On 5/20/06, Alan <nospam / hotmail.com> wrote:
> From the other side, there is Ruby/OCI8 available here:
> http://www.jiubao.org/ruby-oci8/
> Is this something than I can combine with DBI to have the DBD::OCI8?
>

Yes.  In order to get Ruby's DBI to work with Oracle, you need to
install both Ruby-DBI and Kubo-san's Ruby-OCI8 module (which includes
the DBD driver). Note that you'll probably also need at the very least
the Oracle Instant Client [1] in order to build the OCI8 module.

> I apologize if I sound a little bit frustrated. I am looking for a
> reliable Ruby database access solution. I have posted question here (see
> http://www.ruby-forum.com/topic/64065#70882) and it seems people using
> DBI just fine. I don't know how come I cannot find right package to
> download and use!!!

Don't panic... I think this just ought to be better documented.

So the steps are:

1. Download the Instant Client libraries and *install them properly*
with the correct values for the ORACLE_HOME and LD_LIBRARY_PATH
environment variables set. Best to put these in your system
/etc/profile; if these variables aren't properly set, no program using
the instant client libraries will function correctly (this is not a
Ruby issue, but an Oracle issue)
2. Download and install Ruby-DBI
3. Download and install the Ruby-OCI8 package.

Since I have almost never programmed Ruby on Windows, and have never
written a Windows program to access an Oracle database, I'm sorry I
can't help on that end.

[1] http://otn.oracle.com/software/tech/oci/instantclient/htdocs/linuxsoft.html