[R-sig-DB] oracle database connection issue from R in Linux

[Marc Schwartz]

On Nov 30, 2012, at 4:40 AM, sasidhar M <sasidhar116 using gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> This is sasi.
> I installed R 64 bit and oracle client 64 bit in fedora 17. After R is
> working fine. Oracle database also working fine. but problem is, If i try
> to connect oracle from R its not connecting.
> So, pls guide me how to connect from R to oracle.
> 
> 
> how, i tried:--
> 
> odbcinst.ini file code is
> 
> [ORACLE2]
> Description = oracle driver
> Driver = /ibexis/app/oracle/product/11.2.0/db_1/lib/libsqora.so.11.1
> DontDLClose = 1
> FileUsage = 1
> UsageCount = 1
> 
> 
> I tried in R ...
>> library(RODBC)
>> con <- odbcConnect("data source name", uid="username", pwd="password")
> 
> after this line i got error,
> 
>> odbcConnect("india", uid="data_quality", pwd="data_quality")
> [1] -1
> Warning messages:
> 1: In odbcDriverConnect("DSN=india;UID=data_quality;PWD=data_quality") :
>  [RODBC] ERROR: state 01000, code 0, message [unixODBC][Driver
> Manager]Can't open lib '/ibexis/app/oracle/product/
> 11.2.0/db_1/lib/libsqora.so.11.1' : file not found
> 2: In odbcDriverConnect("DSN=india;UID=data_quality;PWD=data_quality") :
>  ODBC connection failed
> 
> Please help me .
> Iam eagerly waiting for reply


Hi,

It looks like you finally found the right place to post this, after your two other posts.

One thing to be aware of, at least based upon prior posts here, specifically as it pertains to 64 bit R on 64 bit Linux (primarily RHEL), 64 bit ODBC drivers and RODBC. There have been reports of problems from others and you can go to rseek.org and search the list archives to see further details. Some have moved to RJDBC as a resolution. I no longer run on Fedora, so do not have recent personal experience in attempting to connect on the platform with that combination of apps and drivers. Others may jump in here with more recent experience.

That being said, if you have not done so, you should try to connect to your Oracle server using isql from the CLI, which will help to identify whether or not your connection issues are due to an underlying problem with your unixODBC/ODBC/Instant Client configuration, or are specific to something with R/RODBC. There is information in the vignette for RODBC, which can be accessed via:

  vignette("RODBC")

If you cannot connect via isql, then you have a basic configuration problem, which could be anything from not having the proper information in 'tnsnames.ora' and '~/.odbc.ini', to not having the proper environment variables set (eg. TNS_ADMIN, ORACLE_HOME, etc.). You also need to have LD_LIBRARY_PATH set in /etc/ld.so.conf and then run (as root) ldconfig to update. If you have LD_LIBRARY_PATH set in your bash profile, it may not be found within R, which was a problem I recall from a number of years ago. The file not found error message above would suggest that something is amiss with your configuration.

Lastly, I do hope that none of the above userID and password information is your actual data. If so, you should change them since you have posted them to a public forum. We do not need to see those, so just blank or asterisk them out in future posts anywhere.

Regards,

Marc Schwartz