Please, send your questions and comments to skuchin@sprynet.com, kuchin@hotmail.com.

Q. OTL: does it support Oracle 9i?

The answer is Yes. Starting with version 4.0.0, OTL introduces #define OTL_ORA9I that is dedicated to Oracle 9i. In OTL 4.0.0 itself, it's not much more than a synonym for OTL_ORA8I, but in subsequent releases, when OTL starts using OCI9 specific features, only OTL_ORA9I should be used. See "what's new in OTL 4" for more detail.

Q. OTL: can it work with Interbase 6.x?

The answer is Yes. Starting with version 4.0.0, OTL supports an Open Source ODBC driver for Interbase. See "what's new in OTL 4" for more detail.

Q. OTL: can it work with PostgreSQL 7.x?

The answer is Yes. Starting with version 4.0.0, OTL supports PostgreSQL via ODBC. See "what's new in OTL 4" for more detail.
 

Q. OTL: can it work with DB2, Call Level Interface (CLI)?

The answer is Yes. Starting with version 3.2.7, there is a new flavor of OTL: OTL/DB2-CLI. OTL/DB2-CLI uses DB2's native database API: the Call Level Interface. DB2-CLI is 99.5% compatible with the ODBC 3.x specification, plus extensions. The OTL header file #includes CLI's native header files and can be used with DB2-CLI's native object libraries in Windows or Unix (primarily AIX) platforms.
 

Q. OTL/ODBC: can it work with MyODBC/MySQL?

The answer is Yes. Starting with version 3.2.4, OTL/ODBC is compatible with MyODBC, and the following #define was introduced to do just that: #define OTL_ODBC_MYSQL. For more detail see also MyODBC for MySQLThe new #define turns off transactional ODBC function calls, since MySQL does not support transactions [yet].

Q. OTL/OCI8 and XA-connectivity: can they work together?

The answer is Yes. When an XA type connection is established, xaoEnv() and xaoSvcCtx() functions need to be invoked in order to get OCI8 compatible environment and service context handles. After that, otl_connect::rlogon() can be called to create an OTL connection from the handles. It is the same rlogon() that is used with Pro*C 8.x. How to use this type of rlogon() function, see example 59 for more detail.

Q. Are C++ strings (std::string) supported, and how is OTL integrated with the Standard Template Library (STL)?

OTL 3.2.0 and higher support std::strings (see examples 72, 73, 74). Also, OTL supports STL-compliant stream iterators: otl_input_iterator, otl_output_iterator.

Q. What major C++ compilers are supported, anyway?

In order to complete the list, you are welcome to send me an email with the name of your C++ compiler, if it's not already in the list.
 

Q. Is there a way to read / write large BLOBs without having to allocate large buffers in memory?

OTL 3.1.4 supports stream mode for Oracle 8 CLOBs/BLOBs. Fore more detail, see examples 56, 57.

Q. Is there a way to call a stored procedure which takes PL/SQL tables as arguments ?

OTL 3.1 supports PL/SQL table via otl_streams and special template data containers.Fore more detail, see examples 49, 50, 51, 52.

Q. Will you stick with email delivery of your code, or do you intend to put it on your website later ?

From now on, the OTL header file is available for download.

Q. What is different in behavior of Large Objects (LOBs) compared to other datatypes as far as NULLs are concerned?

For more detail, see "Large Objects and NULLs."

Q. How to read/write date&time informarion from/to the otl_stream?

The answer is: use the otl_datetime data container, which was introduced in OTL 3.1.26. For more detail, se examples 38, 39, 40.
Bottom line: Oracle DATE, or, say, MS SQL Server DATETIME, can be read/written with the use of otl_datetime variables.

Q. How to get the rows processed count after the SQL statement is finished?

The direct_exec() function returns a long int value, which, if it is >= 0, it retunrs the rows processed count of the constant SQL statement.Also, otl_stream::get_rpc() returns a long int value, which is the rows processed count. The rows processed count is defined for INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements. For any other SQL statement, PL/SQL block, or a stored procedure call, the count is always 0.
 

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