User`s guide

B
Oracle Environment Variables B-1
B Oracle Environment Variables
This appendix describes variables that can be specified in the ORAENV file or the POSIX
shell. Oracle parameters, such as
ORACLE_SID and NLS_LANG , may be specified in the
ORAENV file or POSIX shell.If you use a ORAENV file, then you must follow the ORAENV
rules for specifying environment variables as described in the following sections. In
the POSIX shell, you must follow the UNIX rules to set and export the environment
variables.
The following table describes the variables that
are categorized into three classes.
Class Description
DBA These variables are for database administration purposes. M
ost DBA
variables are evaluated only during database startup.
USER These variables can be specified by ordinary users as well as by the
DBA. When these variables are specified in a particular user's
ORAENV
file, they modify that user's environment only.
NET These variables apply to Oracle Net Services components. These
variables should be included in the
ORAENV file of the DBA.
The class (or classes) to which a variable belongs is noted in the variable descriptions
in this appendix.
Any DBA or NET variables specified in an ordinary user's
ORAENV file are ignored.
B.1 ORAENV Rules
You should consider the following general rules when writing ORAENV files:
■ All lines which begin with a slash or asterisk (/ or *) are ignored.
■ All variable names must be written in uppercase.
■ Spaces must not be included immediately before and after the equals sign (=).
■ Do not enclose values in quotation marks unless you want the quotation marks to
be part of the value.
■ Since the variable list is conceptually open ended, errors in variable names are not
recognized. This means that the value of any variable whose name is mis-typed is
not modified.
■ There is only limited checking of variable assignments. An incorrect value may
generate an error message, but may also be interpreted as a null value.