This apinion is based on my expirience (3 years Oracle and 1.5 yars MS SQL)
I think that for you will be more easy to migrate to MS SQL, I mean cheeper and faster.
Generaly I think that Oracle RDBMS form 7.3.4 to 8.1.7 are better than every one MS SQL Server database from last 2 years.
This is becouse Oracle DB have better :
Security,
Internet Support Options,
Object Oriented,
Stabile,
Faster (if you tune it corect),
many different usefull types of data not supp. from SQL,
DataBase Packeges (Oracle packeges are very simular to classes in c++),
Build-in Java support,
Oracle run on every OS (allmost),
Very good CORBA support (If you choose OAS),
and many other things.
It is true that Oracle DB is not so user frendly (but you are not a user - you must be a proffesoinal).
Oracle have some kind of USER GUI, but I for example do not preffer to use it. I recomend you to do the same and to use Oracle SQL Plus (this is a SQL command line terminal)for database management porpuses.
If you choose MS SQL the things will be trivial for you.
If you choose Oracle you will have few posabilities to connect "client" whith "server":
1. To use ODBC - no comments
2. To use OLEDB provider - no comments
3. To use DLL variant of Oracle Call Interface - OCI (OCI32.DLL). This is natural API provided from Oracle for connection whith DataBase. By my opinion this is the best way. The OCI and Docs about it you can find on Oracle Database Install Disk or
.
Unfortunately I am not a VB programmer and can not give to you example source for OCI on VB, but if you want I can give to you example source on C++ whitch use OCI32.DLL
I belive that you will easy translate to VB.
My address is boko@bitex.com
P.S.
Pleace excuse my bad English.
It is my 3-th language.