Installation

In order for the 4D for OCI plug-in to function properly, you first need to install the files (libraries) needed to run the Oracle Call Interface (OCI).

In just a few simple steps, you can download the Oracle Instant Client and install it.

1. Download the appropriate instantclient-basic-[...] package for your platform here: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/instant-client/index-097480.html
   Notes:
   
   • The version installed (32- or 64-bit) must match the version of 4D used for 4D for OCI.
   • For 4D for OCI, the files to download are: instantclient-basic-nt-11.2.0.4.0.zip or instantclient-basic-windows.x64-11.2.0.4.0.zip (for Windows 32-bit or 64-bit, respectively).
     
2. Unzip the packages into a single directory (e.g., C:\oracle\) and rename the subfolder as "instantclient" to get a path such as: C:\oracle\instantclient
3. In the environment variables:
   
   • Add the ORACLE_HOME variable and set it to the path defined in step 2 (e.g.: C:\oracle\instantclient)
   • Edit the PATH variable and add this same path at the beginning
4. Add a "network" subfolder to this path with an "admin" subfolder (e.g.: C:\oracle\instantclient\network\admin)
5. In this "admin" subfolder, create a "tnsnames.ora" file with the parameters to your Oracle server.
   For example:
   
   XE =
     (DESCRIPTION =
         (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 192.168.10.10)(PORT = 1521))
       (CONNECT_DATA =
         (SERVER = DEDICATED)
         (SERVICE_NAME = XE)
       )
     )

Here are the steps to install the Oracle Instant Client and make it work with 4D for OCI:

1. Download the appropriate instantclient-basic-[...] package for your platform here: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/intel-macsoft-096467.html
   Notes:
   
   • The version installed (32- or 64-bit) must match the version of 4D used for 4D for OCI.
   • For 4D for OCI, the files to download are: instantclient-basic-macos.x32-11.2.0.4.0.zip or instantclient-basic-macos.x64-11.2.0.4.0.zip (for 32- or 64-bit versions respectively).
2. Copy the required Oracle library to the proper location:
   
   • Copy all the dylib files from instantclient-basic-[…].zip archive to /usr/local/lib (for example).
     The dylib files can be copied to one of the following paths:
     
     • $(HOME)/lib
     • /usr/local/lib
     • /lib
     • /usr/lib
       
   • Execute the command 'cd /usr/local/lib && sudo ln -sf libclntsh.dylib.11.1 libclntsh.dylib'.
   • Execute the command 'chmod 777 /usr/local/lib/libclntsh.dylib'.

   Note: Since 4D for OCI was designed with version 11.2.0.4.0, in order to avoid problems, we link it to “libclntsh.dylib” instead of the versioned file name.

   Note for El Capitan version: Only the $(HOME)/lib and /usr/local/lib directories are not restricted under El Capitan.

3. Use a text editor to create a “/etc/tnsnames.ora” file and type entries like the example below:
   
   oracle4d =
      (DESCRIPTION =
         (ADDRESS_LIST =
            (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL =TCP)(HOST = 10.96.0.61)(PORT = 1521))
         )
         (CONNECT_DATA =
            (SERVICE_NAME = oracle4d)
         )
      )

Note: Oracle does not provide a universal binary download so if you want to use both versions (32- and 64-bits), you have to download them separately and build your own universal binary, for example using the shell ditto command.

Tip: If you experience connection failure, you may want to use SQLPlus from Oracle. You can download the appropriate version (instantclient-sqlplus-macos.x32-11.2.0.4.0.zip or instantclient-sqlplus-macos.x64-11.2.0.4.0.zip) here: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/intel-macsoft-096467.html