==================================================================
PL/SQL-Trace - The Oracle PL/SQL Tracing Facility
Copyright (c) 1995-2003 by Material Dreams.
All Rights Reserved.
http://www.materialdreams.com/oracle
==================================================================


PURPOSE:
========
PL/SQL-Trace is a simple Windows 95/NT GUI application for Oracle
that allows you to easily trace messages from any PL/SQL code.
Using pipes allows to overcome the limitations of the DBMS_OUTPUT
package and also allows to have a almost immediate feedback from the
PL/SQL Code.
This application is distributed as a shareware product.
The version You can download is a demo version that gives You the full
functionality by only restricting the total number of logging lines to 50.
See Registration, below, for information on how to register your copy.


LICENSE:
========
Please consult the License.TXT file for licensing information
and on how to register this application.


INSTALLATION:
=============
Copy the file PLSQLTRACE.EXE in the distribution archive to a convenient
directory. Typically, I keep these files in a directory along with other
small Oracle utilities.     

This utility used the native Oracle OCI (Oracle Call Interface) to
access the Oracle server. No additional drivers are needed to connect
to an Oracle server. OCI itself is the low-level API that allows to use
SQL in an Oracle SQL*Net environment.

This 32-Bit version of TabExp used OCI Version 8.x. The specific DLL that
contains the OCI implementation is OCIW32.DLL.

Usually OCI is automatically installed during the installation process of
SQL*Net and should be always available.
 

USAGE:
======
Just start PLSQLTRACE.EXE. After starting the application You might use the
options button in the toolbar to configure the application and to eventually create
the standard procedures to use. Another button on the toolbar starts the application
and retrieved the data as often as defined in the timer setting.
After the application has been started and You started the logging process, the application
will look for new debug messages on the pipe and show them in the edit window. The application
uses it's timer settings to check the pipe after the specified interval.
From Your PL/SQL Code you can use the following prepared procedures to send messages to
the application:
	SendDebugMessage(VARCHAR2)
	SendTraceMessage(VARCHAR2)
You can just simply use this procedures to send Your messages to the Application.
You must have the execute rights on the package dbms_pipe in order to use this application
and also to send messages to this application from Your PL/SQL code.
This can be done by connecting as a user with administrative rights (eg. sys or system)
and then granting the execute rights to Your user code.
eg.	grant execute on dbms_pipe to <username>;

The following command line arguments will be processed:
Usage: PlSqlTrace -u<user> -p<pwd> -s<server> -v<7|8> -c<connect as> -d<level>
       -u ... user name
       -p ... password
       -s ... server
       -v ... use -v7 for oci7 or -v8 (default) for oci8
       -c ... connect as (NORMAL, SYSDBA, SYSOPER)
       -d ... debug level (0=no debug, 15=full)

I you want to use this utility should connect as a user
with administrative rights like the sys user for example.
You can also use the utility with a more restricted set
of rights granted to you as long as the following rights
as granted to the user you are going to use:

grant create session to <user>;
grant alter session to <user>;
grant select on v$version to <user>;
grant select on v$database to <user>;
grant select on all_objects to <user>;
grant select on v$db_pipes to <user>;
grant execute on dbms_pipe to <user>;


VERSION HISTORY:
================
The complete version history can be found in the
file HISTORY.TXT
