title: How do I access an Oracle db without installing Oracle's client and cx_Oracle?
body: <p>I have two RHEL servers running Python 2.4 and 2.6 separately. There is an Oracle database on the other server I need to access.</p>
  
  <p>I was trying to install cx_oracle on my RHEL server but found out that the Oracle client must be installed first. </p>
  
  <p>The problem is, I don’t have permission to install Oracle's client on both RHEL servers. On the same servers, a Perl program can connect to the Oracle db using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>DBI-&gt;connect("dbi:Oracle:host=myhost.prod.com;sid=prddb",'username','password')
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>Can Python do the same without installing cx_oracle and the Oracle client? Or are there any suggestions about how to write a module myself to do the same thing?</p>
  
  <p>Thanks in advance!</p>