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Introducing the Oracle Call Interface

This chapter provides introductory information to help you get started with the Oracle Call Interface for Windows NTand Windows 95/98.

Specific topics discussed are:

What is the Oracle Call Interface?

The Oracle Call Interface (OCI) is an application programming interface (API) that allows applications written in C to interact with one or more Oracle Servers. OCI gives your programs the capability to perform the full range of database operations that are possible with Oracle8 Server, including SQL statement processing and object manipulation.

Additional Information:

See the Oracle Call Interface Programmer's Guide for detailed information about using OCI, including function descriptions.

What is Included in the OCI Package?

The Oracle Call Interface for Windows NTand Windows 95/98 package includes:

Oracle Call Interface for Windows NTand Windows 95/98
Required Support Files (RSFs)
Oracle Installer
header files for compiling OCI applications
library files for linking OCI applications
sample programs for demonstrating how to build OCI applications

Oracle Directory Structure

When you install the Oracle Call Interface for Windows NTand Windows 95/98, Oracle Installer creates an Oracle home directory on the hard drive of your computer. The default Oracle home directory is \ORANT for Windows NT, \ORAWIN95 for Windows 95, and \ORAWIN98 for Windows 98.

The OCI files are located in the Oracle home directory, as are the library files needed to link and run OCI applications, and link with other Oracle for Windows NT products, such as Oracle Forms.

The Oracle home directory contains the following directories that are relevant to OCI:

Directory Name Contents

\BIN

Executables and help files

\DBS

SQL scripts and other utility files

\OCI80

Oracle Call Interface for Windows NTand Windows 95/98 files. \OCI80 contains the following subdirectories:

\LIB

Library files, for Borland and Microsoft, that link into OCI applications

\INCLUDE

Header files, such as OCIDFN.H and OCIAPR.H

\SAMPLES

Sample programs for Borland and Microsoft

\ORAINST

Files used by Oracle Installer

Directory Name	Contents
\BIN	Executables and help files
\DBS	SQL scripts and other utility files
\OCI80	Oracle Call Interface for Windows NTand Windows 95/98 files. \OCI80 contains the following subdirectories:
\LIB	Library files, for Borland and Microsoft, that link into OCI applications
\INCLUDE	Header files, such as OCIDFN.H and OCIAPR.H
\SAMPLES	Sample programs for Borland and Microsoft
\ORAINST	Files used by Oracle Installer

Sample Programs

Oracle Installer copies a set of sample programs and their corresponding project files into the \SAMPLES subdirectory. Oracle recommends that you build and run these sample programs to verify that OCI has been successfully installed and to familiarize yourself with the steps involved in developing OCI applications.

To build a sample, run a batch file (MAKE.BAT) at the MS-DOS command prompt. For example, to build the CDEMO1.C sample, enter the following command:

MAKE CDEMO1

After you finish using these sample programs, you can delete them if you choose.

A sample OCI application specific to Windows NT and Windows 95/98 is included. CDEMOMT.C demonstrates OCI multithreading (the thread safety feature of Oracle8 is also included on the Windows NT and Windows 95/98 platforms). It requires the EMP table from the default database. This program spawns two simultaneous threads that attempt to insert different employee names with the same ID numbers. Automatic mutexing is demonstrated.