[cx-oracle-users] How do I fix the ORA-12514 TNS:listener error?

[Eric P. <er...@ac...>]

I'm working on a generalized database explorer tool
lets you browse Oracle databases.  It work for me, but
some other people are reporting this error message when
an attempt to connect to their DB fails:

DatabaseError: ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service
   requested in connect descriptor

I build up this connection string:

"%s/%s@%s" % (username, password, host)

// with an optional ":%d" % (port,) at the end,
// but the error is triggered without it.

I do all my testing with Oracle running on
a dedicated server, and can connect with this
string, using this code:

conn = cx_Oracle.connect(connectionString)
cu = conn.cursor()
...

I've been told I should look for two alternatives:

1. Provide a tnsnames.ora file, that contains the database-specific name, and
something called the SERVICE_NAME.  How would cx_Oracle work with this?

2. An alternative is to bypass tnsnames.ora using this string:

<<USER_NAME>>/<<PWD>>@<<HOST>>:<<PORT>>/<<SERVICE_NAME>>

========
Can anyone shed some light on what I have to do to fix the connection
problem?  Is the SERVICE_NAME what we MySQLer's call the database
name?

Thanks,
Eric