More "Spring Cleaning"

Well I continued my "Spring Cleaning" at work. I dug into the Oracle software and documentation drawers. After having developed Oracle-based software since 1987, I get sentimental about older versions of software documentation that I spent a lot of time reading and working with. It is always nice to see where you have been so you can hopefully appreciate where are. (See my next blog entry for a complete list of Oracle software and documentation I found.)

Oracle used to actually publish bound documentation book sets. That was before CD ROMs and the Internet. I remember these were prized possessions. It was very expensive to buy extra sets, well expensive for the places that I have worked. So if you had a set of books for SQL*Forms for example, you were popular with all the other developers who were developing Forms applications.

Back in 1987 I started with SQL*Forms v2.0 and Oracle 5. Prior to v2.0 you had FastForms where to develop a screen you had to answer tons of questions. It was a question and answer session to develop a Form. I found SQL*Forms v2.0 documentation but known for Oracle 5. I did find Oracle 6 RDBMS manuals though. Here are some that I found that have sentimental value to me. Hopefully they bring back good memories for you.


SQL*Forms Designer Quick Reference from 1987


IBM DOS v3.30 docs and software 3.5" and 5.25" media from April 1987



IBM OS/2 v1.10 from 1988


Oracle Office Demo Disk from September 1993

Mike

Where does old Oracle software and documentation go?

As indicated in my previous post, I did more "spring" cleaning at work and got hold of some old Oracle software and documentation. Some old documentation like SQL*Forms v3.0 and Oracle7 (RDBMS) Server I actually had to leave in the cabinet because we still have production applications written in them believe it or not. They are running on an old DEC VAX/VMS.

So , where does all that old Oracle software and documentation go when it is superseded by a newer version? Is there an Oracle recycling center out at Redwood Shore? Is there an Oracle historical society or museum that would want this "stuff"?

What should I do with the software and documentation? Is it of use to anyone out there? Should I just throw it all out? Please post your serious and funny suggestions. Oh ya, let me know if you may want this "stuff", too.

Here is what I got hold of:

Oracle Software (all media is CD ROM except where noted)

• Oracle Office Demo Disk September 1993 (3.5" media)
  
• OTN IOUG-A Live 2000 Software Kit
• -Oracle WebDB v2.2 Linux
• -Oracle8i Enterprise Edition 8.1.5 Linux
• -Oracle8i Enterprice Ed. R2 MS Win NT/2000 V8.1.6
• -Oracle WebDB v2.2 MS Win NT
• -Oracle JDeveloper 3.1 MS Win NT
• Oracle Discover v4.1.27
• Oracle JDeveloper R3.2.3
• Oracle8i Lite v4.0.0.2.0
• Oracle Tools CD Pack MS Windows
• -Oracle Designer R6.0
• -Oracle8i Lite v4.0.0.2.0
• -Oracle8i Personal Edition v8.1.5
• -Oracle JDeveloper R3.2.3
• -Oracle Forms and Reports 6i R2
• -Oracle Discoverer 3i
• -Oracle JDeveloper R3.1
• -Oracle Application Server Enterprise Edition v4.0.8.1
• Oracle9i Application Server v1.0.2.2.2 CD Pack Sun SPARC Solaris
• Oracle OpenWorld 2000 Software Kit
• -Oracle Internet Application Server 8i Linux and MS Windows NT
• -Oracle Warehouse Builder v2.0.4.78.0 MS Windows NT
• -Oracle Workflow R2.5.1
• -Oracle WebDB v2.2 Linux and MS Windows NT
• -Oracle Internet File Server R1.0 MS Windows NT
• -Oracle8i Enterprise Edition R2 Linux and MS Windows NT
• -Oracle Portal-to-Go v1.0.2.1
• Oracle Database 8i R2 Sun SPARC Solaris
• -Oracle8i Standard Edition R2
• -Oracle8i Enterprise Edition R2
• -Oracle Internet File Server
• -Oracle Enterprise Manger
• -Oracle Workflow
• -Oracle eMail Server
• -Oracle Darwin Data Mining Suite
• -Oracle Express Server
• -Oracle Transparent Gateways (many)
• -Oracle Warehouse Builder
• -Oracle Geocode
• -Oracle Pure Name and Address
• -Oracle WebD v2.2
• Oracle9i Application Server R1 MS Windows NT
• ODTUG Kaleidoscope 2007 (4 copies)
• Oracle JDeveloper v2.0 (4 copies)
• Oracle Application Server v4.0.7 MS Windows NT
• Oracle Application Server v3.0.0 MS Windows NT
• Oracle Webserver v2.1.1 Sun SPARC Solaris
• Oracle Designer R6 MS Windows 95/98/NT
• Oracle Designer R2.1.2 MS Windows 95/98/NT
• Developer/2000 v2.0 MS Windows NT
• Oracle Developer v6.0 MS Windows 95/98/NT
• Oracle Developer/2000 R2.1 MS Windows NT
• Oracle Developer Server v2.0 MS Windows NT Patch 1 (2 copies)
• Oracle8 Personal Edition MS Windows NT
• Oracle Server Enterprise Edition v7.3.4.0.1 Sun SPARC Solaris
  

Oracle Documentation

• Oracle Procedure Builder
• Oracle Forms 4.5
• Oracle Reports 2.5
• Oracle Graphics 2.5
• Oracle Glue
  
• Oracle8 Personal Edition
• Oracle Designer Handbook
• Develop Oracle Forms Applications
• Oracle V6.0 SQL Reference Manual
• Oracle V6.0 Error Codes
• Oracle V6.0 DQC VAX/VMS Installation Guide
• Oracle V6.0 OCI
• Oracle7 Concepts
• Oracle7 User's Guide
• Oracle7 SQL Language (2 copies)
• Oracle7 Utility User's Guide
• Oracle7 Application Developer's Guide
• Oracle PL/SQL v2.0 User's Guide and Reference
• Oracle Call Interface Guide v7.0
• SQL*Forms v2.0 Designer's Quick Reference
• SQL*Forms v2.3 Designer's Quick Reference
• SQL*Forms v2.3 Operator's Quick Reference
• SQL*Plus v2.0 Quick Reference
• Oracle Keyboard Layout Templates for SQL*Forms Operator and Designer for the PC, VT100, ...
  

Mike

"Spring Cleaning" in the Summer

I started doing some "Spring Cleaning" at work. I am looking into my cabinets and drawers and checking to see what is needed and what is not. What an undertaking. I found some interesting older Oracle/database related things:

• A 1983 article that explains 5th Normal Form. It was ironic because just the other day I was talking with our team lead about application developers not knowing data normalization.
• Copies of Oracle 7.2 Server manuals (I started with Oracle 5)
  
• Oracle Forms (V4) training manuals (I started with Forms 2.0)
  
• PL/SQL (Version 2.0) training manuals
• Developer/2000 Forms 4.5 training manuals
• Developer/2000 Oracle Graphics 2.5 Reference Manual
• Oracle CDE2 Oracle Reports 2.5 manuals

Boy the days of getting the box sets of Oracle manuals is over. It is time to put these in the dumpster. The only thing that is useful now is the normalization document. I will still dump it because it is on the Internet.

Mike

Is Data Normalization and Modeling on the decrease?

Because of recent staff turnover in our department at work, we created a list of technical skills that we need to support our department's in-house developed database applications. These were skills like SQL, PL/SQL, Oracle Forms, J2EE, AJAX, Javascript, Unix shell scripting, ... Each person in our department assessed their individual level of expertise in each skill. We then assigned a weight as to which skills we needed to fill immediately and which skills we could wait on for a while.

After two passes of looking at the skills list and assigning weights, I noticed that there were no analysis and design skills like Data Modeling and Data Normalization or modeling tools or methodologies. We had completely forgot to include these, so I suggested adding them. All of us were thinking of application development skills and not analysis and design skills.

That led me the question of, "Is it just my particular situation or is it a general trend in the IT industry that Data Normalization and Data Modeling skills/methodologies like ER diagrams are not being used as much as they used to like back in the 1990's?" Or is Data Normalization such a common skill nowadays that people creating tables just automatically do it? Is it now being taught in college?

Mike