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Converting Oracle Mod_Plsql to theEmbedded PL/SQL Gateway (DBMS_EPG)
 A HunBug Document
Database Version:
Oracle 10.2.0.3
Last Updated:
Sep 07
Author:
HunBug
View the document in full
When we were upgrading a database from Oracle 9i Release 2 to Oracle 10g Release 2,we made a decision to use the new DBMS_EPG instead of mod_plsql, so that we couldkeep the gateway details inside the database and not have to install additionalcomponents to get mod_plsql to work. This article walks through the steps to create thegateway using DBMS_EPG on 10.2.0.3 Standard Edition.Please be aware that one of the first things we found is that DBMS_EPG is not supporteduntil 10.2.0.3, as it has bugs! So if you're on a earlier version you'll have to upgrade toget it to work.The DBMS_EPG package is new for 10g. Unlike mod_plsql where the DAD details arestored as part of the apache server, DBMS_EPG resides in the database and uses the tnslistener for its connections.If you need to refer to your existing 9i DAD configuration settings, they can be found inthe text file OH\Apache\modplsql\cfg\wdbsvr.app.The mod_plsql DAD we converted connected to an account that had restrictedprivileges, with only execute permissions to specific procedures owned by the mainschema user. This allowed anybody to call the procedures with security being taken careof within the code, but that's a whole different story. This walkthrough uses the newanonymous user for database connection and does not cover specific secure connections.More about this later.
Check XDB is Installed and is Valid.
Before we get going we need to check that XDB is installed correctly.The XDB installation creates a user, also called XDB. To check all the objects for this userare valid
Setting up the Embedded PLSQL Gateway on the Database
First we need to add two parameters to the init.ora file, to configure the database tolisten to the port for the DBMS_EPG requests.
dispatchers="(PROTOCOL=TCP)(SERVICE=<sid>XDB)"local_listener="(ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=<hostname>)(port=<port>))"
We then need to set the port number the requests will be recieved on. This is done from
 
within the database. The default port is 8080 but this can be changed and must bechanged if the port is already in use by another service. So we need to run the followingfrom sqlplus as sysdba.
CALL DBMS_XDB.SETHTTPPORT(8080);ALTER SYSTEM REGISTER;
If FTP is also being used, this can also be set up too. Its default port is 2100.
CALL DBMS_XDB.SETFTPPORT(2100);ALTER SYSTEM REGISTER;
 OK, now restart the database and listener, so the init.ora parameters take effect.Once they have both restarted you can check the listener is accepting requesting bylooking at the status.By default the anonymous user account is locked, so we need to unlock it, otherwise wewill get a logon prompt for the XDB account when we try to call a procedure, which wedon't want.We now need to create a DAD and a test page to check it's all working.
Setting up a Database Access Descriptor
The following procedure sets up a DAD for our requirements.
DECLAREl_dad VARCHAR2(30) := '<DAD Name>';l_path VARCHAR2(30) := '/<Path Name>/*';l_dbUser VARCHAR2(30) := '<Username (of restricted user)>';l_docTable VARCHAR2(30) := '<owner>.<table name>';l_authMode VARCHAR2(30) := 'Basic';l_attrNames DBMS_EPG.VARCHAR2_TABLE;l_attrValues DBMS_EPG.VARCHAR2_TABLE; BEGINl_dbUser := UPPER(l_dbUser);BEGINDBMS_EPG.DROP_DAD(l_dad);EXCEPTIONWHEN OTHERS THENNULL;END;DBMS_EPG.CREATE_DAD( dad_name => l_dad,path => l_path );DBMS_EPG.SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE( dad_name => l_dad,attr_name => 'database-username',attr_value => l_dbUser);DBMS_EPG.SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE
 
( dad_name => l_dad,attr_name => 'authentication-mode',attr_value => l_authMode);DBMS_EPG.SET_DAD_ATTRIBUTE( dad_name => l_dad,attr_name => 'document-table-name',attr_value => l_docTable );DBMS_EPG.AUTHORIZE_DAD( dad_name => l_dad,user => l_dbUser );DBMS_EPG.GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES(l_dad,l_attrNames,l_attrValues);FOR i IN 1..l_attrNames.COUNT LOOPDBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(LPAD(l_attrNames(i),20)||' : '||l_attrValues(i));END LOOP;END;/
A notable difference between mod_plsql and DBMS_EPG is that mod_plsql allowed aschema name parameter to be entered, when a new blank configuration is created. Thisallowed us to enter a default schema to prefix any procedures in the url. DBMS_EPGdoes not have a similar attribute, so you either have to create synonyms or add theusername into the url instead. EG:http://myserver:8080/test/schemauser.procedurename.
Viewing the DAD settings
The following procedure will display the settings, mappings and authorizations for all of the DAD's.
DECLAREl_dadNames DBMS_EPG.VARCHAR2_TABLE;l_attrNames DBMS_EPG.VARCHAR2_TABLE;l_attrValues DBMS_EPG.VARCHAR2_TABLE;BEGINDBMS_EPG.GET_DAD_LIST(l_dadNames);FOR d IN 1..l_dadNames.COUNT LOOPDBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(CHR(10)||l_dadNames(d));DBMS_EPG.GET_ALL_DAD_ATTRIBUTES(l_dadNames(d),l_attrNames,l_attrValues);FOR a IN 1..l_attrValues.COUNT LOOPDBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('- '||RPAD(l_attrNames(a),25)||' : '||l_attrValues(a));END LOOP;DBMS_EPG.GET_ALL_DAD_MAPPINGS(l_dadNames(d),l_attrValues);FOR a IN 1..l_attrValues.COUNT LOOPDBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('- '||RPAD('mapping',25)||' : '||l_attrValues(a));END LOOP;FOR a IN ( SELECT username FROM dba_epg_dad_authorizationWHERE dad_name = l_dadNames(d) )LOOPDBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('- '||RPAD('authorized',25)||' : '||a.username);END LOOP;END LOOP;END;/
Use this procedure to check your settings.
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