New Features for Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio Release 12.1.0.1.0

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio release 12.1.0.1.0 includes the following:

• Multitentant Container Database Administrative Features

  Multitenant container database (CDB) administrative features are now exposed through ODT. When connected through Server Explorer to an Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) CDB, a user with SYSDBA privileges sees a Pluggable Databases Node. Various menus and dialogs allow the user to create new pluggable databases (PDBs.), clone them, plug and unplug them, open and close them, and delete them. An option to add a connection to a new or cloned PDB to Server Explorer has been added to the General Options Page.

  See Also:

  • About Multitenant Container Databases

  • Pluggable Databases Node

  • Pluggable Database Nodes

  • New Pluggable Database Dialog

  • Clone Pluggable Database Dialog

  • Plug Pluggable Database Dialog

  • Unplug Pluggable Database Dialog

  • Open Pluggable Database Dialog

  • Close Pluggable Database Dialog

  • General Options Page

• Schema Compare

  The new Schema Compare tool allows you to compare entire schemas (or subsets of a schema) across two Server Explorer Oracle Database connections.

  You can view the comparison results in a results window (see Schema Compare Results Window) and you can generate a deployment script, a diff script, that can upgrade a target database schema to match the source schema.

  See Also:

  • About Schema Compare

  • Schema Compare Source and Target Dialog

  • Schema Compare Results Window

• Automatic Implicit REF CURSOR Metadata Generation

  You can now use the Stored Procedure Run Dialog Box to automatically generate implicit REF CURSOR metadata information and add this metadata information to your app.config or web.config file. This is useful if you wish to map a REF CURSOR parameter in an Oracle Stored Procedure to a Complex Entity type return value of an Entity Function using the Add Function Import Dialog.

  See Also:

  • Using Add Import Function Dialog to Import an Oracle Stored Procedure

  • Stored Procedure Run Dialog Box

• Support for Oracle Data Provider for .NET, Managed Driver

  You can now connect to Oracle from Server Explorer using the new Oracle Data Provider for .NET, Managed Driver. Any designers or wizards that automatically generate .NET code using this server explorer connection will create code with appropriate references to the Managed Driver.

  (If you need to autogenerate .NET code with references to the Unmanaged Driver, connect in Server Explorer using ODP.NET, Unmanaged Driver).

  See Also:

  Using the Connection Dialog Box

• Connection Dialog Support for SQL*Net EZ Connect and TNSNAMES.ORA Searching

  You can use SQL*Net EZ Connect in the Connection Dialog Box, which allows you to enter a hostname, port, and service name rather than using a TNS connection alias from a tnsnames.ora file. You can also use a unresolvable-reference.html to assist you in locating and copying over other tnsnames.ora files that may exist on your computer.

  See Also:

  • Connection Dialog Box

  • unresolvable-reference.html

• Script Generation to Database Project Creates Master Script with Child Scripts

  The Generate Create Script to Project menu option, when used with multiple selected Server Explorer schema objects nodes, now generates a master SQL script into the Oracle Database Project Scripts folder. This script has calls to individual child SQL scripts, one for each schema object, ordered with dependencies taken into consideration. Dragging and dropping selected schema objects into a Oracle Database Project folder results in all child scripts being created in that target folder.

  See Also:

  Managing Oracle Script Files

• Oracle Database 12 Release 1 (12.1) New Data Types Support

  ODT now supports the following new Oracle Database 12.1 data types: Identity Columns (See: Table Designer), 32k extended data types (See: General Options Page), PL/SQL Boolean, Implicit REF CURSORs.

  See Also:

  • Table Designer

  • General Options Page

  • Generating an Entity Model from an Oracle Database

• Support for Parameterized SQL and PL/SQL in Query Window

  When you execute SQL queries or PL/SQL blocks containing parameter placeholders (for example :VAL or :1), you will be prompted to enter the values for the parameters.

  See Also:

  • Using Bind Parameters with SQL Statements or PL/SQL blocks

  • Query Parameters Dialog

• Binary XML Support

  Binary XML types are now supported in ODT.

  See Also:

  • Table Designer

  • XML Schema Designer

• Grant Debugging Privileges Dialog

  Oracle Database 12.1 or later now requires additional new privileges for granting explicit access to an IP address and port range when debugging PL/SQL. The Grant Debugging Privileges Dialog provides an easy way to grant these and other privileges that are required.

  See Also:

  Grant Debugging Privileges Dialog