Oracle Programming with Visual Basic

Despite repeated attempts, including failed products, Oracle has been unable to create a development tool which will solve the problem with getting information out of the database and into the hands of managers and users. But, now here is a source to build quick and effective programs for inputting information into an Oracle database or creating reports. The book has been technically reviewed by the Microsoft developer support team and by an Oracle employee to insure the highest possible level of technical accuracy.

Aimed at programmers who are familiar with Visual Basic and who have been exposed to Oracle, this instructional text covers the popular Oracle/Visual Basic client/server combination from beginning to end. The book opens with a lengthy discussion of the unique architecture of Oracle. The author presents the basics of Oracle's components, database administration processes, and database design issues. By the end of this first part, the reader comes away with a solid understanding of Oracle. The second part adequately covers queries and store procedures and introduces the reader to Oracle's PL/SQL.

Next, the author devotes a section to implementing Visual Basic client applications against the Oracle back end. He presents Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), cursors, and object linking and embedding database (OLE-DB) as well as discusses the Microsoft JET engine, remote data objects, and ODBCDirect. All of these architectures are critical to expert database programming in Visual Basic. The book also addresses other client design issues, such as transaction control and error handling.

Oracle Programming wraps up with a section on advanced Oracle techniques that includes Oracle Objects for OLE--otherwise known as OO4O. Generous but concise code examples, smart sidebars on real-world implementation, and plenty of architectural diagrams round out this book. --Stephen Plain