4 Lifecycle Management Information
This chapter describes the installation, configuration, upgrade and migration issues associated with Oracle Forms.
The following sections are included:
Oracle Forms Installation and Configuration Issues
This section describes installation and configuration changes, issues and their workarounds.
It includes the following topics:
WebUtil-Enabled Applications Require JACOB Version 1.21
Oracle Forms 14.1.2 uses the third-party library, JACOB, for enabling OLE support when using WebUtil. This Forms version supports—and the installation is pre-configured to use—JACOB 1.21. It will be necessary to make changes in the WebUtil configuration if any other version is used.
JACOB is a JAVA-COM bridge that enables you to call COM automation components from Java. It uses JNI to make native calls to the COM libraries. JACOB runs on x86 and x64 environments supporting 32 bit and 64 bit JVMs.
Regardless of which version you choose to use, you must download, sign, and insert the library set into the appropriate directories before use. Refer to the Forms Builder Help for more information.
Current releases are available on GitHub here: https://github.com/freemansoft/jacob-project/releases.
Note:
Oracle is not responsible for the availability, stability, or support of JACOB. The features in Oracle Forms that use JACOB are used optionally. Therefore, the use of JACOB is not required to run Forms applications. Its use is only required if you choose to use WebUtil and its OLE functionality. Issues specific to JACOB should be reported on the site mentioned above.Using Version 23.5.0 of the Database Client
The following are the issues with Forms using the database client:
- This Forms installation is based on Oracle Database 23.5.0. As a result, all application modules must be regenerated prior to running. Once application modules have been regenerated in the new version, they (source or runtime files) will not be backward compatible with any earlier versions. Backup copies of application modules should be created before attempting to regenerate or open in the Forms Builder. This process cannot be reversed.
- User exits should be regenerated using a version 23.5.0 pre-compiler.
Eclipse/Jetty Version Required for Java Script and Java Web Start Integration
Eclipse/Jetty version 9.4.54 or later is required for Forms Java Script Integration (WebSocketJSI). If using Jetty version 10.x or later, the user must use Java 11 or later to run the application.
This jar file must be signed with a trusted and known certificate. For information on how to sign jar files see the Java documentation. If using Java Web Start for deployment, add the Jetty jar reference to extensions.jnlp.
The required file (jetty-all-<version>.jar) can be downloaded here: https://repo1.maven.org/maven2/org/eclipse/jetty/aggregate/jetty-all/.
Note:
Oracle is not responsible for the availability, stability, or support of Jetty. The features in Oracle Forms that use Jetty are used optionally. Therefore, the use of Jetty is not required to run Forms applications. Its use is only required if you choose to use WJSI and its Java Script integration functionality. Issues specific to Jetty should be reported to Jetty at https://jetty.org/support.html.Post Installation Tasks
There are several signatures embedded within some of the provided JARs (for example, frmall.jar). Each signature has a unique purpose and expiration date. For information about how digital signatures work, refer to the Oracle Java documentation.
The signed JAR files can be found in the ORACLE_HOME/forms/java directory.
You can test the desired JARs using the jarsigner executable in the JDK included in the installation. For example:
- On Windows: jarsigner -verify -verbose frmall.jar | find "expire"
- On Unix/Linux: jarsigner -verify -verbose frmall.jar | grep "expire"
The Signer Certificate date represents the last date that the certificate can be used to sign new JAR files. Since the provided JARs were signed before that date, this expiration is mostly irrelevant and can be ignored. However, it may be used in the event the Timestamp cannot be validated, which requires an Internet connection.
The Timestamp is used to ensure that the JAR was signed during a valid period. This validation test can continue through the expiration date of the Timestamp. As mentioned, if the Timestamp cannot be validated the Signer Certificate expiration is assumed to be the last valid date the JAR can be used.
If you have JAR files that are approaching the Timestamp expiration, contact Oracle Support in order to receive updated files.
Upgrade and Migration Issues
This section describes issues associated with the upgrade and migration process of Oracle Forms.
It includes the following topics:
Upgrade Guidance
To view the list of Oracle Forms changed or obsolete features, see Preparing to Upgrade.
To upgrade Oracle Forms, see Upgrading Oracle Forms in the Installing Oracle.Forms guide.
Enhanced Forms Webutil File Transfer Speeds
In this release, we have improved Forms Webutil file upload and download transfer speeds by up to 30% by increasing the maximum allowable value of WebUtilMaxTransferSize to 24573.
Note:
When upgrading, run thecreate_webutil_db.sql script included in the installation to ensure you can take advantage of the improved file transfer speeds. Make sure you generate and use the webutil.pll file that is included in the installation. Do not copy this file from an earlier version.