VisualWorks on Windows7 and Oracle connect

Dear friends,
I have had a very annoying problem to get an Oracle connection from my VisualWorks (version 7.8, but that doesn't seem to matter here). Whenever I tried to establish a Store connection with an Oracle repository, it failed with

Unable to connect to "gheeg@bear" because of the following error:
ORA-12154: TNS: Angegebener Connect Identifier konnte nicht aufgelöst werden

I could confirm that the message was misleading since tnsping could resolve the connection string and the SQL console could connect and perform queries. After checking all possible issues with tnsnames.ora and sqlnet.ora I browsed the internet and found a helpful hint.
The problem is: On Windows 7, VisualWorks installs in directory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Cincom". That's no idea of Cincom, but Win7 standard for all 32 bit executables. I keep my project images away from the installation folder and always make sure that the file association ".im" is connected with VisualWorks.exe, so starting via double-click works fine. So all of my images run with a binary in the VisualWorks installation directory. Obviously, Oracle dislikes directory names with parenthesis so much that it denies support and gives the message above. I did not know that the path of a VisualWorks exe is something that is known to the Oracle interface and could have such effects. From Support I know about an Oracle path issue, but not in this direction.
Solution: Copy the VisualWorks exe (vwnt.exe, vwntoe.dll) to an Oracle compliant directory and start your image using that exe. The Oracle connection works.
I guess the same problem will show up with VisualWorks runtime applications, if you install them in %ProgramFiles(x86)%.
If you have any better solution, I would appreciate to read it here. Otherwise I hope this one helps.

Cheers

Holger Guhl
-- 
Senior Consultant * Certified Scrum Master * [hidden email]
Tel: +49 231 9 75 99 21 * Fax: +49 231 9 75 99 20
Georg Heeg eK Dortmund
Handelsregister: Amtsgericht Dortmund  A 12812

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Yes, my machine has Windows 7 64 bit. I did the rename test. If the virtual machine is in a path with parenthesis (not necessarily in "C:\Program Files (x86)\..."), the Oracle interface will punish you.
I have tried also with a blank in the name - no problem. Effectively, it's the closing parenthesis ")" that Oracle can't stand, a simple opening parenthesis is allowed (how generous).

Am 16.11.2011 21:02, schrieb Wallen, David:

This issue is new to me, so thanks for the heads up. Your findings would indicate that if you renamed your successful directory to include “(x86)”, that Oracle would again fail to load. Just wondering if it might somehow be tied to the “special” windows directory tree (Program Files, etc). Also, is your machine a 64-bit box?

 

Thanks,

- Dave

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Holger Guhl
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 7:34 AM
To: 'VWNC'
Subject: [vwnc] VisualWorks on Windows7 and Oracle connect

 

Dear friends,
I have had a very annoying problem to get an Oracle connection from my VisualWorks (version 7.8, but that doesn't seem to matter here). Whenever I tried to establish a Store connection with an Oracle repository, it failed with

Unable to connect to "gheeg@bear" because of the following error:

ORA-12154: TNS: Angegebener Connect Identifier konnte nicht aufgelöst werden

I could confirm that the message was misleading since tnsping could resolve the connection string and the SQL console could connect and perform queries. After checking all possible issues with tnsnames.ora and sqlnet.ora I browsed the internet and found a helpful hint.
The problem is: On Windows 7, VisualWorks installs in directory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Cincom". That's no idea of Cincom, but Win7 standard for all 32 bit executables. I keep my project images away from the installation folder and always make sure that the file association ".im" is connected with VisualWorks.exe, so starting via double-click works fine. So all of my images run with a binary in the VisualWorks installation directory. Obviously, Oracle dislikes directory names with parenthesis so much that it denies support and gives the message above. I did not know that the path of a VisualWorks exe is something that is known to the Oracle interface and could have such effects. From Support I know about an Oracle path issue, but not in this direction.
Solution: Copy the VisualWorks exe (vwnt.exe, vwntoe.dll) to an Oracle compliant directory and start your image using that exe. The Oracle connection works.
I guess the same problem will show up with VisualWorks runtime applications, if you install them in %ProgramFiles(x86)%.
If you have any better solution, I would appreciate to read it here. Otherwise I hope this one helps.

Cheers

Holger Guhl

-- 

Senior Consultant * Certified Scrum Master * [hidden email]

Tel: +49 231 9 75 99 21 * Fax: +49 231 9 75 99 20

Georg Heeg eK Dortmund

Handelsregister: Amtsgericht Dortmund  A 12812

_______________________________________________
vwnc mailing list
[hidden email]
http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc

Yep. Since my use of Oracle is shrinking, I am saving the effort of upgrading. My version is 10g Express of January 2010. Since my workaround works well and since the plain downloading effort with all its registering, filling request forms etc was so painful, I doubt that I will upgrade to a newer version.
But thank for very much for the hint. It's always good to know how the real solution.

- Holger

Am 17.11.2011 15:15, schrieb Peter Hunsberger:

In the past there has been a problem with the Oracle drivers (ODBC, JDBC, maybe others) and directories with parenthesis.  This was fixed in Oracle 11, maybe even earlier with some patches.  Are you running a version prior to 11?

Peter Hunsberger

On Thu, Nov 17, 2011 at 7:20 AM, Holger Guhl <[hidden email]> wrote:

Yes, my machine has Windows 7 64 bit. I did the rename test. If the virtual machine is in a path with parenthesis (not necessarily in "C:\Program Files (x86)\..."), the Oracle interface will punish you.
I have tried also with a blank in the name - no problem. Effectively, it's the closing parenthesis ")" that Oracle can't stand, a simple opening parenthesis is allowed (how generous).

Am 16.11.2011 21:02, schrieb Wallen, David:

This issue is new to me, so thanks for the heads up. Your findings would indicate that if you renamed your successful directory to include “(x86)”, that Oracle would again fail to load. Just wondering if it might somehow be tied to the “special” windows directory tree (Program Files, etc). Also, is your machine a 64-bit box?

 

Thanks,

- Dave

 

From: [hidden email] [[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Holger Guhl
Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 7:34 AM
To: 'VWNC'
Subject: [vwnc] VisualWorks on Windows7 and Oracle connect

 

Dear friends,
I have had a very annoying problem to get an Oracle connection from my VisualWorks (version 7.8, but that doesn't seem to matter here). Whenever I tried to establish a Store connection with an Oracle repository, it failed with

Unable to connect to "gheeg@bear" because of the following error:

ORA-12154: TNS: Angegebener Connect Identifier konnte nicht aufgelöst werden

I could confirm that the message was misleading since tnsping could resolve the connection string and the SQL console could connect and perform queries. After checking all possible issues with tnsnames.ora and sqlnet.ora I browsed the internet and found a helpful hint.
The problem is: On Windows 7, VisualWorks installs in directory "C:\Program Files (x86)\Cincom". That's no idea of Cincom, but Win7 standard for all 32 bit executables. I keep my project images away from the installation folder and always make sure that the file association ".im" is connected with VisualWorks.exe, so starting via double-click works fine. So all of my images run with a binary in the VisualWorks installation directory. Obviously, Oracle dislikes directory names with parenthesis so much that it denies support and gives the message above. I did not know that the path of a VisualWorks exe is something that is known to the Oracle interface and could have such effects. From Support I know about an Oracle path issue, but not in this direction.
Solution: Copy the VisualWorks exe (vwnt.exe, vwntoe.dll) to an Oracle compliant directory and start your image using that exe. The Oracle connection works.
I guess the same problem will show up with VisualWorks runtime applications, if you install them in %ProgramFiles(x86)%.
If you have any better solution, I would appreciate to read it here. Otherwise I hope this one helps.

Cheers

Holger Guhl

-- 

Senior Consultant * Certified Scrum Master * [hidden email]

Tel: <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="tel:%2B49%20231%209%2075%2099%2021" value="+492319759921" target="_blank">+49 231 9 75 99 21 * Fax: <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="tel:%2B49%20231%209%2075%2099%2020" value="+492319759920" target="_blank">+49 231 9 75 99 20

Georg Heeg eK Dortmund

Handelsregister: Amtsgericht Dortmund  A 12812

_______________________________________________
vwnc mailing list
[hidden email]
http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc

_______________________________________________
vwnc mailing list
[hidden email]
http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc