Alternative installations of SQL Developer

We have been discussing the installation and management of the independent
release of SQL Developer available on the Oracle Technology Network.
SQL Developer is also available as part of the Oracle Database and Oracle
JDeveloper installations.

Oracle JDeveloper

Most of SQL Developer is integrated into Oracle JDeveloper, which means you need
to install JDeveloper to access and use the SQL Developer components. Having SQL
Developer as part of JDeveloper means that, if you are building Java applications
and working with the Fusion Middleware platform, you can access and work with
the Oracle Database without an additional install of SQL Developer. JDeveloper does
not consume all of the extensions for SQL Developer (for example, extensions like
Migrations and Versioning are not included).

	Oracle JDeveloper 11g includes SQL Developer 1.5.6.

Oracle Database 11g

SQL Developer is also shipped with the Oracle Database. Initially, Oracle
Database 11g Release 1. SQL Developer is installed by default when you install the
database. Once the installation is complete, locate the sqldeveloper directory
(for example, \product\11.1.0\db_1\sqldeveloper\sqldeveloper.exe) to
start SQL Developer.

Be aware that Oracle database releases are less frequent than those of SQL
Developer, which, by its nature and size, allows for more frequent updates. This
means the version of SQL Developer shipped with the database may not be the most
current release. Oracle Database 11g Release 2 is shipped with SQL Developer 1.5.5.
All examples in this text are using SQL Developer 2.1. You may also update your
database version less frequently than a client tool.

To upgrade the SQL Developer installation in Oracle Database 11g Release 1, you
should do a full new install. As with other installs, create a new folder and unzip
the latest download.

	Oracle Database 11g Release 1 ships with SQL Developer 1.1.3

	Oracle Database 11g Release 2 ships with SQL Developer 1.5.5

Troubleshooting

It seems ominous to provide a section on troubleshooting at the start of a book! If
you accept that software can get in a tangle sometimes, either if you use the product
as it’s not designed, or perhaps include extensions that you’d prefer not to have and
the product is no longer behaving as expected, then a few hints on how to escape
that tangle can be useful.

Removing extensions

If you have created your own extensions, or have downloaded and installed other
extensions that you no longer require, then invoke the preferences, using the menu
Tools | Preferences and select Extensions from the tree. Here you see that SQL
Developer includes a number of default extensions, such as the Oracle TimesTen
extension. In addition, any extension that you have included is listed here. You can
deselect extensions here and the product will no longer access them. This does not
delete the files installed for the extension. You will need to manually delete any
files downloaded for that to happen. However, it does mean that you can restart
the product and see if the extension is the root of the problem.

Resetting shortcut keys

Some users find that their keyboard shortcuts no longer work as expected. In this
circumstance, you can select the menu Tools | Preferences, and then select Shortcut
Keys from the tree. Click on the More Actions drop-down list and select Load
Keyboard Scheme…, as shown in the following screenshot. Select Default from the
dialog to reset the keyboard accelerators to the shipped settings. This also replaces
any settings you have added.

	In releases prior to SQL Developer 2.1, the Shortcut Keys are called

	Accelerators. In these releases, to reset the keys, select Load Preset.

Reset the environment, do not reinstall the product

When things go wrong, users sometimes resort to deleting and reinstalling a
product. This may even require downloading the files again. This is time consuming,
and in the case of SQL Developer, not necessary. Assuming you have not edited any
of the .jar files (it’s been known to happen and not legally permitted), you can reset
the product to the shipped factory settings by deleting the system folder. Before you
delete the system folder, export your connections and shut down SQL Developer.

	Export Connections: To export your connections, select Connections,

	right-click and select Export Connections. Save the file to a new location.

When troubleshooting, deleting the system folder is useful. However, by deleting
this folder you are also deleting all of the changes made to the preferences,
your connections, and any layout changes you have made. Therefore, it is
recommended that you delete the folder as a last resort, and not as a standard
approach to troubleshooting.

	Reset to factory settings

	For Microsoft Windows, delete the \Documents and

	Settings\<your_user>\Application Data\SQL Developer

	folder to reset SQL Developer to the shipped factory settings.

	For Linux, remove the ~.sqldeveloper folder and on the Mac, remove

	the ~/Library/Application Support/SQL Developer folder.

	In addition to deleting all of the preferences set and connections created,

	this action also deletes user-defined reports, your SQL history, and any

	code templates and snippets you have created. In general, delete the lower

	level system folder for a less drastic reset.

A quick overview

Let’s start with a walk-through of the product. This book is all about SQL Developer,
using the product, and getting to know it. You may well ask yourself why there is
a need for a book if we can walk through the product in twenty minutes or less. By
spending a little time dipping into a number of areas of the product, you can start
laying down a map of how the pieces connect and provide a base that you can drill
down into later.

Sample schemas

To follow the examples in the book, you need access to SYSTEM and the shipped
sample schemas, HR, OE, SH, PM, and IX available in Oracle Database 9i, 10g, or 11g.
Specifically, this book uses the sample schemas shipped with Oracle Database 11g.

There are two ways to install the sample schema. The first way is when you install
the database. You can elect to have the sample schema installed at that point.

Second, if you have not installed these, then you can locate the sample schema in the
$ORACLE_HOME/demo/schema folder and follow the instructions on installing them
using the Oracle online documentation. Not all of these schemas are available for
Oracle Express Edition. In this chapter, we use SYSTEM to verify the HR schema
is unlocked, and then we use the HR sample schema, which is available in Oracle
Express Edition.