Welcome to cx_Oracle’s documentation!

cx_Oracle is a module that enables access to Oracle Database and conforms to the Python database API specification. This module is currently tested against Oracle Client 19, 18, 12, and 11.2, and Python 2.7, 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7.

cx_Oracle is distributed under an open-source license (the BSD license). A detailed description of cx_Oracle changes can be found in the release notes.

Contents:

User Guide

• Introduction to cx_Oracle
  • Architecture
  • Features
  • Getting Started
• cx_Oracle 7 Installation
  • Overview
  • Quick Start cx_Oracle Installation
  • Oracle Client and Oracle Database Interoperability
  • Installing cx_Oracle on Linux
    • Install cx_Oracle
    • Install Oracle Client
  • Installing cx_Oracle RPMs on Oracle Linux
  • Installing cx_Oracle on Windows
    • Install cx_Oracle
    • Install Oracle Client
  • Installing cx_Oracle on macOS
    • Install Python
    • Install cx_Oracle
    • Install Oracle Instant Client
  • Installing cx_Oracle without Internet Access
  • Install Using GitHub
  • Install Using Source from PyPI
  • Upgrading from Older Versions
  • Installing cx_Oracle 5.3
  • Troubleshooting
• Connecting to Oracle Database
  • Establishing Database Connections
  • Closing Connections
  • Oracle Environment Variables
  • Optional Oracle Configuration Files
    • Optional Oracle Net Configuration Files
    • Optional Oracle Client Configuration Files
  • Connection Strings
    • Easy Connect Syntax for Connection Strings
    • Oracle Net Connect Descriptor Strings
    • Net Service Names for Connection Strings
    • JDBC and Oracle SQL Developer Connection Strings
  • Connection Pooling
    • Session CallBacks for Setting Pooled Connection State
    • Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Connection Pools
  • Database Resident Connection Pooling (DRCP)
  • Connecting Using Proxy Authentication
  • Connecting Using External Authentication
    • Using an Oracle Wallet for External Authentication
    • Operating System Authentication
  • Privileged Connections
  • Starting and Stopping Oracle Database
  • Securely Encrypting Network Traffic to Oracle Database
  • Resetting Passwords
  • Connecting to Sharded Databases
• SQL Execution
  • SQL Queries
    • Fetch Methods
    • Closing Cursors
    • Tuning Fetch Performance
    • Query Column Metadata
    • Fetch Data Types
    • Changing Fetched Data Types with Output Type Handlers
    • Fetched Number Precision
    • Changing Query Results with Outconverters
    • Scrollable Cursors
    • Limiting Rows
    • Querying Corrupt Data
  • INSERT and UPDATE Statements
    • Inserting NULLs
• PL/SQL Execution
  • PL/SQL Stored Procedures
  • PL/SQL Stored Functions
  • Anonymous PL/SQL Blocks
  • Using DBMS_OUTPUT
  • Implicit results
  • Edition-Based Redefinition (EBR)
• Using Bind Variables
  • Binding By Name or Position
  • Bind Direction
  • Binding Null Values
  • Binding ROWID Values
  • DML RETURNING Bind Variables
  • LOB Bind Variables
  • REF CURSOR Bind Variables
  • Binding PL/SQL Collections
  • Binding PL/SQL Records
  • Binding Spatial Datatypes
  • Changing Bind Data Types using an Input Type Handler
  • Binding Multiple Values to a SQL WHERE IN Clause
  • Binding Column and Table Names
• Using CLOB and BLOB Data
  • Simple Insertion of LOBs
  • Fetching LOBs as Strings and Bytes
  • Streaming LOBs (Read)
  • Streaming LOBs (Write)
  • Temporary LOBs
• Working with the JSON Data Type
• Simple Oracle Document Access (SODA)
  • Overview
  • SODA Example
• Working with XMLTYPE
• Batch Statement Execution and Bulk Loading
  • Batch Execution of SQL
  • Batch Execution of PL/SQL
  • Handling Data Errors
  • Identifying Affected Rows
  • DML RETURNING
  • Predefining Memory Areas
• Exception Handling
• Oracle Advanced Queuing
  • Creating a Queue
  • Enqueuing Messages
  • Dequeuing Messages
  • Using Object Queues
  • Changing Queue and Message Options
  • Bulk Enqueue and Dequeue
• Continuous Query Notification
  • Requirements
  • Creating a Subscription
  • Registering Queries
• Transaction Management
  • Autocommitting
  • Explicit Transactions
• Characters Sets and National Language Support (NLS)
  • Setting the Client Character Set
  • Character Set Example
  • Finding the Database and Client Character Set
• High Availability with cx_Oracle
  • General HA Recommendations
  • Network Configuration
  • Fast Application Notification (FAN)
  • Application Continuity (AC)
  • Transaction Guard
• Tracing SQL and PL/SQL Statements
  • Subclass Connections
  • Oracle Database End-to-End Tracing
  • Low Level SQL Tracing in cx_Oracle

API Manual

• Module Interface
  • Constants
    • General
    • Advanced Queuing: Delivery Modes
    • Advanced Queuing: Dequeue Modes
    • Advanced Queuing: Dequeue Navigation Modes
    • Advanced Queuing: Dequeue Visibility Modes
    • Advanced Queuing: Dequeue Wait Modes
    • Advanced Queuing: Enqueue Visibility Modes
    • Advanced Queuing: Message States
    • Advanced Queuing: Other
    • Connection Authorization Modes
    • Database Shutdown Modes
    • Event Types
    • Operation Codes
    • Session Pool Get Modes
    • Session Pool Purity
    • Subscription Grouping Classes
    • Subscription Grouping Types
    • Subscription Namespaces
    • Subscription Protocols
    • Subscription Quality of Service
  • Types
  • Exceptions
  • Exception handling
• Connection Object
• Cursor Object
• Variable Objects
• SessionPool Object
• Subscription Object
  • Message Objects
  • Message Table Objects
  • Message Row Objects
  • Message Query Objects
• LOB Objects
• Object Type Objects
  • Object Objects
• Advanced Queuing (AQ)
  • Queues
  • Dequeue Options
  • Enqueue Options
  • Message Properties
• Soda Document Class
  • SODA Database Object
  • SODA Collection Object
  • SODA Document Object
  • SODA Document Cursor Object
  • SODA Operation Object

Indices and tables

• Index
• Module Index
• Search Page