Oracle® Database Express Edition

Getting Started Guide

10g Release 2 (10.2)

B25610-01

October 2005

Welcome to Oracle Database Express Edition (Oracle Database XE)! This tutorial gets you quickly up and running using Oracle Database XE by creating a simple application. This guide covers the following topics:

• Logging in as the Database Administrator
  
• Unlocking the Sample User Account
  
• Logging in as the Sample User Account
  
• Creating a Simple Application
  
• Running Your New Application
  
• Using the Oracle Database XE Icons
  
• Want to Learn More?
  
• Documentation Accessibility
  

1 Logging in as the Database Administrator

The first thing you need to do is to log in as the Oracle Database XE Administrator. At the Database Home Page login window (which should have opened after the installation), log in as follows:

1. Enter the following information:
   
   • Username: Enter system for the user name.
     
   • Password: Enter the password that was specified when Oracle Database XE was installed.
     
2. Click Login.
   The Oracle Database XE Home Page appears.
   

If you cannot see the Database Home Page window in your browser, follow the instructions in "Using the Oracle Database XE Icons" on how to open the Database Home Page.

2 Unlocking the Sample User Account

To create your application, you need to log in as a database user. Oracle Database XE comes with a sample database user called HR. This user owns a number of database tables in a sample schema that can be used to create applications for a fictional Human Resources department. However, for security reasons, this user's account is locked. You need to unlock this account before you can build a sample application.
To unlock the sample user account:

1. Make sure you are still logged on as the database administrator, as described in the previous section.
   
2. Click the arrow on the right side of the Administration icon, then Database Users, and then Manage Users.
   
3. Click the HR schema icon to display the user information for HR.
   
   Description of the illustration gs_hr_icon.gif
   
   
4. Do the following:
   
   • Password and Confirm Password: Enter hr for the password.
     
   • Account Status: Select Unlocked.
     
   • Roles: Ensure that both CONNECT and RESOURCE are enabled.
     
5. Click Alter User.
   

Now you are ready to create your first application.

3 Logging in as the Sample User Account

To log in as the sample user account:

1. Log out from the database administrator account by clicking Logout in the upper right corner of the Database Home Page.
   
2. In the logged out window, click Login.
   
3. In the Login window, enter hr for both the user name and password.
   
4. Click Login.
   The Database Home Page appears.
   

4 Creating a Simple Application

Creating an application is an easy way to view and edit your database data. You create this application based on the EMPLOYEES table, which is part of the HR schema.
To create an application based on the EMPLOYEES table:

1. On the Database Home Page, click the Application Builder icon.
   
2. Click the Create button.
   
3. Under Create Application, select Create Application and click Next.
   
4. For Name:
   
   1. In Name, enter MyApp.
      
   2. Accept the remaining defaults and click Next.
      
   Next, add pages to your application.
   
5. Under Add Page:
   
   1. For Select Page Type, select Report and Form.
      
      Description of the illustration gs_report_and_form.gif
      
      Notice that Action describes the type of page you are adding.
      
   2. From Table or View, select EMPLOYEES.
      
   3. Click Add Page.
      Two new pages display at the top of the page, under Create Application.
      
   4. Under Create Application, click Next.
      
6. For Tabs, accept the default and click Next.
   
7. For Shared Components, accept the default and click Next.
   This option enables you to import shared components from another application. Shared components are common elements that can display or be applied on any page within an application.
   
8. For Authentication Scheme, Language, and User Language Preference Derived From, accept the defaults and click Next.
   
9. For User Interface, select Theme 2 click Next.
   Themes are collections of templates that you can use to define the layout and style of an entire application.
   
10. Confirm your selections. To return to a previous wizard page, click Previous. To accept your selections, click Create.
    After you click Create, the following message displays at the top of the page:
    

    Application created successfully.
    

5 Running Your New Application

To run your application:

1. Click the Run Application icon.
   
   Description of the illustration gs_run_ico_sm.gif
   
   
2. In the log in page, enter hr for both the User Name and Password.
   Your application appears, showing the EMPLOYEES table.
   
3. Explore your application.
   You can query the EMPLOYEES table, if you want. To manage the application, use the Developer toolbar at the bottom on the page.
   
   Description of the illustration gs_d_toolbar.gif
   
   The Developer toolbar offers a quick way to edit the current page, create a new page, control, or component, view session state, or toggle debugging or edit links on and off.
   
4. To exit your application and return to Application Builder, click Edit Page 1 on the Developer toolbar.
   
5. To return to the Database Home Page, select the Home breadcrumb at the top of the page.
   
   Description of the illustration gs_bread_myapp.gif
   
   

6 Using the Oracle Database XE Icons

You can use the Oracle Database XE icons to perform basic functions with Oracle Database XE. To see the icons, do the following:

• For Windows, from the Start menu, select Programs (or All Programs) and then Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.
  
• For Linux, click the Main Menu (on Gnome) or the K icon (on KDE) and then point to Oracle Database 10g Express Edition.
  

The following icons are available:

• Go To Database Home Page: Displays the Oracle Database XE Home Page in your default browser. "Logging in as the Database Administrator" explains how to log into this home page as a database administrator.
  
• SQL Command Line: Starts the SQL Command Line utility for Oracle Database XE. To connect to the database, issue the following command at the SQL prompt that appears:
  

  connect system/password
  
  

  where password is the password that was assigned when Oracle Database XE was installed. The get help, you can enter the command help at the SQL prompt, once you have connected to the database.
  
• Start Database: Starts Oracle Database XE. By default, the database is started for you after installation and every time your computer is restarted. However, if you think the database is not running you can use this icon to start it.
  
• Stop Database: Stops Oracle Database XE.
  
• Get Help: Displays the following selections:
  
  • Go To Online Forum: Displays the online forum for discussions about Oracle Database XE.
    
  • Read Online Help: Displays the Oracle Database XE online help. This help is only available if the database is started.
    
  • Read Documentation: Displays the Oracle Database XE documentation library on the Internet.
    
  • Register for Online Forum: Allows you to register for the Oracle Database XE online forum.
    

7 Want to Learn More?

Congratulations! You have now created your first application using Oracle Database XE. To learn more about using Oracle Database XE, you can use the Oracle Database XE Documentation Library. You can access this site as follows:

• For Windows, from the Start menu, select Programs (or All Programs), then Oracle Database 10g Express Edition, and then Get Help.
  
• For Linux, click the Main Menu (on Gnome) or the K icon (on KDE), point to Oracle Database 10g Express Edition, and then select Get Help.
  

In particular, be sure to review the following:

• Oracle Database Express Edition 2 Day DBA. Discusses common day-to-day administrative tasks.
  
• Oracle Database Express Edition 2 Day Developer Guide. Explains how to take advantage of the Oracle Database Express Edition development environment.
  
• Oracle HTML DB 2 Day Plus Developer Guide. Offers a series of tutorials that describe how to build database-centric Web applications using the Oracle HTML DB client.
  
• Oracle Database Express Edition 2 Day Plus PHP Developer. Provides a tutorial that shows you how to download and install Apache and the Zend Core PHP drivers, and then how to use PHP to connect to Oracle Database XE, and demonstrates how to use PHP to develop a simple application that accesses and modifies data.
  
• Oracle Database Express Edition 2 Day Plus Java Developer Guide. Provides a tutorial that shows you how to use Java and JDBC to connect to Oracle Database XE, and demonstrates how to develop a simple Java application that accesses and modifies data.
  
• Oracle Database Express Edition 2 Day Plus .NET Developer Guide. Describes the key features of Oracle Data Provider for .NET and Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET. It leads you through installation and configuration, shows how to build basic applications using Oracle Data Provider for .NET and Oracle Developer Tools for Visual Studio .NET, and how to create and use both PL/SQL and .NET stored procedures.
  

8 Documentation Accessibility

Our goal is to make Oracle products, services, and supporting documentation accessible, with good usability, to the disabled community. To that end, our documentation includes features that make information available to users of assistive technology. This documentation is available in HTML format, and contains markup to facilitate access by the disabled community. Accessibility standards will continue to evolve over time, and Oracle is actively engaged with other market-leading technology vendors to address technical obstacles so that our documentation can be accessible to all of our customers. For more information, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program Web site at
http://www.oracle.com/accessibility/

Accessibility of Code Examples in Documentation

Screen readers may not always correctly read the code examples in this document. The conventions for writing code require that closing braces should appear on an otherwise empty line; however, some screen readers may not always read a line of text that consists solely of a bracket or brace.

Accessibility of Links to External Web Sites in Documentation

This documentation may contain links to Web sites of other companies or organizations that Oracle does not own or control. Oracle neither evaluates nor makes any representations regarding the accessibility of these Web sites.

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Oracle Database Express Edition Getting Started Guide, 10g Release 2 (10.2)
B25610-01
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