SQLDeveloper For People Who Can’t Afford Expensive DB IDE’s
If you are looking for a POWERFUL database tool – this may be the way to go. Installing in windows is a click and drool endeavour, but installing in ‘buntu’ (Ubuntu or Kubuntu) is another story.
These no non-sense instructions will get you going quickly:
Linux/Ubuntu/Kubuntu requires that the Sun Java 6 JDK be installed on your system. Install it by typing: sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk
To download the installable package, navigate to Oracle’s SQL Developer download page at:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/sql/index.html
You can only download after you agree to the OTN License Agreement for SQL Developer at the top of the page (look for radio buttons). Choose the Accept License Agreement radio button.
Scroll down and select the package entitled ‘Oracle SQL Developer RPM for Linux’ to download the package. Don’t worry – we’ll deal with the RPM shortly.
If you’re in a hurry, and want to skip the compile process, then download the .DEB form here Syrbot SQLDeveloepr.deb Download
Compiling:
Next we need to convert the .rpm to a .deb to install it in Ubuntu. We’ll do this by using an application called ‘alien’. Install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install alien
Next, in a terminal session, browse to where you saved the SQL Developer .rpm package and type:
sudo alien -k –scripts sqldeveloper*(insert the version number)*.rpm
This will create a .deb package ready to be installed into our system. We do so by typing:
sudo dpkg -i sqldeveloper*.deb
Oracle SQL Developer is now installed, but you will need to create the profile directory in order to run it (the hidden folder in your home directory e.g. .sqldeveloper
Below, each directory had to be created individually, chowned to me (since mkdir is a sudo operation), then chmod to 777 to allow the system user to write in the files to the directory.
the folder labeled system1.5.5.59.69 will change as version numbers change – so pay attention.
Looking at the message we can see that it’s trying to obtain the JDK path by reading a file called ‘jdk’ in a directory called ‘~/.sqldeveloper’. Let’s resolve this dependency.
First we’ll create the missing directory by typing:
mkdir -p ~/.sqldeveloper
Next we’ll create an empty jdk file by typing:
touch ~/.sqldeveloper/jdk
Edit this file and input the path to the JDK by typing:
gedit ~/.sqldeveloper/jdk
and pasting into it:
/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-sun
gmilby@gmilby-ubuntu64:~$ ~/.sqldeveloper/system1.5.5.59.69/o.ide/diagnostics$
gmilby@gmilby-ubuntu64:~$ sudo chown gmilby.gmilby -Rf .sqldeveloper
gmilby@gmilby-ubuntu64:~$ sudo chmod 777 -Rf .sqldeveloper
Once the profile path is created you should be able to launch SQLDeveloper via the menu (Applications/Programming), or by terminal window, typing, “sqldeveloper“.
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Good Luck with this and post your comments below – we’re always open to improvements in the process.
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