Preface

SQL*Plus Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98 provides information about the SQL*Plus product that is specific to the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 95, and Windows 98 operating system environments.

Note: In the remainder of this guide, the SQL*Plus for Windows NT and Windows 95/98 product will be referred to as SQL*Plus.

Specific topics discussed in this preface are:

• Prerequisites
• Intended Audience
• How This Guide Is Organized
• Documentation and Code Conventions Explained

Prerequisites

This guide assumes that you are familiar with the following:

• SQL*Plus commands and general features. You should refer to the generic SQL*Plus documentation set before using this guide. See "Related Publications".
• Commands for deleting and copying files and the concepts of the search path, subdirectories, and path names.
• Fundamentals of the Microsoft Windows NT or Windows 95/98 operating systems.

Intended Audience

This guide is for all users who want to use SQL*Plus in the Windows NT or Windows 95/98 operating environments.

The SQL*Plus, SQL, and PL/SQL command languages are powerful enough to serve the needs of users with some database experience, yet straightforward enough for new users who are just learning to work with Oracle.

The design of the SQL*Plus command language makes it easy to use. For example, to give a column labelled ENAME in the database the clearer heading "Employee", you might enter the following command:

COLUMN ENAME HEADING EMPLOYEE

Similarly, to list the column definitions for a table called EMP, you might enter this command:

DESCRIBE EMP

How This Guide Is Organized

This guide is organized as follows:

Chapter 1, "Introducing SQL*Plus"

• Provides introductory information to help you get started with SQL*Plus.

Chapter 2, "Using SQL*Plus"

• Explains how to start and use SQL*Plus from the command line interface and the graphical user interface, and describes the menu options.

Chapter 3, "Operating System-Specific References"

• Provides command information specific to the Windows NT/95/98 environments which are cross-referenced in SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference.

Appendix A, "Customizing Operating System Parameters"

• Describes how to customize your SQL*Plus configuration by changing the SQLPATH parameter in the Windows NT/95/98 registry.

Related Publications

• SQL*Plus Getting Started for Windows NT and Windows 95/98 provides information specific to SQL*Plus on Windows-based platforms only. For information about SQL*Plus cross-platform support, features, and commands, refer to the generic SQL*Plus documentation set on the product CD-ROM. In addition to the complete documentation for the Oracle Enterprise Edition for Windows NT product, the following SQL*Plus documentation is available for online viewing:
• SQL*Plus 8.1.5 Release Bulletin (for late-breaking information not included in the SQL*Plus documentation)
• SQL*Plus User's Guide and Reference
• SQL*Plus Quick Reference

Note: You should refer to the Release Bulletin and generic SQL*Plus documentation before using this guide.

 

Obtaining Online Help

Online Help is available while you are using SQL*Plus. However, the database administrator must first install and load the SQL*Plus Help files to make them available for use. Refer to the helpinst.txt file located in the following folder for more information:

ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\SQLPLUS\ADMIN\HELP

Documentation and Code Conventions Explained

The following conventions are used in this guide.

Convention	Example	Meaning
All uppercase plain	ALTER DATABASE	Indicates command names, SQL reserved words, and keywords. All uppercase plain is also used for directory names and file names.
Italic	Italic is used to indicate a variable: filename   Italic is used for emphasis: This section describes new SQL*Plus features specific to Windows NT/95/98.	Indicates a value that you must provide. For example, if a command asks you to type filename, you must type the actual name of the file. Italic is also used for emphasis in the text and to indicate the titles of other guides.
Oracle database		The database component of Oracle8.
C:\>	C:\>ORACLE\ORA81  This example refers to the default for the first Oracle home in an Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA)-compliant database.	Represents the Windows command prompt of the current hard disk drive. Your prompt can differ and can, at times, reflect the subdirectory in which you are working. Referred to as the MS-DOS command prompt in this guide.
Backslash (\) before a directory name	\ORADATA	Indicates that the directory is a subdirectory of the root directory.
ORACLE_HOME and ORACLE_BASE	Go to the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\ADMIN directory	In previous releases when you installed SQL*Plus, all subdirectories were located under a top level ORACLE_HOME directory, that by default was:  C:\ORANT for Windows NT C:\ORAWIN95 for Windows 95 C:\ORAWIN for Windows 3.1 or whatever you may have called your Oracle home. With this Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA)-compliant release, all subdirectories are no longer under a top level ORACLE_HOME directory. There is now a new top level directory called ORACLE_BASE, which by default is C:\ORACLE.  For more information about multiple Oracle homes and Optimal Flexible Architecture (OFA), see Oracle8 Enterprise Edition Getting Started for Windows NT.
HOME_NAME	OracleHOME_NAMETNSListener	Represents the Oracle home name. The home name can be up to sixteen alphanumeric characters. The only special character allowed in a home name is the underscore.
Symbols	period . comma , hyphen - semicolon ; colon : equal sign = backslash \ single quote ` double quote " parentheses ()	Symbols other than brackets and vertical bars must be entered in commands exactly as shown.