Configuring Your Oracle Database

In order to get the containerized Oracle Database instance to work with SQL Developer, you now need to make a few changes to the configuration. Run the following (rather complicated-looking) command to modify your database. As usual, please ensure that you supply the container ID that matches your own setup:

docker
 
exec
 
–
it
 
<
container_id
>
 
bash
 \
–
c
 
“source /home/oracle/.bashrc; sqlplus /nolog”

If the command runs successfully, you should see something similar to Example 2-5.

Example 2-5. A SQL prompt in the Oracle Database instance

C
:
\
Users
\
Stephen
>
docker
 
exec
 
–
it
 
9
b6af7c0e426
 
bash
 
–
c
 
“source /home/oracle/.bashrc;

sqlplus
 
/
nolog
“
SQL
*
Plus
:
 
Release
 
12.1.0.2.0
 
Production
 
on
 
Wed
 
Dec
 
14
 
15
:
23
:
09
 
2022

Copyright
 
(
c
)
 
1982
,
 
2014
,
 
Oracle
.
 
All
 
rights
 
reserved
.


SQL
>

As you can see in Example 2-5, this opens a SQL prompt into which you type the following:

connect
 
sys
 
as
 
sysdba
;

The addition of the AS SYSDBA clause means that access is authenticated, which is why you may be prompted for a password. The password is available from the command in Example 2-1 that you used when creating the container. Next, type the following script, one line at a time, and remember to supply your required username and password. Make a note of the password because you’ll need these credentials for the next step when you set up SQL Developer.

Warning

The following script should not be used in a production database. Because I’m using a Docker-based Oracle Database, there are no other users of this installation. The intention here is to get you up and running as quickly as possible with a minimum of installation complexity.

For this reason, I use _ORACLE_SCRIPT (also not recommended) in order to insert the user into the container database (CDB). It would, of course, be better to use a pluggable database (PDB) instead of the CDB for users and their objects. So it would be a better practice to specify a container name before creating the user.

alter
 
session
 
set
 
“_ORACLE_SCRIPT”
=
true
;

create
 
user
 
<
user_name
>
 
identified
 
by
 
<
password
>
;

GRANT
 
ALL
 
PRIVILEGES
 
TO
 
<
user_name
>
;

In this command, make sure to supply your username and your password. If no errors occurred in the command execution, then type quit to exit the SQL prompt.

Security measures (such as mandatory user credentials) invariably result in the imposition of problems over time. Having now set the username and password, it may be necessary at some future point in time to modify the credentials. This is briefly described in the following section.