1
Before You Install

This chapter provides some overview and background information to help you get ready for the actual installation and setup process that are described in the subsequent chapters.

1.1 What You Receive

The primary CD in your package contains the following:

• The Oracle Installer.

• The Reports Developer software:
  • Report Builder (including all the design-time, compile-time, and runtime components)

  • The other Builders in the Reports Developer family

  • The Report Server component with a restricted license. This license allows you to deploy applications on the web for test purposes.

• The following support products:
  • Oracle Net8 Client

  • SQL*Plus, Oracle JInitiator

  • Oracle OCX Pack

  • Information Navigator.

• A number of manuals, in both online and printable format. (A copy of this Getting Started manual is also included.)

• The online help (accessible both as a separate file and via the Builders), and the Quick Tour and Cue Cards.

• The Release Notes document, which contains important last-minute information.

The second CD in the package contains the product demos. The demos are installed automatically when the CD is inserted. That installation process also produces a configuration notes file that describes the demos.

1.2 Hardware and Software Requirements

Using Oracle Reports Developer and the related Oracle software requires the hardware and software described in this section.

1.2.1 Reports Developer

The Reports Developer requires the following hardware and software to run optimally.

1.2.1.1 Hardware

Reports Developer is designed to be installed and run on an IBM or 100% compatible PC with a Pentium processor or better. A CD-ROM drive functioning as a logical drive is also required for the installation process. For information on monitor, printer, and mouse requirements, see your Microsoft Windows documentation.

1.2.1.2 Operating System

This version of Reports Developer requires Microsoft Windows. Specifically, one of the following versions:

• Windows 95 (any version)

• Windows 98 (any version)

• Windows NT 4.0 (Service Pack 5 or later)

1.2.1.3 RAM for Design Time

To provides adequate space for installing and using the design/compile portions of the Reports Developer product, we suggest 128 MB of RAM. You might find that your project works well with less.

1.2.1.4 RAM for Runtime

The amount of RAM required to run a completed Report application depends on the following factors:

• The mode in which it will be deployed (web/3-tier or client-server)

• The size and complexity of the report itself

1.2.2 Related Software

You may want to run the software described in this section on the same machine or off of a server running on another machine.

1.2.2.1 Database Server

Reports Developer is designed to be used with one of the following Oracle database servers:

• Oracle8 (8.0.5 or 8.0.6)

• Oracle8i (8.1.5 or 8.1.6)

Using the server also requires Net8 for Windows.

You can also use Personal Oracle for Windows or Personal Oracle Lite as your server. For the most robust support, however, Oracle8 or Oracle8i is recommended.

You can also use a non-Oracle ODBC database server if it provides the equivalent functions.

1.2.2.2 Web Server

If you are going to deploy your applications to the web (3-tier environment), then you also need a web server to act as a listener.

The Oracle WebDB Listener is provided on the Reports Developer CD, and is a convenient choice, but any web server can be used. Both the Common Gateway Interface (CGI) style and the cartridge style of listener are supported.

If you choose to use Oracle Application Server as the listener with this release of Reports, it must be OAS Release 4.0.8 or later.

1.3 Where to Install Oracle

Oracle products are designed to reside in an installation directory referred to as ORACLE_HOME.

When you install Reports Developer and its related products, you will be asked to choose a particular ORACLE_HOME into which the product will be installed. The following considerations apply when you make your choice.

• Reports Developer 6i must reside in the default ORACLE_HOME.

• Reports Developer 6i and the Oracle8 or Oracle8i server must reside in separate ORACLE_HOMEs, although they can reside on the same physical machine.

• Similarly, in a web application deployment, Report Server and Oracle Application Server must reside in separate ORACLE_HOMEs, although they can reside on the same physical machine.

If you intend to not only install this 6i release of Reports Developer, but also retain an earlier version of Oracle Developer (as this product was called in earlier releases), then you should be aware of the following:

• Oracle Developer 1.6.1 and Reports Developer 6i can co-exist in the same ORACLE_HOME.

• Oracle Developer 2.1 and Reports Developer 6i can co-exist in the same ORACLE_HOME.

• Oracle Developer 1.6.1 and Oracle Developer 2.1 cannot co-exist in the same ORACLE_HOME.

• Oracle Developer 6.0 and Reports Developer 6i cannot co-exist in the same ORACLE_HOME.

1.4 New Install versus Upgrade

If you are new to Reports Developer and are installing this product for the first time, detailed instructions are provided for you. Start with Chapter 2.

If you already have a previous version of the product and are upgrading to this current version, then the installation process is probably familiar to you. Instructions for upgrading start in Chapter 3. You will also need to consider recompiling your existing applications to run with this new version of the product. Information on that topic is also supplied in Chapter 3.

1.5 Deployment on Web or Client/Server

There are two environments you need to set up:

• Design-time including the compile step. This is the environment in which the developers will create reports. This environment includes the build and compile components of the Reports Developer product.

  All the instructions for setting up the design-time environment are included in this manual in the following chapters.

• Runtime. End users run the finished reports in this environment. The environment includes not just the report developer application, but also the runtime components of the product.
  • Web Runtime. Using the web to deploy your reports offers several advantages: easier, centralized maintenance, no storage overhead on client machines, and takes advantage of a powerful server.

    When running your reports in a web (that is, 3-tier) environment, you need to perform several steps in addition to your design-time install. These steps install and tune the Report Server component in the middle tier. The instructions for those additional steps are provided in Oracle Report Server: Publishing Oracle Reports, A73072-01. Information on configuring the WebDB listener is provided in the Oracle WebDB: Installation Guide, A77053-01.

  • Client/Server Runtime. If you are going to run your applications in a client/server environment, then all the instructions you need for setting up that environment are included in this manual in the following chapters.

1.6 Check the Release Notes

Before installing any portion of the Reports Developer product, we strongly recommend that you read the Release Notes for the most current product information.

The Release Notes contain late-breaking information that only became available after this Getting Started manual was printed. The Release Notes may alert you to changes in the installation process or the system requirements. It also lists known problems in the product.

1.6.1 Obtaining the Release Notes

The Release Notes are contained on the product CD. To obtain the Release Notes, perform the following steps:

1. Start the Oracle Installer.

2. In the Installation Settings, enter your company name and select your language.

3. In the Installation Options dialog box, choose Custom Installation or Removal.

4. From the list of available products, select Oracle Reports Release Notes.

5. Choose Install.

6. When installation is complete, exit the Oracle Installer.

1.6.2 Accessing the Release Notes

To access the release note, perform the following steps:

1. Find the file relnotef in %ORACLE_HOME%\TOOLS\DOC60 where %ORACLE_HOME% is the installation directory. The release notes are available in both text and PDF formats.

2. To open the text file, double-click relnotef.txt. The file will be opened in your default text file editor.

3. If you have Acrobat 4.0 or above installed, then open the PDF file by double-clicking relnotef.pdf.

Once you have checked the release notes to see if there are any last-minute changes, you can begin the product installation process.