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Overview

This chapter introduces the Oracle Migration Workbench (Migration Workbench) under the following headings:

• Introduction

• Product Description

• Features

• Terminology

Introduction

Products such as Microsoft Access (MS Access) allow developers and advanced users to build complete business systems. However, because MS Access is based on file sharing technology, it lacks the speed, reliability, and robustness provided by an independent relational database management system (RDBMS) server.

Using an RDBMS server with MS Access in a client/server architecture provides the strengths of both technologies. MS Access provides excellent forms and reports systems, as well as a complete programming language (MS Access Basic). An independent RDBMS provides reliable, robust, and secure high speed data management.

The Oracle RDBMS is a modern, scaleable, high performance database server that can run on a wide range of computers from PCs to mainframes. Oracle operates in a networked, client/server environment and can support tens, hundreds, or thousands of users depending on the server.

This reference guide explains how to migrate from MS Access to Oracle using the Migration Workbench. This reference guide also provides guidelines on how to modify your MS Access applications to work with the new Oracle database. If you have an investment in MS Access applications, you can retain this investment while adding the advanced features of Oracle to your application architecture.

Product Description

The Migration Workbench is a tool that simplifies the process of migrating your data and applications from an MS Access 2.0, MS Access 95, or MS Access 97 environment to Oracle8 or Oracle8i. The Migration Workbench allows you to quickly and easily migrate an entire application system, that is the database schema including validation rules, default values, indexes and relations, in an integrated, visual environment.

The Migration Workbench employs an intuitive and informative User Interface and a series of wizards to simplify the migration process. To ensure portability, all components of the Migration Workbench are written in Java.

The Migration Workbench uses a repository to store migration information. This allows you to query the initial state of the application before migration. By initially loading the migratable components of the application system into a repository, you can work independently of the production application.

Furthermore, the Migration Workbench saves useful dependency information about the components being converted. For example, the Migration Workbench keeps a record of all the tables accessed by a stored procedure. You can then use this information to understand the impact of modifying a given table.

Features

The Migration Workbench allows you to:

• Migrate a complete MS Access 2.0, MS Access 95, or MS Access 97 database to Oracle8 or Oracle8i.

• Migrate tables (including validation rules and default values), indexes, relations, and primary keys.

• Use unmodified MS Access forms and reports with the destination Oracle database via an ODBC connection.

• Migrate MS Access databases with attached MS Access tables.

• Display a representation of the source database and its Oracle equivalent.

• Generate and view a summary report of the migration.

• Customize users, tables, indexes, and tablespaces.

• Customize the default data type mapping rules.

• Create ANSI-compliant names.

• Automatically resolve conflicts such as Oracle reserved words.

• Remove and rename objects in the Oracle Model.

• Migrate individual table data.

Terminology

The following terms are used to describe the Migration Workbench:

Application System is the database schema and application files that have been developed for a database environment other than Oracle. For example, MS Access, MS SQL Server, or Sybase.

AUTONUMBER is another name for the MS Access COUNTER data type.

Capture Wizard is an intuitive wizard that takes a snapshot of the data dictionary of the source database, loads it into the Source Model, and creates the Oracle Model.

Migration Wizard is an intuitive wizard that helps you to migrate the source database to Oracle.

Migration Component is part of an application system that can be migrated to an Oracle database. Examples of migration components are tables and stored procedures.

Migration Entity is an instance of a migration component. The table EMP would be a migration entity belonging to the table MIGRATION COMPONENT.

Dependency is used to define a relationship between two migration entities. For example, a database view is dependent upon the table it references.

Migration Workbench is the graphical tool that allows migration of an application system to an Oracle database environment.

Workbench Repository is the area in an Oracle database used to store the persistent information necessary for the Migration Workbench to migrate an application system.

Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of well-defined application programming interfaces (APIs) that provide services that a software developer can use.

Source Database is the database containing the data dictionary of the application system being migrated by the Migration Workbench. The source database is a database other than Oracle, such as MS Access.

Destination Database is the Oracle database to which the Migration Workbench migrates the data dictionary of the source database.

Source Model is a series of tables in the Workbench Repository that contain a mirror image of the data dictionary of the source database.

Oracle Model is a series of Oracle tables that is created from the information in the Source Model. It is a visual representation of how the source database will look when generated in an Oracle environment.

Navigator Pane is the part of the Migration Workbench User Interface that contains the tree views representing the Source Model and the Oracle Model.

Properties Pane is the part of the Migration Workbench User Interface that displays the properties of a migration entity that has been selected in one of the tree views in the Navigator Pane.

Progress Window is the part of the Migration Workbench User Interface that contains informational, error, or warning messages describing the progress of the migration process.