Transcript Slide 1

Vgo Software
Forms to
Fusion
Bulgarian Oracle Users Group – www.bgoug.org
Ernst Renner, CEO, Vgo Software
Agenda
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Introductions and topic review
State of the Forms landscape
Your options
Upgrade? Modernize? Which is right for you?
Why Modernize?
Forms to Fusion Mapping
ADF v11
Closing and Q&A
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Introduction
Vgo Software, Inc.
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Software and services to modernize Oracle Forms to JEE or
upgrade
Services to modernize PowerBuilder, VB and ASP to Oracle
ADF
1 of 2 global partners certified by Oracle product development
1st to modernize Forms to ADF v11
1st in the world to automate the conversion of characterbased telnet forms
Software and services based on 4 years of experience in
conversions (25+ conversions)
International customers and partners
Started from NEOS – practical consulting
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
The Forms Landscape
Are Forms going somewhere? No!
(Well, maybe…)
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Oracle Forms 2008 de-support
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v6.0.8.x sustained support ended in January 2008
9.0.2.x sustained support ended in July 1 2008
10gR2 extended support ends December 2011
10gR3 extended support ends December 2011
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http://www.oracle.com/support/collateral/lifetime-support-coverage-chart.pdf
Forms continuing on until at least 2013
Forms community is alive, well and strong
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Forms Landscape
But… Oracle is moving to ADF – you will too
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Think about it… what is “Fusion”?
It’s important for Oracle’s continued growth strategy – it’s
how they will integrate acquired products and those
they’ve grown
What’s the “glue”?
ADF
– BPM Studio, BPEL, a new (better) Enterprise Message
Bus (AquaLogic Service Bus), etc.
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Impact
What does this mean?
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If you are not running Oracle Application Server (or
Weblogic), you will need to
Get up to speed now – prepare for change
Oracle Applications users – Apps are being migrated to
ADF now; your custom extensions will have to move too
Resources – where will all the Forms developers be in
2012?
This may not be a “simple” change for developers – it is a
paradigm shift
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Options
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Upgrade to Web Forms
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Modernize, re-engineer… evolve
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Re-write
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Buy a commercial package
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Which Option is Right for You?
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Upgrade Forms when…
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Modernize to ADF when you require …
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The application cannot change at all
Cost is a huge issue
You need to stay supported (6i users)
Greater ability to integrate with other applications
Greater cross-platform support
See next slides…
Re-write when..
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Business processes need to dramatically change
Forms are really old (v3) and code is unclear
You have unlimited budget
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Modernization & Business Value
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Why Modernize?
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Address tactical challenges while positioning for a long-term
strategic operations architecture. Consider:
– Vendor direction
– Availability of skilled resources in legacy technology
– Ability to maintain SDLC maturity levels in “aged” and “new”
paradigms
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Greater efficiencies in IT support of business changes
– Lower TCO of the enterprise and single LOB (line-of-business)
applications through common architectures and development
patterns
– Faster turn-around on functional enhancements
– Greater flexibility to business demands
– Common, flexible, development methodologies and processes
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Modernization & Business Value
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Why Modernize? (continued)
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Application and/or data integration
– SOA or EAI
– Integration and cross-application rules sharing or re-use
– Consolidation and management of (previously) disparate
architectures – file transfers, client/server apps, EDI, etc.
“All AD (Application Development) organizations should plan to migrate away
from Oracle Forms applications during the next 10 years… All but the mostconservative of AD organizations should plan to migrate during the next five
years.”
Mark Driver, Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00146666, July 3, 2007
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Modernization & Business Value
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Why do these efforts fail?
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Under-estimation of effort – blown budgets
Lack of planning
No business participation
“Blind” conversion
Lack of Experience
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Pre-Modernization
Thoughts
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Prior to any modernization or re-engineering project,
effort should be extended to:
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Consider strategic direction and business value
 Develop your “Conversion Framework”
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Assessments, domain analysis, function point analysis,
design, QA, etc.
Application “domains”
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Client, Producer, Product, Agent, etc.
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Emphasize re-use and process
 Make “High-Leverage” Enhancements
 Think ahead – where and how does this tie in
strategically?
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Typical Forms Architecture
External
Data
Model
DW or Mart
PL/SQL
Mgmt Rprts
Batch
Files
Reports,
Data Feeds,
To DW
6i
Forms
Business Rules
Client
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
DW or Data
Store
www.vgosoftware.com
Topic
Reporting
Typical Architectural View
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Business Rules are all over the place
 Redundant logic, process, data, tight integration with DB’s
DW or Data
Store
External
External
Data
Model
DW or Mart
PL/SQL
Mgmt Rprts
Batch
Files
Data
Model
DW or Mart
Mgmt Rprts
PL/SQL
Batch
Files
Reports,
Data Feeds,
To DW
Business Rules
6i
Forms
DW or Data
Store
Reports,
Data Feeds,
To DW
6i
Forms
Business Rules
Client
Client
Mainframe 1
Mainframe 2
Mainframe 3
DW or Data
Store
External
Data
Model
PL/SQL
External
DW or Mart
Data
Model
Mgmt Rprts
PL/SQL
Batch
Files
Batch
Files
Reports,
Data Feeds,
To DW
DW or Mart
Mgmt Rprts
Reports,
Data Feeds,
To DW
Business Rules
Topic
Reporting
6i
Forms
Client
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
6i
Forms
Business Rules
Client
www.vgosoftware.com
DW or Data
Store
Forms to Fusion Mapping
Client Technology – Oracle Forms
Forms
ADF Mapping
Forms
Task Flows (for Transaction Mgmt)
Application Modules (Evo Work Units)
LOV’s
Read-only View Objects
Query-based blocks
View Objects
Tables (DB)
Entity Objects
Transactions
Task Flows
Triggers
Java Method (programmatic) or
Groovy Expression (declarative)
Windows & Canvases JSPX pages, PanelGroups, Frags
Application Modules
Libraries
View Objects, Business rules – BPM
SQL
(ALBPM)
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Complexity
When?
High/Medium
Specific
to
app
Complexity
depends on
Forms state
Forms to Fusion Mapping
Server-side Technology
Legacy
Environment
Fusion or ADF Mapping
Complexity
When?
DB PL/SQL
Leave in DB
Convert to ADF if needed
Simple
Medium/Low
 Specific
Business Events,
SOA suite – BPEL flow, ESB,
Mediator, etc.
BEA equivs – BPM Studio (Fuego),
AquaLogic Service Bus (ALSB)
Medium
Medium/Low
 Scalable use
BPEL
ADF
Mid/High
 External
External Calls
File processing
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
app
 Broader Use
 External use
parties
involved
www.vgosoftware.com
to
Why ADF v11?
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ADF Business Components
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ADF Rich Faces
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Data caching
Transaction handling via Task Flows
Ajax-enabled components
JSF-based
JDeveloper
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Lots of wizards
Less coding
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Forms to ADF
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Model Layer
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Tables
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Entity Objects – 1 per Table
– Can be used to implement validation triggers
– Validation occurs no matter where Entity is used
View Objects
View Links and Associations
Query-based blocks  View Objects
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© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
Based on one or more entities
May be linked to other views
Views may include other views or entities – description fields and
LOVs
www.vgosoftware.com
Forms to ADF
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Model Layer
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LOVs  read-only View Objects
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Built using SQL statements – very much like a block in Forms
Why “read-only”?
 Performance
 Functionality
ADF BC Browser
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© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
Test model layer
 Validations and LOV’s
www.vgosoftware.com
Forms to ADF
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ViewController Layer
Forms  Task flows
 Windows & Canvases
– Windows become separate JSPX pages
– Canvases become mutable PanelGroups
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© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
Hide/show each PanelGroup as application navigates
between canvases (uses Render tag and a managed
bean)
www.vgosoftware.com
Groovy
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What’s so groovy about
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Based on Java and used in many projects
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Open source expression language
Competitor is Rails-Grails
Included in ADF v11
In ADF, Groovy scripts can be used in any application layer
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Validation on the presentation layer (hide/show, allow/prevent)
– Foreign key checks on the Entity
– Access Application Modules, views, etc.
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
What Doesn’t Map?
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Client-Server != Web
 Many aspects of a Forms application can’t be
replicated exactly in the web world
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WinAPI Calls
File-system or Registry access
Synchronize, etc….
Many aspects of a Forms application should be reimplemented or converted
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© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
Declarative validation
LOVs
www.vgosoftware.com
ADF in JDeveloper 11g
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Big performance enhancements
BEA Weblogic in; OC4J out
Look and feel of ADF Faces Rich Client components has
been updated
Fixed problems with LOV
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Most major issues from TP4 have been resolved
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LOV in Create form with Mandatory fields is fixed
LOV wizards are improved
Some are not: LOV bug re-presenting selected value
Such as Oracle Java Platform Security (JPS)
This is a Jdeveloper release; rest of 11g coming in
January
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Summary
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Upgrade for safety and ease
 Modernize and evolve when positioning for strategic
advantage
 Always consider your process in either type of project –
leverage new architectural advantages
 ADF v11 will be the correct go-forward answer for Forms
modernization and other client/server applications
 Think outside of the Forms silo – what is the value to the
business and to the enterprise?
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com
Closing & Q/A
Useful resources:
Rob Nocera’s blog on ADF, Java and web application trends
www.java-hair.com
Visit Andrejus Baranovskis blog on ADF and Jdeveloper:
andrejusb-samples.blogspot.com
Vgosoftware.com webinars: modernization, ADF, JSF, SOA
www.vgosoftware.com Next webinar is November 12 on Forms & ADF
Modernization (detailed and technical)
Contact Info:
Ernst Renner, [email protected]
© Vgo Software, Inc. 2008
www.vgosoftware.com