1. S the of partnership power Evaluation Code Presenter: Dan DeBower Technical Consultant Systems & Computer Technology Corp. ddebower@sctcorp.com Tuesday, April 10th -- 10:00am MS Access Pass Through Queries

2. 2 S Evaluation Code Session Rules of Etiquette Please turn off your cell phone/beeper If you must leave the session early, please do so as discreetly as possible Please avoid side conversation during the presentation Thank you for your cooperation!

3. 3 S Evaluation Code What youll learn After this session you will be able to: Connect Microsoft Access to SCT Banner via ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) Create a simple Pass-Through Query Increase the efficiency of your queries and reports

4. 4 S Evaluation Code Topics ODBC: Open Database Connectivity Installing the ODBC driver Establish a DSN (Data Source Name) Pass-Through Queries WHY Pass-Through Queries? The Make-Table Query and Pass-Throughs Questions?

5. S the of partnership power Evaluation Code ODBC Open Database Connectivity

6. 6 S Evaluation Code ODBC Open Database Connectivity A standard application programming interface (or API) for accessing a wide range of databases Connects MS Access to an ODBC capable database (Specifically, Oracle) Originally released in 1992 by the SQL Access Group

7. 7 S Evaluation Code ODBC Drivers The center of an ODBC connection Translates requests by an application into commands usable by the host database Utilizes ODBC defined Functions, Error Codes, and Data Types that are database independent Available from many vendors -- including Oracle, Microsoft, InterBase, OpenLink, Merant (Intersolv), Simba, and others

8. 8 S Evaluation Code The ODBC Stack

9. 9 S Evaluation Code Choosing an ODBC Driver Oracle and Microsoft offer ODBC drivers for Oracle databases with no license fees Suggested driver: Oracle The Oracle and Microsoft drivers are more than sufficient for MS Access database linking and Pass-Through Queries Consider other vendors if you are developing applications that use ODBC directly

10. 10 S Evaluation Code Installing an ODBC Driver The Oracle ODBC driver requires Oracles SQL*Net The TNSNames.ora file must be available to your workstation If you can connect SQL Plus to your target database, then SQL*Net is probably set up correctly

11. 11 S Evaluation Code Installing an ODBC Driver Download an appropriate driver from http://technet.oracle.com/software/download. htm Choose the driver that best matches your version of Oracle An exact match isnt necessary, but you should match major releases (i.e. 7 or 8)

12. 12 S Evaluation Code Installing an ODBC Driver Have SQLPlus installed on your workstation before installing the Oracle ODBC driver Allows testing of SQL*Net or Net8 Valuable during Pass-Through development The Oracle 8 driver REQUIRES that the Oracle Universal Installer be previously installed on your workstation

13. 13 S Evaluation Code Installing an ODBC Driver Install your driver Oracle 7 Execute the downloaded file and start the included Oracle installer Oracle 8 Execute the downloaded file and start the Oracle Universal Installer

14. 14 S Evaluation Code Create a DSN (Data Source Name) Open ODBC Data Sources on the Windows Control Panel Select the System DSN tab Click Add... Select your driver from the list Configure your DSN

15. 15 S Evaluation Code Configure your DSN Select a DSN name (like Banner) DSN names may be standardized at your site, so be sure to request guidance from your IT department or Computer Center Leave the other fields blank, theyll be specified in your queries

16. 16 S Evaluation Code Test your ODBC Connection Oracle includes a test program in their ODBC drivers called 32-bit ODBC TEST Execute the test program, connect to your database, and enter a simple query If you have SQLPlus installed, test your connection there too!

17. 17 S Evaluation Code A note about security ODBC is JUST AS SECURE as a connection through SQLPlus or another SQL editor Access to tables and other objects are granted to SQL and ODBC connections in the same way All (legitimate) access to Oracle is through SQL*Net or Net8 -- and they maintain security, not the ODBC driver

18. S the of partnership power Evaluation Code Pass-Through Queries

19. 19 S Evaluation Code Create a Query The NEW button, on the database Queries tab. Or from the menu: Insert - Query From the wizard, select Design View And Close the show table window And Query - SQL Specific - Pass-Through

20. 20 S Evaluation Code Prepare your query Create an ODBC Connection String In the Properties window enter a connection string: ODBC;DSN=????;DBQ=????;UID=????;PWD=????; DSN- your ODBC Data Source Name DBQ- your Oracle database instance UID- your Oracle UserID PWD- your Oracle Password (Security???)

21. 21 S Evaluation Code Prepare your query Create an ODBC Connection String If you leave out the Username and Password, Access will display a connection window ODBC;DSN=Banner;DBQ=PROD;

22. 22 S Evaluation Code Prepare your query Enter your SQL Remember - you can write and test your SQL queries in SQLPlus and then Copy- Paste from the SQL editor to the Pass- Through window!

23. 23 S Evaluation Code Why Pass-Through Queries? Because you want to Because you need to Because you have to!

24. 24 S Evaluation Code Why - Because you want to Pass-Throughs can increase the efficiency of your queries The SQL is passed directly to Oracle, Access doesnt process the query SO Oracle SQL efficiency techniques can be applied to your Pass-Through!

25. 25 S Evaluation Code Efficiency Include only the tables and where conditions that you absolutely must have Extra tables and wheres take time to process Order your where statements Put the most restrictive rules LAST Why? Oracle evaluates where statements from bottom to top!

26. 26 S Evaluation Code Why - Because you need to Pass-Throughs arent processed by Access, so theyre not limited by Access! For instance, you can use Oracle Functions and Procedures in a Pass- Through that you couldnt use elsewhere in Access HINT: If your Pass-Through Function or Procedure doesnt work - enclose it in curly braces { } so Oracle can identify it

27. 27 S Evaluation Code Why - Because you have to! The Microsoft Jet Database Engine that lies behind Access doesnt respond well to Oracle databases with very large numbers of objects ODBC Table Linking -- the alternative to Pass-Throughs -- downloads data about all available Oracle objects, and that takes time The Linking process can take so long that it times out! You cant use linking at all!

28. 28 S Evaluation Code Make-Table Queries Using Access Make-Table Queries can simplify your use of Pass-Throughs A Make-Table will execute your query and store the results in a permanent Access table If you didnt hard-code your password, youll be asked for it only once -- when you Make-Table Your Pass-Through wont run unnecessarily!

29. 29 S Evaluation Code Make-Table Queries First, create and test your Pass-Through Create a new query in Design View From the menu: Query - Make-Table Query… Select your query Double click * to include all your fields

30. 30 S Evaluation Code An alternative to ODBC Oracle Objects for OLE (or Oracle Glue) Utilizes Microsoft OLE (Object Linking and Embedding), a set of APIs that produce compound, multipart documents Only available between Microsoft Visual Basic applications (Access, VB) and Oracle Strictly a programming interface (via Visual Basic)

31. 31 S Evaluation Code Summary ODBC is much, much more than Table- Linking and Pass-Through Queries There are many reasons for using Pass- Throughs: Efficiency, flexibility, necessity… An understanding of SQL will give you more tools to use your data, and give you a better understanding of your database!

32. S the of partnership power Evaluation Code Examples And Question s? Dont forget your evaluations!