Christian Shay - Oracle and .NET

Windows and .NET sessions at Openworld

2017-09-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

Interested in Oracle Database on Windows performance and security, Active Directory, or .NET development topics? At Oracle Openworld SF next week there's a host of Windows and .NET sessions, hands on labs, and demogrounds for you to check out.

Here's the list of Windows sessions and demogrounds with times.
And here's the list of .NET development sessions, hands on lab, and demogrounds with times.

Use schedule builder to reserve your seats in any of those sessions before they fill up.

You can also visit us at our booth at the Moscone West "Exchange" (formerly known as "Demogrounds"). We'll have .NET experts as well as Oracle Database on Windows experts standing by to answer your questions or to give you a demo.

You can find us using this handy dandy map (we are on the left side of the exhibition hall with other Oracle application development booths) - click the image to enlarge:

See you at the show!!!

Setting up Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer for Managed ODP.NET

2017-01-09T06:53:00.002-08:00

[I was chatting with ODP.NET product manager, Alex Keh, and he let me know about some known issues that developers currently face when using managed ODP.NET with Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer (TLS/SSL) wallets. I asked him for more details and he wrote up the step by step walkthrough you see below. If you have questions about the steps provided below, please post to the ODP.NET OTN forum for assistance. -CS]

Setting up managed ODP.NET Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer (TLS/SSL) wallets correctly can be tricky for those that don't do it on a regular basis. Microsoft Windows now restricts wallets from using the MD5 algorithm. Oracle wallets may have been generated with this algorithm as that was the default option in Oracle Public Key Infrastructure (orapki) utility 12.1 and earlier.

When you setup TLS/SSL and encounter an "ORA-0052: Failure during SSL handshake" error combined with a 0x80004005 error code and first inner exception "A SSPI-call failed" and second inner exception "A token sent to the function is invalid", then it is very likely that Microsoft Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) rejected your Oracle Wallet, such as when MD5 is used. This is a failure on the handshake. You can resolve this error by using the SHA-2 algorithm instead. We'll describe how shortly.

If the second inner exception instead indicates "The credentials supplied to the package were not recognized", it is possible the user certificate was generated without a certificate authority (CA). You can resolve this error by using orapki to generate a CA/root certificate and then regenerating your user wallet/certificate to point to this new CA/root certificate. More info on how to do this is below.

Orapki refers to orapki.exe. This utility is part of full Oracle client (admininstrator) installations. It is not included with Oracle Instant Client. The utility is only needed to setup up the wallet; it is not necessary to deploy it with the wallet.

The steps below will regenerate your Oracle Wallet using orapki. Any orapki version can be used to generate the wallet with these instructions.

1. Create root wallet, for example, a CA wallet.

orapki wallet create -wallet ./root -pwd yourpassword

2. Add a self-signed certificate (CA certificate) to the root wallet.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./root -dn 'CN=yourroot' -keysize 1024 -self_signed -validity 3650 -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

3. Export the self-signed certificate from the wallet.

orapki wallet export -wallet ./root -dn 'CN=yourroot' -cert ./root/b64certificate.txt -pwd yourpassword

4. Create a user wallet, for example, a customer wallet.

orapki wallet create -wallet ./user -pwd yourpassword -auto_login

5. Add a certificate request.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./user -dn 'CN=clientshostname' -keysize 1024 -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

6. Export the certificate request.

orapki wallet export -wallet ./user -dn 'CN=clientshostname' -request ./user/creq.txt -pwd yourpassword

7. Create a certificate issued by a CA.

orapki cert create -wallet ./root -request ./user/creq.txt -cert ./user/cert.txt -validity 3650 -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

8. Add a trusted certificate (CA certificate) to the wallet. This example assumes the same CA for both the client and server wallets.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./user -trusted_cert -cert ./root/b64certificate.txt -pwd yourpassword

9. Add a user certificate.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./user -user_cert -cert ./user/cert.txt -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

10. Display contents of user wallet.

orapki wallet display -wallet ./user -pwd yourpassword

11. Create a server wallet.

orapki wallet create -wallet ./server -pwd yourpassword -auto_login

12. Add a server certificate request.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./server -dn 'CN=servershostname' -keysize 1024 -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

13. Export the certificate request.

orapki wallet export -wallet ./server -dn 'CN=servershostname' -request ./server/creq.txt -pwd yourpassword

14. Create a server certificate issued by a CA.

orapki cert create -wallet ./root -request ./server/creq.txt -cert ./server/cert.txt -validity 3650 -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

15. Add a trusted certificate (CA certificate) to the server wallet. This example assumes the same CA for both the client and server wallets.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./server -trusted_cert -cert ./root/b64certificate.txt -pwd yourpassword

16. Add a user_cert certificate for the server wallet.

orapki wallet add -wallet ./server -user_cert -cert ./server/cert.txt -pwd yourpassword -sign_alg sha512

17. Display contents of server wallet.

orapki wallet display -wallet ./server -pwd yourpassword

Oracle Openworld SF: Windows and .NET Sessions and demogrounds

2016-09-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

I'll be at Oracle Openworld San Francisco (Sept 18-22) next week and we have a host of sessions aimed for .NET developers and Oracle Database on Windows administrators. Click the links below for the session times and locations.

Oracle Database on Windows Sessions
Active Directory and Windows Security Integration with Oracle Database [CON6573]
Best Practices for Oracle Database Performance on Windows [CON6575]
What's New with Oracle Database 12c on Windows: On-Premises and in the Cloud [CON6576]

.NET Development Sessions
Best Practices for Performance Part 1: .NET and Oracle Database [CON6574]
Best Practices for Performance Part 2: .NET and Oracle Database [CON6610]
PL/SQL Programming for .NET Developers: Tips, Tricks, and Debugging [CON6612]
What’s New for .NET Developers in Oracle Database [CON6577]
Best Practices for High Availability: .NET and Oracle Database [CON6580]
Meet the Oracle Programming and Scripting Experts [MTE7200]

I've also uploaded a map showing where the demobooth is located (SDB-003 in Moscone South).
Click here to view the image in full res.

Oracle Announces Plans for Visual Studio 2015 Support

2015-07-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

Oracle plans to offer a new version of the Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio integrated with Microsoft Visual Studio 2015. This new version is planned to be available within one month of Visual Studio 2015's Release to Manufacturing (RTM) date. As with earlier releases of Visual Studio, Oracle has partnered closely with Microsoft as part of the Visual Studio Industry Partner Program to make this release possible. Keep an eye on the OTN .NET Developer Center or follow us on Twitter for the upcoming release announcements.

Oracle Presentations at Chicago and Milwaukee Area .NET User Groups

2015-04-27T06:32:00.000-07:00

Attention Chicago and Milwaukee area .NET developers: Please join me next month as I visit the Lake County .NET Users' Group and the Wisconsin .NET Users Group to speak to members on the topic "Oracle .NET and Visual Studio: Intro and Best Practices". Details below. Please be sure to sign up at the user group websites so they know you are coming and to find out about any last minute changes in time/location. Free food and drink will be provided.

Tuesday May 12th, 7:00pm:

Wisconsin .NET Users Group

http://www.meetup.com/Wisconsin-Net-Users-Group/events/221227610/

Meeting location:

Thomson Reuters

(Town Hall)

450 North Sunny Slope Road

Brookfield, WI 53005

Thursday May 14th, 6:45 pm:

Lake County .NET Users' Group

http://www.lcnug.org/News/15-04-15/LCNUG_May_14_-_Oracle_NET_and_Visual_Studio_Intro_and_Best_Practices.aspx

Meeting location:

College of Lake County

Technology Building, room T326-328

19351 West Washington Street

Grayslake, IL 60030-1198

Oracle .NET and Visual Studio: Intro and Best Practices

The first part of this session introduces Oracle Database support for .NET, including Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET) and Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio. Step by step demos will show how to get started using these free products. We will also discuss the latest features including fully-managed ODP.NET, schema comparison tools, Oracle Database 12c multitenant container database support, NuGet packaging, and new features for Entity Framework.

The second part of the session explores coding best practices for achieving faster .NET Oracle database access performance. We examine techniques for optimizing connection pooling, caching, data fetching and updating, statement batching, and Oracle data type usage. We show how to use Oracle tuning tools to tune adhoc SQL as well as tuning a running database application to get the best possible performance.

See you there!

Free Webinar: Getting Started with Oracle and .NET

2015-03-16T05:48:00.005-07:00

Please join me on Wednesday, March 18th at 12 noon Eastern time for a one hour webinar going over the basics on how to get started developing C#/VB.NET apps for Oracle Database.

No signup needed. The Webex information is located here:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/application-development/appdev-webseries-2430444.html

How do you get started using Visual Studio to develop .NET web applications that leverage the power of Oracle Database 12c? This beginner-level webcast answers that question and introduces Oracle's offerings for .NET programmers, including Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET), Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio, Oracle Providers for ASP.NET, and .NET stored procedures. Step-by step-demos show you how to get started using each of these free products.

See you on Wednesday!

(To subscribe to this blog, please click here)

Oracle Data Provider for .NET now on NuGet

2015-03-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

ODP.NET, Managed Driver is now on NuGet, meaning that you can add ODP.NET to your Visual Studio project with just a few clicks in the NuGet Package Manager. We've also published an Oracle By Example walkthrough to take you step by step through the process of using NuGet and ODP.NET.

Here we are in the NuGet Package Manager:

When searching for us in the package manager, make sure to get the official package - look for the word "Official" in the title.

There's actually two NuGet packages available:

ODP.NET, Managed Driver - Official
NuGet id: Oracle.ManagedDataAccess

This adds Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.dll to your project and also makes needed configuration entries in your app.config or web.config.

ODP.NET, Managed Entity Framework Driver - Official
NuGet id: Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.EntityFramework

This adds Oracle.ManagedDataAccess.EntityFramework.dll as well as config file configuration. It also has a dependency on the ODP.NET package above and will pull it into your project as well as EF 6 if needed.

If you want to host this package on your local intranet, it is also available for download on the OTN .NET download page.

Please note that if you want to use Visual Studio integration features, such as browsing your Oracle Schema in Server Explorer, or using Entity Designer or Table Adapter Configuration wizard, you should still install Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio, as a NuGet package does not provide any of the Visual Studio integration components needed to do design time work.

ODAC 12c Release 3 Beta now available

2014-09-26T09:17:00.001-07:00

The Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC) 12c Release 3 Beta is now available! This beta introduces numerous new features for Entity Framework and managed ODP.NET.

Entity Framework 6 Code First

ODAC 12c R3 is the first ODP.NET release to certify with Entity Framework (EF) 6 and EF Code First. EF Code First is a popular development model for .NET object-relational mapping. Developers define the application domain model using source code, rather than with a designer or an XML-based configuration file. An EF Code First model's classes are defined in code through Plain Old CLR Objects (POCOs).

This support includes interoperability with the two Entity Framework methods that control the resulting Oracle data type: Data Annotations and Code First Fluent API. Data Annotations permit you to explicitly mark a class property with one or more attributes, whereas the Code First Fluent API permits you to use code rather than attributes to achieve the same goal.

Code First developers can modify and create their database schema as their model changes via EF Code First Migrations. ODP.NET supports EF Code First Migrations through the Visual Studio Package Manager Console commands.

These features are all available in both managed and unmanaged ODP.NET.

New ODP.NET, Managed Driver Features

Several new managed ODP.NET features have been delivered with this beta. XML DB developers can now use all of ODP.NET's XML classes that are supported by ODP.NET, Unmanaged Driver with the exception of the OracleXmlType.IsFragment and OracleCommand.XmlCommandType properties. This makes Unmanaged ODP.NET XML DB application migration to the managed driver a simple process.

ODP.NET, Managed Driver supports the VARCHAR2, NVARCHAR2, and RAW data types up to 32 KB in size. No code changes are required to use the larger data types, (which are a new Oracle Database 12c feature). By storing more data, developers can use these data types more frequently, providing programming flexibility. In addition, SQL Server to Oracle Database application migration is easier with these new data type sizes.

When using array binding to execute multiple DML statements, ODP.NET, Managed Driver can now provide an array that lists the number of rows affected for each input value from the bound array, rather than just the total number of rows affected. To retrieve the row count, ODP.NET can call the OracleCommand.ArrayBindRowsAffected property. You can use this information to better evaluate the DML's efficiency and whether the data changes were correctly applied.

.NET Framework 4.5.2 and Distributed Transactions

The ODP.NET managed and unmanaged beta drivers are certified with new .NET Framework 4.5.2 release. .NET 4.5.2 introduces a new Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator feature that allows ODP.NET, Managed Driver to support distributed transactions without requiring you to deploy Oracle.ManagedDataAccessDTC.dll with your application.

More to Come

Up next, the ODAC team plans a NuGet installable managed and unmanaged ODP.NET. Stay tuned to @OracleDOTNET to learn when it is available. We hope to hear your feedback via the OTN discussion forums.

Oracle Openworld SF .NET and Windows Sessions

2014-09-26T09:04:00.002-07:00

Oracle Openworld San Francisco begins this Sunday, September 28! Join the Oracle .NET development team and your fellow .NET developers and learn about new Oracle .NET features, including Entity Framework, Code First, Code First Migrations, NuGet packaging, support for new Oracle Database 12c features and much more. Meet Oracle and .NET experts at the .NET Demogrounds booth and at the "Ask the Experts" Q+A session. The .NET schedule listing is at this link. Register at the OpenWorld website. See you there!

Microsoft Deprecates OracleClient: Time to Consider Moving to ODP.NET

2009-07-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

Microsoft recently announced that it will deprecate Microsoft System.Data.OracleClient. For existing Microsoft OracleClient developers, especially those that haven't taken a look at the Oracle Data Provider for .NET (ODP.NET) in some time, this is a good time to look at ODP.NET again for new development or to migrate existing Oracle .NET applications. In recent years, ODP.NET has added lots of new features -- such as performance tuning, user-defined types, advanced queuing, RAC connection pooling, and supporting multiple ODP.NET client versions simultaneously on the same machine.

Alex Keh, who is the product manager for ODP.NET, has put together a special new webhome for developers using OracleClient...its called ODP.NET for Microsoft OracleClient Developers. This web page provides good information about why developers choose to migrate from ODP.NET from Microsoft OracleClient. Alex told me that the page will also provide a step-by-step Microsoft OracleClient to ODP.NET migration tutorial in the near future, which should be extremely useful. If you have questions about what this deprecation means for your company, please contact Alex over at alex.keh [at] oracle [dot] com or post to the ODP.NET Forum (OTN registration required).

In reading various comments on the MSDN post and elsewhere, I noticed a few misconceptions about ODP.NET that I would like to clarify:

Misconception: "This deprecation means I have to pay for an Oracle provider now!"
Fact: ODP.NET is free! You don't need to pay for a third party provider if you don't want to

Misconception: "I have to download a particular version of ODP.NET depending on the version of my database."
Fact: Any version of ODP.NET works with any version of Oracle Database. So you can use the latest version (currently 11.1.0.7) and use it against a 9.2, 10, or 11g database!

Misconception: "I'll have to use the Oracle installer when I deploy my app. Argh!!!"
Fact: At deployment time, you don't have to use the Oracle installer to install ODP.NET if you don't want to. If you so choose you can write your own installer, using scripting or Installshield or whatever you want. All you need to do is download the XCOPY version of ODP.NET. As a bonus, it has a smaller footprint too!

Misconception: "If I need to standardize on/test different apps with different versions of ODP.NET I'm in big trouble!"
Fact:Multiple versions of ODP.NET can live on the same box and your application can target whatever specific one it was tested with. Not everyone has multiple apps that have been tested with different versions of ODP.NET but it happens.

Misconception: "I hit a bug in ODP.NET 9/ODP.NET 10! I can't use ODP.NET because of it!"
Fact: If you hit some nasty bug of some sort with ODP.NET 9 or even 10, make sure to download the 11.1 version and try it as the bug is likely fixed in the years that passed. Again, it does not matter what version of the database you are using, the 11g ODP.NET version will work against them all and over the years we have added tons of new features and bug fixes.

So again, please check out the ODP.NET for Microsoft OracleClient Developers webpage. I'll blog again when the migration step-by-step guide is posted there, so feel free to subscribe to my blog to get an alert when that happens!

Happy coding :)

.NET and Windows OpenWorld Sessions Filling Up Fast!

2008-09-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Summary: Seats are filling up fast for Oracle OpenWorld .NET and Windows sessions, so use Schedule Builder and reserve a seat for yourself today!

Oracle OpenWorld will be taking over the city of San Francisco next week (September 21-25th). And once again we bring back the popular "Oracle Develop", a special 2 day intensive track of content created specifically for the Oracle developer - including a .NET developer track.

This years Oracle Develop .NET track will provide comprehensive coverage of Oracle's .NET technologies including new Oracle Database 11g features, introductory material, and deep dive content. Oracle Develop is perfect for all levels of Oracle on .NET developers, from beginner to advanced. In addition to sessions we also have a .NET Hands on Lab, which lets you get your hands dirty and take Visual Studio 2008 for a joyride! Mark Williams, the author, .NET guru and OTN "Ace Director" who has probably answered one of your questions over at the ODP.NET Forum, will be on hand with me at the hands on lab to take your questions.

Once you register, I strongly urge you to use Schedule Builder to reserve seats in the sessions you are most interested in. I recommend doing so as many of our .NET and Windows sessions look like they are getting close to capacity.

If you can't make it to Oracle Develop content this year, please visit us in the Exhibition Hall (in the database area) for your own personalized demo of our latest features from an Oracle expert.
The .NET booth is booth L41 and Windows database booth is L19.

Oracle Develop .NET Sessions at a Glance

NET Data Caching: Client Result Cache and Database Change Notification to Maximize Performance
Building Microsoft Office Applications with Oracle Database and Visual Studio
PL/SQL Programming for .NET Developers: Tips, Tricks, and Debugging
Getting Started with Oracle and .NET
Database Development Lifecycle with Visual Studio: SQL, PL/SQL,.NET Stored Procedures, Source Control, and Deployment
Hands-on Lab: Building .NET Applications with Oracle
Optimizing .NET Data Access Performance with Oracle Database
New Oracle Features for .NET Developers
ASP.NET Web Development with Oracle

Windows Database Sessions

What's New for Windows and .NET in Oracle Database 11g
Active Directory and Windows Security Integration with Oracle Database
Best Practices for Oracle Database Performance on Windows
Best Practices for Oracle Database and Client Deployment on Windows

Join Oracle at Microsoft Tech·Ed in Orlando

2008-06-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

Oracle is once again sponsoring Microsoft Tech·Ed (happening now through June 13 in Orlando, FL). We hope to see you there!

Microsoft has split the convention into two parts this year - a Developer week (happening right now), and an IT week (next week). Oracle will be present during both weeks, with a "Birds of a Feather" (BOF) session being hosted by Alex Keh (Oracle) tomorrow, and we'll have a large presence in the Expo hall next week during the IT part of the show. If you are in Orlando right now for Developer Week, I highly recommend you drop by the .NET BOF session as they have been very lively and informative and fun in past years! For those of you attending the IT show, please drop by our demo booth to get your questions answered and see your own personal demo of Oracle technologies. We'll also have a BOF session during IT week entitled "Managing a Mix of Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server Databases"

Here are the details:

Using Oracle with .NET - Birds of a Feather Session:
Hosted by Alex Keh, Oracle
When: This Friday, June 6 10:15 am
Where: Room S330E
Check online to verify room and time
What: Discuss tips and tricks on developing .NET applications with Oracle databases on topics, such as ASP.NET providers, best practices, and comparing available providers. Learn about the latest Oracle features for Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5. Ask Oracle and .NET experts your most pressing questions.

Expo Hall

When: IT Week (June 10-13)
Where: Oracle booth (#1408)
What: Get custom demonstrations of the latest Oracle .NET, database clustering and tools, server management, and application server technology for Windows developers and administrators. Learn about Oracle Database 11g and its integration with new Microsoft technologies, such as Visual Studio 2008 and WIndows Server 2008. Enter to win an iPhone!

BOF: Managing a Mix of Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server Databases
When: Wednesday June 11? (check schedule for date, time, and location)

Hope to see you there!!!

Oracle Database 11g for Windows now available

2007-10-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Download Oracle Database 11g on Windows!

We'll be talking about Windows specific 11g new features at Oracle OpenWorld sessions so reserve your seat today!

Reserve your .NET and Windows OpenWorld Sessions Today!

2007-10-22T09:45:00.000-07:00

Summary: Seats are filling up fast for Oracle OpenWorld .NET and Windows sessions, so use Schedule Builder and reserve a seat for yourself today!

Oracle OpenWorld will be once again taking over the city of San Francisco from November 11-15. It promises to be a truly amazing experience with over 1,600 sessions covering the full breadth of Oracle's offerings.

As you may recall, last year at OpenWorld we introduced "Oracle Develop", a special 2 day intensive track of content created specifically for the Oracle developer - including a .NET developer track. Well, it turned out to be so tremendously popular in San Francisco that we took the Oracle Develop show on the road to Korea, China, India, Germany, the Czech Republic, and the UK. Now we are back in San Francisco, having learned a lot about what you want in your sessions and we are offering even more of the good stuff that developers can use on their job!

This years Oracle Develop .NET track will provide comprehensive coverage of Oracle's .NET technologies including new Oracle Database 11g features, introductory material, and deep dive content. Oracle Develop is perfect for all levels of Oracle on .NET developers, from beginner to advanced. In addition to sessions we also have a .NET Hands on Lab, which lets you get your hands dirty and take Visual Studio for a joyride! You can attend Oracle Develop if you register for the full conference badge of course, but you could also sign up specifically for Oracle Develop.

Once you register, I strongly urge you to use Schedule Builder to reserve seats in the sessions you are most interested in. I recommend doing so as many of our .NET and Windows sessions look like they are getting close to capacity.

If you can't make it to Oracle Develop content this year, please visit us in the Exhibition Hall (in the database area) for your own personalized demo of our latest features from an Oracle expert.

Oracle Develop .NET Sessions at a Glance

Getting Started with Oracle and .NET
New Features in Oracle Database 11g for .NET Developers
Optimizing .NET Data Access Performance with Oracle Database
ASP.NET Web Development with Oracle Database
Database Development Lifecycle Management with Visual Studio: SQL, PL/SQL, and .NET Stored Procedure Development, Source Control, and Deployment
PL/SQL Programming for .NET Developers: Tips, Tricks, and Debugging
Using Complex Oracle Datatypes in .NET: LOBs, User-Defined Types, and XML
Building Scalable and Highly Available .NET Applications with Oracle RAC and Oracle Data Guard
.NET Data Caching: Using Oracle Change Notification and the Client Result Cache
Hands-on Lab: Building .NET Applications with Oracle

Windows Database Sessions

What's New for Oracle Database 11g on Windows and .NET
Oracle Database Integration with Active Directory and Windows Security
Best Practices for Performance of Oracle Database on Windows
Using Oracle RAC and Microsoft Windows 64-Bit as the Foundation for a Database Grid
Best Practices for Oracle Database and Client Deployment on Windows
Oracle Fusion Middleware: Best Practices and Interoperability for Windows, .NET, and Office Environments

See you there!

New Oracle and .NET beta available now!

2007-06-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

A major beta release is available now for ODP.NET as well as Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET. This 11g beta release also marks the first release of a new product, Oracle Providers for ASP.NET. I've written a new white paper (with lots of screen shots) that illustrates the new Visual Studio enhancements. Keep an eye on this blog in the weeks ahead as I will be writing articles explaining how to take advantage of some of the new features such as ASP.NET code generation and User-Defined Type (UDT) support...

We also have some new Oracle by Example walkthroughs that can help get you started:
Oracle by Example: Building ASP.NET Web Applications with ODT
Oracle by Example: Building .NET Applications Using ODT

Here's a summary of the new features:

Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET New Features:

Visual Studio 2005 integration with Server Explorer, Data Sources Window, Dataset Designer, TableAdapter Configuration Wizard and more

Improved ASP.NET web developer support

Oracle Database script project to provide source control of Oracle scripts

SQL script editor

Built in support for executing SQL*Plus scripts

Explain plan support

Integration with Query Designer

New designer for granting/revoking privileges on schema objects

User-Defined Types: Create, explore, modify UDTs; custom class code generation for .NET applications

Data Window and Query Window enhancements

Oracle Data Provider for .NET:

Instant Client Support: Smaller ODP.NET client installation

User-Defined Types: Map Oracle objects and collections to .NET custom types and support REFs to object types

Process Database Down Events: ODP.NET automatically frees connections of a downed Data Guard instance

Windows-Authenticated User Connection Pooling: Windows-authenticated connections can now be pooled.

Connection Pool Performance Counters: Monitor connection pool status

Oracle Providers for ASP.NET:

Membership Provider: Stores and retrieves registered user information in the Oracle database

Role Provider: Stores and retrieves user role information in the Oracle database

Site Map Provider: Stores and retrieves site map information in the Oracle database

Session State Provider: Stores and retrieves session state information in the Oracle database

Profile Provider: Stores and retrieves user profile information in the Oracle database

Web Events Provider: Stores and retrieves ASP.NET health monitoring event information in the Oracle database

Web Parts Personalization Provider: Stores and retrieves personalization data in the Oracle database

Cache Dependency Provider: Automatically invalidates ASP.NET cached data based on changes made to the base data in the Oracle database

Oracle and .NET at Tech·Ed Orlando

2007-05-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

Oracle will once again have a major presence at Tech·Ed this year (June 4-8).

Be sure to stop by the Oracle booth on the demogrounds floor (aka "Partner Expo") for your own personalized demo of Oracle products. We will have demonstrations for Oracle and .NET, Grid Control, RAC, and App Server.

At the .NET demo station you can get the first look at the upcoming release of the ODAC 11g beta including the following new features:

ODT:
Visual Studio 2005 integration with Server Explorer, Data Sources Window, Dataset Designer, TableAdapter Configuration Wizard and more
Improved ASP.NET web developer support
Oracle Database script project to provide source control of Oracle scripts
Integration with Query builder and Query Designer
User-Defined Types: Create, explore, modify UDTs and custom class code generation for .NET application
and much more.....

ODP.NET
Instant Client Support: Smaller ODP.NET client installation
User-Defined Types: Map Oracle objects and collections to .NET custom types and support REFs to object types
and much more...

ASP.NET Providers

Sessions:

We have a "Bird of a Feather" session, which is not a formal presentation, but more of a discussion with Oracle staffers and your fellow Oracle and .NET developers and DBAs. Come prepared with questions and bring your laptop if you feel like turning it into an installfest!

BOF01: Using Oracle with .NET
Monday, June 4, 2007 at 10:30 AM
Room S331 A

We are also co-presenting a "chalk talk" with Microsoft:

DAT04-TLC - ADO.NET Entity Framework: Provider Model and Integration with Third-Party Databases
Friday, June 8 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM, Blue Theater 12

See you in Orlando!

ODP.NET/ODAC for Vista now available

2007-05-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Coming right on the heels of Friday's release of Oracle Database for Windows Vista, we now have released ODAC 10.2.0.2.21 which is certified for Vista. You can download it here. This release is key because the Oracle Database on Vista downloads announced on Friday only include ODP.NET for .NET 1.x. If you need ODP.NET for .NET 2.x on Windows Vista, or any other of the ODAC products, you will need to download this. It includes all of the ODAC products, including ODP.NET and Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET packaged up with a new version of the Oracle installer that is Vista friendly. Only the installer has been upgraded, not the individual ODAC products, so if you are using ODAC 10.2.0.2.20 on another Windows platform, you don't need to upgrade.

The download includes:
Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET 2003 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio 2005 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Data Provider for .NET 1.x 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Data Provider for .NET 2.0 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Database Extensions for .NET 2.0 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Database Extensions for .NET 1.x 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Provider for OLE DB 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Objects for OLE 10.2.0.2.20
Oracle Services for Microsoft Transaction Server 10.2.0.1.0

Oracle Database on Windows Vista now available!

2007-05-04T12:27:00.000-07:00

The 32-bit Oracle Database 10g Release 2 for Windows Vista (v. 10.2.0.3) is now available for download! It supports Vista Business, Ultimate and Enterprise Edition.

Developers who just need the 32-bit Oracle Client for Vista can download it at that same link. This client release is much easier to install than the previous "start at 10.2.0.1 and patch up to 10.2.0.3" method that I blogged about earlier, and it doesn't require that you have access to a Metalink account (to get the patches) if you just want to evaluate the software.

And as I mentioned in that prior blog entry, Oracle Database Express Edition has been certified on Vista for some time now.

Some information about Oracle on 64-bit Windows Vista can be found at the Oracle Database on Windows Vista: Statement of Direction.

Happy installing! :)

Oracle Develop is coming to Europe and Asia! Sign up now!

2007-04-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

Following up on the tremendous success of our San Francisco Oracle Develop conference, we are bringing Oracle Develop on the road to Europe and Asia in May and June. We will have in-depth technical sessions as well as hands on labs where you can get your hands dirty with the latest and greatest Oracle products.

Click here to go to the main Oracle Develop web page to read more and to sign up.

Here's are some of the planned .NET sessions:
Getting Started with Oracle and .NET
New Features in Oracle Database 11g for .NET Developers
PL/SQL Programming for .NET Developers: Tips, Tricks, and Tools
Best Practices for .NET Developers
Hands-on Lab: Building .NET Applications with Oracle

There will also be many sessions on Enterprise Java, SOA, Databases and PL/SQL, as well as Ajax, PHP, Spring, and more.

Dates and locations:
May 14-15 Seoul, Lotte Jamsil
May 17-18 Bangalore, The Grand Ashok
May 22-23 Beijing, China World Hotel
June 18-19 Munich, Arabella Sheraton
June 21-22 Prague, Prague Conference Center
June 26-27 London, ExCeL

Here's a couple photos I took at the San Francisco Oracle Develop .NET Hands on Lab, showing some pretty intense learning going on!

See you there!

Learn about .NET and Oracle at Collaborate07 in Las Vegas

2007-04-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

The International Oracle Users Group (IOUG) will hold its Collaborate 07 conference in Las Vegas (April 15-17). If you attend, be sure to check out the .NET session and demonstration kiosk to hear more about new .NET features for Oracle Database 11g.

Session: Oracle Database 11g: What's New for Java, JDBC, .NET, PHP, and OCI

This session will be hosted by myself and Kuassi Mensah.

We will also have a "Application Development Tools" booth in the exhibit hall where you can see demos of Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET, ODP.NET and .NET Stored Procedures in Oracle, SQL Developer, Application Express, and JDBC.

Exhibit Hall: Oracle Database 11g - Application Development Tools booth (DB-007)

See you there!

Getting Ready for Windows Vista

2007-02-05T03:24:00.000-08:00

The Oracle Database on Windows Vista Statement of Direction is now up on OTN and it provides time frames for the planned releases of Oracle Database on Vista.

EDIT (5/4/07): The 32-bit Oracle Database 10.2.0.3 as well as Oracle Database XE are now certified on Windows Vista. The 32-bit Oracle Client is now packaged up in a simple single install so you don't need to patch your way from 10.2.0.1, nor will you need access to Metalink. Read my recent blog entry for more details. The text in the blog entry below was an unsupported "hack" that you won't need to use anymore. If you do decide to apply the 10.2.0.3 patch instead of downloading the whole 10.2.0.3 client from OTN, please follow the installation instructions in the 10.2.0.3 patch release instead of the instructions below.

Prior to those release dates, many developers who support Windows clients (.NET, ODBC, OLEDB, OO4O etc) will want to get a head start and do some testing of their applications. Unfortunately, the 10.2.0.1 Oracle Installer (the one on all the CDs) will not run properly on Vista. But there is a way you can get around this. It's a bit of convoluted hack, and none of this is supported officially, but it should help you get started testing.

The gist of it is: The installer that is included with the 10.2.0.3 patchset DOES work on Vista and must be used to first install the 10.2.0.1 Oracle Client software, and then used to upgrade to the 10.2.0.3 Oracle Client. The upgrade to 10.2.0.3 is required because there are a few other Vista related fixes in the 10.2.0.3 patchset.

The following instructions explain how to do this:

1) Obtain 10.2.0.1 client CD or zip file (from OTN)
2) Download the 10.2.0.3 Oracle patchset for 32-bit Windows from Oracle MetaLink and unzip it. (https://metalink.oracle.com/)
3) Change directory to the 10.2.0.3 Disk1\install directory, open oraparam.ini using notepad (or any editor) and comment out the line "SOURCE=../stage/products.xml" by adding a # to the beginning of this line.
4) Run setup.exe from 10.2.0.3 Disk1 directory, point to the 10.2.0.1 CD location's products.xml file and proceed with install of 10.2.0.1.
5) The pre-requisite check will fail. This is expected. Click in the boxes next to the errors. This will change them to say "User Verified." Then click "Next" to continue.
6) Once 10.2.0.1 has been installed as above, uncomment the "SOURCE=../stage/products.xml" line in Disk1\install\oraparam.ini file in 10.2.0.3 patchset
7) If you wish to test "ODP.NET for .NET 2.0 version 10.2.0.2.20", you will need to download and install ODAC from OTN at this point, since only "ODP.NET for .NET 1.1" is included in the 10.2.0.3 patch.
8) From the 10.2.0.3 directory, run Disk1\setup.exe and upgrade the 10.2.0.1 install to 10.2.0.3

That's it! Er, well of course that's just the start. Now you proceed to test your application!

I can sense a veritable storm of blogging coming up in my near future, so stay tuned!

Which source control system are you using?

2006-11-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

As part of our planning for our next release of the Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET, we'd like to know which source control system(s) your company currently uses.

I'm running an informal poll over at the ODT OTN Forum... please click through that link and let me know which source control system you are using! Thanks!

OpenWorld .NET Slides, Source Code, 64-bit ODP.NET and 64-bit .NET Stored Procedures

2006-11-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a very busy news week! As promised, here are all of the .NET and Windows OpenWorld slidedecks and sourcecode including the .NET and Oracle Hands on Lab.

Another big piece of news: we just released the beta of the 64-bit ODAC (for both x64 and Itanium). I know many of you have been waiting for this! This includes the 64-bit Oracle Data Provider for .NET as well as support for .NET Stored Procedures with Oracle Database 10g for 64-bit Windows.

Have a look and tell us what you think!

Join us at Microsoft TechEd Europe and UKOUG

2006-10-31T15:00:00.000-08:00

Oracle is once again a platinum sponsor of Microsoft Tech·Ed Europe (Barcelona, November 7-10) and we will be demoing our latest features integrating with Microsoft Windows and .NET. If you are attending, be sure to drop by the Oracle booth for a demonstration and attend an Oracle session.

Session
Developing and Optimizing .NET Applications for Oracle 10g
Presenter: Alex Keh
Thursday November 9th from 15:45-17:00

Oracle Booth Demos
Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET
ODP.NET
.NET Stored Procedures
Oracle Database on Windows
Grid Control for Microsoft Servers
Application Server For Microsoft Servers

UKOUG
Alex will also be presenting at UKOUG (Birmingham, November 14-17) . His talk is on Tuesday November 14th at 11am:
.NET and Oracle Best Practices: Performance, Deployment and PL/SQL Tips

Other Windows related sessions you should check out:
Oracle 10gR2 RAC on Windows Server 2003 x64: Best Practices, Tuning and Administration
Apples and Oranges - Comparative Performance Studies on Linux and Windows

I also happened to notice some cool SQL Developer and Application Express sessions hosted by Oracle engineering staff:
SQL Developer: Using Oracle's Graphical Database Development Tool (Wed Nov 15th, 16:35)
An Insight into SQL Developer and Application Express (Thur Nov 16th 9am)
Oracle Application Express: Features, Futures and Customer Tales (Thurs 10:20)

My next post will include slides and code from Oracle OpenWorld, so stay tuned!!!

Debugging PL/SQL from ASP.NET and Visual Studio

2006-10-10T08:15:00.000-07:00

[Update March 2015: This very popular blog post is quite a bit out of date after 9 years! It is no longer particularly feasible to use only one instance of Visual Studio for PL/SQL and ASP.NET debugging. We now recommend you use two instances of VS along with "External Application Debugging".

To get the latest details on how to use PL/SQL debugging with Visual Studio have a look at the Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio (ODT) online help. From Visual Studio, find the ODT help, find the "Oracle PL/SQL Debugger" section, then "PL/SQL Debugging Setup", then go through the"Debugging Setup Checklist". - CS]

Lots of you are using ASP.NET and the Oracle Data Provider for .NET to create web applications that access Oracle. When those applications call a PL/SQL stored procedure, wouldn't it be great to just step right into the PL/SQL and begin debugging with the live parameter values still intact?

As mentioned in my earlier blog entries, we now have a fully integrated PL/SQL debugger built right into Visual Studio which is included with the free Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET (ODT).

Today I will explain how to configure Visual Studio and your ASP.NET project to get started debugging your PL/SQL stored procedures, functions and triggers from ASP.NET.

Background
Before I start - a brief word about the way Oracle's PL/SQL debugging architecture works. When you connect from any Oracle 9.2 or later client application, Oracle's client libraries check to see if a ORA_DEBUG_JDWP environment variable is set. If it is, the client passes this environment value along with the connect information (eg Oracle user/pass) to Oracle. This ORA_DEBUG_JDWP variable is set using the following format:

SET ORA_DEBUG_JDWP=host=hostname;port=portnum
where hostname is the machine where the PL/SQL debugger (eg Visual Studio) is located, and portnum is a TCP/IP port it is listening on. When Oracle database receives this information, it immediately attempts to connect to the debugger on the port number specified. If there is no listener running on the port, this connection will fail and an error will be returned to the client.

When you debug directly from Oracle Explorer in Visual Studio (manually typing in the parameter values for a SP and so on) ODT takes care of passing this host and port information for you. ODT also silently starts listening on the port. You aren't even aware that any of this this is happening. This is documented in the online help as "Direct Database Debugging".

Similarly, when you call PL/SQL from .NET code, all you need to do is turn on "Oracle Application Debugging" (a checkbox in the "Tools" menu). The Oracle Application Debugging checkbox sets the environment variable in the Visual Studio process space and starts up the debugger listener, all without the user having to know or care about these details. You just check it, and away you go, debugging from .NET code into PL/SQL and back out again. This is documented in the online help as "Oracle Application Debugging".

When you need to debug PL/SQL from ASP.NET, if you are using the "ASP.NET Development Web Server" which is the default IIS webserver testbed for Visual Studio 2005, things are still pretty simple. You can still use the "Oracle Application Debugging" checkbox, although with a couple very important caveats (see below).

If you have an independent IIS webserver instead, things get just a little bit more complicated. In this case, the IIS Web Server process is technically external to the Visual Studio process. This is no problem since ODT lets you call the SP's you want to debug from ANY external process located on ANY machine, as long as that ORA_DEBUG_JDWP environment variable is set. It just means that you need to set this environment variable yourself and start the listener yourself, rather than relying on ODT to do it for you automatically. This is documented in the online help as "External Application Debugging".

Setup Instructions - Using ASP.NET Development Web Server

Here are the setup Steps for when you are using the ASP.NET Development server (a built in IIS web server for Visual Studio 2005). For most people, this will probably be the way to go:

1) Perform the generic setup steps 1 through 9 from my earlier blog entry and test via Oracle Explorer ("Step Into") that at least Direct Debugging is working. You should skip step #7, which does not apply to ASP.NET projects. As per these steps, the "Oracle Application Debugging" checkbox should be checked, the Options page should be configured and breakpoints should be set.

2) If the ASP Development Server is running (you will see an icon in your toolbar) you need to stop it before you begin debugging to force it be respawned so that it can pick up the Visual Studio environment variables. It's important to note that you need to stop the ASP Development Server every time you check or uncheck the "Oracle Application Debugging" option. You don't need to stop it every single time you run your app though. However, it's important to emphasize that you must stop the ASP Development Server when you are all done with PL/SQL debugging and have unchecked the "Oracle Application Debugging" - if you don't, your code will get connect errors.

3) Begin debugging!

Setup Instructions - Modifying the ASP.NET code

Setup Steps for situations where you are not using the ASP.NET Development Server and it is ok to add some code and rebuild your ASP.NET app:

1) Perform the generic setup steps 1 through 6 from my earlier blog entry and test via Oracle Explorer ("Step Into") that at least Direct Debugging is working.

2) If "Oracle Application Debugging" is checked off under the Tools menu, be sure to uncheck it.

3) Add code to your ASP.NET app to set the environment variable at the process level. You need to do this at a point in the code before a connection is opened. In C# this looks something like:

Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("ORA_DEBUG_JDWP", "host=mymachine;port=8888", EnvironmentVariableTarget.Process);
4) It's a good idea to add code after the Oracle connection is closed that removes this environment variable. Since here we are setting this environment variable at a process level, it should not interfere with any other Oracle client apps running on your system. However it is important to note that if you do set this environment variable at something other than a process level (eg system level), you must be sure to unset it. All other Oracle apps on your system that see this environment variable will attempt to begin debugging everytime they connect and will get errors.

Environment.SetEnvironmentVariable("ORA_DEBUG_JDWP", "", EnvironmentVariableTarget.Process);
5) Set a breakpoint at some point BEFORE the first Oracle connection is made.

6) Start debugging your ASP.NET application and run to this breakpoint.

7) When the breakpoint hits, choose "Start Oracle External Application Debugger" from the "Tools" menu of Oracle Explorer. Provide it the same port number you gave in the environment variable above (in my case it was "8888"). Obviously your firewall cannot be blocking this port.

8) Set a breakpoint in the PL/SQL (double click on the procedure or function in Oracle Explorer to bring up the editor).

9) Set a breakpoint in your ASP.NET code AFTER the call to the stored procedure or function in ASP.NET to halt once control returns to ASP.NET

10) Begin debugging!

Setup Instructions - No Modification of ASP.NET code

In some cases, you might not wish to modify and rebuild the ASP.NET. So you can't set the ORA_DEBUG_JDWP environment variable in code like we did above. In those cases, you can set a systemwide environment variable and bounce IIS, but this is a bit more tedious:

In the steps above, replace steps 3 and 4 with the following:

3) Set ORA_DEBUG_JDWP as a system environment variable. Go to Control Panel, System and choose the "Advanced" tab. Click on the "Environment Variables" button. Set the value in the section labeled "System Variables". Make sure when you are done with your debugging session to unset this system wide environment variable because as mentioned earlier, it will interfere with other Oracle client applications on your system!

4) Stop and start the IIS Service from the Services Console (Control Panel->Administrative Tools) so that it picks up this environment variable.

....Then proceed with the rest of the steps in the list!

If you have additional questions about PL/SQL debugging, feel free to post to the Oracle Dev Tools forum!

Happy coding!