2.1.2.3 USER and PASSWORD 2.1.3 Logical Name Definitions 2.1.4 Logical Names that Enable RdbAccess Logging 2.2 Examples of RdbAccess Run-Time Parameters 3 Using RdbAccess 3.1 Using Rdb/VMS SQL with RdbAccess 3.1.1 Declaring Access to an RdbAccess Database 3.1.2 Declaring Transactions for an RdbAccess Database 3.1.3 Detaching from an RdbAccess Database 3.1.4 Considerations About Compile Time When Accessing RdbAccess 3.1.5 Using Rdb/VMS SQL to Create an Rdb/VMS Database 3.2 Using VAX DATATRIEVE with RdbAccess 3.2.1 Creating a CDD/Plus Path Name for an RdbAccess Database 3.2.2 Readying and Ending Access to an RdbAccess Database 3.2.3 Displaying Information About Relations and Fields 3.2.4 Prompting DATATRIEVE Users for Account Information 3.2.5 Retrieving Data 3.3 Using VAX Rdb/VMS DML with RdbAccess 3.3.1 Invoking and Ending Access to an RdbAccess Database 3.3.2 Starting and Ending Transactions 3.3.3 Retrieving Data 3.3.4 Displaying Information About an RdbAccess Database 3.4 Using VAX TEAMDATA with RdbAccess 3.4.1 Defining an RdbAccess Relation with TEAMDATA 3.4.2 Opening an RdbAccess Table with TEAMDATA 3.4.3 Errors Opening an RdbAccess Database in TEAMDATA 3.4.4 Creating a TEAMDATA Copy of an RdbAccess Database 3.4.5 Working in TEAMDATA Tables with RdbAccess 3.4.6 Working in TEAMDATA Spreadsheets with RdbAccess Data 3.4.7 Using Prompts with TEAMDATA 3.5 Using VAX Data Distributor with RdbAccess 3.5.1 Transferring RdbAccess Databases with Data Distributor 3.5.2 Scheduling RdbAccess Extractions with Data Distributor 3.5.3 Scheduling RdbAccess Extraction Rollups with Data Distributor 3.5.4 Starting and Stopping a Data Distributor Transfer 3.6 General Guidelines When Using RdbAccess 4 Using RdbAccess Translation Services 4.1 RdbAccess Database Metadata 4.1.1 RdbAccess System Relations 4.1.2 System Relation Constructs that Cannot Reflect ORACLE Definitions 4.1.3 Accessing Definitions for an RdbAccess Database 4.2 Conversion of ORACLE Data Names by RdbAccess 4.2.1 Data Table and Field Names 4.2.2 RdbAccess Translation of Numeric Data 4.2.3 RdbAccess Translation of Date and Time Data 5 Monitoring and Troubleshooting RdbAccess 5.1 Enabling the RdbAccess Logging Facility 5.1.1 Defining the Logical Name VIDAO$LOG_ENABLE 5.1.2 Creating the Logical Name VIDAO$LOG_FILE 5.2 Using the RdbAccess Log File to Solve Problems 5.2.1 Sample RdbAccess Log File 5.2.2 Interpreting the Sample RdbAccess Log File 5.2.3 Using the Log File to Troubleshoot Performance Problems 5.3 Communicating with Digital Software Support 5.3.1 Calling in a Problem to Customer Support Center 5.3.2 Submitting an SPR 6 Setting Up RdbAccess 6.1 Setting Up ORACLE Access Privileges 6.1.1 Granting ORACLE Privileges 6.1.2 Using Public Synonyms 6.2 Changing Passwords 6.3 Maintaining Consistency and Concurrency 6.4 Running Multiple ORACLE RDBMSs on a Single VAX 6.5 Installing ORACLE Data Dictionary Views A Error Messages A.1 Error Message Documentation A.2 Error Message Structure B Sample Procedures and Programs That Use RdbAccess B.1 Supplying Database Access Information at Run Time Using a DCL Command Procedure B.2 Creating an Extract of a RdbAccess Database with the Rdb/VMS SQL Facility B.3 Using DATATRIEVE Procedures B.3.1 Displaying RdbAccess Field Definitions B.3.2 Using DATATRIEVE to Store RdbAccess Data in RMS Domains B.3.3 Using DATATRIEVE with RdbAccess to Write a Report B.4 Using 3GL Programs That Access an RdbAccess Database Using Rdb/VMS B.4.1 Copying from an RdbAccess Database to an Rdb/VMS Database with Rdb/VMS B.4.2 Copying from an RdbAccess Database to a VMS RMS File Using Rdb/VMS DML C Sample Conversion of a Table Definition Glossary EXAMPLES 2-1 RdbAccess Database Name 2-2 Defining a Logical Name 2-3 Using Database Name Qualifiers 2-4 Using the Node Parameter 2-5 Using a Logical Name 3-1 SQL DECLARE SCHEMA Statement 3-2 Selecting Data from an RdbAccess Database with SQL 3-3 SQL INTEGRATE Statement 3-4 SQL PATHNAME Option 3-5 Creating an Rdb/VMS Extract with Interactive Rdb/VMS SQL 3-6 Storing an RdbAccess Name in CDD/Plus 3-7 Defining an RdbAccess Database Name to a Logical Name in DATATRIEVE 3-8 Readying a RdbAccess Database with DATATRIEVE 3-9 Command Procedure to Prompt DATATRIEVE Users 3-10 Invoking an RdbAccess Database with RDO 3-11 Invoking an RdbAccess Database Using a Logical Name with RDO 3-12 Entering a Database Name with TEAMDATA 3-13 Using TEAMDATA Prompts for Entering Sensitive Input 3-14 Using TEAMDATA Prompts for RdbAccess Parameters 3-15 Defining an Extraction Transfer from a Source RdbAccess Database 3-16 Defining a Schedule for an Extraction Transfer 3-17 Defining an Extraction Rollup from Three RdbAccess Databases 3-18 Defining a Schedule for an Extraction Rollup Transfer 5-1 Defining the VIDAO$LOG_ENABLE Logical 5-2 Sample VIDAO$LOG_FILE Logical Name Assignment 5-3 Section of an RdbAccess Log File B-1 Prompting for Access Parameters at Run Time B-2 Creating a RdbAccess Database Extract with Rdb/VMS SQL Facility B-3 Displaying RdbAccess Definitions with DATATRIEVE B-4 Storing RdbAccess Data Using DATATRIEVE B-5 Writing a Report with RdbAccess B-6 Copying from an RdbAccess Database to an Rdb/VMS Database B-7 Copying a RdbAccess Relation to an RMS File C-1 ORACLE Field Definitions for Tables C-2 Rdb/VMS SQL Display of Field Definitions FIGURES 1-1 Data Access Path 1-2 Software View of Data Access 1-3 Remote Database Communications TABLES 1-1 User Interfaces for RdbAccess Data Retrieval 2-1 Qualifiers for Specifying Access Parameter Values 2-2 RdbAccess Logical Names That Define Access Parameters 2-3 RdbAccess Run-Time Parameters 3-1 User Interfaces for RdbAccess Data Retrieval 3-2 Operations to Perform with TEAMDATA Commands 4-1 Conversion of ORACLE Numeric Data Formats 5-1 Information Logged by VIDAO$LOG_ENABLE A-1 Explanation of Severity Codes A-2 Relationship of RDB/VMS and VIDAO Error Messages