1. Introduction

1.1 What's in here?

Linux is well known for being difficult and, generally, user hostile. Being a bit of a Unix fan I'm not sure whether I agree with that or not.

Oracle is similar I guess. Initially it's difficult to get to grips with, but it's difficult to work with any other RDBMS when you're used to it.

Combine the two, remember that 8i is only the second production release, and you realise that this isn't going to be straight-forward, even if you're familiar with both.

I am, but I had problems. Many problems were my own stupidity or hubris, but I document them for completeness.

1.2 Who is this HOWTO for?

First, this document is for people who want to install Oracle 8i version 8.1.5 on Linux. It does not cover any earlier versions. If you want to install 8.0, I recommend you try Linux Journals guide, and if you want to install any of the previous versions you're going to have to use the SCO version and follow Paul Haigh's Oracle Database HOWTO.

If you're trying to install the 'right' version, here is a little of my back-ground. Clearly if yours is similar we're going to be on the same wave-length.

• I've used Unix before. In fact, it's probably my 'specialist' area. At university I picked up the rudiments of SunOS/Solaris and, since then, I've built on that and added HP-UX (about a year) and Linux (five years, but in my own time rather than commercially). I think if you're coming from a Windows or NT background, installing Oracle on Linux could be quite difficult. There are lots of concepts and terminology to pick up even before you get held up by the bugs.
• I've used Oracle before. I've installed and DBA'd versions 7.1 and 7.3, and have developed on 8.0 (all on Solaris). Fortunately, the Oracle installation procedure is getting easier. Unfortunately it's not very stable at the moment, at least not on Linux. The bottom line is, if you've not used Oracle before, this might not be a good product to start with unless you have a lot of time and patience.

I'm assuming that you have a certain amount of knowledge in this area. Even installing Oracle isn't a trivial exercise, so I don't intend writing a 'press this key now' type of guide. If you want this kind of 'dummies guide,' neither this HOWTO nor Oracle are probably the right thing for you.

1.3 New versions of this document

Things move quickly in the world of Linux and Oracle, meaning that this document can quickly get out of date. If this document is more than a month or two old, I suggest you take a look at my web site for an update.

1.4 Disclaimer

You get what you pay for. I offer no warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise. I'll help you where I can but legally you're on your own.

1.5 Credits and Thanks

This HOWTO has been written by Stephen Darlington. It couldn't have been created without the constant stream of questions and answers on Oracle Technet and the Usenet news-groups. So thanks to the people that keep posting and sorry that I can't credit you all individually!

Thanks to the following people, in no particular order, for their contributions to this document: Ton Haver, Guy Cole, Iain Frerichs, Albert Braun, Steve Morando and Krill Kokoshka.

I welcome any constructive feedback on this HOWTO and any general Linux or Oracle issues. Email me at stephen@zx81.org.uk.

1.6 Licence

This document is copyright 2000 Stephen Darlington. You may use, disseminate and reproduce it freely, provided you:

• Do not omit or alter this copyright notice.
• Do not omit or alter the version number and date.
• Do not omit or alter the document's pointer to the current WWW version.
• Clearly mark any condensed, altered or versions as such.

These restrictions are intended to protect potential readers from stale or mangled versions. If you think you have a good case for an exception, ask me.

(This copyright notice has been lifted from Eric Raymond's Distribution HOWTO.)