5 Oracle Forms

5.1.1 Backward Compatibility with Earlier Releases

For information about upgrading from Oracle6i Forms, see the "Upgrading to Oracle AS Forms Services" chapter in Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide. For information about changed or obsolete features, see the Migrating Forms Applications from Forms6i guide.

Additional information about backward compatibility is MetaLink Note 113987.1 at:

http://metalink.oracle.com

Regardless from which version of Oracle Forms you are upgrading, you will need to recompile your applications and restart Oracle Forms.

5.1.2 Unix Issues and Workarounds

On Unix platforms, if you relink Forms executables after installation (for example, because you are applying a one-off patch) the permissions on newly created executables will not necessarily be the same as the originals. Use chmod to change them manually.

5.2.1 Forms Stack Tracing Not Supported

Forms stack tracing functionality is not supported on HP-UX Itanium. The Forms dump files (frmweb_dump*) under ORACLE_HOME/forms/trace do not contain the stack trace which Forms writes at the time of any crash or abnormal exit of frmweb.

To get the stack trace, add the following to the in the $ORACLE_HOME/forms/server/default.env file:

FORMS_CATCHTERM=FALSE

After making this change, run the form again. Now, the operating system will create a file named core. This file can be used with a debugger, like gdb, to get the stack trace.

5.2.2 Exception When Clicking Other Items While Inputting Multibyte Characters

In CJK languages, the Forms client may stop responding when clicking another item while inputting text through inline IME. As a workaround, disable the inline IME. See section 4.10.2, "Inline IME Support" in Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide. This issue will be fixed in a future patch set.

5.2.3 JDK 1.4.2_06 Plug-in Not Installed When Running a Form on the Web for the First Time

The Install JDK 1.4.2 dialog appears when running a Form on the Web for the first time. When you click Install, the JDK 1.4.2 Plug-in is installed instead of the JDK 1.4.2_06 Plug-in. If you are attempting to use the JDK 1.4.2 plugin from Internet Explorer, and it is not currently installed on your machine, it will download the wrong version. The workarounds are:

• Modify formsweb.cfg by finding:

  jpi_codebase=http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/autodl/jinstall-1_4_2-windows-i586.cab#Version=1,4,2,06 
  

  and change it to:

  jpi_codebase=http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/autodl/
  jinstall-1_4_2_06-windows-i586.cab#Version=1,4,2,06.
  
  

• Run the Form (for the first time) from Netscape, which will go to the correct location for the download.

• Go to the correct location and manually install the JDK 1.4.2_06 Plug-in.

5.2.4 CLOB Data Cannot be Retrieved When Query Data More Than Max Width

When using Japanese NLS_LANG (JA16SJIS, JA16EUC etc.) if the queried CLOB data is longer than the maximum length (240 bytes by default) of the Text Item corresponding to this CLOB data, the query fails at runtime. The issue is that the CLOB data is correctly truncated with the maximum length of the Text Item (240 bytes by default) in English NLS_LANG, but not in Japanese NLS_LANG.

On Linux, error FRM-92101 occurs when encountering this issue.

As a workaround, extend the maximum length of the Text Item to fit the length of the CLOB data.

5.2.5 FRM-92102 Existing Sessions Disconnect When User Added To JAZN

The FRM-92102 error appears and existing Forms sessions disconnect after adding a new user to JAZN (OC4J_BI_FORMS | Applications | formsapp | Security). Thus, if you're adding new JAZN users to the OC4J_BI_Forms instance, you should do this while no Forms session is running.

5.2.6 Monitoring CPU Usage and Response Time

On the System Component Tables in Enterprise Manager, the CPU and Memory statistics are collected every minute, by default. Note that this potentially can mean that any CPU spikes will not be displayed. In addition, if Forms server processes are dormant, awaiting client activity or requests, it is perfectly normal for the CPU usage to report 0.0%.

On the Forms Overview page, the CPU and Memory statistics are gathered each time the page is rendered when you click the Overview Tab or when you click the refresh icon next to the timestamp. However, due to an operating system restriction, if the Response Time from the Forms Servlet is less than 16ms, it will display as 0.00ms.

5.3.1 Incorrect Key Mapping

In Section 4.11.1.2.1 of Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide, the description for Mapping F2 is written as:

To map F2, change the default entry for F2, "List Tab Pages", to another key. Here is an example of the default entry:

113: 0 : "F2" : 95 : "List Tab Pages"

This must be explicitly changed to another key mapping such as the following:

113: 8 : "F2" : 95 : "List Tab Pages"

The last line should read as:

113: 8 : "Alt+F2" : 95 : "List Tab Pages"

5.3.2 Incomplete JVM Pooling Example

In section 7.5.12 of Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide, there is a sample formsweb.cfg configuration. The last named section is written as:

[salesApp]
form=sales.fmx
userid=sales/salespw@orcl

However, this example should read as:

[salesApp]
form=sales.fmx
userid=sales/salespw@orcl
jvmcontroller= 

5.3.3 Incorrect Script Tag Names

In section 9.2.2 of Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide, the script tag is written as:

<SCRIPT SRC="/oracle_smp_EndUserMonitoring/oracle_smp_EndUserMonitoring.js"></SCRIPT>

It should read as:

<SCRIPT SRC="/oracle_smp_chronos/oracle_smp_chronos.js"></SCRIPT>

5.3.4 Incorrect Default Threshold Setting Description

In section 9.2.5 of Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide, the default threshold description is written as:

The default unreasonable threshold is set to 60,000 milliseconds, which may be too small for Oracle Forms Applications. You may want to change this default to 1 minute.

The correct description should read:

The default unreasonable threshold is set to 60,000 milliseconds, which may be too small for Oracle Forms Applications. You may want to change this default to 1 hour.

5.3.5 Incorrect Parameter Names in URL

In section 9.3.1 of Oracle Application Server Forms Services Deployment Guide, the EndUserMonitoringURL parameter is written as:

Set EndUserMonitoringURL=http://computername:7777/oracle_smp_EndUserMonitoring/oracle_smp_EndUserMonitoring_sdk.gif

It should read as:

EndUserMonitoringURL=http://<hostname>:<webcache port number>/oracle_smp_chronos/oracle_smp_chronos_sdk.gif

Without the correct EndUserMonitoringURL parameters, End User Monitoring will not work.

5.3.6 Oracle Developer Suite Not Available on HP-Itan

Oracle Developer Suite 10.1.2.0.2 is not available on HP-Itan. The Developer topology outlined in the iAS installation guide section ' 15.3 Forms, Reports, and Discoverer Developer Topology' is not applicable for HP-Itan.