How to connect to the local database using Oracle8i

In the tutorial on How to use Excel with an oracle Database, the method that is used to connect to a local database is implemented in Oracle8, not Oracle8i. Here it is explained how to connect to the local database in Oracle8i. It is more complex than in Oracle8.

1. Set Host Name for your computer

If you don’t set the host name for your computer, you should do it now as following:

Go to control-panel => network => TCP/IP properties => DNS configuration => enable DNS => set your host name

2. Configuring Naming Methods and the Listener

Net8 can resolve net service names using the following methods: Host naming, Local naming, Oracle Names method and External names methods. (See the exact usage in Oracle Document.)

We will use Host naming method here. Four steps are here:

Step 1: Configure the Listener with the Global Database Name

Start Net8 Assistant => Listeners => LISTENER (this is the default one)
=> Choose Listening location from the drop-down list box: add address using TCP/IP protocol and your own Host name and port 1521;
=> Choose database services from the drop-down list box: set Global database name to LOCAL (Whatever, just a local database. But this is a very important parameter and will be used later.), Oracle home directory (where you want to put your database), and SID to ORCL

Step2: Configure HOSTNAME as the First Naming Method

(You are still in Net8 Assistant) => profile => Choose Naming from drop- down list box => set HOSTNAME and TNSNAMES to be in the selected methods and make HOSTNAME as the first. Save network configuration and exit from Net8 Assistant.

Step3: Start your listener

Use LSNRCTL utility to start your listener. Find the location of lsnrctl.exe in your computer and run it.
LSNRCTL > start : will start your listener.
LSNRCTL > help : List all the commands for LSNRCTL

Step4: create a new local net service Name

Start net8 easy config => Add new Service => set New Net Service Name to whatever => use TCP/IP protocol => set service name to LOCAL (same as Global Database Name.) => then test it (user name: 'scott' and password: 'tiger') => successfully

You can also use Net8 Configuration Assistant to do the step4. Now you have a connection to the local database. You can use it afterwards in Excel. In short, we can have a lot of net service names, based on the same net service (Global Database). If the service is used TCP/IP protocol, it must have a running listener.

To understand how Oracle 8i works, Oracle 8i Document is very helpful. An online version of Oracle 8i documentation may be at /usr/local/share/oracle/product/8.1.5/doc/index.htm.