16 Upgrading from Pre-Forms 6i Applications to Oracle Forms

Forms Developer is upwardly compatible with earlier versions of Oracle Forms, including Versions 3.0, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0.

Note:

If you are migrating from older releases of Forms to Oracle Forms, you must first migrate your applications to Forms 6i, and then migrate them to Oracle Forms.

Note:

Before converting your forms or menus, it is recommended that you first make backup copies of all files. Once you upgrade a module, you will not be able to open it in an earlier version of Forms Developer.

Upgrading a Form

To upgrade a version 4.x or 5.x Forms application to Forms 6i:

Start Forms 6i.
Choose File | Open to display the file or database dialog.
Choose the module you want to upgrade.
Click OK.
Choose File | Save.
Choose Program | Compile | All to compile the newly-upgraded module.

Note:
You can also use the Forms compiler (f60genm and ifcmp60) to upgrade a Forms application to 6i

Note:

All form modules and libraries must be upgraded and recompiled.

To upgrade a pre-4.0 Forms application to Forms 6i:

To upgrade a pre-4.0 form to Forms 6i, first upgrade the form to version 4.5 (using Forms 4.5 to perform the upgrade), and then upgrade from version 4.5 to version 6i according to the instructions above.

To upgrade a pre-4.0 form to version 4.5, type this statement at the command line, substituting the correct form of the Forms 4.5 Generate command for your environment:

f45gen32 <module_name> <username>/<password> upgrade=yes version=<version_number>

Table 16-1 Version Number for Forms 4.5 Generate Command

To upgrade from	Use this version number
Version 3.0	30
Version 2.3	23
Version 2.0	20

PL/SQL 10 Support

Stored program units can use all the new PL/SQL 10 features.

Compatibility with Earlier Versions of PL/SQL

If you have client-side program units written in PL/SQL V1 or V2, you must convert that code to the new level.

Stored program units can use all the new PL/SQL 9 features that are valid for use in client side PL/SQL. Certain PL/SQL features such as the supplied DBMS_LOB routines cannot be directly called from Client Side PL/SQL. Forms programs must call a stored procedure which in turn calls the routine in question in these restricted cases.

Forms Developer Runtime Behavior

The default runtime behavior of forms created with Forms 5.0 through 6i differed from runtime behavior for Forms 4.5. The form-level Runtime Compatibility Mode property could be set to "4.5" to provide Forms release 4.5 behavior. (This happened by default in forms that were upgraded from Forms release 4.5.)

Starting with Forms Developer, 5.0 behavior is used in all cases, and the form-level property "Runtime Compatibility Mode" is ignored.

If you are upgrading a form that specifies 4.5 behavior to Oracle Forms, you must alter the logic, as necessary, to reflect the differences between 4.5 and 5.0 behavior. See the Forms 6i online help for information about the Runtime Compatibility Mode property and the differences between 4.5 and 5.0 behavior.