Oracle Developer Tools and ThoughtsEnterprise IT Tools and Thoughts, dealing mainly with Oracle Developer tools (Forms, Reports, APEX)

Here is an update with the files for implementing a javabean that displays a static google map for a given location.

In a number of back-end applications, users as well as entities are registered with their address information. In some cases, it is desired to provide a visual representation of this address information.
A free service that is provided by Google allows us to obtain the map for a given address as well as additional info such as directions from a given point to this address.

This is a bit difficult to implement in Oracle Forms 10g since the Google API is based on Javascript. In those cases where Javascript is blocked or not possible, Google provides another service which is called Google Static maps.

What this service provides is a static image of the map based on the address information. This can be sufficient in a number of Forms applications.

In this note, we provide a javabean that will display the static map in addition to the latitude and longitude corresponding to the address provided by the user (or fetched from a table).

First, we will use the Google Maps HTTP geocoding service to retrieve the latitude and longitude. Then, we use this data to fetch the static map from the Google static map service.

This javabean can be used either with the SUN JRE or Oracle Jinitiator. It has been tested with Jinitiator 1.3.1.22 and 1.3.1.29.

Download the jar, java file, sample FMB and the technical note

Please note that the javabean has also been submitted to the Pluggable Java Component & JavaBean ‘s library website maintained by Francois Degrelle.

The end of the year 2008 is fast approaching so it is time for me to comment on what happened, good or bad, this last year.

First of all, I participated in a wonderful Oracle migration project which took most of the year to complete. I have been doing quite some programing with Java, Oracle forms and PL/SQL. In addition, I had to fix a number of issues with our application. This blog has been updated quite regularly with the issues and solutions I have put in place. I hope to continue doing that in the coming year.

Quite notably, I was able to design MouliForms and a number of javabeans. It has been an interesting journey and the best part is the team I worked with. They have been very helpful, competent and nice to work with.

The year 2008 started very well as far as I am concerned. I was teaching Oracle Forms and Designer to two groups of extremely talented students. I had fun teaching evenings even though I was also working full time during the day too.

Unfortunately, 2008 ended on a sorry note, at least for now . Right after getting an excellent evaluation from my students, I was let go as a lecturer.

While I thought this was just a passing annoyance, my contract in my current work got cancelled on christmas eve right before the holidays.

Well, when things start to go wrong, you can’t help it but pause, reflect and then move on. What can you do?

I know things will improve. After the rain, there is always sunshine.

Finally I would like to wish everyone a healthy, joyful and very productive 2009.

Here is an output for a Javabean that shows the image from a Static Google Map.

The example shown here is for the google headquarters. The user inputs the address info in the Forms module and the Javabean takes care of fetching the data from Google Maps.

The process is done in two steps. First step is converting the address into Latitude and longitude (HTTP Geocoding) and then the static map is obtained from Google based on this info.

I will post the javabean here very soon.

When you have a directory with a complicated hierarchical structure (nested sub-floders), using webutil to browse the folder is inadequate. This is mainly due to the use of JFileChooser which is notoriously slow in this case.

Since most implementations use JInitiator, one way to circumvent this problem is to implement a bean that will make use of AWT FileDialog.

Based on the fileuploader bean found in the oracle forms 10g demos, I have implemented a bean that provides file selection.

This has been tested on Forms 10g 10.1.2 on IBM AIX. Please note that the bean was put together in about 10 hours in order to resolve this specific directory browsing and file selection.

Download jar, pll and installation doc

We passed the test and our application has now been in production for 5 days.

A lot has happened since we started the Oracle forms migration to 10g (both the Database and application were migrated to 10g).

Some minor glitches did happen when our users started using the new webforms but overall we are having positive feedback.

Preliminary comments are mostly  related to pop-up blockers on IE that did not behave as expected. Remember that to display reports from Forms, we use web.show_document and this one opens up the pdf.

Webutil is also causing some concerns especially with the FILE functionalities (see http://forums.oracle.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=834438&tstart=0)

But overall with close to 1200 modules, it is quite an achievement that we did not have major issues.

One of my students recently asked me a question relating to how he can make himself valuable compared to other job applicants.

While I could have answered him with one of those pre-packaged all-purpose answer, I really thought about how I myself manage to keep my knowledge up to date.

I do not pretend to be superman but I think that I have the ability to get involved in interesting projects and most important provide the best (working at least) solutions.

Thinking about it, I do not believe that it is due solely to my own personal abilities but more because of the interactions I have with others on a daily basis.

So, I outline in the following the steps I follow in a typical workday. Please bear in mind that the info that follows is geared more toward Oracle Forms but is quite relevant if you work with different platforms, languages, environments, etc…

• Know who the major and important contributors in your field are and where to find them. In my case, Oracle OTN is the place to be and I make sure to check the Oracle Forms and Reports Forums first thing in the morning. I glance at the current topics and see who posted the topics. While there are a number of experts, those to watch out are Francois Degrelle, Steve Cosner, Tony Garabedian, RajeshAlex and Andreas Weiden.

As a side note, I am quite amazed to see that current practicing forms developers do not even know about the OTN forum. On another level, I also found some quite interesting solutions on ORAFAQ.

• Check the Forms and Reports OTN pages at least once a week. There might be some news of interest there.
• Download JCreator LE and start experimenting with PJCs and Javabeans. If you migrate to Oracle 10g, javabeans will provide you with new ways to extend Forms functionalities. You will be amazed what you can do with javabeans.

As a side note, don’t take anything for granted. While Oracle Forms is still here and is very productive, nothing forbids you from learning JAVA or .NET. I myself choose JAVA for some reasons and is quite happy with it. That’s just one more thing in my bag.

• Try to take time to understand the new Forms architecture. You will save yourself some valuable time when working with Forms 10g if you understand how Forms calls are processed.
• Do Google for Oracle forms keywords from time to time. You might come up with interesting results.
• Last but not least, be interested in other platforms, languages and environments. Almost every week, I check www.dzone.com for the latest in development trends and there are quite interesting stuff over there to check. For example, I have done quite some work with WordPress, PHP, mysql and ruby on rails based on the tutorials I found from links posted on dzone.
  While I won’t consider myself a PHP or RoR developer , I can say that I know how to get around with them.

Timers were used quite heavily in C/S environments (Oracle forms 6i). Of the many uses, the one that is the most typical is to create a timer when validating an item and then perform an action when the timer expires.

For example, suppose that we need to sort records in a block according to a given criterion. Whenever a new value or a change occurs in a column (record within the  block) we reorder the block. This implies an execute_query built-in. Another one deals with a go_item whenever we validate a given item. In this case, the error related to restricted built-ins will be raised.

By including a timer, we will shift the action from the WHEN-VALIDATE-ITEM to the WHEN-TIMER-EXPIRED.

However, in Oracle forms 10g, the same strategy will raise a whole new issue. Since 10g implies a web environment with a middle-tier hosting the application server, managing timers implies prohibitive server-side management especially with a large user base.

In this case, another solution might be available by using PJC’s/Javabeans. Oracle has already provided a client-side Timer bean. For the time being, I have not tried this bean since it can be set at a minimum to 1 min. I will have to modify the bean code in order to allow much lower interval (in the milliseconds range).

Everything is now in place for the move to production. This is scheduled for this coming Saturday Nov 29, 2008.  There were several hurdles along the way and adjusting the printing functionality we had in the C/S version to the new 10g web version were not that easy.

In fact, I had some sleepless nights the last two weeks. I can say that I mastered the way reports server works on UNIX (AIX).

I wrote the following paper which explains what you need to do in order to implement some printing requirements such as duplex printing, tray selection etc.

I used a scenario that might be of interest to a number of implementers. Please note that the solutions I outlined work at the present time and are specific to the platform we use, namely report server on AIX. You might have to make some adjustments if you are on a different UNIX platform.

If you do use this info, please leave a comment or suggestions so that I can improve the document for others to use.

Download: UNIX printing reports server

We are almost at the end of our Forms migration to  10g on IBM AIX. I received some emails regarding the points to watch out for. As you can imagine by reading the previous posts, the migration as the forms module are concerned should not take that long especially if you use JDAPI. Somme annoyances here are mostly with WEBUTIL functionnalities that you need to implement (replacing host, file transfer, image treatment etc.)

However, before even starting the project, you need to do a THOROUGH assessment of your current application and how it is being used. Please be as thourough as you can get in this phase. Otherwise you might have big surprises later on. We have had some really nasty surprises during our journey and that was mainly due to printing on AIX among other things.

First thing to consider is the application server and the platform you selected for hosting it. If it is Windows, then no major hurdles here. If you move to a LINUX/UNIX/AIX platform, then you will be dealing with the PRINTING problem. Direct printing is no longer available in 10g and the alternatives are not worth looking at (direct print PJC and orarrpt). I am talking here about mission-critical applications.

Second problem is the font problem. Expect major headaches here since your developers will be working on Windows machines and your reports are deployed on a LINUX/UNIX/AIX machine. Fonts are not the same and you will have to work on getting the same fonts on LINUX/UNIX/AIX. Not an easy task.

If you have some special printing requirements like we do and I mention here specifically printing on special papers, special paper sizes, automatic printing on designated printers and duplex printing, then you are in for a surprise and a big one I might add. Those are not possible straight out of the box and you will have to do some really nast setups on your report server.

I have spent about 3 days trying to find solutions on those simple requirements. I am still puzzled that there are almost no mentions about those issues on the OTN forums or anywhere else. Either people are not using IAS on LINUX/UNIX/AIX or I am missing something here. At any rate, I thoroughly searched Metalink for answers and came up almost empty handed.

I managed to work out solutions for those problems but it has been tough. I will document the solutions we implemented in an upcoming post.

Finally, the other major problem deals with all the tweaking you have to perform on the forms and reports server. There are so many small things to watch out for and which will take hours to fix. Now, if you get a firewall in the loop and most likely you will have one, then expect some further tweaking to get everything working.

Anyway, a lot of fun if you move to a LINUX/UNIX/AIX platform.

Based on all of the hassles we went through, I am tempted to say that LINUX/UNIX/AIX is not really a good option if you have some real printing to do through your application. Better to stick with windows 2003 or 2008. At least Microsoft has put in place a platform that works.

Where to get help: OTN, Metalink and double check whenever you suspect that litlle looking parameter in that configuration file ….

P.S: Did I mention that all our reports are in French and that characters with accents are replaced with greek characters when printing using Postscript straight to the printer. What a waste of time just to get that one line somewhere stating that you can’t get those accents unless you convert your postscript output to PDF and then print it using the PDFPrint plugin.

Finally, we were able to solve the Arial Italic and Bold problems. Using  Metalink Note 261879.1, it was relatively straightforward to add the font.

The steps to follow are:

1) Transfer the Arial fonts (ttf version) from Windows to UNIX. Make note of this directory.

2) Use the open source program ttf2afm to generate Adobe Font Metrics (AFM) files for TrueType (TTF) fonts.

3) Modify reports_path to add the fonts directory.

4) Make sure the AFM file for the italic version does not have the (-) sign for the slant angle.

5) Update the ALI file to add the Arial font in [PDF] section. Check the version of the ALI file mentionned in the Metalink Note 261879.1

6) Restart the reports server.

These steps can be used for any font that you want to add to your reports server setup.