sqlplus on Ubuntu
With the release of Oracle Database 23c Free came the ability to update components of the container’s base operating system. Naturally, I took full advantage of that to build my development machine on an Ubuntu 22.0.4 VMware instance with a Docker implementation of the Oracle Database 23c Free container.
Unfortunately, there were changes from that release to the release of Oracle Database 23ai Free. Specifically, Oracle disallows direct patching of their published container’s native Unbreakable Linux 8. It appears the restriction lies in licensing but I haven’t been able to get a clear answer. Oracle’s instructions also shifted from using Docker to using Podman, which reduces the development platform to a limited type of Database as a Service (DaaS) environment. Moreover, that means it requires more skill to leverage the Oracle Database 23ai Free container as a real developer environment by installing and configuring Oracle’s Client software on the host Ubuntu operating system. Then, you must create a host of shared directories to the container to use external files or test external libraries.
While Oracle’s invocation of proprietary control of their native OS is annoying, it’s not nearly as onerous as Apple’s decision to not offer an Intel chip for their MacBook Pro machines. I’ve a hunch Oracle will grant access to their Oracle 23ai Free container in the future but for now this article shows you how to get native SQL*Plus access working.
As to Apple, while I’ve fixed my older machines by upgrading my Intel-based MacBook Pro (i7) to native Ubuntu, it still annoying. Yes, Tim Cooke, I’d rather run Ubuntu than sell back a wonderful piece of hardware on the cheap to Apple. I also did the same upgrade to my iMac 5K with 32 GB of RAM but swapped the cheap hybrid drive for a 2TB SSD.
Now to the technical content that lets you natively develop using Oracle’s SQL*Plus on Ubuntu against the Oracle Database 23ai Free container. While I love SQL*Developer, it has significant limits when testing large blocks of code. Whereas, good techniques, sqlplus, and Bash shell can simplify code development and integration testing.
Here are the steps to get sqlplus working on Ubuntu for your Oracle Database 23ai Free container:
- You need to download the following two zip files from the Oracle Instant Client Downloads for Linux x86-64 (64-bit) website, which assumes an Intel x86 Chip Architecture:
- Open a terminal as your default Ubuntu user and do the following to assume the root superuser responsibility:
sudo sh
As the root user, create the following directory for the Oracle Client software:
mkdir /opt/oracle/oracleclient_23_4
As the root user, copy the previously downloaded files to the /opt/oracle directory (this assumes your default user is name as the student user:
cp ~student/Downloads/instantclient*.zip /opt/oracle/.
As the root user, change directory with the cd command to the /opt/oracle directory and verify with the ls -al command that you have the following two files:
total 120968 drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Jul 3 14:29 . drwxr-xr-x 6 root root 4096 Jul 3 09:09 .. drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Jul 3 10:11 instantclient_23_4 -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 118377607 Jul 3 14:29 instantclient-basic-linux.x64-23.4.0.24.05.zip -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5471693 Jul 3 14:29 instantclient-sqlplus-linux.x64-23.4.0.24.05.zip
As the root user, unzip the two zip files in the following order with the unzip command:
unzip instantclient-basic-linux.x64-23.4.0.24.05.zipDisplay detailed console log →
Archive: instantclient-basic-linux.x64-23.4.0.24.05.zip inflating: META-INF/MANIFEST.MF inflating: META-INF/ORACLE_C.SF inflating: META-INF/ORACLE_C.RSA inflating: instantclient_23_4/adrci inflating: instantclient_23_4/BASIC_LICENSE inflating: instantclient_23_4/BASIC_README inflating: instantclient_23_4/fips.so inflating: instantclient_23_4/genezi inflating: instantclient_23_4/legacy.so linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.12.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.18.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.19.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.20.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.21.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.22.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 inflating: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.10.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.11.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.12.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.18.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.19.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.20.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.21.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.22.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 inflating: instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.23.1 inflating: instantclient_23_4/libnnz.so linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.10.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.11.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.12.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.18.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.19.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.20.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.21.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 linking: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.22.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 inflating: instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.23.1 inflating: instantclient_23_4/libociei.so inflating: instantclient_23_4/libocijdbc23.so inflating: instantclient_23_4/libtfojdbc1.so creating: instantclient_23_4/network/ inflating: instantclient_23_4/ojdbc11.jar inflating: instantclient_23_4/ojdbc8.jar inflating: instantclient_23_4/pkcs11.so inflating: instantclient_23_4/ucp11.jar inflating: instantclient_23_4/ucp.jar inflating: instantclient_23_4/uidrvci inflating: instantclient_23_4/xstreams.jar creating: instantclient_23_4/network/admin/ inflating: instantclient_23_4/network/admin/README finishing deferred symbolic links: instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.12.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.18.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.19.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.20.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.21.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntshcore.so.22.1 -> libclntshcore.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.10.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.11.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.12.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.18.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.19.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.20.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.21.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libclntsh.so.22.1 -> libclntsh.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.10.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.11.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.12.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.18.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.19.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.20.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.21.1 -> libocci.so.23.1 instantclient_23_4/libocci.so.22.1 -> libocci.so.23.1and, then
unzip instantclient-sqlplus-linux.x64-23.4.0.24.05.zipDisplay detailed console log →
Archive: instantclient-sqlplus-linux.x64-23.4.0.24.05.zip replace META-INF/MANIFEST.MF? [y]es, [n]o, [A]ll, [N]one, [r]ename: y inflating: META-INF/MANIFEST.MF replace META-INF/ORACLE_C.SF? [y]es, [n]o, [A]ll, [N]one, [r]ename: y inflating: META-INF/ORACLE_C.SF replace META-INF/ORACLE_C.RSA? [y]es, [n]o, [A]ll, [N]one, [r]ename: y inflating: META-INF/ORACLE_C.RSA inflating: instantclient_23_4/glogin.sql inflating: instantclient_23_4/libsqlplusic.so inflating: instantclient_23_4/libsqlplus.so inflating: instantclient_23_4/sqlplus inflating: instantclient_23_4/SQLPLUS_LICENSE inflating: instantclient_23_4/SQLPLUS_README
- As the root user, run these two commands:
sudo sh -c "echo /opt/oracle/instantclient_23_4 > \ /etc/ld.so.conf.d/oracle-instantclient.conf" sudo ldconfig
Next, you’ll test the installation. As the root user, run these three commands, which you’ll later add to your standard Ubuntu user’s .bashrc file:
export ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/instantclient_23_4 export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME export PATH=$PATH:$ORACLE_HOME
As the root user, you can now test whether you can start the Oracle SQL*Plus client with the following command:
sqlplus /nologIt should connect and return this:
SQL*Plus: RELEASE 23.0.0.0.0 - Production ON Wed Jul 3 10:12:33 2024 Version 23.4.0.24.05 Copyright (c) 1982, 2024, Oracle. ALL rights reserved. SQL>
If you get this type of error, either you didn’t install the Oracle instant client basic libraries or you installed an incompatible version:
sqlplus: error while loading shared libraries: libclntsh.so.23.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
If you got the error, you’ll need to readdress the installation of the Oracle instant client typically.
Another type of error can occur if you get ahead of these instructions and try to connect to the Oracle Database 23ai Free container with syntax like this:
sql> connect c##student/student@free
because you’ll most likely get an error like this:
ERROR: ORA-12162: TNS:net service name is incorrectly specified Help: https://docs.oracle.com/error-help/db/ora-12162/
The error occurs because you haven’t setup the Oracle Net Services, which is level 5 in the OSI (Open System Interconnection) Model. In Oracle-speak, that means you haven’t setup a tnsnames.ora file, failed to put the tnsnames.ora file in the right place, or failed to set the $TNS_ADMIN environment variable correctly.
- While there are many ways to setup a tnsnames.ora file, the best way is to follow Oracle’s recommended approaches. In the Oracle client approach you should put the tnsnames.ora file in the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin directory and use the $TNS_ADMIN environment variable to point to it. Unfortunately, that approach doesn’t work when you’re installing the Oracle client software unless you want to play with mount points. It’s easiest to create a hidden directory in your sandbox user, which is student in this example.
As the root user, use the mkdir command to create the .oracle directory in your student user directory:
mkdir /home/student/.oracle
As the student user, navigate to the /home/student/.oracle directory and create the tnsnames.ora file with the following text:
# tnsnames.ora Network Configuration FILE: FREE = (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 127.0.0.0)(PORT = 1521)) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVER = DEDICATED) (SERVICE_NAME = FREE) ) ) LISTENER_FREE = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 127.0.0.0)(PORT = 1521)) FREEPDB1 = (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = TCP)(HOST = 127.0.0.0)(PORT = 1521)) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVER = DEDICATED) (SERVICE_NAME = FREEPDB1) ) ) EXTPROC_CONNECTION_DATA = (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS_LIST = (ADDRESS = (PROTOCOL = IPC)(KEY = EXTPROC_FOR_FREE)) ) (CONNECT_DATA = (SID = PLSExtProc) (PRESENTATION = RO) ) )
Exit the root user to your student user. As the student user set the $TNS_ADMIN environment variable like:
export TNS_ADMIN=$HOME/.oracle
Assuming you’ve already created a container user, like c##student, connect to sqlplus with the following syntax:
sqlplus c##student/student@freeYou should see the following when connection to an Oracle 23c Container:
SQL*Plus: Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Production on Wed Jul 3 15:05:10 2024 Version 23.4.0.24.05 Copyright (c) 1982, 2024, Oracle. All rights reserved. Last Successful login time: Wed Jul 03 2024 10:52:13 -06:00 Connected to: Oracle Database 23c Free Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Develop, Learn, and Run for Free Version 23.3.0.23.09 SQL>
You should see the following when connection to an Oracle 23ai Container:
SQL*Plus: Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Production on Sat Jul 20 11:05:08 2024 Version 23.4.0.24.05 Copyright (c) 1982, 2024, Oracle. All rights reserved. Last Successful login time: Sat Jul 20 2024 10:41:38 -06:00 Connected to: Oracle Database 23ai Free Release 23.0.0.0.0 - Develop, Learn, and Run for Free Version 23.4.0.24.05 SQL>
- The last step adds all of the configuration settings into the .bashrc file. Before we do that, you may want to add the rlwrap utility library so you can use the up-arrow to navigate the sqlplus history. You install it as the root or sudo user on Ubuntu, like
apt install -y rlwrap
Display detailed console log →
Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done Reading state information... Done The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required: libwpe-1.0-1 libwpebackend-fdo-1.0-1 Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them. The following NEW packages will be installed: rlwrap 0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 5 not upgraded. Need to get 98.2 kB of archives. After this operation, 309 kB of additional disk space will be used. Get:1 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/universe amd64 rlwrap amd64 0.43-1build3 [98.2 kB] Fetched 98.2 kB in 1s (160 kB/s) Selecting previously unselected package rlwrap. (Reading database ... 211287 files and directories currently installed.) Preparing to unpack .../rlwrap_0.43-1build3_amd64.deb ... Unpacking rlwrap (0.43-1build3) ... Setting up rlwrap (0.43-1build3) ... update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/rlwrap to provide /usr/bin/readline-editor ( readline-editor) in auto mode Processing triggers for man-db (2.10.2-1) ...
If you want to manually check what you’re removing, use the following command as the root user:
apt autoremove
Display detailed console log →
Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done Reading state information... Done The following packages will be REMOVED: libwpe-1.0-1 libwpebackend-fdo-1.0-1 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 2 to remove and 5 not upgraded. After this operation, 182 kB disk space will be freed. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y (Reading database ... 211329 files and directories currently installed.) Removing libwpebackend-fdo-1.0-1:amd64 (1.14.2-0ubuntu0.22.04.1) ... Removing libwpe-1.0-1:amd64 (1.14.0-0ubuntu0.22.04.1) ... Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.35-0ubuntu3.8) ...
- The last step requires that you put the environment variables into the student user’s .bashrc shell script, and add a sqlplus function to take advantage of the new libraries added to read your prior history inside the SQL*Plus command line.
You should edit the .bashrc file and add the following environment variables and sqlplus() function:
# Configure Oracle Client software. export ORACLE_HOME=/opt/oracle/instantclient_23_4 export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$ORACLE_HOME export PATH=$PATH:$ORACLE_HOME export TNS_ADMIN=$HOME/.oracle # A user-defined function to wrap the sqlplus history. sqlplus () { # Discover the fully qualified program name. path=`which rlwrap 2>/dev/null` file='' # Parse the program name from the path. if [ -n ${path} ]; then file=${path##/*/} fi; # Wrap when there is a file and it is rewrap. if [ -n ${file} ] && [[ ${file} = "rlwrap" ]]; then rlwrap $ORACLE_HOME/sqlplus "${@}" else echo "Command-line history unavailable: Install the rlwrap package." $ORACLE_HOME/sqlplus "${@}" fi }
You should remember that when you access sqlplus from the Ubuntu environment the TNS net service name is required. If you should forget to include it like this:
sqlplus c##student/studentYou’ll get the following error:
ERROR: ORA-12162: TNS:net service name is incorrectly specified Help: https://docs.oracle.com/error-help/db/ora-12162/
The correct way is:
sqlplus c##student/student@free
As always, I hope this helps those looking for a solution.
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