Converting Oracle LONG data to CLOB data

Rational® ClearQuest® version 7.1.x does not support the LONG (character data of variable length) datatype in Oracle databases. If you are using Rational ClearQuest version 2003.06.xx with Oracle and your environment includes schema repositories and user databases that use the LONG datatype, you must convert them to the CLOB (character large object) datatype with your current version of Rational ClearQuest. Oracle has dropped support for the LONG datatype in its most recent releases.

It is critical that you back up your database before beginning this conversion so that you can restore the original data if a problem occurs. You must also test the final database thoroughly to verify that the data has been converted successfully.

You can use either of these tools to convert databases from LONG to CLOB:

The long2clob tool provided with Rational ClearQuest Version 7.1.x
The Schema Repository > Move function in the Maintenance Tool and Database > Move User Database function in the Designer

The advantage of using the long2clob tool is that you do not need to update the connection information for each client. This tool performs a conversion quickly, particularly if you have large attachments in your database.

You cannot use the long2clob tool with Oracle 8.x. databases. If you are running Oracle 8.x, use the Maintenance Tool and the Designer to move the schema repository and associated user databases to a release supported in version 7.1.x. As part of moving the databases, specify LOB_TYPE=CLOB in the Connect Options field. The connect option value converts the datatype as part of the move process.

If you are using Oracle 9.2 or 10, and the databases were created with Rational ClearQuest version 2003.06.13 or later, you can use either the long2clob tool or the Maintenance Tool and the Designer to convert the datatype.

If you are using Oracle 9.2 and the databases were created with Rational ClearQuest version 2003.06.12, you can also use either tool to change the datatype. However, after this conversion is complete, you must update the connection information to be compatible with version 7.1.x.

To avoid the need to update connection information, use version 2003.06.13 or later if possible, to perform the conversion.

The long2clob tool is available in the version 7.1.x installation media or as part of your download package. The files are located in the Support\long2clob subdirectory. This tool is not installed when you install 7.1.x. You must copy the files to an administrative host.

Note: You can also download the long2clob tool from the IBM Customer Support Site for Rational products at http:/www.ibm.com/software/rational/support.

The long2clob tool runs only on Windows® and can be used with Rational ClearQuest version 2003.06.12 and later. If you are running an earlier version of Rational ClearQuest, upgrade to version 2003.06.13 or later, convert to CLOB, and then upgrade to Rational ClearQuest Version 7.1.x.

For example, if you are using version 2003.06.00, take these steps:

Upgrade from version 2003.06.00 to version 2003.06.16.
Convert the LONG datatype to CLOB.
Upgrade to version 7.1.x.

Before you use the long2clob tool, carefully review its documentation. To see this documentation, use the command long2clob.bat -man.

Note: After the conversion, you must re-create custom SQL queries with multiline text data by using the Rational ClearQuest for Windows client. The conversion eliminates the MULTILINE_TEXT table when it restructures the database. Any custom SQL queries that searched this table must be re-created with the Rational ClearQuest for Windows client so that they no longer try to access it.