SQL*Plus User's Guide for Windows Platforms

Customizing Windows NT/95 Operating System Parameters

Modifying the Windows NT/95 Registry
Windows NT/95 Registry Parameter Descriptions

Modifying the Windows NT/95 Registry

When you install Oracle products for Windows NT/95, relevant parameters are created in the Windows NT/95 Registry. You can examine these parameters using REGEDT32.EXE (included with Windows NT) or REGEDIT.EXE (included with Windows 95). Oracle-specific parameters are located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE in the Registry.

Windows NT/95 Registry parameters control such things as the name of the Oracle home directory, the location of the product preference file, and the location of the help files. If you use SQL*Net for Windows NT/95, the Windows NT/95 Registry parameters also determine the driver to be used for network communications and the values that SQL*Net should use for its operating parameters. See your SQL*Net documentation for descriptions of Windows NT/95 Registry parameters that affect the performance of SQL*Net.

When to Set Windows NT/95 Registry Parameters

When you installed SQL*Plus for Windows NT/95, Oracle Installer automatically sets certain parameters in your Windows NT/95 Registry. The default values for these parameters are listed in this appendix. Other parameters must be set manually and are so noted in the parameter descriptions.

If you change the default value of an Oracle parameter or add a parameter to your Windows NT/95 Registry, the changes will take effect whenever SQL*Plus executes a procedure that uses one of these parameters. For example, if you copy the SQLUS.MSB file to another directory and reset PRO18, the parameter that specifies the location of SQLUS.MSB to that directory, SQL*Plus will look for the file in the new directory the next time this file is needed.

How to Set Windows NT Registry Parameters

To set Oracle-specific Windows NT Registry parameters, use the REGEDT32.EXE application to edit the Windows Registry. Oracle-specific parameters are located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE.

To edit a parameter, double-click the value of the parameter.

To add a new parameter (for example, SQLNET DBNAME <alias>), perform the following steps:

Choose the menu item Add Value under the Edit item in the Windows Registry Editor. The Add Value dialog box appears.
Choose the type: REG_EXPAND_SZ
Enter the parameter to be set for the Value Name in the dialog box. The Registry Editor will prompt you for the actual value of the parameter.
Enter the parameter value, then press the Enter key, or click the OK button.

Note Do not use the equals sign (=).

To add a new SQLNET alias (MYDB), provide the value name as: SQLNET DBNAME MYDB, REG_EXPAND_SZ, then insert the value for the connect string for the alias (for example, P:MY_CORPSRV:ORG1).

For example, you could add the following line to your Windows Registry to set the SQLNET parameter:

Parameter Name

Parameter Value(s)

SQLNET DBNAME Mktg_SRV

X:Server1

Note If you define a parameter two or more times, only the first value is used.

How to Set Windows 95 Registry Parameters

To set Oracle-specific Windows 95 Registry parameters, use the REGEDIT.EXE application to edit the Windows Registry. Oracle-specific parameters are located in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE.

To edit a parameter, double-click the value of the parameter.

To add a new parameter (for example, SQLNET DBNAME <alias>):

Point to New under the Edit item in the Windows Registry Editor and choose String Value. The system adds the new value, assigns it a temporary name, and highlights the value.
Type the name of the parameter to be set and press [Enter].
With the new value name still highlighted, choose Modify from the Edit menu to bring up the Edit String dialog box.
Enter the parameter value in the Value data field. Press [Enter], or click OK.Server1

Note Do not use the equals sign (=).

To add a new SQLNET alias (MYDB), provide the value name as SQLNET DBNAME MYDB, then insert the value for the connect string for the alias (for example, P:MY_CORPSRV:ORG1).

For example, you could add the following line to your Windows Registry to set the SQLNET parameter:

Parameter Name

Parameter Value(s)

SQLNET DBNAME Mktg_SRV

X:Server1

Windows NT/95 Registry Parameter Descriptions

The following list describes the Windows NT/95 Registry parameters and their default values. Acceptable parameter name abbreviations appear in parentheses.

LOCAL (LOC)

Windows NT/95 Default: not set automatically

Legal Values: any valid SQL*Net driver prefix

This parameter specifies the SQL*Net driver and SQL*Net parameters (complete database string) to use when no communications driver is specified upon loading SQL*Plus. This parameter enables the DBA to define a "default" network connection. When the user logs on without specifying any network parameters, ORACLE uses the LOCAL connection. Thus, the distributed database is made invisible to the user.

You can reset this parameter on the command line at any time.

Note For more information about the driver prefixes and SQL*Net parameters that are valid for Windows NT/95, see the Installation Guide or Getting Started for your SQL*Net driver.

NLS_LANG

Default: AMERICAN_AMERICA.WE81508859P1

Legal Values: See the accompanying Release Notes for a current list of available values.

The NLS_LANG parameter sets the language in which message files appear. The syntax for NLS_LANG is as follows:

Parameter Name: NLS_LANG

Parameter Value(s): language_territory.char_set

where:

language

specifies the language and its conventions for displaying messages and day and month names.

territory

specifies the territory and its conventions for calculating week and day numbers.

char set

specifies the character set used for the UPPER, LOWER, and INITCAP functions, and the type of sort used by an ORDER BY query. This argument also controls the character set used for displaying messages.

ORACLE_HOME

Default: \ORANT (or \ORAWIN95) on the drive where you boot your PC

Legal Values: any directory on any drive

This parameter specifies the home directory in which Windows NT/95 Oracle products are installed.

PRO18

Default: \ORANT\PRO18 (or \ORAWIN95\PRO18)

Legal Values: any directory on any drive

This parameter specifies the location of the SQLUS.MSB message file. The SQLUS.MSB file is used by any precompiled Oracle Product. (This release of SQL*Plus is not precompiled.)

Note SQLUS.MSB is the name of the American English file. If you are not using the American English version of the Required Support Files, the name of this file may vary.

The first three characters of this parameter, PRO, stand for the precompiler, such as Pro*C, Pro*COBOL, and Perforator. The remaining characters correspond to the current version of the SQLUS.MSB message file. Other ORACLE tools and subsequent releases of the Required Support Files use a different version of this message file.

PLUS33

Default: \ORANT\PLUS33 (or \ORAWIN95\PLUS33)

Legal Values: any directory on any drive

This parameter specifies the location of the SQL*Plus files, including the GLOGIN.SQL file. In addition to searching the directory specified by the PLUS33, SQL*Plus will also search the current directory for SQL*Plus files.

The first four characters of this parameter, PLUS, stand for SQL*Plus. The remaining characters correspond to the current version of SQL*Plus. Subsequent releases of SQL*Plus may use a different parameter to specify the SQL*Plus directory to enable you to keep multiple versions of SQL*Plus on your PC.

RDBMSXX

Default: \ORANT\RDBMSXX (or \ORAWIN95\RDBMSXX)

Legal Values: any directory on any drive

This parameter specifies the location of three message files: LCDUS.MSB, ORAUS.MSB, and SOSDUS.MSB.

Note LCDUS.MSB, ORAUS.MSB, and SOSDUS.MSB are the names of the American English files. If you are not using the American English version of the Required Support Files, your file names may vary.

The first five characters of this parameter, RDBMS, stand for ORACLE RDBMS. The remaining characters correspond to the current version of the RDBMS message files. Other ORACLE tools and subsequent releases of the Required Support Files may use different versions of these message files.

REMOTE (REM)

Default: not set automatically

Legal Values: any valid SQL*Net driver prefix and parameters

This parameter specifies the default and remote SQL*Net driver to use when connecting via a local database. The parameter can include the default SQL*Net parameters (complete database string). For example:

Parameter Name: REMOTE

Parameter Value(s): P:PIPER:DBS1

P: is the network prefix for Named Pipes.

Piper is the server name, and DBS1 is the database instance name.

If a user logs on and specifies a connection with an explicit driver prefix matching the one specified in REMOTE, but specifies no SQL*Net parameters, the parameters specified in REMOTE are used. This parameter enables the DBA to define a "normal" network connection for which the SQL*Net user need not specify connection parameters.

You can reset this parameter on the command line at any time.

SQLNET

Default: not set automatically

Legal Values: any valid network alias/network prefix combination

This parameter allows you to set a unique alias for each server on your network or distributed network. By setting multiple aliases you can refer to connect strings by simple names or mnemonic conventions; you need not remember the complete connect string for each one. The following is the general syntax for SQLNET:

Parameter Name: SQLNET DBNAME server_alias

Parameter Value(s): <a valid connect_string>

To use the server specified in SQLNET, you must enter the alias. For example, if you had set

Parameter Name: SQLNET DBNAME Mktg_SRV

Parameter Value(s): X:Server1

you would access the database from within SQL*DBA by typing:

SQLDBA> CONNECT SCOTT/TIGER@Mktg_SRV;

You can include multiple SQLNET parameters in the Windows NT/95 Registry to define multiple network aliases.

SQLPATH

Default: \ORANT\DBS (or ORAWIN95\DBS)

Legal Values: any directory on any drive

This parameter specifies the location of SQL scripts. In addition to searching the directory specified by the SQLPATH parameter, SQL*Plus will also search the current directory for SQL scripts.

Note SQL*Plus uses the PLUS33 parameter to specify the location of the GLOGIN.SQL script. Refer to "PLUS33" earlier in this appendix for more information.

When you set the SQLPATH parameter, note that directories can be concatenated with a semicolon (;). For example:

Parameter Name: SQLPATH

Parameter Value(s): C:\ORANT\DATA;C:\ORANT\DBS

PLUS_DFLT

Default: plus33

Legal Values: any SQL*Plus executables, such as plus33 or plus33w

This parameter specifies the SQL*Plus executables to be spawned when the sqlplus.exe is started.

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