D
Getting Started with Your Documentation

This appendix introduces you to the Oracle8i Personal Edition for Windows 98 documentation set. Read this chapter before installing or using Oracle8i Personal Edition.

Specific topics discussed are:

See Also:

"What Documentation Do I Read First?" for instructions on viewing the Oracle8i Online Documentation from the CD-ROM
"Installing and Viewing the Oracle8i Online Documentation" for instructions on installing the Oracle8i Online Documentation on your hard drive

Documentation Formats

This table describes the format and availability of Oracle8i Online Documentation and the tools required to view them.

Format Availability Tools Required

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

All Oracle documentation is available in HTML.

Use a Web browser to view your HTML documentation set.
The Oracle Information Navigator, a tool that enables you to search your entire HTML documentation library for information, is also available for viewing your HTML documentation set. See "Installing and Viewing the Oracle8i Online Documentation" for information on Web browser requirements.

Portable Document Format (PDF)

All Oracle documentation is available in PDF.

Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view your PDF documentation set. See "Installing and Viewing the Oracle8i Online Documentation" for information on Adobe Acrobat Reader requirements.

Text file format

Some Oracle components are also documented in README files located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\RELNOTES directory.

Use an ASCII text editor.

Printed

A CD-ROM insert describes how to access your Oracle documentation and get started with installation.

None required.

Format	Availability	Tools Required
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)	All Oracle documentation is available in HTML.	Use a Web browser to view your HTML documentation set. The Oracle Information Navigator, a tool that enables you to search your entire HTML documentation library for information, is also available for viewing your HTML documentation set. See "Installing and Viewing the Oracle8i Online Documentation" for information on Web browser requirements.
Portable Document Format (PDF)	All Oracle documentation is available in PDF.	Use Adobe Acrobat Reader to view your PDF documentation set. See "Installing and Viewing the Oracle8i Online Documentation" for information on Adobe Acrobat Reader requirements.
Text file format	Some Oracle components are also documented in README files located in the ORACLE_BASE\ORACLE_HOME\RELNOTES directory.	Use an ASCII text editor.
Printed	A CD-ROM insert describes how to access your Oracle documentation and get started with installation.	None required.

Note:

To order printed guides, contact Oracle Documentation Sales:

Telephone 1 (800) 252-0303 in the United States of America.
Visit:

http://oraclestore.oracle.com/

What Documentation did I receive?

Your Oracle8i Online Documentation consists of two types of documentation.

Documentation Type Describes...

Operating system-specific

Installation, configuration, and use of Oracle8i Personal Edition products in a Windows 98 environment. Operating system-specific documents are occasionally referred to in the generic documentation set. These documents are easy to identify because their titles typically mention their specific operating system or make reference to a Microsoft feature.

Generic

Oracle8i, Net8 networking information, and application programming interface (API) information that is uniform across all operating system platforms. Most of the documents in your documentation set belong to this category. While reading through the generic documentation set, you are occasionally asked to refer to your platform-specific or operating system-specific documentation for procedures specific to the Windows 98 operating system.
To easily identify where these generic documentation references are described in your operating system documentation, see the index of this guide and the Oracle8i Personal Edition Administrator's Guide for Windows 98 for the following entry:
generic documentation references
All generic documentation references described in this guide appear under this index entry.

Documentation Type	Describes...
Operating system-specific	Installation, configuration, and use of Oracle8i Personal Edition products in a Windows 98 environment. Operating system-specific documents are occasionally referred to in the generic documentation set. These documents are easy to identify because their titles typically mention their specific operating system or make reference to a Microsoft feature.
Generic	Oracle8i, Net8 networking information, and application programming interface (API) information that is uniform across all operating system platforms. Most of the documents in your documentation set belong to this category. While reading through the generic documentation set, you are occasionally asked to refer to your platform-specific or operating system-specific documentation for procedures specific to the Windows 98 operating system. To easily identify where these generic documentation references are described in your operating system documentation, see the index of this guide and the Oracle8i Personal Edition Administrator's Guide for Windows 98 for the following entry: generic documentation references All generic documentation references described in this guide appear under this index entry.

IMPORTANT:

Documentation may be included in your package detailing products that you did not buy or license, or whose functionality is not included in the current release. The presence of such documentation does not mean that these products are included in your package or that you are licensed to use them.