Accessing a different schema in Oracle

Question

Hi,
I currently have a great deal of code that assumed it would have access to the same database schema as the logged on user e.g.
"Select * from TABLE_NAME" (no need to specify schema name).
I have found out that we will now be using a system where the user that logs on, will be granted select, update and delete priviledges on another schema. So now after setting up the connection, my code would have to read: "Select * from ANOTHER_SCHEMA.TABLE_NAME" where ANOTHER_SCHEMA is the schema that contains the tables.
My question is, since I would have to modify a great deal of code at this point, is there any way to change the user on an existing connection so that I would not have to manually affix the new schema name to all table references? I would have to be able to do this without logging on as this alternate user since we will not have the password for that user (for security reasons).
I have considered creating views in the initial schema that access the alternate schema (e.g CREATE VIEW TABLE_NAME AS SELECT * FROM ANOTHER_SCHEMA.TABLE_NAME), however I was wondering if there might be a better way to do this?

Answer 1

Yes he would have to change his code. I am just used to using "S_" and it is the standard Oracle naming convention for synonyms. (Also it makes it clear that you are referencing the table via a synonym rather than hitting the table directly.
Why not encode all table names in an abstract class.
Eg
package utils;
public class TableNames
public static final String TABLE_NAME1 = "S_TABLE_NAME1";
public static final String TABLE_NAME2 = "S_TABLE_NAME2";
//etc etc
This class can then be used in the building of sql statements. If the table name happens to change at any time then a change is only required in TableNames class.