I'm happy to announce that our Workflow Engine will work with Oracle Forms.

The current state is beta but we'll release our Workflow engine in the next days. We found some time to test the integration in Oracle Forms and the result is soo cool. It works like a charm.

So it will be possible to embed our Workflow engine in your oracle Forms. It'll be possible for your users to design custom flows and processes. The engine itself is database driven and will work with your Oracle Forms application.

More details will follow in the next days, but here's a first impression:

Workflow Engine - Oracle Forms

It's a standard Oracle Forms window/canvas with our Workflow Designer, embedded as Java Bean.

Feel free to ask your questions

We have a solution for Oracle Forms developers which allows integration of JVx applications and screens directly in your Oracle Forms screen/window. It's an awesome feature and works like a charm but had some limitations with repaints.

Let's have a look

Redraw problem (menu)

Redraw problem (window)

We fixed the problem with our current version

No redraw issues (menu)

No redraw issues (window)

It's was very tricky to solve the problem and it's well known. Our solution will work with other Swing based components as well.

Wer schon immer mal wissen wollte wie man den Spagath zwischen Oracle Forms und Java hin bekommt, dem sei der Artikel 'Schnell entwickeln - die Vorteile von Forms und Java vereint' wärmstens empfohlen. Der Artikel wurde im Magazin JAVAaktuell, Ausgabe 04-2014, veröffentlicht.

Anhand der Oracle Forms Summit Application wird dargestellt wie eine Umsetzung mit Java möglich wäre. Es wird auch gezeigt wie Java in Forms eingebettet werden kann und wie die Java Applikation als HTML5 Lösung aussieht.

Wer das Magazin nicht zur Hand hat, kann den Artikel auch von hier laden und sofort lesen.

We have a really cool new feature for you. It's comparable to repeating frames of Oracle Forms. It's more or less a free-form table. Every row is a panel with custom components and every row shows the same components but bound to our DataBook.

A short video will demonstrate how it works:

We use the name ComponentTable for the control. It'll be available in one of the next VisionX nightly builds but will be limited to our OracleForms license option.

...should be JVx and VisionX.

Our integration of JVx applications is now available.
We won't replace Forms with Java and don't say that Java is better than Forms. Of course, Forms is not dead and it will probably never die. But, Forms uses Java as client technology and why shouldn't we bring more Java to Forms?

If you search for Java and Forms all you will find are relatively simple components or PJCs, e.g. a JTable integration in your forms module. There are a lot of "ready-to-use" examples, but if you are not a Java pro, it will be hard to understand what happens.

I know that Forms needs a face lifting, but it is not a good idea to start from scratch. You should start pimpin' with some cool icons, colors and a nice background image. But if you need better usability, don't try to reinvent the wheel. You need more than modern controls like a JTable with sort-on-header. Do you know how you fill your table with data or how you transfer data from a remote database to your application within a 3-tier architecture?

What you need is a framework that is as powerful as forms, offers modern controls and solves communication problems. And it must be simple - should just work, because Forms simply works.
Oh... I forgot that the framework must work in Oracle Forms and without Forms. It must be a one-4-all solution.

If you think that this is impossible then you are wrong, because it works!

We married best of both worlds.

• Use a modern table in your forms application and don't think about how you connect the table to your database. You get table headers and sort-on-header for free
• Use layout managers for dynamic GUIs instead of fixed size GUIs.
• Call a stored procedure on button click within your Java bean? No problem.
• Use modern Look and Feels and pimp your forms GUI.
• You need REST services? They are already implemented.

And you don't need different frameworks or tons of libraries. You need exactly one framework - JVx. It solves all your problems and with our Forms integration, it is possible to use your Java application within your Forms application without code changes.

We have some screenshots for you

On the left side, you see the Forms application with exactly the same screens as in our Java application on the right side. We added a close button to the forms application, because it is Forms and you decide when you need Java and when standard Forms controls are better.

Oh... when you think you must migrate your Forms application to another technology - why do you think that? Modernize your existing Forms applications and if you decide to replace Forms, your Java screens are ready.

I'm sure that some of you have already used custom swing controls in Forms applications to enrich them. But have you tried to use JavaFx together with your Forms application?

JavaFx has cool effects, animations, controls, css styling and much more.

If you enter 'oracle forms javafx' or similar, in your favourite search engine, you get no specific results. So I think it is time to integrate JavaFx to an Oracle Forms application, isnt't it?

Oracle Forms and JavaFx

We used the source code from the official example, that integrates JavaFx in a Swing application.

The result of our integration is a screen that contains Swing and JavaFx controls. If you change a value in the table, the chart is updated immediately. It is really cool because the chart has nice transition effects.

You can combine rapid application development with modern controls and new development concepts.

The good old Oracle Forms UI does not look really cool. Of course, you can use nice icons and choose the right colors, but the controls are not fancy compared to swing controls.

If you try to to migrate from Oracle Forms to Java, wouldn't it be great to migrate one screen after the other. Or better, create new screens with Java and integrate them in your existing Oracle Forms application. Use both technologies as long as is necessary.

Don't think that you have to migrate the whole Oracle Forms application, migrate step by step. It is absolutely possible to use your new screens in your Oracle Forms aplication or as separate application without Forms. Save time, money and don't replace your existing Oracle Forms developers.

You would like to see how this can look like?


The first screenshot shows a standard Java swing application, with a simple master/detail and some editors:

JVx Swing UI

The next screenshot shows the same screen (without source code changes) used in an Oracle Forms application:

Forms with Java screen

You are right, it is great to embedd the same Java screen, but the Look and Feel is not very cool. Do you know that Java has some nice LaF's? Here is the same screen with Nimbus Look and Feel:

Oracle Forms Nimbus LaF

Oracle Forms is a great technology/platform to write database applications (for Oracle DBs) - There is no doubt!

But nobody knows how long it will exist! Oracle tries to replace Forms with ADF and or APEX, since years. APEX has limited functionality, ADF is too complex and is very "special"!

Have you ever tried to migrate an Oracle Forms Application to Java or .NET? Good luck
There are several tools that allows "automatic migration". But this is not more than an attempt!
Simple and small Forms Applications are surely migrated to another technology, but what is with the more important - large - applications?

We are not magicians, but have a modern technolgogy which enables a gradual migration.

Why is Oracle Forms so successful?
It is simple and does its job. You create User Interfaces for your Oracle Database very fast and ready for production. With JVx we offer a framework that solves the same problems but it is UI and database independent, is 100% Java and is Open Source.

And more...
Use JVx in your Forms applications.

Every developer knows that it is not so easy to replace a full-blown application with another one. Would it be cool to use existing features and Oracle Forms User Interfaces and integrate/implement new features and User Interfaces with JVx. Of course it would be very cool, but you need exactly one application that is consistent and still "simply works"!

And after all your Forms features are migrated, simply use a JVx application without Forms. You have no effort to switch, because it does not matter whether JVx runs with or without Forms!

Are you curious?

I assure you that no other framework is better suited than JVx.

Why?

• Re-use your existing database logic (triggers, packages, views, functions, procedures) without changes.

  It is possible but not necessary to move your business logic to the server tier (middleware). Of course, it is recommended, if you plan to replace your Oracle database with antother database system. To be honest... Oracle has a damn good RDBMS.

• Why sould you create tons of source code and use ORMs if your data model is clean.

  I'm sure you want maintainable applications - as usual?

• Money, money, money

  Use your preferred Open Source application server and don't pay expensive license fees.

• And one of the most important things: You don't need a new development team.

  What happens if you decide to replace your Forms Application with ADF? Have your developers the needed skils?

Do you need an example?

Oracle Forms with JVx

The example uses JVx UI (layout, panel, table, button), the generic model, a remote connection and life-cycle objecs as usual. Not bad

And if you want to develop faster than ever before, use VisionX on top. You have never used a better Application development tool!