2 Installation and Upgrading
This chapter provides an overview of installation and upgrading for Oracle C++ Call Interface (OCCI).
2.1 About Installing Oracle C++ Call Interface
OCCI is installed as part of the Oracle Database. To determine additional configuration requirements, you should refer to the Oracle Database Installation Guide and the Oracle Database Client Installation Guide that is specific to your platform.
2.2 About Upgrading Considerations
To use the new features available in this release, you must recompile and relink all OCCI applications, including classes generated through the Object Type Translator Utility, when upgrading from an earlier Oracle Client release.
2.3 About Determining the Oracle Database Versions
When an application uses several separate code paths with different server versions or client patchsets, you can verify these options both during compilation and at run time.
2.3.1 Determining the Oracle Client Version During Compilation
The OCCI header files define OCCI_MAJOR_VERSION
and OCCI_MINOR_VERSION
macros. Example 2-1 illustrates one way to use these macros:
Example 2-1 How to Determine the Major Client Version and Set Performance Features
#if (OCCI_MAJOR_VERSION > 9) env->setCacheSortedFlush(true); // benefit of performance, if available #endif
2.3.2 About Determining the Oracle Client and Server Versions at Run Time
During run time, you can check both the client and server versions of the current Connection
by using the getClientVersion(), getServerVersion(), and getServerVersionUString() methods.
2.4 About the Instant Client
The Instant Client feature makes it extremely easy and fast to deploy OCCI based customer application by eliminating the need for ORACLE_HOME
. The storage space requirements are an additional benefit; Instant Client shared libraries occupy about one-fourth of the disk space required for a full client installation.
2.4.1 About Benefits of Instant Client
-
Installation involves copying only four files.
-
Storage space requirement for the client is minimal
-
No loss of functionality or performance exists for deployed applications
-
Simplified packaging with ISV applications
The OCCI Instant Client capability simplifies OCCI installation. Even though OCCI is independent of ORACLE_HOME
setting in the Instant Client mode, applications that rely on ORACLE_HOME
settings can continue operation by setting it to the appropriate value. The activation of the Instant Client mode is only dependent on the ability to load the Instant Client data shared library. In particular, this feature allows interoperability with Oracle applications that use ORACLE_HOME
for their data, but use a newer release of Oracle Client.
2.4.2 About Installing the Instant Client
OCCI requires only four shared libraries (or dynamic link libraries, as they are called on some operating systems) to be loaded by the dynamic loader of the operating system. Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) library names are used; the number part of library names changes to remain consistent with future release numbers.
For clarity and ease of development, the library structure is changed starting with Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1). The client shared library, libclntsh.so.12.1
, depends on libclntshcore.so.12.1
. The libclntshcore.so.12.1
library contains the NLS and CORE functionality. Both of these libraries must be installed in the same directory.
-
OCI Instant Client Data Shared Library (
libociei.so
on Linux and UNIX andoraociei11.dll
on Windows); correct installation of this file determines if you are operating in Instant Client mode -
Client Code Library (
libclntsh.so.11.1
on Linux and UNIX andoci.dll
on Windows) -
Security Library (
libnnz11.so
on Linux and UNIX andorannzsbb11.dll
on Windows) -
OCCI Library (
libocci.so.11.1
on Linux and UNIX andoraocci11.dll
on Windows)
Note:
The libclntshcore.so.12.1
file must now reside in the same library as the data shared library.
2.4.2.1 About the Oracle Technology Network
The Instant Client libraries are also available on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Web site at:
https://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/database-technologies/instant-client/overview/index.html
If these four libraries are accessible through the directory on the Operating System Library Path variable (LD_LIBRARY_PATH
on Linux and UNIX, and PATH
on Windows), then OCCI operates in the Instant Client mode. In this mode, there is no dependency on ORACLE_HOME
and none of the other code and data files provided in ORACLE_HOME
are needed by OCCI.
If you are installing Instant Client from the Oracle Technology Network,
-
Download and install the Instant Client libraries to an empty directory, such as
instantclient_12_1
. -
Set the operating system shared library path environment variable (
LD_LIBRARY_PATH
on Linux and UNIX andPATH
on Windows) to the directory used in step 1,instantclient_12_1
.
This section includes the following topic: About the Instant Client SDK.
2.4.2.1.1 About the Instant Client SDK
Instant Client can also be downloaded as an SDK package. The SDK contains all necessary header files and a makefile for developing OCCI applications in an Instant Client environment. Once developed, these applications can be deployed in any client environment. The SDK has these additional features:
-
It contains C++ demonstration programs.
-
It includes libraries required to link applications on Windows, and a
Make.bat
file is provided to build demos. -
The Makefile
demo.mk
is provided to build the demos for Linux and UNIX. Theinstantclient_12_1
directory must be on theLD_LIBRARY_PATH
before linking the application. These programs require symbolic links for the Client Code Library and the OCCI library,libclntsh.so.12.1
andlibocci.so.12.1
respectively, in theinstantclient_12_1
directory. The demo Makefile,demo.mk
, generates these before the link step. These symbolic links can also be created in a shell script:cd instantclient_12_1 ln -s libclntsh.so.11.1 libclntsh.so ln -s libocci.so.11.1 libocci.so
-
The SDK also contains the Object Type Translator (OTT) utility and its classes to generate the application header files.
2.4.2.2 About the Complete Client Installation
If you performed a complete client installation by choosing the Admin option,
-
On Linux or UNIX platforms, the
libociei.so
library can be copied from the$
ORACLE_HOME
/instantclient
directory. All the other libraries can be copied from the$
ORACLE_HOME
/lib
directory in a full Oracle installation. -
On Windows, the
oraociei11.dll
library can be copied from theORACLE_HOME
\instantclient
directory. All other Windows libraries can be copied from theORACLE_HOME
\bin
directory.
2.4.2.3 Running Oracle Universal Installer
If you did not install the database, you can install these libraries by choosing the Instant Client option from the Oracle Universal Installer. After completing these steps, you can begin running OCCI applications.
- Install the Instant Client shared libraries to a directory such as
instantclient_12_1
. - Set the operating system shared library path environment variable to the directory from step 1. For example, on Linux or UNIX, set the
LD_LIBRARY_PATH
toinstantclient_12_1
. On Windows, setPATH
to locate theinstantclient_12_1
directory.
2.4.2.4 About the Instant Client CD
You can also install Instant Client from the Instant Client CD. You must install Instant Client either in an empty directory or on a different system.
There should be only one set of Oracle libraries on the operating system Library Path variable; if you have several directories or copies of Instant Client libraries, only one directory should be on the operating system Library Path.
Similarly, if you also have an installation on an ORACLE_HOME
of the same system, do not place both the ORACLE_HOME
/lib
and Instant Client directory on the operating system Library Path, regardless of the order in which they appear on the Library Path. Only one of ORACLE_HOME
/lib
directory (for non-Instant Client operation) or Instant Client directory (for Instant Client operation) should be on the operating system Library Path variable.
2.4.3 About Using the Instant Client
The Instant Client feature is designed for running production applications. For development, use either the Instant Client SDK or a full installation to access OCCI header files, makefiles, demonstration programs, and so on.
2.4.4 Patching Instant Client Shared Libraries on UNIX
This feature is not available on Windows platforms.
Because Instant Client is primarily a deployment feature, one of its design objectives is to reduce the number and size of necessary files. Therefore, Instant Client deployment does not include all files for patching shared libraries. You should use the OPATCH
utility on an ORACLE_HOME
-based full client to patch the Instant Client shared libraries. The OPATCH
utility stores the patching information of the ORACLE_HOME
installation in libclntsh.so.11.1
for Linux and UNIX. This information can be retrieved using the genezi
utility:
genezi -v
If the genezi
utility is not installed on the system that deploys Instant Client, you can copy it from the ORACLE_HOME
/bin
directory of the ORACLE_HOME
system.
After applying the patch in an ORACLE_HOME
environment, copy the files listed in"About Installing the Instant Client" to the Instant Client directory. Instead of copying individual files, you can generate Instant Client *.zip
files, as described in "Regenerating the Data Shared Library and Zip Files". Then, instead of copying individual files, you can instead copy the zip files to the target system and unzip them.
2.4.5 Regenerating the Data Shared Library and Zip Files
This feature is not available on Windows platforms.
The Instant Client Data Shared Library, libociei.so
, can be regenerated in a Client Admin Install of ORACLE_HOME
. Executing Example 2-2 creates a new libociei.so
file based on current file in ORACLE_HOME
and place it in the ORACLE_HOME
/rdbms/install/instantclient
directory; the make target ilibociei
generates libociei.so
.
This location of the regenerated data shared library, libociei.so
, is different from the original location of ORACLE_HOME
/instantclient
The script in Example 2-2 also creates a directory for About Instant Client Light (English)
Example 2-2 How to Regenerate the Data Shared Library Files
mkdir -p $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/install/instantclient/light cd $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/lib make -f ins_rdbms.mk ilibociei
2.4.6 About Database Connection Names for Instant Client
All Oracle net naming methods that do not require use of ORACLE_HOME
or TNS_ADMIN
to locate configuration files such as tnsnames.ora
or sqlnet.ora
work in the Instant Client mode.
The connectString
parameter in the createConnection() call can be specified in the following formats:
-
As an SQL Connect URL string, of the form:
//host:[port][/service name]
such as:
//myserver111:5521/bjava21
-
As an Oracle Net keyword-value pair. For example:
(DESCRIPTION=(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=tcp) (HOST=myserver111) (PORT=5521)) (CONNECT_DATA=(SERVICE_NAME=bjava21)))
-
As a connection name that is resolved through Directory Naming when the site is configured for LDAP server discovery.
-
As an entry in the
tnsnames.ora
file.If the
TNS_ADMIN
environment variable is not set, andTNSNAMES
entries such asinst1
are used, then theORACLE_HOME
variable must be set and the configuration files are expected to be in the$
ORACLE_HOME
/network/admin
directory.Naming methods that require
TNS_ADMIN
to locate configuration files continue to work if theTNS_ADMIN
environment variable is set.The
ORACLE_HOME
variable in this case is only used for locating Oracle Net configuration files, and no other component of OCCI Client Code Library uses the value ofORACLE_HOME
.
The empty connectString
parameter of createConnection() is supported by setting the environment variable (TWO_TASK
on Linux and UNIX, and LOCAL
on Windows) to one of the values described earlier.
See Also:
Oracle Database Net Services Administrator's Guide for more information on the connect descriptor.
2.4.7 Setting Environment Variables for OCCI Instant Client
The ORACLE_HOME
environment variable no longer determines the location of Globalization Support, CORE, and error message files. An OCCI-only application should not require ORACLE_HOME
to be set. However, if it is set, it does not have an impact on OCCI's operation. OCCI always obtains its data from the Data Shared Library. If the Data Shared Library is not available, only then is ORACLE_HOME
used and a full client installation is assumed. When set, ORACLE_HOME
should be a valid operating system path name that identifies a directory.
Environment variables ORA_NLS33
, ORA_NLS32
, and ORA_NLS
are ignored in the Instant Client mode.
In the Instant Client mode, if the ORA_TZFILE
variable is not set, then the larger, default, timezlrg_
n
.dat
file (where n
is the version number of the file) from the Data Shared Library is used. If using the smaller timezone
_n
.dat
file from the Data Shared Library, then set the ORA_TZFILE
environment variable to the name of the file without any absolute or relative path names, as shown in Example 2-3.
If OCCI is not operating in the Instant Client mode because the Data Shared Library is not available, the ORA_TZFILE
variable, if set, names a complete path name.
If TNSNAMES
entries are used, then TNS_ADMIN
directory must contain the TNSNAMES
configuration files. If TNS_ADMIN
is not set, the ORACLE_HOME
/network/admin
directory must contain Oracle Net Services configuration files.
2.5 About Instant Client Light (English)
Instant Client Light (English) further reduces installation space requirements of the client installation over Instant Client by another 63 MB. Specifically, the installation of the Instant Client Light (English) shared library, libociicus.so
on Linux and UNIX and oraociicus11.dll
for Windows, occupies 4 MB on UNIX platforms, when the full Instant Client shared library, libociei.so, occupies 67 MB of disk space.
Instant Client Light (English), as the name implies, is geared toward applications that require English-only error messages and use either US7ASCII
, WE8DEC
, or a Unicode characterset. Instant Client Light (English) also has no restrictions on the TERRITORY
field of the NLS_LANG
setting. As a result, applications that meet these characterset and territory criteria can significantly reduce its footprint if they operate in the Instant Client Light (English) environment.
2.5.1 About Globalization Settings for Instant Client Light (English)
Instant Client Light (English) supports the following character sets:
-
Single-byte character sets include
US7ASCII
,WE8DEC
,WE8MSWIN1252
, andWE8ISO8859P1
. -
Unicode character sets include
UTF8
,AL16UTF16
, andAL32UTF8
.
Instant Client Light (English) returns an error message if the application attempts to use a character set or a national character set not listed here, either on the client or on the database. The possible error messages, listed here, are only available in English:
-
ORA-12734 Instant Client Light: unsupported client national character set (NLS_LANG value set)
-
ORA-12735 Instant Client Light: unsupported client character set (NLS_LANG value set)
-
ORA-12736 Instant Client Light: unsupported server national character set (NLS_LANG value set)
-
ORA-12737 Instant Client Light: unsupported server character set (NLS_LANG value set)
When setting NLS_LANG
parameters, use the following:
American_territory.charset
where territory
is any valid Territory that can be specified through NLS_LANG
, and charset
is a character set listed in this section.
See Also:
Oracle Database Globalization Support Guide for more information about NLS settings.
2.5.2 About Using Instant Client Light (English)
To determine whether to operate in the Instant Client mode, OCCI applications look for the Data Shared Library on the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
for Linux and UNIX and PATH
on Windows. If this library is not found, OCCI attempts to load the Instant Client Light (English) Data Shared Library, libociicus.so
for Linux and UNIX and oraociicus11.dll
on Windows. If neither is found, a full ORACLE_HOME
installation is assumed.
2.5.3 About Installing Instant Client Light (English)
Note that all Instant Client and Instant Client Light (English) files should always be copied or installed into an empty directory to ensure that there are no incompatible binaries in the final installation.
2.5.3.1 Downloading from Oracle Technology Network
When installing Instant Client Light (English) from Oracle Technology Network (OTN), download and unzip the basiclite.zip
package instead of the usual basic.zip
package. You must ensure that the instantclient_12_1
directory is empty before unzipping the libraries. The downloadable package is at the following URL on OTN:
Oracle Instant Client
2.5.3.2 About Using the Client Admin Install
Instead of copying the Instant Client Data Shared Library from the ORACLE_HOME
/instantclient
directory, use the Instant Client Light (English) Data Shared Library, libociicus.so for Linux and UNIX and oraociicus11.dll
for Windows, from the ORACLE_HOME
/instantclient/light
directory. In other words, the Instant Client directory on the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
for Linux and UNIX and PATH
for Windows should contain the smaller Instant Client Light (English) Data Shared Libraries.
2.5.3.3 Installing with Oracle Universal Installer
If the Instant Client option is selected from the Oracle Universal Installer (OUI), the full Instant Client is installed by default, but the libraries for Instant Client Light (English) are also installed. To operate in Instant Client Light (English) mode, the Instant Client Light (English) Data Shared Library must replace the Instant Client library. Therefore, you must place libociicus.so on the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
for Linux and UNIX, and oraociicus11.dll
on the PATH
for Windows. This design ensures that the Instant Client Light (English) is not enabled by default.
The Instant Client Light (English) Data Shared Library is initially placed in the ORACLE_HOME
/instantclient/light
directory. You must move it to the base directory of the installation, ORACLE_HOME
/instantclient
, and remove the Instant Client Data Shared Library in that directory.
Example 2-4 Installing Instant Client Light (English) through Oracle Universal Installer
If the OUI has installed the Instant Client in my_oraic_12_1
directory on the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
, then the following commands would ensure operation in the Instant Client Light (English) mode. Note that to avoid use of incompatible binary files, all Instant Client files should be copied and installed in an empty directory.
cd my_oraic_12_1 rm libociei.so mv light/libociicus.so .
2.6 About Using OCCI with Microsoft Visual C++
The Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) includes OCCI libraries for developing applications with Microsoft Visual C++ version 10.0 (.NET 2010 SP1 10.0), Microsoft Visual C++ version 11.0 (.NET 2012 11.0), Microsoft Visual C++ version 12.0 (.NET 2013 12.0), and Intel 12.1 C compilers with Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 STLs. Microsoft Visual C++ version 8.0 and version 9.0 are no longer supported.
Microsoft Visual C++ version 10.0 libraries are installed in the following default locations:
ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\bin\oraocci12.dll ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\oci\lib\msvc\oraocci12.lib
Copies of these two files are also installed under the directory:
ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\oci\lib\msvc\vc10
Microsoft Visual C++ 2012 OCCI libraries are installed in the following default location:
ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\oci\lib\msvc\vc11
When developing OCCI applications with MSVC++ 2012, ensure that the OCCI libraries are correctly selected from this directory for linking and executing.
Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 OCCI libraries are installed in the following default location:
ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\oci\lib\msvc\vc12
When developing OCCI applications with MSVC++ 2013, ensure that the OCCI libraries are correctly selected from this directory for linking and executing.
Applications should link with the appropriate OCCI library. You must ensure that the corresponding DLL is located in the Windows system PATH.
Applications that link to MSVCRTD.DLL
, a debug version of Microsoft C-Runtime, /MDd
compiler flag, should link with these specific OCCI libraries: oraocci12d.lib
and oraocci12d.dll
.
All Instant Client packages contain the versions of the OCCI DLLs that are compatible with Microsoft Visual C++ version 10.0.